Warren Buffett on Bitcoin
The legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has been one of Bitcoin's most vocal critics — from “rat poison squared” to “a gambling token.”
Complete prediction history
Warren Buffett Criticizes Bitcoin, Says It 'Doesn't Have Any Intrinsic Value'
“Bitcoin is a gambling token, and it doesn’t have any intrinsic value.”
Fox Business
Feb 24, 2020 · $9,665Bitcoin Has No Value
“Cryptocurrencies basically have no value and they don't produce anything. They don't reproduce, they can't mail you a check, they can't do anything, and what you hope is that somebody else comes along and pays you more money for them later on, but then that person's got the problem. In terms of value: zero.”
CNBC
May 5, 2019 · $5,824Warren Buffett Says Bitcoin Is A ‘Gambling Device’
“It’s a gambling device… there’s been a lot of frauds connected with it. There’s been disappearances, so there’s a lot lost on it. Bitcoin hasn’t produced anything,” Buffett told a group of reporters ahead of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. “It doesn’t do anything. It just sits there. It’s like a seashell or something, and that is not an investment to me,” he added.”
CNBC
Feb 25, 2019 · $3,852Bitcoin Has No Unique Value At All
“Bitcoin has no unique value at all,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick in a “Squawk Box” interview Monday. “It is a delusion, basically.”
CNBC
May 7, 2018 · $9,363They Come To An End
“If you and I buy various cryptocurrencies, they're not going to multiply. There are not going to be a bunch of rabbits sitting there in front of us. They're just gonna sit there. And I gotta hope next time you get more excited after I've bought if from you and then I'll get more excited and buy it from you. We could sit in the house by ourselves and we could keep running up the price between us. But at the end of the time there's one Bitcoin sitting there and now we've gotta find somebody else. They come to an end.”
CNBC
May 5, 2018 · $9,827Warren Buffett Says Bitcoin Is Probably Rat Poison Squared
“Bitcoin is “probably rat poison squared.”
CNBC
Jan 10, 2018 · $14,891Cryptocurrencies Will Come To A Bad Ending
“In terms of cryptocurrencies generally, I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending. If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I'd be glad to do it, but I would never short a dime's worth.”
CNBC
Oct 28, 2017 · $5,733Inside Warren Buffett’s Master Class On Bitcoin
“People get excited from big price movements, and Wall Street accommodates…you can’t value Bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset.” It’s a “real bubble.”
MarketWatch
Why Buffett's framework rejects Bitcoin
Buffett evaluates assets through a value-investing lens. By that checklist, Bitcoin fails every test — yet it has been one of the best-performing assets since his first criticism:
- Generates cash flow ✗
- Has intrinsic value ✗
- Predictable business model ✗
- Strong competitive moat ✗
- Produces goods or services ✗