Paul Tudor Jones doubles down on BTC as recession looms

Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones continues to tout bitcoin amid a macro backdrop that he said makes it difficult to invest in equities. 

The US is likely to slip into a recession in the first quarter of 2024, the billionaire told CNBC in an interview Tuesday.

“I would love gold and bitcoin together,” Tudor Jones said. “I think they probably take on a larger percentage of your portfolio than they would [historically] because we’re going to go through both a challenging political time here in the United States and we’ve obviously got a geopolitical situation.”

The comments come amid what Tudor Jones said “might be the most threatening and challenging geopolitical environment that [he’s] ever seen.” He added that the US is “probably in its weakest fiscal position since World War II.”

The Israeli government declared war against militant group Hamas over the weekend after Hamas attacked Israel. Israeli forces retaliated by increasing airstrikes over the Gaza Strip as the death toll of Israelis and Palestinians stood at roughly 1,600 early Tuesday. 

It is the latest chapter in a decades-long conflict and follows the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories — which UN delegates have said violates international law.

The weekend conflict “triggered a wave of safe-haven flows towards bonds, oil and gold,” OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said in a Monday research note.

“It’s a really challenging time to want to be an equity investor in US stocks right now,” Tudor Jones said.  

Moya added in a note on Tuesday that a dovish tone by the Federal Reserve caused Treasury yields to drop, resulting in “a great day” for gold.

“The flight-to-safety isn’t over yet, especially considering all the risks to the outlook for the consumer,” Moya wrote.

Tudor Jones doubling down on bitcoin comes after he said in May that he believes in maintaining a small allocation to bitcoin — noting its limited supply that humans can’t tamper with.

“I’m sticking with it,” Tudor Jones said at the time. “I’m always going to stick with it.”Bitcoin’s (BTC) price was at about $27,400 at 2 pm ET on Tuesday — roughly flat over the past seven days. The asset is up about 65% year to date.

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