Billionaire investor Ray Dalio says there’s a good chance the US will outlaw bitcoin altogether – just like it once banned gold

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio says there’s a good chance the US will outlaw bitcoin altogether – just like it once banned gold

Ray Dalio, the founder of the world's biggest hedge fund, has raised concerns the US government could ban bitcoin altogether if it becomes too successful.

Dalio told Yahoo Finance the history of money suggested policymakers would want to stamp down on alternative currencies that could challenge the dominance of the dollar.

"I think that it would be very likely that you will have it under a certain set of circumstances outlawed the way gold was outlawed," he said, referring to the government's move to ban people from privately holding gold in the 1930s.

Dalio told Yahoo's "Influencers with Andy Serwer" online interview series that bitcoin had "proven itself" over the last decade and is now like "digital cash."

The founder of $150 billion hedge fund Bridgewater Associates said this success could be a danger to governments. "They don't want other monies to be operating or competing because things can get out of control."

Dalio said the current debates among policymakers in India about banning bitcoin altogether could herald a growing trend. He added: "I would suspect it would be very hard to hold up against that kind of action."

However, there has been no indication from US regulators that they are seeking to totally outlaw bitcoin, which