比特幣(Bitcoin)和黃金,哪個(gè)才是更好的投資選擇?不同人士的觀點(diǎn)可能大相徑庭。億萬富翁、加密貨幣擁躉馬克·庫班傾向于選擇比特幣,對黃金則是大加貶低,而歐洲太平洋資本(Euro Pacific Capital)的首席執(zhí)行官彼得·希夫則持相反意見。
納西姆·尼古拉斯·塔勒布也有一些想法。作為《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》(New York Times)2010年暢銷書——《黑天鵝》(The Black Swan)的作者、同時(shí)也是少數(shù)幾位預(yù)見到2007—2008年金融危機(jī)的人士之一,他在本周接受法國《快報(bào)》(L’Express)周刊采訪時(shí)對這場辯論發(fā)表了自己的看法。
可以斷言,比特幣(自2022年以來幣值已經(jīng)下跌超過60%)并未給他留下多少好印象。
“科技興衰無?!?/strong>
塔勒布表示,比特幣的一大問題在于“我們無法確定未來幾代人會(huì)有怎樣的興趣、心態(tài)和偏好。技術(shù)如流水,黃金永留存,至少東西一直都在。而比特幣一旦遭到市場忽視,哪怕只是很短一段時(shí)間,其價(jià)格也必然會(huì)崩潰”。
更重要的是,他說:“我們無法指望一個(gè)需要愛好者積極維護(hù)的登記簿條目(這就是比特幣的運(yùn)作方式)能夠在任何時(shí)間內(nèi)保持其物理屬性,而這種物理屬性又是其具有貨幣價(jià)值的條件之一。”
在被問及“加密貨幣熱”從何而來時(shí),他認(rèn)為是過去15年的低利率引發(fā)了這股浪潮。
他指出:“降低利率未必利好經(jīng)濟(jì),但一定會(huì)催生資產(chǎn)泡沫。如果獲取資本不再需要付出成本,而無風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資又幾乎無法產(chǎn)生任何收益,甚至還會(huì)錄得負(fù)收益,自然就會(huì)把人們推向投機(jī)市場。我們已經(jīng)忘了什么是長期投資。真正的金融業(yè)已經(jīng)壽終正寢?!?/p>
他認(rèn)為,結(jié)果之一就是造就了“像比特幣這樣的惡性腫瘤”。
“萬物皆泡沫”
大金融危機(jī)(Great Financial Crisis)爆發(fā)后,美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)(Federal Reserve)和其他中央銀行執(zhí)行了多年的寬松貨幣政策,進(jìn)而引發(fā)了所謂的“萬物皆泡沫”,包括塔勒布在內(nèi),許多人已經(jīng)注意到了“萬物泡沫”的影響。正如《財(cái)富》雜志本周所報(bào)道的那樣,在寬松貨幣時(shí)代,滿目皆是多頭,無論是加密貨幣專家、對沖基金經(jīng)理,還是經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家、投資銀行,大家都相信好日子永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)結(jié)束。
有趣的是,塔勒布起初是比特幣的支持者。正如他向《快報(bào)》介紹的那樣,當(dāng)時(shí)他對時(shí)任美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)主席本·伯南克頗有微詞。
他說,在2008年金融危機(jī)爆發(fā)之前,伯南克并未發(fā)現(xiàn)系統(tǒng)中的結(jié)構(gòu)性風(fēng)險(xiǎn),而在危機(jī)爆發(fā)之后,伯南克又有一些反應(yīng)過度?!八⑽醇m正債務(wù)問題或降低隱性風(fēng)險(xiǎn),而是用只應(yīng)用作過渡的貨幣政策來掩蓋這些問題。我當(dāng)時(shí)錯(cuò)誤地認(rèn)為,比特幣會(huì)成為防止這種貨幣政策扭曲經(jīng)濟(jì)的堡壘”。
“操縱市場、詐騙橫行”
塔勒布還警告說,“加密貨幣世界吸引了太多的操縱市場者和騙子”。
有此想法的顯然并非塔勒布一人。
Coinbase的首席執(zhí)行官布萊恩·阿姆斯特朗在2022年11月底的a16z加密貨幣創(chuàng)始人峰會(huì)上說:“作為一個(gè)行業(yè)來說,我們必須承認(rèn),我們這行吸引了太多的騙子。這的確是一件令人遺憾的事情,但也不能代表整個(gè)行業(yè)的情況”。
阿姆斯特朗補(bǔ)充道,他對FTX的創(chuàng)始人薩姆·班克曼-弗里德未被拘留感到“不可思議”(數(shù)周后,弗里德遭到拘留)。
塔勒布本周在推特(Twitter)上說,自己一直因?yàn)榕u加密貨幣而飽受嘲弄和污蔑,但這種攻擊目前已經(jīng)被“許多感謝自己將年輕人從比特幣中拯救出來的信息所平衡”。
他分享了一位推特用戶發(fā)布的信息,后者寫道,自己本來已經(jīng)打算購買比特幣,但后來開始關(guān)注塔勒布對比特幣的分析,從理論上明白了比特幣為何一文不值,然后比特幣就真的開始一路走低。塔勒布救下了我爸爸的血汗錢。
同時(shí),許多比特幣的支持者對比特幣仍然看漲。方舟投資(Ark Invest)的首席執(zhí)行官凱茜·伍德最近重申了自己的預(yù)測,即比特幣的幣值將在2030年達(dá)到100萬美元(當(dāng)前其幣值略低于17,000美元)。她還認(rèn)為班克曼-弗里德由于無法控制“透明且分散的”比特幣,所以對后者并不喜歡。她說FTX之所以會(huì)崩盤正是因?yàn)槟切安煌该鞯闹行幕婕摇薄?/p>
至于庫班,他于2022年12月在比爾·馬赫的《Club Random》播客中說:“我希望比特幣繼續(xù)下跌,這樣我就可以多買一些了?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:梁宇
審校:夏林
比特幣(Bitcoin)和黃金,哪個(gè)才是更好的投資選擇?不同人士的觀點(diǎn)可能大相徑庭。億萬富翁、加密貨幣擁躉馬克·庫班傾向于選擇比特幣,對黃金則是大加貶低,而歐洲太平洋資本(Euro Pacific Capital)的首席執(zhí)行官彼得·希夫則持相反意見。
納西姆·尼古拉斯·塔勒布也有一些想法。作為《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》(New York Times)2010年暢銷書——《黑天鵝》(The Black Swan)的作者、同時(shí)也是少數(shù)幾位預(yù)見到2007—2008年金融危機(jī)的人士之一,他在本周接受法國《快報(bào)》(L’Express)周刊采訪時(shí)對這場辯論發(fā)表了自己的看法。
可以斷言,比特幣(自2022年以來幣值已經(jīng)下跌超過60%)并未給他留下多少好印象。
“科技興衰無?!?/strong>
塔勒布表示,比特幣的一大問題在于“我們無法確定未來幾代人會(huì)有怎樣的興趣、心態(tài)和偏好。技術(shù)如流水,黃金永留存,至少東西一直都在。而比特幣一旦遭到市場忽視,哪怕只是很短一段時(shí)間,其價(jià)格也必然會(huì)崩潰”。
