Kingdom Holding, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment company, will not invest in cryptocurrencies in the near future as they are not being adopted as a payment method for goods and services, CEO Talal Ibrahim Almayman said. (CEO) reported by Reuters.
The prince, a senior member of the Saudi royal family, is known for his Warren Buffett-style value investing approach and, like him, has consistently avoided cryptocurrencies. The company has an estimated $13.6 billion in assets held in a diversified portfolio that includes holdings in financial, hospitality, healthcare, media, technology, and real estate companies.
Mr. Almayman said in the audience, “We support Mr. Buffett’s theory that you should not buy things or invest in virtual currency. Therefore, since you cannot buy goods with virtual currency, we are not interested in virtual currency at this time. We are not considering investment.” According to Reuters, at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Rumors on social media have long suggested that the Saudi royal family might invest in cryptocurrencies, and the recently improved regulatory outlook in the United States could make that investment more difficult given President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance. It was considered a facilitator.
Alwaleed’s public comments about Bitcoin reflect the company’s concerns about cryptocurrencies. In 2017, Saudi Arabia’s prince said he believed cryptocurrencies “will collapse one day.”