In just a year, CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer went from trashing Bitcoin (BTC) to praising it. Recently, he reaffirmed his bullish stance on the world’s premier cryptocurrency by market cap.
Jim Cramer Bashing Bitcoin
Exactly a year ago, Jim Cramer blasted Bitcoin as it was seemingly gearing up to retake the $20,000 mark. The Mad Money host said he and others are not buying into the bullish reversal of BTC and recommended viewers to bet on gold instead.
Cramer advised people to “ignore crypto cheerleaders” and place their money on gold as it’s a “real hedge.” He also claimed that Bitcoin is neither an accepted currency nor a reliable financial instrument for store of value.
Before that, he reportedly sold his Bitcoin holdings in 2021 when prices started going downhill amid China’s crackdown on crypto. Then he reiterated his contrarian position in the onset of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial when he commented, “Mr. Bitcoin is about to go down big.”
Embracing Bitcoin
In November though, the former hedge fund manager went through a redemption arc in the crypto community. During that period, he shifted his allegiances by telling people that he was wrong about selling Bitcoin.
“Look, if you like Bitcoin, buy Bitcoin,” Cramer stated in the November 22 episode of Mad Money. “That has always been my view.”
“And for a while, I liked it, and I decided that money had been made, but I was premature,” Cramer admitted. The media personality mentioned he “made a lot of money” from his BTC investment, too.
Fast-forward to the arrival of 2024, Cramer is now bullish on the prospects of Bitcoin as it recaptured the $45,000 range for the first time since April 2022. His optimism on the digital asset comes ahead of the expected mass approval of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of all pending spot Bitcoin ETF.
“This thing, you can’t kill it,” Cramer told his CNBC co-host David Faber. “Bitcoin is a technological marvel and I think people need to start recognizing it’s here to stay.”
Cramer even went on to name-drop the late Charlie Munger who famously referred to Bitcoin as “rat poison.” The host remarked that the associate of Warren Buffet “was blind to this.”
Despite his bullish forecast on Bitcoin, Cramer held back a bit as he cautioned viewers that not everyone who is going long on the cryptocurrency may keep their position longer. He warned of a potential “sell the news” event following the flurry of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals.