Featured Image Credit: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images / Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Topics: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Money, Technology, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Dogecoin
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Money, Technology, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Dogecoin
While Elon Musk is a huge bitcoin advocate, Bill Gates is much less enthusiastic about the cryptocurrency.
Musk has long voiced his love of cryptocurrencies - Dogecoin in particular.
The multi-billionaire has tweeted about Dogecoin on several occasions, ultimately causing the price to go up almost 6,000 percent over two years.
But it then crashed in September 2022 after Musk's Saturday Night Live appearance.
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It's continued to fall ever since, and Musk is now being sued for insider trading.
Investors believe the 52-year-old used tactics such as Twitter posts and paying online influencers to boost Dogecoin's price.
With the Bitcoin market being so agile, Gates urged people to 'watch out' if they planned on investing their hard-earned cash in cryptocurrency.
Previously speaking to Bloomberg Technology, the 67-year-old Microsoft founder said: "Elon has tons of money and he's very sophisticated so I don't worry that his Bitcoin will randomly go up or down.
"I do think people get brought into these manias who may not have as much money to spare so I'm not bullish on Bitcoin.
"My general thought would be if you have less money than Elon, watch out."
While Gates had his concerns about bitcoin, he did note that digital money is 'a super positive thing'.
Another thing he touched upon was Bitcoin transactions being irreversible - something which left one cryptocurrency user in a spot of bother earlier this year after they accidentally sent $1.5 million to the wrong person.
The unnamed person, who sent the cash to someone named ‘jaredfromsubway’, took to Discord to plead that it was sent back to them.
"Jared from Subway, if you are reading this please help. I sent you by mistake tokens for about $1.5 m. Is there any possibility to get them back?” they penned.
But things took a dark turn.
"Or my investors would kill me," the person went on.
"Please help, Jared! I want to live."
The request later went viral on X, sparking people to take a leaf out of Gates' book and urge others to stay clear of Bitcoin.
One person said at the time: "It's incredible how much trust people put in these decentralized systems, but it's also a reminder to always double-check the wallet address before sending large amounts of money!"
By means of a miracle, Jared caught wind of the viral post and went on to refund the person their money - but not everyone would have been as kind-hearted.