更重要的是,他說:“我們無法指望一個(gè)需要愛好者積極維護(hù)的登記簿條目(這就是比特幣的運(yùn)作方式)能夠在任何時(shí)間內(nèi)保持其物理屬性,而這種物理屬性又是其具有貨幣價(jià)值的條件之一?!?/p>
在被問及“加密貨幣熱”從何而來時(shí),他認(rèn)為是過去15年的低利率引發(fā)了這股浪潮。
他指出:“降低利率未必利好經(jīng)濟(jì),但一定會(huì)催生資產(chǎn)泡沫。如果獲取資本不再需要付出成本,而無風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資又幾乎無法產(chǎn)生任何收益,甚至還會(huì)錄得負(fù)收益,自然就會(huì)把人們推向投機(jī)市場。我們已經(jīng)忘了什么是長期投資。真正的金融業(yè)已經(jīng)壽終正寢?!?/p>
他認(rèn)為,結(jié)果之一就是造就了“像比特幣這樣的惡性腫瘤”。
“萬物皆泡沫”
大金融危機(jī)(Great Financial Crisis)爆發(fā)后,美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)(Federal Reserve)和其他中央銀行執(zhí)行了多年的寬松貨幣政策,進(jìn)而引發(fā)了所謂的“萬物皆泡沫”,包括塔勒布在內(nèi),許多人已經(jīng)注意到了“萬物泡沫”的影響。正如《財(cái)富》雜志本周所報(bào)道的那樣,在寬松貨幣時(shí)代,滿目皆是多頭,無論是加密貨幣專家、對沖基金經(jīng)理,還是經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家、投資銀行,大家都相信好日子永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)結(jié)束。
有趣的是,塔勒布起初是比特幣的支持者。正如他向《快報(bào)》介紹的那樣,當(dāng)時(shí)他對時(shí)任美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)主席本·伯南克頗有微詞。
他說,在2008年金融危機(jī)爆發(fā)之前,伯南克并未發(fā)現(xiàn)系統(tǒng)中的結(jié)構(gòu)性風(fēng)險(xiǎn),而在危機(jī)爆發(fā)之后,伯南克又有一些反應(yīng)過度?!八⑽醇m正債務(wù)問題或降低隱性風(fēng)險(xiǎn),而是用只應(yīng)用作過渡的貨幣政策來掩蓋這些問題。我當(dāng)時(shí)錯(cuò)誤地認(rèn)為,比特幣會(huì)成為防止這種貨幣政策扭曲經(jīng)濟(jì)的堡壘”。
“操縱市場、詐騙橫行”
塔勒布還警告說,“加密貨幣世界吸引了太多的操縱市場者和騙子”。
有此想法的顯然并非塔勒布一人。
Coinbase的首席執(zhí)行官布萊恩·阿姆斯特朗在2022年11月底的a16z加密貨幣創(chuàng)始人峰會(huì)上說:“作為一個(gè)行業(yè)來說,我們必須承認(rèn),我們這行吸引了太多的騙子。這的確是一件令人遺憾的事情,但也不能代表整個(gè)行業(yè)的情況”。
阿姆斯特朗補(bǔ)充道,他對FTX的創(chuàng)始人薩姆·班克曼-弗里德未被拘留感到“不可思議”(數(shù)周后,弗里德遭到拘留)。
塔勒布本周在推特(Twitter)上說,自己一直因?yàn)榕u加密貨幣而飽受嘲弄和污蔑,但這種攻擊目前已經(jīng)被“許多感謝自己將年輕人從比特幣中拯救出來的信息所平衡”。
他分享了一位推特用戶發(fā)布的信息,后者寫道,自己本來已經(jīng)打算購買比特幣,但后來開始關(guān)注塔勒布對比特幣的分析,從理論上明白了比特幣為何一文不值,然后比特幣就真的開始一路走低。塔勒布救下了我爸爸的血汗錢。
同時(shí),許多比特幣的支持者對比特幣仍然看漲。方舟投資(Ark Invest)的首席執(zhí)行官凱茜·伍德最近重申了自己的預(yù)測,即比特幣的幣值將在2030年達(dá)到100萬美元(當(dāng)前其幣值略低于17,000美元)。她還認(rèn)為班克曼-弗里德由于無法控制“透明且分散的”比特幣,所以對后者并不喜歡。她說FTX之所以會(huì)崩盤正是因?yàn)槟切安煌该鞯闹行幕婕摇薄?/p>
至于庫班,他于2022年12月在比爾·馬赫的《Club Random》播客中說:“我希望比特幣繼續(xù)下跌,這樣我就可以多買一些了?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:梁宇
審校:夏林
Is Bitcoin or gold the better investment? Opinions vary widely, with billionaire crypto fan Mark Cuban favoring Bitcoin—and slamming gold—and Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff going the other way.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb has some thoughts, too. This week the author of the 2010 New York Times bestseller The Black Swan—among the few who foresaw the 2007-2008 financial crisis—weighed in on the debate in an interview with the French weekly L’Express.
It’s safe to say Bitcoin, which has fallen more than 60% since the start of 2022, fails to impress him.
“Technology comes and goes”
One problem with Bitcoin, he said, is that “we are not sure of the interests, mentalities and preferences of future generations. Technology comes and goes, gold stays, at least physically. Once neglected for a brief period, Bitcoin would necessarily collapse.”
What’s more, he said, “It cannot be expected that an entry on a register that requires active maintenance by interested and motivated people—this is how Bitcoin works—will retain its physical properties, a condition for monetary value, for any period of time.”
