Buffett once regarded Bitcoin as "rat poison", and his companies invested US$1.2 billion in the encryption market

Original title: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway takes a sip of the crypto 『rat poison』 he once said he would never go near

Source: fortune

Compiled by: Ted Wu

Warren Buffett has always been clear about his dislike of cryptocurrencies. However, Berkshire Hathaway has invested millions of dollars in Nu Holdings Ltd., a Brazilian bank related to cryptocurrencies, and the company's stock has gained 34% year-on-year.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett has made his stance on cryptocurrencies clear on multiple occasions: He doesn’t like it.

At the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett once called Bitcoin "probably rat poison squared."

"As far as cryptocurrencies go, I can almost certainly say they're going to end badly," Buffett said in a 2018 interview with CNBC. "We don't hold any cryptocurrencies, we don't short any cryptocurrencies, we will never hold them." "As far as cryptocurrencies go, I can almost certainly say they will end badly," Buffett said in an interview with CNBC in 2018. “We don’t hold any cryptocurrencies, we don’t short any cryptocurrencies, we will never hold them.”

But recent reports suggest that Berkshire Hathaway and some of its investment managers may be becoming more relaxed in their views on cryptocurrencies.

Berkshire Hathaway invested in Nu Holdings, a Brazilian digital banking company that has its own cryptocurrency platform and supports cryptocurrency markets. Berkshire Hathaway initially participated in a $500 million Series G financing round in 2021 and subsequently invested an additional $250 million, according to Nu.

In 2022, Nu launched its cryptocurrency platform, Nubank Cripto, initially supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. The platform now includes Uniswap and Chainlink and allows users to send, receive and exchange cryptocurrencies.

Nu Holdings did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment.

Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Nu from 0.1% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 to 0.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, according to SEC filings.

Representatives for Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment.

This means that as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2024, Berkshire Hathaway held more than 86 million Nu shares, worth nearly $1.2 billion. As a result, Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are benefiting from a business he has claimed not to understand in the past.

"I've gotten into a lot of trouble for things I thought I knew," Buffett said in a 2018 interview with CNBC. "Then why should I go long or short on something I know nothing about?"

As of noon on Wednesday, Nu Holdings shares were up nearly 34% year over year. Now that Berkshire Hathaway appears to be making cryptocurrency-related investments, Buffett may need to rephrase his previous remarks about cryptocurrencies not having an impact.

"If you told me you owned all the Bitcoins in the world and sold it to me for $25, I wouldn't take it, because what would I do with it?" Buffett said on Berkshire Hathaway in 2022 Thavey said at the shareholder meeting. "I have to sell it back to you, anyway. It won't do anything."

Still, it's important to note that Berkshire Hathaway is generally conservative in its investment strategy. Berkshire Hathaway holds more than $325 billion in cash and equivalents, mostly in U.S. Treasury securities, according to the company's fourth-quarter 2024 financial statements. This means that Berkshire Hathaway avoids investing heavily in popular stocks even when the market is having a good streak.

“The reason Berkshire has been successful over the years is precisely because it has maintained its boring ways to this point,” Meyer Shields, managing director at boutique investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said in 2024 Said this in an interview with Alaina Botros of Fortune magazine in November.