Jeremy Grantham Predicts Bitcoin's Slow Death, While a Mexican Billionaire Goes All In
Wall Street's most celebrated bubble-hunter has once again set his sights on Bitcoin — and his verdict is damning. Jeremy Grantham, co-founder of the asset management giant GMO and a legendary figure in identifying speculative manias, appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box on Friday to reiterate his long-held conviction that Bitcoin is headed nowhere good.
According to Grantham, Bitcoin will not collapse in a dramatic fashion. Instead, he envisions a slow, quiet fade into irrelevance. "Bitcoin will dwindle away — not with a bang, but a whimper," he stated, adding that he has never personally owned any BTC and fully expects its value to eventually reach zero. The investor dismissed the asset outright, calling it a "useless, speculative mechanism" that primarily serves as a vehicle for financial fraud.
Grantham specifically targeted Bitcoin's volatility as proof that it cannot function as a reliable store of value. He noted that Bitcoin lost roughly half its value "for no particular reason" even during a period of relative economic strength — a point that carries considerable weight given current market conditions. By contrast, he highlighted gold's comparatively strong performance over the same timeframe as evidence that traditional safe-haven assets retain their edge.
The numbers do lend some credibility to his skepticism. Bitcoin surged to a record high of approximately $126,000 in October 2025, but has since shed more than 50% of that value. As of late June 2026, BTC was trading around the $60,000 mark — a level that analysts widely regard as a critical support zone. A breakdown below this threshold could potentially open the door to prices in the $40,000 range.
The slide accelerated in mid-June when BTC fell toward $62,000 following hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve. Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran drove oil prices higher, reigniting inflation concerns and prompting Fed officials to walk back any discussion of rate cuts. Some even floated the possibility of rate hikes. Adding to the pressure, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded four straight days of net outflows, totaling around $113.8 million.
Technically, Bitcoin's recovery attempt was stopped cold by its 200-day moving average, which acted as firm resistance and triggered a drawdown of nearly 30% from that ceiling. Historically speaking, this ranks among the five worst pullbacks in Bitcoin's existence. That said, not everyone is running for the exits — Coinbase reported that several major institutional players viewed the dip as a buying opportunity and stepped in accordingly.
On the opposite end of the philosophical spectrum stands Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the Mexican billionaire and founder of Grupo Salinas. Far from retreating, Salinas has aggressively expanded his Bitcoin exposure, now allocating roughly 70% of his investment portfolio to BTC — a dramatic increase from just 10% back in 2020. His commitment runs so deep that he reportedly encouraged his wife to take out a mortgage on their home in order to purchase more Bitcoin.
Salinas traces his distrust of fiat currency to childhood conversations about Richard Nixon's decision to end the gold standard. He views Bitcoin as superior to both cash and gold precisely because it cannot be seized and operates without borders.
His conviction has weathered serious tests: a $150 million loan fraud incident, regulatory resistance to his ambition of making Banco Azteca Mexico's first Bitcoin-accepting bank, and multiple brutal market cycles. To illustrate his thesis, Salinas recently pointed to London real estate as a benchmark — a property that cost 4,000 BTC in 2016 now requires fewer than 30. He actively encourages retail investors to tap their home equity for Bitcoin exposure, describing it as "an asymmetrical bet to the upside."
Two billionaires. Two diametrically opposed visions of Bitcoin's future. The market, in its own volatile way, continues to deliver its verdict one trading session at a time.