'Bitcoin has no practical use': Jeremy Grantham says the crypto will 'fade into irrelevance' as it slips below $60,000
Investor Jeremy Grantham criticized Bitcoin as a useless speculative asset, asserting it will fade into irrelevance. Bitcoin fell below $60,000, with its market cap declining.
Veteran investor Jeremy Grantham has once again criticised bitcoin, saying it is a "useless" and ‘will gradually fade into irrelevance’
Speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box on Friday, the GMO co-founder asserted that its a speculative asset without intrinsic value and time and again failed to outperform even during strong bull markets.
Bitcoin fell below the $60,000 mark
The world's biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin fell below the $60,000 mark, down 2.66% from the previous day, to $59,934.04 at noon on 26 June, according to data on CoinMarketCap. The token's market capitalisation also fell 2.75% to $1.2 trillion, with trading volume up 3.09% to $45.08 billion, it showed.
Quick answers to key questions
Jeremy Grantham criticizes Bitcoin as a 'useless' speculative asset lacking intrinsic value, asserting that it has failed to outperform even during strong market conditions.
Bitcoin's drop below $60,000 is attributed to hawkish inflation data from the US, fears of interest rate hikes, and significant outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Grantham states that Bitcoin is rarely used for serious transactions, like grocery purchases, and mainly facilitates illicit money transfers, reducing its perceived practical utility.
Increased trading volume can heighten Bitcoin's volatility, making it more susceptible to rapid price changes, as seen with its recent declines amid market sell-offs.
Yes, investors should be cautious as rising inflation and potential interest rate hikes may continue to negatively affect Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market.
The overall crypto market cap also touched its lowest since May, at $2.06 trillion, with trading volume of $101.38 billion, as per the data. Bitcoin maintained dominance, comprising 58.2% of the total market, down 1.59%, followed by second largest token Ethereum, which holds 9.1% of the pie, down 0.77%, and the other coins gaining 2.37% to capture 32.7% of the market.
‘No practical use…’
″[Over] years and years, decades and decades, it will dwindle away, I suspect — not with a bang, but a whimper,” Grantham said. “It’s not a stable form of value — it just halved … for no particular reason in a strong economy, so you can’t depend on it in that way.”
Grantham said Bitcoin has not only failed to prove itself as a good investment but also has little practical use. “People don’t use it to make serious trades, they don’t use it to buy their dinner and pay at the supermarket. … What it does is allows crooks to move money around,” he said.
Why is crypto market in the red?
According to an analysis by CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is underperforming a broadly weaker market, due to hawkish macro shock from hot United States inflation data for May, which reignited fears that the US Federal Reserve could hike interest rates.
Piyush Walke, Derivatives Research Analyst at Delta Exchange noted that the Fed’s preferred inflation measure has risen to its highest level since 2023. He added that significant outflow in ETF added another reason for the decline.
According to Nischal Shetty, founder, WazirX, “Over the last few days, we have seen profit booking across assets that had rallied on geopolitical uncertainty and liquidity expectations.”
Aprat from that, the surge in AI-related investments has also emerged as a key factor influencing Bitcoin's price movement.
“Capital has been flowing back into select AI and technology stocks, while ETF inflows into Bitcoin have slowed compared to earlier periods. That creates a temporary imbalance where selling pressure is not being matched by the same level of buying demand,” WazirX founder says.
About the Author
Sanchari Ghosh is an Assistant Editor at Mint with over 12 years of experience in journalism, specialising in personal finance, DLT & DeFi, geopolitics and foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on how these areas intersect. <br> She writes extensively about how money works in everyday life—helping readers navigate personal finance decisions. <br> As AI reshapes investing behaviour, capital is increasingly flowing into decentralized ecosystems, redefining how assets are managed, traded, and valued. She focuses on explaining how money flows within frameworks like Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), DeFi protocols, and crypto markets—while also exploring what the future of money could look like in a trustless, programmable financial world. <br> She also focuses on immigration-related issues, simplifying complex topics around visas, passports, overseas financial planning, and the many practical challenges Indians face while moving or living abroad. <br> Alongside personal finance, Sanchari has a strong understanding of international politics, contemporary and historical conflicts, and global state decisions. She closely tracks how geopolitical developments influence economies, markets, and individual financial choices, bringing together finance and global affairs in her reporting. <br> She began her career as a desk editor, which gave her a strong foundation in news writing. Over time, her interest naturally shifted toward personal finance. Before joining Mint in 2020, she worked DNA, The Times of India, Outlook Money, BloombergQuint, and ETMoney. At Mint, she got an opportunity to expand her coverage to include immigration and geopolitical developments while continuing to closely follow personal finance trends and market movements.As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour, and fairness. <br> She is an English Major and her work took her across cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. Living independently from an early age gave her firsthand experience in managing life and money on her own. This practical exposure sparked her strong interest in personal finance. <br> Outside the newsroom, Sanchari is a sports enthusiast who regularly plays lawn tennis and squash. In her younger years, she was also a national-level badminton player.
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