Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio called on investors to put money into gold and "a bit of Bitcoin" in response to a looming US debt crisis, in a Friday LinkedIn post that landed as the national debt crossed the $40 trillion mark.
The billionaire hedge fund manager, whose net worth is estimated above $15 billion, recommended holding between 10% and 15% of a portfolio in gold to reduce risk, and advocated overweighting gold and Bitcoin relative to debt assets like bonds, citing risks from "internal political and external geopolitical conflicts."
A Three-Year Warning
"My guess, which I suppose will be a bad one, is that [a US debt crisis] will come in three years, give or take two, if the course we're on is not changed," Dalio wrote.
His comments come as the US debt figure — now above $40 trillion — stokes debate over fiscal sustainability, currency debasement, and what a prolonged deterioration in Treasury market functioning would mean for alternative stores of value.
An Evolving Position on Bitcoin
Dalio's stance on Bitcoin has shifted materially over the years. In 2022, months before a significant crypto market downturn, he said holding 1% to 2% of a portfolio in BTC was "reasonable." By July 2025, he acknowledged holding some, "but not much," and suggested allocations of up to 15% across Bitcoin and gold combined.
He has previously argued that Bitcoin could not replace gold as a store of value and has warned about privacy concerns and threats from quantum computing — caveats he has not retracted even as his allocation guidance has grown more constructive.
Macro Backdrop Fuels the Trade
The macro environment is amplifying the debate. The US Treasury said this month it would at least double the maximum size of its long-term bond buybacks to $4 billion per operation, a liquidity move analysts have branded a "Not-QE" playbook that initially pushed yields lower and boosted risk appetite.
Bitcoin responded in kind: up more than 13% on the week, back above $72,000 at its peak, and breaking above its 200-day moving average for the first time since November. Gold is trading near 100-day highs alongside it, with both assets drawing bid in tandem — a pattern consistent with the debasement hedge thesis Dalio has promoted.
Standard Chartered, which had previously forecast $100,000 Bitcoin by year-end, said this week that its target may now be "too low" given the strength of the rally.
For a magazine built on verified trust data, the throughline is worth stating plainly: the loudest bull case for Bitcoin this month is not coming from crypto native voices, but from one of the most established names in traditional macro finance.