(FXEmpire) - Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) has bought $1 billion worth of stock in a bank that focuses on crypto assets, so it appears that Bitcoin is not rat poison after all.
Earlier this week, the investment firm made a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealing that it had purchased stock in Nubank, a Brazilian digital bank and the largest of its type in Latin America.
The bank operates outside of the traditional finance system and is called a ‘Neobank’ according to reports. It allows customers to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETF) which is a sector that Buffett and company have largely shunned.
Buffett’s Crypto U-turn
It is not the first time Berkshire has invested in the bank with it having already purchased a $500 million stake in Nubank last year. Buffett’s investment company is the seventh-largest in the world with a market capitalization of just over $700 billion according to CompaniesMarketCap. This is equivalent to about a third of the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization at the moment.
Berkshire has also been dropping investments in traditional finance with $3 billion in shares of Visa and Mastercard dropped according to the SEC filing.
Warren Buffett gained infamy in crypto circles for calling Bitcoin ‘rat poison squared’ in early May 2018 when the asset was trading at around $9,000 after falling from its December 2017 peak of $20,000.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Berkshire bought shares of gaming giant Activision before Microsoft announced its takeover.
Crypto: A ‘Venereal Disease”
Buffett’s partner, billionaire investor Charlie Munger, also has a deep-seated loathing for digital assets. This week, the 98-year-old vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway labeled crypto as a ‘venereal disease’ according to Reuters. He stated that he was proud that he has avoided it adding:
“I just regard it as beneath contempt. Some people think it’s modernity, and they welcome a currency that’s so useful in extortions and kidnappings [and] tax evasion.”
Bitcoin has gained almost 400% in value since Buffett first called it rat poison so, as investments go, both were completely wrong.
The firm also believes in crypto, especially where it has invested in Latin America. The region is one of opportunity due to its large populations and poor banking services.
By Martin Young
Feb 17, 2022
