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Microsoft’s Bill Gates on Big Tech Antitrust Hearing – Government Scrunity Inevitable with Tech Success

Bill Gates discussed the regulatory policies that were brought up in the antitrust hearing opposing US Congress and Big Tech – Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google (Alphabet).

Bill Gates on antitrust Big Tech hearing

In an interview with CNBC, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates stated that during his leadership at the tech giant, he had been naïve in thinking that the company would not be scrutinized by the US government. He then disclosed that the chances of the outcome of the Big Tech antitrust hearing resulting in established regulations inhibiting Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google’s movements were “pretty high.” The multibillionaire said:

“Whenever you get to be a super-valuable company, affecting the way people communicate and even political discourse being mediated through your system and higher percentage of commerce — through your system — you’re going to expect a lot of government attention.”

Referencing the antitrust challenges that Microsoft experienced twenty years ago, Gates added:

“I was naive at Microsoft and didn’t realize that our success would lead to government attention.”

The Microsoft founder stated that currently, it appears as though “we’re in uncharted territory here,” as rules regarding Big Tech and emerging technology giants seem to be changing. Future regulation appears to be looming close and seems to be an inevitability, according to Gates.

Whether or not regulation would drive down technological innovation was also addressed by Gates. Many tech moguls have considered that as a concern, as anti-competitive killer acquisition clauses are currently being assessed by the House subcommittee.

How blockchain can benefit from the antitrust hearing

Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google have been facing heat by the US Congress in ongoing antitrust talks, as the US Judiciary Committee would like to see regulatory policies established for the Big Tech.

Topics that were discussed ranged from data privacy breaches to investigations pertaining to the companies’ treatment of their competitors. The Big Tech have been accused of strong-arming tech rival companies and driving down competition by leveraging their dominance in the sector.

With the US Judiciary Committee actively working on imposing rules for Big Tech, the blockchain sector may stand to benefit. The concentration of power on distributed ledger technology is technologically impossible, as all transactions are recorded on the block and can be accessed by at any time, removing the need for a third-party entity.

Mike Novogratz Believes Bitcoin Will Solidify Bill Gates' GOAT Status

Galaxy Digital founder and CEO Mike Novogratz has praised Bill Gates for being a GOAT (greatest of all time). Nevertheless, he noted that this status could be solidified if the multi-billionaire owned Bitcoin (BTC).

Bitcoin is the missing piece

The renowned hedge fund manager wondered whether Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, owned BTC because this could consolidate the latter’s life achievements of being an outstanding philanthropist and investor. Novogratz said through a tweet:

“Bill Gates is the GOAT. Built an amazing company, Is an amazing investor, and the worlds (sic) largest philanthropist. Never seen him rattled. He reads more in a month than most of us do in two years. I wonder if he owns BTC. That would solidify it.”

Mike Novogratz continues to show his enthusiasm for BTC. He recently revealed that he won half a Bitcoin in an election bet he placed on Joe Biden winning the US 2020 presidential elections. The billionaire investor held an impromptu Twitter lottery to give out 0.5 BTC to a young bitcoiner.

Bill Gates has mixed reactions to Bitcoin

Bill Gates has shown mixed reactions when it comes to Bitcoin. For instance, in 2014, when the BTC price was about $800, he acknowledged that this low price thrilled him. Furthermore, he felt excited because Bitcoin facilitated large transactions without being physically present.

Nevertheless, during a Reddit AMA forum, he stated that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were used to facilitate drug trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion. The announcement therefore shows that his firm’s stance on the “digital gold” asset remains unknown.

In July, Bill Gates and other high-profile figures like Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, and Elon Musk found themselves on the receiving end of a Bitcoin scam hack. Reportedly, the crypto scammers made away with $100,000 in crypto funds.

Bill Gates Will Not Be Joining The Bitcoin Bandwagon Anytime Soon and Neither Will Microsoft

In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bill Gates was probed about his views on Bitcoin.

The Microsoft co-founder kept his stance neutral, expressing that unlike his counterparts, he was not convinced of Bitcoin as an investment asset and may not be joining the Bitcoin bandwagon just yet. Gates said:

“I don’t own Bitcoin, I’m not short Bitcoin, so I’ve taken a neutral view. Bitcoin can go up and down just based on the mania or whatever the views are. I don’t have a way of predicting how that will progress.”

