• Ricardo Salinas Pliego gave an interview to the press.
• He talked about why bitcoin is better than fiat.
• The billionaire is convinced that it is a more advanced version of money.
• The asset's share in his liquid portfolio reaches 70%-80%.

The Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, is a bitcoin maximalist; the asset's share in his portfolio is about 80%. He stated this in an interview with CoinDesk.

As the outlet noted, Pliego's fortune is estimated at $5 billion. He is among the ten richest people in Mexico. Besides liquid assets, the businessman also owns many real estate properties and other valuables, including luxury cars and yachts.

The central idea of his interview is the following:

"For most people the logic should be this: as soon as you get some fiat money and want to get rid of it — instead of just spending it, buy bitcoin and hide it. And do not look at it. It is like when you buy a house — do you check its market price every day? No, of course not."

Bitcoin is the best money

According to Pliego, he first learned about bitcoin in 2013. At that time its rate fluctuated around $200-$400. At first the billionaire thought it was just another speculative asset, but then his opinion changed.

"After some time and after in-depth study I came to the conclusion that this is not just another security to hold and then resell. It was something else — a new and much better form of money. I concluded that it is actually better money than gold or silver," he noted.

In the entrepreneur's opinion, money is simply the most convenient form of commodity. It is easily exchanged for other products, and therefore is accepted by all market participants.

At the same time, Pliego is against fiat. According to the billionaire, it is "pieces of paper backed by nothing." As an example, he cites the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, when the dollar, and then other national currencies, lost their peg to gold.

At the same time, the entrepreneur also criticized stablecoins. He considers them simply an electronic version of the dollar, more convenient and efficient, but incomparably worse compared with gold and bitcoin.

The billionaire also criticized crypto skeptic Peter Schiff. According to him, he is acting unwisely if he keeps some amount in fiat in his account, preferring dollars to bitcoin.

Pliego does not contrast the first cryptocurrency with gold. According to him, both of these assets are good in their own way, and they are certainly both better than fiat.

The billionaire keeps most of his investment portfolio in bitcoins

"In my liquid portfolio I have neither stocks nor bonds. There are bitcoins, a few miners, and gold and silver mining companies. 70% of this portfolio is tied to bitcoin. And right now, in this downturn, the share of the first cryptocurrency is about 80%, with another 20% being precious metal mining companies," Pliego noted.

Answering a question about other promising areas, the entrepreneur rejected the idea of investing in the AI sector. According to him, he adheres to an extremely conservative approach in the style of Warren Buffett, and signs of a bubble can be traced on this market.

He also rejected the idea of investing funds directly in crypto businesses. According to him, if a project is connected with the bitcoin ecosystem, that does not automatically make it promising.

At the same time, Pliego highly praised Strategy and the company's preferred shares STRC:

"I like the strategy of Michael Saylor and Strategy. He is generously vilified for an alleged 'Ponzi scheme' — which, of course, demonstrates a deep misunderstanding of what is happening. But for most people living in the fiat world and earning 4%-5% per annum on their money, it is an obvious step — to move into the instrument that Michael devised, STRC."

Regulatory problems

According to the billionaire, the Mexican authorities have taken an openly negative stance toward the crypto sphere.

"We have standing orders from the Bank of Mexico — not to touch anything related to crypto assets within 'cannon-shot range,' otherwise we will get an 'electric shock.' We cannot integrate this into our bank, period, end of story," he emphasized.

At the same time, according to him, Mexico's "shadow" economy is huge. It is built on cash, but now the natural step for it will be a transition to cryptocurrency. That is exactly why adoption of the industry is growing in the country, Pliego believes.

"We would first need to get rid of the government, because they are not going to admit that crypto assets are the way out. Fiat is a fraud in Mexico, in the U.S., in Canada, in Colombia, in the Congo, and everywhere — because it is the same everywhere. The central bank creates money. And how does it happen that we, you and I, have to 'toil' to earn money, while the central bank simply presses a button and prints it? It is absurd. How do people put up with it? And this is not only a U.S. problem — it is a global problem," he believes.

In this regard the billionaire does not deny the possibility that he will run for president in 2030. According to him, he would like to hand his grandchildren a better country.

An opinion on the market and a forecast

"Most people are not financial investors and should not be. But because of the 'fiat fraud' and inflation they are forced to choose stocks — that is a bad idea. Instead of buying a house and sitting on it for 10 years — rent a house, and invest the capital in bitcoin for 10 years. It will definitely be the better investment. I do not care how much it will cost — $1 million, $300,000, it does not matter," the entrepreneur noted.

According to him, the asset's further growth depends solely on demand, on the adoption of the first cryptocurrency on a global scale. He even advised his wife to mortgage the house, take out a loan, and invest all the assets in bitcoin.

Source: Incrypted