Jeremy Grantham, the co-founder and chief investment strategist of GMO LLC, has predicted that Bitcoin will eventually “dwindle away with a whimper.” Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, the veteran British investor, born on October 6, 1938, characterized the digital asset as a “useless, speculative mechanism” that lacks any intrinsic value.
His forecast describes a gradual erosion of interest over several decades rather than a sudden market crash.
Jeremy Grantham questions intrinsic value of digital assets
The strategist, who correctly identified the Japanese asset bubble of the 1980s and the 2000 dot-com implosion, argues that Bitcoin fails as either a store of value or a medium of exchange. Jeremy Grantham noted that the cryptocurrency “halved for no particular reason” recently, even as the broader economy remained strong.
He emphasized that the asset’s primarily utility remains facilitating illicit activity, stating, “All Bitcoin does is allow fraudsters to move money around.”
At the center of Jeremy Grantham’s thesis is the belief that Bitcoin lacks the fundamental characteristics of a currency. He noted that people do not use the asset for serious daily transactions, such as buying groceries or paying at a restaurant. This lack of utility, combined with extreme volatility, suggests a long-term decline to zero as speculative enthusiasm eventually fades away.
Key details
The market data from June 26, 2026, reflects some of the volatility Jeremy Grantham referenced. Bitcoin was trading at approximately $60,000, representing a decline of more than 50% from its all-time high of nearly $126,000 recorded in October 2025.
During the same period that Bitcoin struggled, Grantham pointed out that gold posted solid gains, highlighting a divergence from the “digital gold” narrative often used by proponents. Recent rejections at key resistance levels have further fueled discussions regarding the asset’s near-term strength.
Jeremy Grantham’s firm, GMO LLC, which was founded in 1977, has a long history of favoring mean reversion strategies. While the firm managed over $118 billion in 2015, Grantham personally has never owned the cryptocurrency. He views the asset’s 52-week high of $126,198.07 as the peak of a speculative bubble that lacks the physical backing or revenue generation necessary to establish a price floor.
Bitcoin timeframe problem and institutional sentiment shifts
Despite the certainty of his outlook, critics have identified what Forbes describes as “one big problem” with the forecast: the lack of a specific timeframe. A prediction that an asset will disappear over “decades” is difficult for active investors to utilize in their current portfolios.
This ambiguity comes as macro warning signs emerge across the broader financial sector, with rising U.S. Treasury yields impacting risk assets.
Recent flow data indicates a cooling of institutional interest. In mid-June 2026, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded four consecutive days of net outflows, totaling approximately $113.8 million. These shifts occurred as the Federal Reserve maintained a hawkish stance and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East reignited inflation fears, pushing the price toward the $62,000 level last week.
The difficulty in valuing the asset is also reflected in quantitative metrics. The GF Score™ for Bitcoin currently stands at 0/100, according to GuruFocus, reflecting a lack of favorable conditions for traditional long-term value investing. Because Bitcoin does not produce earnings per share or revenue, traditional valuation models like the GF Value™ simply cannot be applied, leaving the price tethered primarily to market sentiment.
Key details
Jeremy Grantham remains steadfast in his assessment that Bitcoin’s purpose is to “enable criminals to move money.” He argues that this association with illicit finance makes it an unattractive prospect for serious, long-term investors. He contrasts the asset’s volatility with the relative stability of productive investments, noting that Bitcoin has a history of drawdowns reaching at least 70% from its previous peaks.
While the digital asset has recovered from past bear markets, Grantham believes the current 44.24% year-over-year decline is different. He suggests the “whimper” will be a quiet disappearance rather than a dramatic explosion.
As he approaches his 88th birthday later this year, the investor continues to warn that the speculative mania surrounding crypto is a “useless speculation” that won’t survive the transition to a more sober economic environment.
The tension between traditional finance strategists and the crypto market remains high. While Jeremy Grantham sees a slow path to zero, the current price of $60,000 shows that many participants still view the asset as a viable, albeit volatile, investment.
Whether the whimper he predicts will manifest or the asset will find a new support level remains a primary point of contention for global markets moving through the second half of 2026.