Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has erased over half of its value, leading to increasing criticism for digital currencies, including from billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Speaking at a TechCrunch talk on Tuesday, Gates described crypto and NFTs as “100% based on greater tool theory”, referring to the concept that overvalued assets will go up in price when there are enough willing investors. Gates joked that “expensive digital images of monkeys” would “improve the world immensely.”

NFTs are cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes that set them apart from one another. Unlike crypto, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency. NFTs are often touted as a means of proving ownership of digital assets, such as art. However, critics such as Gates view NFTs as overhyped and potentially damaging.

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