American billionaire and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has poured cold water on reports that his anti-crypto stance has softened, stating that he neither owns nor plans to acquire any cryptocurrency in the future.
Buffett’s latest comments come a few days after the much-talked-about $4.6 million dinner with Tron CEO Justin Sun finally happened. Buffett has a history of being dismissive about the value proposition of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies in general once referring to the top-ranked crypto as “rat poison squared.”
I Don’t Own Any Cryptocurrency and I Never Will
In an interview with CNBC, the Oracle of Omaha denied owning any cryptocurrency while stating that he would never decide to acquire any crypto. Buffett also doubled down on his anti-crypto rhetoric saying cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and do not support any productive activity.
“I don’t own any cryptocurrency. I never will,” Warren Buffett tells @BeckyQuick. #AskWarren https://t.co/0VjIDJSi7L pic.twitter.com/il4cT2hWkP
— CNBC (@CNBC) February 24, 2020
According to Buffett, cryptos only value proposition lies in the “Greater Fool Theory” wherein the buyer of an asset relies on someone at a future date being ready to purchase the same asset at a higher price. The Berkshire Hathaway chief has consistently described BTC and cryptos as a zero-sum game.
As previously reported by Blockonomi, Buffett has described cryptos as being only useful to charlatans. The ‘nocoiner’ doubled down on this stance in the interview stating that cryptocurrencies allow criminals to move money.
Despite the claims by the likes of Buffett about cryptos being channels for criminality, several reports by regulatory agencies show virtual currencies play an insignificant role in money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing. Wells Fargo, a bank with substantial investment from Berkshire Hathaway, has been hit with a fresh $3 billion fine by Federal authorities in the U.S. over its fake accounts scandal.
Buffett is also one of the BTC doomsday prophets constantly surmising that bitcoin will crash over the years. However, the top-ranked cryptocurrency is the best-performing asset of the last decade, delivering more than 720 times more returns than the company’s stock since 2009.
Buffett’s comments were in response to questions over whether his recent dinner with Sun caused any change in his stance towards cryptos. Back in 2019, the Tron CEO won a bid to have lunch with Buffett, presenting an opportunity for the crypto proponent to invite other stakeholders in a bid to reshape the billionaire’s views on the industry.
Peter Schiff: Warren and I Have One Thing in Common
Buffett’s denial of owning any cryptos also contradicts the reports Sun provided after the event, stating that he transferred $43,000 in TRX tokens to the billionaire investor. The Tron CEO has a history of exaggerated and self-promotional claims which have landed him in trouble not only with the crypto community but with the authorities in China.
One thing that @WarrenBuffett and I have in common is that neither one of us owns any Bitcoin. It's also interesting that during a lengthy interview on @CNBC, with #gold rising $40 to a 7-year high and #Bitcoin trading lower, Buffett was asked to comment on Bitcoin but not gold!
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) February 24, 2020
In a related development, gold-bug and fellow bitcoin critic Peter Schiff said not owning BTC is the one thing he and the Berkshire Hathaway chief have in common. Like Buffett, Schiff has consistently lambasted bitcoin’s value proposition arguing that gold is a much better safe-haven asset for investors. Schiff also criticized CNBC for not mentioning gold during the interview with Buffett.
While Buffett’s non-ownership of cryptos may be a choice, Schiff’s case is a little different. Back in January 2020, Schiff lost access to his bitcoin after forgetting the password to his wallet.
Other crypto critics have also come out recently to state that they will not consider owning any cryptocurrencies. Earlier in February, Neel Kashkari, the President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve said he would not gift his one-year-old daughter bitcoin. According to Kashkari, cryptocurrency is a giant garbage dumpster populated with mostly fraud and noise.