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- Warren Buffett trashed bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as worthless in a CNBC interview on Monday.
- “Cryptocurrencies basically have no value,” he said. “You can’t do anything with it except sell it to somebody else.”
- The Berkshire Hathaway CEO remained a crypto critic despite dining with Tron CEO Justin Sun and other crypto bosses in January.
- “The logical move from the introduction of bitcoin is to go short suitcases,” Buffett joked, as criminals are laundering money online instead of stuffing cash into duffel bags.
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Warren Buffett dismissed bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as worthless in a CNBC interview on Monday.
“Cryptocurrencies basically have no value,” Buffett said. “They don’t produce anything.”
“You can’t do anything with it except sell it to somebody else,” he added. “But then that person’s got the problem.”
The billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO trashed cryptocurrencies despite hosting a belated charity dinner with Tron CEO Justin Sun and four other crypto bosses last month.
Sun said he gave Buffett a pair of Samsung Galaxy Fold smartphones loaded with a bitcoin and nearly $2 million worth of Tron’s cryptocurrency. However, Buffett denied holding any cryptocurrencies in the CNBC interview.
“I don’t own any cryptocurrency,” he said. “I never will.”
Buffett told CNBC that none of Berkshire’s businesses uses bitcoin, and highlighted its frequent usage for illicit purposes.
“Bitcoin has been used to move around a fair amount of money illegally,” Buffett said. He joked that bitcoin’s “economic contribution” to society might be reducing demand for suitcases.
“The logical move from the introduction of bitcoin is to go short suitcases,” he quipped, as criminals increasingly move money online instead of stuffing cash into duffel bags.
Buffett may be a vocal critic of crypto, but he gave kudos to Sun for paying a record amount for their charity meal. The investor auctions off the chance to eat with him each year to raise money for Glide, a homeless charity in San Francisco.
“Justin gave $4.6 million to Glide and that will buy a lot of meals and provide a lot of beds for people in San Francisco,” Buffett said. “I thank him.”