Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s senior vice chairman and Warren Buffet’s right-hand man, has no issues with sharing his honest opinions about cryptocurrency: He hates it.
The 98-year-old investment icon compared cryptocurrency to a sexually transmitted disease during a shareholder Q & A session at the annual meeting of the LA-based newspaper business, Daily Journal Corp. Munger proceeded to criticise Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying, “I wish it had been prohibited immediately. “I admire the Chinese for prohibiting it. I believe they were correct, and we were wrong to accept it.”
It is not the first time Munger and Buffet are criticising and rejecting the rise of cryptocurrency. Buffett has previously slammed Bitcoin as an asset that “does not create anything,” referring to it as “rat poison squared” and describing it as a “delusion that attracts charlatans.”
Munger’s imaginative vision of cryptocurrencies does not appear to be reflected in Berkshire Hathaway’s current investing theory, which is pulling back on its exposure to cryptocurrency.
Berkshire Hathaway reported in a securities filing late on February 14 that it had extended its exposure to cryptocurrencies by purchasing $1 billion in Nubank shares, Brazil’s largest fintech bank, which is popular among Brazil’s crypto investors.
“The Nubank investment can be tagged as Buffett’s way of supporting the fintech and crypto world without pulling back on his previous criticisms,” said Greg Waisman, co-founder and chief operating officer of crypto wallet service Mercuryo, adding that Berkshire is now indirectly supporting the “digital currency ecosystem.”
