Speaking at the annual Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholder meeting, Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett reiterated his distrust of bitcoin.
“If you said… for a 1% interest in all the farmland in the United States, pay our group US$25 billion, I’ll write you a check this afternoon,” Buffett commented. “Now if you told me you own all of the bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for US$25 I wouldn’t take it because what would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn’t going to do anything.”
Buffett’s comments seem to be a response to Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) chair Peter Thiel when the latter labeled him as bitcoin’s primary enemy and a “sociopathic grandpa from Omaha” at the Bitcoin 2022 conference last month.
Buffett explained the difference between productive assets and “something that depends on the next guy paying you more than the last guy got.”
“Assets, to have value, have to deliver something to somebody. And there’s only one currency that’s accepted. You can come up with all kinds of things – we can put up Berkshire coins… but in the end, this is money,” said Buffett.
Vice-Chairman Charlie Munger seconded Buffett’s comments, saying the crypto asset is “stupid, evil, and makes us looks foolish.”
“In the first place, it’s stupid because it’s very likely to go to zero. In the second place, it’s evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve system that we desperately need to maintain its integrity and government control… and third, it makes us look foolish compared to the Communist leader in China,” Munger said.
He further doubled down when he commented Chinese President Xi Jinping “was smart enough to ban bitcoin in China.”
“We are a lot dumber than the Communist leader in China,” added Munger.
‘Disgusting’ Robinhood
Munger also did not hold back his sentiments on the mobile stock trading app Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD), saying the firm is now “unraveling.”
“When [Robinhood] came out and went public…everybody [was] in all the short-term gambling and big commissions and hidden kickbacks… It was disgusting,” Munger said. “But now, it’s unraveling.”
Just a few days ago, Robinhood reported its Q1 2022 results, recording declines in revenue and active users. This also came days after the company announced that it is laying off 9% of its workforce, attributing the reason to its “hyper growth” period.
In a company blog, the fintech firm responded to Munger’s comments, standing its ground that the reason the Berkshire Hathaway executives “insulted a new generation” is because “we are doing things a new way.”
“If the last year has taught us anything, it is that people are tired of the Warren Buffetts and Charlie Mungers of the world acting like they are the only oracles of investing,” wrote Robinhood Public Policy Communications Head Jacqueline Ramsay. “And at Robinhood, we’re not going to sit back while they disparage everyday people for taking control of their financial lives.”
The Robinhood exec also said that “the elites benefited from a stock market” that discouraged participation, “driving a deep wedge between the haves and have-nots.”
“Take Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock. One share trades for north of $400,000. But with Robinhood, fans of the company can invest what they can afford and don’t need to amass what is a prohibitive sum for most Americans,” added Ramsay.
Information for this briefing was found via Seeking Alpha and CNBC. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
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