16 min ago2 min readSummaryRay Dalio recommends holding some bitcoin and allocating about 10% to 15% of a portfolio to gold as protection against mounting government debt and currency devaluation.Dalio said weakening demand for U.S. debt could force interest rates higher or prompt the Federal Reserve to create money and buy bonds, potentially fueling inflation and weakening the dollar.The Bridgewater Associates founder estimates that a U.S. debt crisis could emerge in about three years, though he acknowledged that his previous warnings appeared premature.Prominent fund manager Ray Dalio says investors should hold "a bit of Bitcoin" as the U.S. government heads deeper into a debt problem that could eventually weaken the dollar and make bonds less attractive.The Bridgewater Associates founder said Friday that several recent moves in government bond markets fit the pattern he described in his book How Countries Go Broke. Those include Japan selling some of its U.S. Treasury holdings, long-term U.S. bond yields rising alongside a weaker dollar, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing that the government would increase buybacks of own bonds.Crypto investors widely attributed last week's rally to the buyback tweaks, with bitcoin climbing from about $63,500 on Wednesday to above $78,000 by Saturday and roughly $4 billion of bearish positions force-closed along the way. Dalio says governments buy back their own debt when demand for it is thinning, and that Bessent has only limited capacity to keep doing it.The U.S. government expects to collect about $5.5 trillion in revenue this year while spending roughly $7.5 trillion, he wrote. leaving a deficit of around $2 trillion. Federal debt excluding money the government owes itself stands near $32 trillion, while interest costs alone are expected to reach about $1 trillion.If investors turn less willing to buy government bonds, the weak demand pushes yields higher as the government offers better returns to attract buyers. Higher rates make borrowing more expensive and can weigh on markets and the economy. The alternative, in Dalio's view, is for the central bank to create money and buy more debt, which can weaken the currency and raise inflation. He describes neither as good.Dalio expects similar pressures in the U.K., European Union, China and Japan, which is why he expects assets that are not issued by governments, specifically gold and bitcoin, to perform relatively well if currencies are devalued.He recommends underweighting bonds, holding roughly 10% to 15% of a portfolio in gold and owning "a bit of Bitcoin." He did not give a target allocation for BTC, though he told investors in 2025 to allocate 15% of their portfolios to “gold or Bitcoin,” up from a 2022 recommendation of just 1–2% in bitcoinAs such, he added making versions of this warning for years and acknowledged that earlier calls have appeared premature, comparing the situation to a doctor whose warnings about diet go unheeded until the heart attack arrives. His current estimate is that a U.S. debt crisis comes in about three years.12345678910Anvil: The Missing Collateral LayerAnvil: The Missing Collateral LayerAnvil is a shared on-chain collateral layer built on a programmable letter of credit: reserve assets as a guarantee -no loan, no interest, keep custody & yield.Jul 29, 2026Anvil is a shared on-chain collateral layer built on a programmable letter of credit: reserve assets as a guarantee -no loan, no interest, keep custody & yield.Why it matters:Anvil is a shared on-chain collateral layer built on a programmable letter of credit: reserve assets as a guarantee -no loan, no interest, keep custody & yield.View Full Report
Ray Dalio says investors should own ‘a bit of Bitcoin’ as U.S. debt risks rise
The Bridgewater founder says recent Treasury-market stress fits his long-running debt-crisis framework, though he still prefers gold as the bigger hedge.










