Jim Cramer, the host of CNBCβs Mad Money show, has warned of a bitcoin selloff. While cautioning investors about investing in bitcoin and the newly launched spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), he said: βIβm not as stridently against these new investment vehicles as Gary Gensler is β¦ At this point, Bitcoinβs been around for 15 years, itβs fairly well-established, and I donβt want to try to stop anyone from speculating in this stuff, as long as they do their research.β
Jim Cramerβs Bitcoin Prediction
Mad Money host Jim Cramer weighed in on the bitcoin price outlook several times this week, particularly focusing on how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionβs approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could affect its trajectory. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website.
The price of bitcoin pushed above $47K in anticipation of the SEC approving spot bitcoin ETFs. However, after the approval, it plunged to a low of nearly $40K on Friday. At the time of writing, BTC has slightly recovered and is trading at $41,589. Commenting on the BTC price decline, Cramer wrote on social media platform X Thursday:
Nasty beginning to the bitcoin selloff.
βSomeoneβs probably going to try to make a stand here but as we said last night you canβt have an asset double in value by hundreds of billions of dollars in anticipation of an ETF and then almost no one shows up,β the Mad Money host added. In a follow-up post on Friday, he opined: βYou knew they would make a stand on bitcoin here. Let em try to hold it up for a couple of days.β
Many people challenged Cramerβs statement, arguing that the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs was far from a flop. βIt was the biggest ETF launch of all times,β one wrote. Others noted that bitcoin ETFs had already surpassed silver as the second-largest commodity ETF and witnessed massive inflows in just a few days.
Many X users view Cramerβs bearish statements about bitcoinβs price as a bullish sign. The βCramer effectβ has become a popular meme in the crypto world, with many observing that BTC often does the opposite of what Cramer predicts. If heβs bullish, expect a bearish swing, and vice versa.
While maintaining his skepticism, Cramer stated on Wednesday that heβs not necessarily against investing in bitcoin. The Mad Money host proceeded to reference JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon who said this week that he wonβt tell people what to invest in but his personal advice is to stay away from bitcoin.
βIβm taking a page from Jamie Dimon here β this is a caveat emptor situation. You can make up your own mind about what to do with these spot bitcoin ETPs [exchange-traded products], I just want to make sure you know what, exactly, you might be putting your money in and how little went into these funds versus how much bitcoin went up,β Cramer described.
Referencing SEC Chair Gary Gensler stating that the regulatorβs approval of spot bitcoin ETFs doesnβt mean an endorsement of bitcoin, Cramer stressed:
Iβm not as stridently against these new investment vehicles as Gary Gensler is β¦ At this point, Bitcoinβs been around for 15 years, itβs fairly well-established, and I donβt want to try to stop anyone from speculating in this stuff, as long as they do their research. Of course, Iβm not totally sure what your research would be, but thatβs not my problem.
Last week, Cramer said BTC is topping out. The prior week, he said bitcoin cannot be killed and itβs a β technological marvelβ that is βhere to stay.β
What do you think about Jim Cramerβs advice and warnings about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.
