Ruffer says ‘speculative frenzy’ pushed it out of $1.1bn bitcoin bet

Ruffer says ‘speculative frenzy’ pushed it out of $1.1bn bitcoin bet

Wealth manager Ruffer has exited its high-profile bet on bitcoin after growing nervous about the "speculative frenzy“ in the cryptocurrency, but said it would consider holding the digital asset again as a defence against inflation. 

The normally cautious UK fund manager turned heads in the City in November when it took a roughly $600m position in bitcoin. Since then, it has netted a $1.1bn profit as it sold down the stake in 2021. 

But the fund manager said the rush of speculation in the market this year “” including huge rallies in the price of joke-based cryptocurrencies “” has made the digital asset too hot to hold.

"It just looked like this would be a time when it would be nicer to be watching from the sidelines than from in the trenches,“ said Duncan MacInnes, an investment director at Ruffer who helped manage its bitcoin stake. 

Ruffer bought bitcoin when it was trading at about $15,000, and completed its exit in early April when the price stood at $55,000. Shortly afterwards, cryptocurrency prices dived after Tesla chief executive and former bitcoin advocate Elon Musk voiced concerns over the environmental impact of the token's "mining“. 

Even after a sharp correction that has left bitcoin at a