Asked about the origins of the “craze for cryptocurrencies,” he pointed to the low interest rates of the past 15 years.
“Lowering rates creates asset bubbles without necessarily helping the economy,” he said. “Capital no longer costs anything, risk-free returns on investment become too low, even negative, pushing people into speculation. We lose our sense of what a long-term investment is. It is the end of real finance.”
One of the results, he argued, was “malignant tumors like Bitcoin.”
The “everything bubble”
Taleb isn’t alone in noting the effects of what’s been dubbed the “everything bubble”—created by years of loose monetary policies from the Fed and other central banks following the Great Financial Crisis. As Fortune reported this week, the easy money era was filled with bulls—from crypto experts to hedge fund managers to economists and investment banks—who believed the good times would never end.
Interestingly, Taleb was supportive of Bitcoin early on. At the time, as he explained to L’Express, he was critical of then Fed chair Ben Bernanke.
Bernanke, he said, did not see the structural risks of the system before the 2008 crisis, and overreacted afterwards: “Instead of correcting debt and mitigating hidden risks, he covered them with a monetary policy that was only supposed to be transitory. I wrongly thought Bitcoin would be a bulwark against the distortions of this monetary policy.”
“Manipulators and scammers”
Taleb also warned that “the crypto universe attracts manipulators and scammers.”
He’s certainly not alone there.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said at the a16z crypto Founder Summit in late November: “We have to kind of come to terms as an industry with the fact that, I think our industry is attracting a disproportionate share of fraudsters and scammers. And that’s really unfortunate. That doesn’t mean it’s representative of the whole industry.”
Armstrong added it was “baffling” to him why FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried wasn’t already in custody—a few weeks later, he was.
Taleb tweeted this week that he’s been trolled and smeared for his crypto criticism, but that such attacks have been offset by the “many thank you messages for saving young people from Bitcoin.”
He shared a message in which a Twitter user said he almost bought Bitcoin but then started following Taleb’s thinking on it, writing, “I got why crypto is crap in theory. Then it went bust in practice. NNT saved my dad’s hard earned money.”
Meanwhile, many Bitcoin bulls remain bullish. Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood recently reiterated her prediction that Bitcoin will hit $1 million by 2030—it’s now just below $17,000. She also argued Bankman-Fried didn’t like “transparent and decentralized” Bitcoin “because he couldn’t control it,” saying the FTX fiasco was caused by “opaque centralized players.”
As for Cuban, he said on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast in December 2022, “I want Bitcoin to go down a lot further so I can buy some more.”