Bill Ackman says crypto is ‘here to say,’ but highlights a curious use case

Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is bullish on cryptocurrency, even after the collapse of one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.

“I was initially a crypto skeptic, but after studying some of the more interesting crypto projects, I have come to believe that crypto can enable the formation of useful businesses and technologies that heretofore could not be created,” Ackman said Sunday in a Twitter thread.

Ackman, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, said he believes crypto “has the potential to greatly benefit society, as long as the industry wipes out bad actors.

His praise for the technology comes after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection. The troubled firm was once valued at $32 billion and has sent fears of contagion through the industry.

“I think crypto is here to stay and with proper oversight and regulation, it has the potential to greatly benefit society and grow the global economy,” Ackman said. “All legitimate participants in the crypto ecosystem should therefore be highly incentivized to expose and eliminate fraudulent actors as they greatly increase the risk of regulatory intervention that will set back the positive potential impact of crypto for generations.”

Ackman highlights Helium

In his thread, Ackman pointed to Helium, a blockchain-based network, as a positive example for crypto.

«@helium created a global Wi-Fi network used by @limebike and others to track devices globally as well as for other uses which benefit by access to global Wi-Fi networks,» Ackman said in a tweet.

The billionaire erroneously said Helium counts the scooter- and bike-sharing company Lime as a client, which is something Lime disputes. Helium removed Lime’s logo from its website earlier this year.

Ackman invests in several crypto projects, venture capital funds and companies that reduce fraud in crypto, which he claims represent less than 2% of his assets.

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