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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Ray Kurzweil said in 2017 that he would not put his money into Bitcoin, citing doubts about whether it had earned the stability and public confidence people expect from a currency. His criticism was about Bitcoin’s role as money—not a rejection of blockchain, which he said could help make national currencies more transparent.
What did Ray Kurzweil say about buying Bitcoin?
During audience questions at the 2017 Exponential Finance conference, futurist Ray Kurzweil was asked about Bitcoin and blockchain. CoinDesk’s Michael del Castillo reported that Kurzweil answered: “I wouldn’t put my money into it,” referring to Bitcoin. The report was published June 9, 2017, and updated September 11, 2021. The quotation is attributed to Kurzweil by CoinDesk; no conference recording or transcript is cited in the report.
Kurzweil’s answer was not a current investment recommendation. It records his view at that 2017 event and does not establish what he thinks about Bitcoin today.
Why was he skeptical of Bitcoin as a currency?
Kurzweil’s stated concern was confidence. He argued that people need to trust a currency and that Bitcoin had not yet shown the kind of historic stability that could support that trust. CoinDesk quoted him saying: “Ultimately, people need to have confidence in their currency and bitcoin in particular has not really demonstrated that. It’s had a good year, but a very rocky life before that.”
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He was discussing Bitcoin’s suitability as a currency and a possible alternative to national currencies—not offering a detailed analysis of its investment merits. The distinction matters: skepticism about a currency’s stability is not, by itself, a forecast of its future price.
What market conditions did the 2017 report describe?
CoinDesk’s account placed Kurzweil’s remarks against Bitcoin’s price swings at the time. It said the price had risen from about $580 to almost $3,000 over the preceding year. The article also reported that Bitcoin exceeded its previous three-year record of $1,165 in February 2017, after which drops sometimes topped $100 in an hour and hundreds of dollars in a day. These are figures reported in the 2017 story, not current prices or independently verified market data.
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The report described an audience of 700 senior executives, technologists, and others at Exponential Finance, hosted by Singularity University. Its first three questions to Kurzweil concerned blockchain.
Did Kurzweil reject blockchain?
No. The account distinguishes his concern about Bitcoin from his view of blockchain technology. Kurzweil called the theory behind blockchain sound, while saying people did not yet have confidence in it. He also saw potential for governments to use blockchain to increase transparency and manage how national currencies are created.
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As CoinDesk quoted him: “Providing greater transparency, and blockchain does provide that, could be something adopted by leading currencies like the existing national currencies.” This was a possibility he described, not a claim that governments had adopted blockchain for that purpose.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the remark tell investors?
It tells readers why Kurzweil said he would not invest in Bitcoin in 2017: he was unconvinced that it had demonstrated the stability and trust he associated with currency. It does not establish his present position, settle whether Bitcoin is suitable for an individual investor, or predict how its price will perform. The story is best read as a historical account of his distinction between Bitcoin as money and blockchain as a technology with possible applications in national currency systems.
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Source: CoinDesk, Michael del Castillo, June 9, 2017; updated September 11, 2021.
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