Jeffrey Gundlach, the CEO of DoubleLine, openly criticized Bitcoin during a CNBC interview following the Federal Reserve’s January 2026 press briefing.
The prominent investor highlighted that over the past year, gold has surged by 90%, whereas Bitcoin has experienced a decline. He described this trend as a shift away from speculative “hype” toward more concrete and reliable assets.
Gundlach referenced Jim Grant’s observation: “The price of gold inversely reflects investors’ trust in central banking.”
Powell Maintains Interest Rates Without Offering Future Direction
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell decided to keep interest rates steady between 3.5% and 3.75%, but refrained from providing any forward guidance. Gundlach summarized Powell’s remarks with his memorable quote from the event: “I got nothing for you on that.”
The investor anticipates no further rate reductions in Powell’s remaining two meetings this year.
The U.S. Dollar Loses Its Traditional Safe-Haven Role
Gundlach made a striking statement regarding the U.S. dollar’s status as a safe haven currency.
He pointed out that historically, during all twelve S&P 500 market corrections since 2000, the dollar typically appreciated by about 8% to 10%. However, during the March-April correction in 2025, it depreciated by roughly the same margin instead—a phenomenon he attributes to escalating debt worries and long-term fiscal challenges facing America.
This bearish outlook on the dollar is not new for Gundlach; he has maintained this perspective for nearly two years and expects it to remain “secularly weak” even if economic growth slows down.
Persistent Inflation Challenges Remain
The inflation rate continues to run well above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. According to Gundlach, five-year average inflation stands at approximately 3.9%, while GDP deflator readings exceed 3%.
To put it simply: sustaining an inflation rate of around three percent over fifteen years results in prices increasing by about fifty-six percent compared to just thirty-five percent at two percent inflation.
This insight holds particular significance for cryptocurrency investors monitoring macroeconomic trends—if capital increasingly flows into traditional stores of value like gold rather than riskier assets such as Bitcoin, then next year could prove challenging for those betting on digital currencies’ narrative as “digital gold.”