Gates’ comment about “Bitcoin going up and down based on mania” may not be entirely false, as evidenced by Dogecoin’s sudden surge in price due to Elon Musk’s touting the coin on social media. While Gates was unwilling to delve deeper into the subject of Bitcoin, he did add, “I do think moving money into a more digital form and getting transaction costs down, that’s something the Gates Foundation does in developing countries.”

Gates’ views on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies seem to remain unchanged over the years, as he previously addressed how cybercrime was interlinked with cryptocurrency on a 2018 Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA). Gates had criticized the anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions as a gateway to facilitate drug trades.

Microsoft, the tech corporation founded by Gates, also seems to share the billionaire philanthropist’s views. Recently, its President Brad Smith disclosed in an interview with CNN’s Julia Chatterley that Microsoft had no immediate plans to invest in Bitcoin. He said that “he had not heard any new conversation about Bitcoin” when probed about whether Microsoft intends to follow Tesla’s move and add Bitcoin to its balance sheet.

Will corporations mirror Tesla’s Bitcoin purchase?

While many have viewed Tesla’s $1.5 billion endorsement of Bitcoin as the catalyst for other institutional investors to follow suit and enter the crypto market, JPMorgan strategists have said that Bitcoin purchases by institutions are not to be expected anytime soon. The team led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou cited Bitcoin’s volatility as a main challenge that public companies may not be willing to undertake at the time being.

Strategists explained that typically, corporate treasury portfolios, which were usually made up of diversified assets such as money market funds and short-dated bonds, were compiled in a way where the accepted annualized volatility fluctuated around 1% of the total balance sheet. However, an addition of Bitcoin will send the 1% volatility to as much as 8%, something that companies may not be willing to accept just yet.

Bitcoin Is Good for Elon Musk but It May Not be for All Investors, Says Bill Gates

Bill Gates has been probed about Bitcoin and his views regarding the digital asset since a heavy institutional wave led by Tesla triggered renewed interest in the crypto scene.

Gates’ approach to Bitcoin may seem conservative to many, but the Microsoft founder explained that not every investor was equipped to handle Bitcoin’s volatility. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk certainly can, asserted Gates in an interview with Bloomberg. He explained:

“Elon has tons of money, and he’s very sophisticated. I don’t worry that his Bitcoin will sort of randomly go up and down. My general thought would be…if you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out.”

Gates’ explanation is a warning that Bitcoin’s recent surge to new heights triggered by Tesla’s $1.5 billion BTC purchase may lead retail investors to experience the fear of missing out (fomo) and get swept up into “BTC mania”. However, he advises against this, having previously explained that he had a “neutral view” regarding Bitcoin.

Tesla’s $1.5 billion purchase has served to excite many in the industry and push Bitcoin to a new high of over $58,000. Tesla has already reported a $1 billion gain from its Bitcoin investment, and a recent analysis from Wedbush Securities indicated that the electric car making giant was on track to make more profit from its Bitcoin investment than from selling electric cars in all of 2020.

Musk thinks BTC price too high, BTC corrects

Although both Bitcoin and Ethereum reached new record-highs over the weekend, both cryptocurrencies are currently undergoing a price correction. Right before this happened, Elon Musk had remarked offhandedly via his social media platform that he thought Bitcoin and Ethereum prices were a bit too high.

Although having publicly announced his investment in the cryptocurrency and even sent Dogecoin to the moon just by tweeting about it, Musk, unlike other investors, does not seem to be overtaken by Bitcoin fever. Rather, he explained that a Bitcoin was a better investment than cash, and simply a “less dumb form of it” in his opinion.

After hitting highs of nearly $60,000.00, Bitcoin on its end has fallen from below the $50K threshold to trade around $49,954.00 at the time of writing. In just 24 hours, it has fallen by 11%. According to an analysis by Blockchain.news, if Bitcoin falls below the support level of $47,000K, it may correct to levels as low as $41,036 in the upcoming days.