Bill Miller Sold Some of His Bitcoin to Meet Margin Calls
The longtime bitcoin bull remains so, reminding that he has held the crypto through three 80% drawdowns.
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"The short answer is 'no,'" said the billionaire investor when asked if he had sold any of his bitcoin. Expanding on that answer, Miller – sporting a baseball cap with a gold bitcoin symbol throughout the interview – did allow that he unloaded some "stuff" in order to satisfy margin calls, noting that when times get tough, one wants to sell very liquid assets. Bitcoin fit the bill.
A margin call occurs when the value of an investor’s margin account falls below the broker’s required amount.
"I’ve been through at least three declines of over 80%," reminded Miller, who first purchased the crypto when it was in the $200-$300 range. "I own it as an insurance policy against financial catastrophe. ... I haven’t heard a good argument yet why anybody shouldn’t put at least 1% of their liquid net worth in bitcoin."
As for his short-term outlook on bitcoin, Miller, a former chief investment officer at Legg Mason Capital Management, said he "doesn't have a clue." While he would be "chagrined" if bitcoin's price dropped by half from here, he wouldn't be surprised.
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Stephen Alpher is CoinDesk's managing editor for Markets. He holds BTC above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.