Ray Dalio has a confession: he's been holding Bitcoin (BTC) this whole time. But don't mistake that for enthusiasm.

The Bridgewater Associates founder told CNBC on Thursday that he's "forever" kept roughly 1% of his portfolio in the cryptocurrency. When asked if he'd consider increasing that allocation, Dalio pumped the brakes hard, explaining why he doesn't see Bitcoin becoming a reserve currency for major countries anytime soon.

The Quantum Computing Problem

"It's not going to be a reserve currency for major countries because it can be tracked, and it could be conceivably with quantum computing controlled, hacked, and so on and so forth," Dalio argued during the interview.

The billionaire investor made it clear he'd take gold over Bitcoin any day, describing the yellow metal as the "most popular non-fiat currency." This marks a consistent theme for Dalio, who previously suggested a 15% portfolio allocation to either Bitcoin or gold, driven by concerns about currency devaluation and mounting U.S. debt.

Privacy Concerns and Broken Code?

Dalio's skepticism about Bitcoin as a reserve asset isn't new. Last month, he questioned Bitcoin's privacy credentials, pointing out that every transaction on its public ledger is visible to anyone. He also floated the idea that Bitcoin's code could eventually be "broken." Some Bitcoin advocates dismissed these concerns as "hand-waved FUD."

But how serious is the quantum computing threat? Bitcoin technologist Jameson Lopp estimates there's a "greater than 50% chance" that it will take at least another decade before quantum computers become powerful enough to crack Bitcoin's cryptography. Other experts believe the threat is "lightyears away."

So Dalio is holding Bitcoin, just not betting the farm on it. He's keeping that small 1% position while voicing concerns about its long-term viability as a store of value for governments. The traceability issue he raises is particularly interesting—Bitcoin's transparent ledger, often touted as a feature for accountability, becomes a bug in Dalio's eyes when you're thinking about nation-states trying to hold reserves discreetly.

At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $85,824.79, down 7% in the last 24 hours, according to market data.