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Grantham brands Bitcoin a useless asset as stablecoins gain in illicit use

A 2026 Crypto Crime Report from Chainalysis said stablecoins made up 84.0% of illicit on-chain volume, citing criminals shifting away from Bitcoin.

Saturday, July 18, 2026 · Written up by our desk · Market Structure

Billionaire investor Jeremy Grantham, co-founder of GMO, called Bitcoin a “useless, speculative” asset on CNBC’s Squawk Box, arguing it will fade over decades despite the coin’s continued attention.

In the discussion, Grantham criticized Bitcoin for enabling fraudsters to move money around, but the article points to Chainalysis’s 2026 Crypto Crime Report, which found stablecoins accounted for 84.0% of illicit on-chain volume as criminals moved to other assets.

The piece also notes Bitcoin is 48.0% below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,080, and it frames Bitcoin’s long-term value as tied to a hard cap of 21 million BTC and periodic mining-reward halvings, rather than any expectation of price stability.

While the article says Grantham’s broader point about Bitcoin’s post-October 2025 drop after a strong stock market is true, it adds that Bitcoin ownership is not presented as a bet on short-term stability, emphasizing the role of long-term demand versus new supply.

Latest closeBitcoin $64,648.08 ▲1.2%

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