Cliff Asness Slams Bitcoin Supporters Amid Chanos-MicroStrategy Clash

Legendary hedge fund manager Cliff Asness has intensified his criticism of Bitcoin, branding its most vocal advocates as “Ponzi cultists” in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter). The AQR Capital Management founder voiced strong support for short-seller Jim Chanos, whom he called “one of the GOATs,” amid Chanos’s ongoing feud with the Bitcoin community.

Chanos recently disclosed that he is shorting MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock while simultaneously buying Bitcoin directly—an unusual move given MicroStrategy is the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. Chanos’s strategy stems from his belief that MSTR trades at an unjustifiable premium as a “corporate-wrapped” proxy for Bitcoin exposure.

Doubling down on his bearish stance, Chanos has criticized MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor for promoting what he called “financial gibberish.” He anticipates the net asset value (NAV) multiplier for MSTR will eventually compress. He also highlighted insider selling activity at the company, with red dots in his chart suggesting significant sales potentially linked to Saylor.

Asness, known for his quantitative investing approach, has previously stated he is “not a fan” of Bitcoin and suggested it may be a speculative bubble, though he stopped short of calling it a scam. He once likened Bitcoin to the S&P 500 in terms of behavior—differentiated primarily by its much higher volatility.

The clash highlights growing tension between traditional finance heavyweights and Bitcoin advocates, as institutional skepticism persists despite Bitcoin’s growing adoption. Keywords such as Bitcoin, MicroStrategy, Cliff Asness, Jim Chanos, Michael Saylor, and crypto investing are at the center of this latest financial debate.