Bitcoin and the crypto industry in general continues to grow. From futures, to ETF’s to KFC’s Bitcoin Bucket, there seems to be no stopping virtual currencies. However, crypto critics are still unconvinced, even after the combined market cap for the industry reached a whopping $800 billion just last week.
Billionaire Buffett still denying Bitcoin
One of the most well-known naysayers, Warren Buffett, is on a rapidly dwindling list of experts who are still denying the charm and potential viability of the world’s most famous crypto, Bitcoin.
During an interview with CNBC on the 10th of January, Buffett made his feeling clear on the matter:
“In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending.”
He went on to add:
“When it happens or how or anything else, I don’t know. 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.”
Buffett’s business partner, Charlie Munger, shares the same view. During the same interview, when questioned if he though Bitcoin was a bubble, he stated:
“Yeah sure and venture capital, too. There are always bubbles that are going to end badly.”
He’s also not excited about the increasing interest in and adoption of the industry:
“Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are also bubbles. [Investors] are excited because things are going up at the moment and it sounds vaguely modern. But I’m not excited.”
Buffett is also not interested in Bitcoin futures, stating:
“We don’t own any, we’re not short any, we’ll never have a position in them.”
However, even though Buffett is adamant that Bitcoin will fail, he has curiously also admitted that he doesn’t know anything about the industry:
“I get into enough trouble with things I think I know something about. Why in the world should I take a long or short position in something I don’t know anything about.”
Previous crypto pessimists have recently had to swallow their pride and admit that they were wrong. September last year saw JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, infamously refer to Bitcoin as “a fraud”. He now states that “the Blockchain is real”.
The higher powers at Goldman Sachs previously stated that:
“Something that moves 20% [overnight] does not feel like a currency. It is a vehicle to perpetrate fraud.”
However, the firm now believes that cryptocurrencies are a “viable alternative” in countries experiencing economic strife.