Buffett had previously referred to Bitcoin as "rat poison," yet his company has now made a big bet on the crypto market by investing $1.2 billion.
Original Title: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway takes a sip of the crypto 'rat poison' he once said he would never go near
Original Source: fortune
Original Translation: Ted Wu
Warren Buffett has always made it clear that he dislikes cryptocurrency. However, Berkshire Hathaway has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a Brazilian bank related to cryptocurrency — Nu Holdings Ltd., whose stock has seen a 34% annual gain.
Berkshire Hathaway's CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett has repeatedly expressed his stance on cryptocurrency: he doesn't like it.
During Berkshire Hathaway's 2018 annual meeting, Buffett referred to Bitcoin as "probably rat poison squared."
"With respect to cryptocurrency, I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending," Buffett stated in a 2018 CNBC interview. "We don't own any cryptocurrency, we never will, and we will never short it either."
However, recent reports indicate that Berkshire Hathaway and some of its investment managers may have become more lenient in their views on cryptocurrency.
Berkshire Hathaway has invested in Nu Holdings, a Brazilian digital bank company that has its cryptocurrency platform and supports the cryptocurrency market. According to information from Nu Company, Berkshire Hathaway initially participated in a $500 million Series G funding round in 2021, followed by an additional investment of $2.5 billion.
In 2022, Nu launched its cryptocurrency platform — Nubank Cripto, initially supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. The platform now includes Uniswap and Chainlink, allowing users to send, receive, and exchange cryptocurrency.
Nu Holdings did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment.
According to a filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Nu from 0.1% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 to 0.4% by the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.
Berkshire Hathaway and representatives of Buffett did not immediately respond to a comment request from Fortune magazine.
This means that by the end of the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, Berkshire Hathaway held over 86 million shares of Nu stock, valued at nearly $1.2 billion. Thus, Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are benefiting from a business he previously claimed not to understand.
“I’ve had a lot of trouble with things that I thought I understood, so why in the world should I take a long or short position in something I don’t know anything about?” Buffett said in a 2018 CNBC interview.
As of noon on Wednesday, Nu Holdings' stock price had risen nearly 34% year-to-year. And now, Berkshire Hathaway appears to be making investments related to cryptocurrency, with Buffett possibly needing to rephrase his previous comments that cryptocurrency would not have an impact.
“If you gave me all the Bitcoin in the world and it was selling for $25, I’m not going to take it because I don’t know what in the world it will do for me,” Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. “I’ve got to sell it to you, no matter what. It won’t do anything.”
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Berkshire Hathaway is generally more conservative in its investment strategy. According to the company's financial statements for the fourth quarter of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway holds over $325 billion in cash and equivalents, most of which are U.S. Treasury bonds. This means that Berkshire Hathaway avoids heavy investment in popular stocks even as the market continues to perform well.
“The reason Berkshire has been successful over these years is because it has remained boring at this point,” said Maya Schultz, Managing Director at the boutique investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, in an interview with Fortune’s Alanna Botros in November 2024.
You may also like
When the P2P illicit funds from ten years ago turned into 60,000 bitcoins
Morning News | CME Group launches Nasdaq Cryptocurrency Index futures; Asset management giant Janus Henderson strategically invests in Ethena
Why did Oracle deliver the strongest financial report in history, yet its stock price fell?
Bitcoin Layer 2 Network Botanix: Why Did We Choose to Dissolve?
Morning Report | OpenAI has submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC; Morpho completes $175 million financing
Galaxy Deep Research Report: How Hyperliquid's HIP-4 Upgrade Changes the Landscape of Prediction Markets?
Latest research from 13 top universities including Cornell University: The current state, challenges, and misconceptions of the fusion of Crypto and AI
Deconstructing Anthropic: The Best AI Company, Possibly Also a Type of Organizational Invention
Every exchange is a "Universal Exchange."
The counterattack of traditional finance: Alliance chains are quietly reviving
Pantera Capital Partner: How Tokenization is Restructuring the Private Equity and Early Investment Ecosystem?
Mastercard Launches Agent Pay for AI, Plans to Record AI Agent Payment Authorizations on Polygon
Mastercard launched Agent Pay for AI, a new payment protocol designed to help AI agents make small payments such as pay-per-use access to data and APIs. The system plans to record human-granted AI agent permissions on Polygon, focusing on verifiable authorization, identity, and payment controls.
Curve Deploys Llamalend v2 on Optimism With 250,000 OP Incentives
Curve launched Llamalend v2 on Optimism with 250,000 OP incentives from the Optimism Foundation. The upgrade expands Llamalend beyond its earlier crvUSD-focused model, adding broader collateral support, LlamaRisk market reviews, and the ability to use Curve LP tokens as collateral.
Raydium Old Liquidity Pool Reportedly Exploited, With $1.34 Million Moved to Ethereum and Tornado Cash
An old Raydium liquidity pool was reportedly exploited for around $1.34 million in USDC, RAY, and wSOL, with the stolen funds bridged to Ethereum and deposited into Tornado Cash. The incident highlights the tail risks of legacy DeFi pools, old contracts, and cross-chain fund laundering paths.
Kalshi Executive Challenges “SBF Backed AI Unicorns” Narrative, Says Leopold Aschenbrenner Was Key Figure
Kalshi executive John Wang questioned the “SBF backed AI unicorns” narrative, saying Leopold Aschenbrenner was the key figure behind major AI investment decisions.
New York Proposes Stricter Stablecoin Issuer Rules Aligned With Federal GENIUS Act
NYDFS proposed stricter stablecoin issuer rules aligned with the GENIUS Act, covering reserves, custody, redemption timelines, audits, and capital buffers.
CryptoQuant Says Bitcoin Profitable Supply Is Near 45% Pressure Zone as On-Chain Data Points to Market Repricing
CryptoQuant said Bitcoin’s profitable supply is nearing the 45% pressure zone, signaling rising market stress, unrealized losses, and a possible on-chain repricing phase.
Bitcoin Falls Below 200-Week Moving Average as On-Chain Data Shows Over Half of Supply in Loss
Bitcoin dropped below its 200-week moving average as on-chain data showed over 50% of circulating supply is now in loss, signaling rising market stress.
When the P2P illicit funds from ten years ago turned into 60,000 bitcoins
Morning News | CME Group launches Nasdaq Cryptocurrency Index futures; Asset management giant Janus Henderson strategically invests in Ethena
Why did Oracle deliver the strongest financial report in history, yet its stock price fell?
Bitcoin Layer 2 Network Botanix: Why Did We Choose to Dissolve?
Morning Report | OpenAI has submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC; Morpho completes $175 million financing
Galaxy Deep Research Report: How Hyperliquid's HIP-4 Upgrade Changes the Landscape of Prediction Markets?
