'I'm in gold camp, not interested in crypto': Zoho's Sridhar Vembu on safe assets

Zoho Corp's Sridhar Vembu on Sunday said he has long preferred gold as a hedge against currency debasement and that he is not interested in crypto. "I have long been in the 'gold as insurance against currency debasement' camp, for over 25 years now," he wrote on X. "Over the long term, gold has held its purchasing power in terms of commodities like petroleum, and gold has held its own against broad stock market indexes. No, I am not interested in crypto."

He also shared excerpts from a post by investment strategist Lyn Alden, citing historical data compiled by professors Aswath Damodaran and Hendrik Bessembinder. According to Damodaran's records going back to 1928, a $100 investment in T-bills compounded through 2023 would have grown to $2,249, while longer-duration T-bonds would have turned $100 into $7,278. However, gold would have increased the same $100 to $10,042 over the same period, highlighting the metal’s ability to preserve purchasing power against dollar debasement. Alden notes that "the number of dollars in the U.S. broad money supply increased by more than 400x from 1928 through 2023."

Bessembinder's research further illustrates stock market concentration in the United States, showing that among 26,000 stocks between 1926 and 2019, more than half failed to outperform T-bills. "Just 4% of all stocks accounted for basically all stock market returns in excess of T-bills; the other 96% of stocks collectively matched T-bills as a group. And just 86 stocks accounted for half of all excess returns," Alden wrote.

The post comes in the wake of a historic downturn in the cryptocurrency market on Saturday, when over $19 billion was wiped out in what data tracker Coinglass called "the largest liquidation event in crypto history." Investors reacted to US President Donald Trump's announcement of 100% tariffs on China and new software export controls. Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, fell sharply as investors moved funds into stablecoins or other safer assets, according to The Independent.

In India, gold prices have risen sharply over the past year. The rate for 24-carat gold increased from around Rs 77,450 per 10 grams in early October 2024 to approximately Rs 122,400 per 10 grams by October 10, 2025. Similarly, 22-carat gold, priced near Rs 71,000 per 10 grams last October, has surged to over RS 113,800 per 10 grams this month.