Mark Cuban dumped most of his Bitcoin, saying it 'lost the plot.' Experts say he panic-sold at the worst possible time

“I don’t know if it’s useless, however I’d say it’s disappointing.” That’s what Mark Cuban needed to say about crypto in a current interview with Entrance Workplace Sports activities (1).

Bitcoin is a significant supply of Cuban’s disappointment. “This may get some folks upset: I believe Bitcoin has misplaced the plot,” he mentioned. The previous “Shark Tank” host says he not too long ago offered most of his Bitcoin as a result of it isn’t performing nicely as an inflation hedge, particularly now that the Iran War is causing inflation hikes.

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“I all the time thought it was a greater model of gold than gold. Effectively, gold simply blew up and went to $5,000; Bitcoin dropped,” Cuban mentioned. “Each time the greenback dropped, Bitcoin ought to have gone up.”

Some Bitcoin aficionados, corresponding to Blockstream CEO Adam Again, say Cuban hasn’t given Bitcoin a good shake (2). “I don’t know what @mcuban is making an attempt to say .. doesn’t line up with knowledge except he offered the backside,” Again mentioned on X (3) final week.

Does Bitcoin make a superb inflation hedge? Was Cuban proper to promote? Right here’s how the math breaks down.

Does bitcoin work as an inflation hedge?

An funding counts as an inflation hedge if it helps shield its investor in opposition to the ever-decreasing buying energy of cash. If it holds worth whereas cash loses its worth, then it most likely makes a superb inflation hedge. Fiat forex like the US greenback loses some quantity of worth annually as a result of the authorities can (and can) print extra of it as wanted (4). The extra {dollars} are printed, the much less every particular person greenback is value.

Tangible items with restricted reproducibility make good inflation hedges as a result of you possibly can’t simply make extra of them as wanted. Gold is a classic inflation hedge, however different tangible items like real estate also make good inflation hedges in case you’re afraid of your cash shedding its worth.

Bitcoin isn’t a tangible good the identical method gold is; you possibly can’t bodily maintain it. However the quantity of Bitcoins that may exist is capped: There can solely ever be 21 million cash (5). In concept, this makes Bitcoin a superb hedge in opposition to inflation. However how does it work in observe?

That reply is rather less clear. One 2021 research discovered Bitcoin was a superb hedge in opposition to inflation; nonetheless, in addition they discovered it was not a secure haven in opposition to monetary uncertainty like that attributable to the Iran Warfare (6).

A more moderen 2025 research discovered its use as an inflation hedge is extra context-specific, working for one inflation measure (CPI) however not one other (Core PCE (7)). It additionally discovered bitcoin’s hedging properties have been disappearing since the COVID-19 outbreak.

In case you’re solely enthusiastic about discovering a superb inflation hedge, there’s a superb likelihood you are able to do higher than Bitcoin.

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What to be taught from Mark Cuban’s panic promote

Cuban might be proper to be upset in Bitcoin’s inflation hedge capabilities. However ought to he have offered when he did?

Cuban doesn’t disclose precisely when he offered his Bitcoin reserves. However it’s typically not an excellent plan to sell whenever you see a dip in the market. Bitcoin has gone up by 25% since the Iran Warfare began in February; if Cuban had waited, he might have seen a greater return on his funds (8).

Cuban, who Bloomberg estimates has a internet value (9) of over $10 billion, can afford to take successful when an funding doesn’t end up the method he needed. He may also afford to put money into a famously unstable cryptocurrency, which a 2021 research discovered to be virtually 10 occasions extra unstable than the change charges between main currencies (10).

In case you’re focusing on building wealth, you may be higher served placing your money in much less unstable — however nonetheless worthwhile — investments like mutual funds and ETFs, skipping crypto altogether. Doing so gained’t get you wealthy fast, however it will allow you to construct up wealth persistently over time.

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