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.

May 12, 2022 at 7:24 p.m. UTC

Updated May 12, 2022 at 7:41 p.m. UTC

Morningstar Investment Conference — Bill Miller (Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Stephen Alpher is CoinDesk's co-regional news chief, Americas. He holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.

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Miller Value Partners Chairman Bill Miller told CNBC he sold some of his bitcoin (BTC) holdings to raise cash to meet margin calls.

"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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