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With the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies approaching $4 trillion, and the industry gaining traction in Washington under U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration, institutions are increasingly getting on board. However, some of the most prominent figures in finance remain skeptical, even as they find themselves entangled in the sector’s growing influence.
Larry Fink: From skeptic to advocate
BlackRock’s Larry Fink has undergone one of the most striking reversals on Bitcoin. In 2017, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager dismissed cryptocurrency as “an index of money laundering.” Today, BlackRock runs a $60 billion Bitcoin ETF—the largest in the world.
Fink’s tone has shifted significantly. At the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, he suggested that Bitcoin could more than quintuple in value if sovereign wealth funds start allocating to the asset.
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Ken Griffin: A reluctant shift
Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin was once among Bitcoin’s most vocal critics, comparing the crypto boom to the 17th-century tulip mania and calling it a “jihadist call that we don’t believe in the dollar.” But now, his firm is reportedly seeking approval to provide liquidity on major crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, as the Trump administration signals a friendlier regulatory stance.
Griffin has acknowledged his change in outlook, though with lingering reservations. “Of course, I wish I bought something that trades at 100 times the price it traded at a few years ago,” he admitted at the 2025 UBS Financial Services Conference. Still, he maintains skepticism about Bitcoin’s economic utility.
Warren Buffett: An indirect bet on crypto
The Oracle of Omaha has never minced words about his disdain for Bitcoin. In 2018, he famously called it “probably rat poison squared” and later insisted he wouldn’t take all the Bitcoin in the world for $25.
Yet, in January 2025, reports surfaced that Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had invested in Nu Holdings, a fast-growing Brazilian digital bank with crypto exposure. Nu launched its cryptocurrency platform in 2022 and has since expanded its offerings to include digital assets like Uniswap and Chainlink.
While Buffett himself has not directly endorsed Bitcoin, his firm’s investment suggests a recognition of crypto’s growing relevance in financial markets.
Ray Dalio: Watching Bitcoin as a hedge
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has steadily softened his stance on Bitcoin over the years. In 2017, he dismissed it as a speculative bubble, but by 2021, he was calling it “one hell of an invention.”
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Dalio remains cautious, particularly about the threat of government intervention. “I suspect that Bitcoin’s biggest risk is being successful, because if it’s successful, the government will try to kill it and they have a lot of power to succeed,” he wrote in 2021.
However, amid growing concerns over U.S. debt, Dalio recently hinted at Bitcoin’s potential role as an alternative store of value. “What’s the alternative money that is stable in supply? Bitcoin might be a part of that, could be a big part of that,” he said on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast on March 3, 2025.
Jamie Dimon: Still not a fan
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has long been one of Bitcoin’s fiercest opponents. In 2017, he infamously dismissed it as a “fraud” and said he would fire any JPMorgan employee caught trading it. He later escalated his criticism, calling cryptocurrencies “decentralized Ponzi schemes” during a congressional hearing.
Even as JP Morgan now facilitates trading in bitcoin-backed ETFs, Dimon’s personal stance remains unchanged. In a January 2025 interview with CBS News, he equated buying Bitcoin to smoking—something he doesn’t endorse but acknowledges is a personal choice.
“Bitcoin itself has no intrinsic value,” Dimon said. “It’s used heavily by sex traffickers, by money launderers, ransomware. So I just don’t feel great about Bitcoin.”
From dismissal to acceptance?
Bitcoin’s latest surge has forced a reckoning among some of Wall Street’s most powerful voices. While figures like Dimon and Buffett remain deeply skeptical, others—like Fink and Griffin—have pivoted toward engagement, if not outright endorsement.
As institutions continue to pour money into crypto and regulatory winds shift, the question isn’t just whether Bitcoin is here to stay, but how deeply it will entrench itself in global finance—whether its former skeptics like it or not.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
