Warren Buffet: ‘Bitcoin is a delusion’

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet today dismissed Bitcoin as a “delusion” that “attracts charlatans”.

Buffet, who founded investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, told CNBC: “It’s ingenious, and blockchain is important, but Bitcoin has no unique value at all.

“It is a delusion, basically.”

The 88-year-old added: “Who knows where we’ll be next year. I’m really sorry it happens because people get their hopes up that something like that will change their lives. I’m sympathetic to people.”

Buffet, who lost more than $4.3 billion in a single day after shares of Kraft Heinz plunged last week, has voiced his disdain about cryptocurrency in the past.

‘Rat poison’

Last year, he called Bitcoin “probably rat poison squared”, and has also dubbed it a “mirage” and “tulips” – a reference to the Dutch tulip bubble that bankrupted many investors in the 17th century.

In 2018, the mogul said: “In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending.”

His comments come soon after major US investment bank JP Morgan announced it is issuing its own cryptocurrency to “transform the payments business”.

The move seems to be a massive U-turn considering their CEO Jamie Dimon’s comments in 2017, when he labelled Bitcoin as a “fraud”.

The firm will begin trials over the coming months, with a fraction of their $6 trillion in daily transactions being sent through “JPM Coin”, which will be used to instantly settle payments between clients.

Bitcoin has lost more than 80% of its value since reaching nearly $20,000 at the end of 2017.