Dalio urges gold, Bitcoin investment as U.S. debt tops $40 trillion

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio warned that the United States has reached a critical inflection point in its debt trajectory, urging investors to reduce holdings in traditional bonds and instead allocate 10 to 15 percent of their portfolios to gold and a smaller portion to Bitcoin as a hedge. The founder of Bridgewater Associates issued the advice in a LinkedIn post published Friday, August 21, 2026, as U.S. national debt surpassed $40 trillion earlier in the week.

The stark warning coincided with a volatile period for financial markets, highlighted by the Treasury Department's announcement on August 19, 2026, that it would double the maximum size of its liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated government bonds. According to the department, the purchases would rise from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation for securities in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year maturity sectors, effective from September 9 through November 4.

Dalio framed these moves as part of a larger pattern signaling potential trouble ahead. "I am confident that the government's financial condition is at an inflection point," he wrote. "If this is not dealt with now, the debts will build up to...