Famed economist Mohamed El-Erian says he bought some bitcoin a few years ago — but misjudged when to sell due to “behavioral mistakes.”
The Allianz chief economic advisor revealed he purchased an unspecified amount of bitcoin in the “crypto winter” of 2018, when the world’s largest digital coin plunged close to $3,000 after a monster rally that took it above $19,000 a year earlier.
“I felt compelled to buy it — I really did,” El-Erian said in an interview with CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Monday. “I felt like I had framed it. I had this level, I had an entry point.”
He subsequently held on to his position until late 2020, when bitcoin regained the $19,000 level. A few months later, bitcoin extended its wild run, hitting a record high above $60,000.
Bitcoin is now trading well above the $60,000 mark, hitting a new all-time high of more than $68,000 last week. It was last trading at about $65,810, up nearly 3% in the last 24 hours, according to Coin Metrics data.
Analysts have pointed to inflation fears and the launch of the first U.S. bitcoin-related exchange-traded fund as key factors driving the rally. Meanwhile, bitcoin’s underlying blockchain underwent a major upgrade over the weekend.
