Paulson says cryptocurrencies will eventually be ‘worthless’

Paulson says he would not recommend investing in the cryptocurrencies

John Paulson, the hedge fund billionaire who made a fortune in 2008 when he shorted the housing bubble, said in an interview published Sunday that he believes cryptocurrencies will eventually go bust. 

The 65-year-old told "Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein" that he wouldn't recommend the investment to anyone. He said there is a cryptocurrency bubble that will "eventually prove to be worthless."

"I would describe them as a limited supply of nothing," he said. "So to the extent there’s more demand than the limited supply, the price would go up. But to the extent the demand falls, then the price would go down. There’s no intrinsic value to any of the cryptocurrencies except that there’s a limited amount."

The Bloomberg report pointed out that Paulson is a big believer—and buyer-- of gold despite digital assets outperforming the metal. 

Digital currencies, like Bitcoin, have been left largely unregulated by major governments up to this point.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Paulson announced that he will convert his hedge fund into a private investment firm after experiencing some declines. The Bloomberg report called his results after the famous short "mixed."

The Associated Press contributed to this report