Egyptian-American economist and businessman Mohamed A. El-Erian has revealed that he bought Bitcoin several years ago, but sold early due to “behavioral mistakes.”

El-Erian is “President of Queens’ College, Cambridge and chief economic adviser at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO where he was CEO and co-chief investment officer (2007–2014).” He was also “chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council (2012–17), and is a columnist for Bloomberg View, and a contributing editor to the Financial Times.”

El-Erian told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on November 15 that he first bought Bitcoin during the crypto winter of 2018, when the price of BTC plunged to nearly $3,000. He called the price point an attractive entry point and was “compelled” to buy into Bitcoin. 

El-Erian said, 

I felt compelled to buy it — I really did. I felt like I had framed it. I had this level, I had an entry point. 

The Allianz advisor stated he held his Bitcoin position late into 2020, when the price reached nearly $20K, but sold before it extended the bull rally to an all-time price high of $60,000.

When asked about the current valuation for Bitcoin, El-Erian claimed he was unsure of where exactly he would target BTC:

You really don’t want to ask me about valuations, because I don’t quite understand why $60,000, as opposed to $68,000, is the right level. 

El-Erian also noted that Bitcoin investors largely fall into three buckets: long-haul “fundamentalists,” professional investors looking to diversify and day-trading speculators. 

The famed economist was asked when he would feel comfortable buying back into the crypto markets after selling prematurely. El-Erian explained he would only re-enter Bitcoin once the speculators are “shaken out,” while saying fundamentalists and professional investors added a strong foundation for the market. 

El-Erian mentioned that the key to crypto was the underlying technology and the model, which he claimed would be “very influential” in the period ahead. 

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