Bill Miller: Bitcoin is an insurance against financial catastrophe

• Legendary investor Bill Miller compared Bitcoin to an insurance policy, noting that it may lack intrinsic value but duly comes in handy in case of a catastrophe.

• Miller said he still holds a significant portion of Bitcoin in his portfolio.

• BTC price climbed above $45,000 on Thursday, jumping above the resistance level amid high volatility in the market.

Bitcoin is what investors need to hedge against financial catastrophe, legendary investor Bill Miller said in an interview with CNBC.

According to the fund manager, who in January revealed that he held a significant chunk of his personal wealth in Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency acts "like an insurance policy."

Explaining his analogy, the famed investor told CNBC that people go for insurance even when they know that the policies do not have intrinsic value.

The former chief investment officer at Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust said that it is exactly this factor (a lack of intrinsic value) that makes people want to get insurance. It's not because they wish to see their property destroyed or hope to get into an accident, but because the insurance always comes in handy if the calamity ever happened.

"Bitcoin is insurance against financial catastrophe," he explained in comments referenced by Insider. 

Miller also commented on his crypto portfolio, noting that his earlier allocation in BTC grew exponentially during the bull market to Bitcoin's peak in November. Although the holdings had taken a hit during the recent market slump, the investor said he still held a "big position."

On overall adoption of cryptocurrencies, the investor says the trend will see major banks, endowments, and pensions funds add Bitcoin to their balance sheets. According to him, the move by KPMG Canada is the beginning of a major shift.

Bitcoin was trading around $45,350 at the time of writing, about 3% up in the past 24 hours and over 22% up this past week. Today's market action saw the cryptocurrency sharply fluctuate as markets reacted to fresh inflation data from the US.

The run to intraday highs above $45,600 included a sharp decline below $44,000, but analysts are bullish the crypto bull market is not over yet.