Former bitcoin skeptic Carl Icahn says he may pour more than $1 billion into cryptocurrencies – but predicts many digital assets won’t survive

• Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he’s looking to get into cryptocurrencies “in a big way.”
• He told Bloomberg he may invest more than $1 billion into digital assets.
• He thinks some cryptocurrencies may get flushed out as they don’t boast any safety value.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn told Bloomberg on Wednesday that he was looking to get involved in the cryptocurrency space, and may invest more than $1 billion into digital assets.

“I mean a big way for us would be a billion dollars, a billion-and-a-half dollars,” he said in an interview. “I’m not going to say exactly.”

Icahn has changed his tune on cryptocurrencies, after calling bitcoin and other similar assets “ridiculous” only three years ago. Telling CNBC in 2018 that he “wouldn’t touch that stuff,” he said his dislike perhaps stemmed from not understanding them.

Icahn, who currently has a net worth of $22 billion, said he hasn’t yet bought any crypto, but he’s exploring where the opportunities lie within the sector as a whole. He acknowledged cryptocurrencies are gaining mainstream acceptance as a consequence of rising inflation.

The activist investor said many cryptocurrencies in circulation right now may not survive, as there needs to be some form of safety value associated with them. “I don’t think there will be a lot of good survivors that are out there trading today,” he said.

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While questioning the intrinsic value of the dollar, he said skepticism over the value of cryptocurrencies is a “little wrong-headed,” and the only reason the dollar is valuable is “because you can use it to pay taxes.”

According to him, the market is currently in a state of excess due to a combination of factors like an overflow of money in the economy, so-called meme stocks that are “ridiculously-priced,” and certain strategies presented by money managers.

“I don’t think Reddit and Robinhood and those guys are necessarily bad, I think they do serve a purpose,” he said. “Money is funneling back into companies. Some of these companies might be okay, but a number of them, the risk-reward is absurd.”

Icahn isn’t the only high-profile crypto skeptic to have changed his mind. Legendary investor Howard Marks said earlier this year he was being more open-minded towards bitcoin, and that his son Andrew “thankfully” owns a meaningful amount for the family.