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It all started with a securities filing made on February 14, 2022, by Berkshire Hathaway. This filing reported the new positions taken by Berkshire Hathaway over the last quarter of the year 2021. The filing shows that Warren Buffett's company has sold a portion of its shares in Visa and Mastercard, to increase its exposure to Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Brazil that's also popular among the country's Bitcoin investors.
In detail, this results in a $1.8 billion sale of Visa shares and a $1.3 billion sale of Mastercard shares. On the other end of the spectrum, Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion worth of shares in Nubank.
This was enough for all the media to start writing headlines more clickbait than any other about Warren Buffett's alleged change of heart on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies:
To read this headline, you'd think Warren Buffett was about to announce a massive purchase of BTC on the spot market...
Whatever the reasons (fear, misunderstanding, lack of openness, ...), Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett still hate Bitcoin
Yet Warren Buffett's position on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies has not changed one iota. Warren Buffett is still a staunch opponent of Bitcoin, which he has repeatedly called “Rat poison squared” in the past. For Warren Buffett, Bitcoin creates nothing and represents nothing.
Questioned in the wake of this by the media, Charlie Munger, his lifelong investment partner at Berkshire Hathaway, confirmed this. Charlie Munger began with an interesting diagnosis of the current situation by explaining that the U.S. dollar is headed for zero. The US dollar is at the center of a flawed system that will collapse sooner or later. Its value will keep falling towards zero.
On this point, we can only agree with Charlie Munger.
Where things get complicated is that Charlie Munger does not understand that Bitcoin is the cure. At 98 years old, Charlie Munger is totally out of touch with new technologies. He didn't believe in Google or Amazon in the early 2000s, so it makes sense that he doesn't understand why Bitcoin is so valuable to its users.
Charlie Munger reiterated that he is glad he didn't invest in Bitcoin and the cryptocurrencies he calls “Venereal Disease”. He also says that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies should be banned. Nothing new in my opinion, as Buffett and Munger's position on Bitcoin, has been clear forever. Given their age, I don't think they will change their minds before they die. When you're not open-minded, approaching 100 years old, and have always benefited from the unfairness of the current system, it's impossible to question yourself.
Elon Musk gives a perfect answer to express why we continue to fight for the success of the Bitcoin revolution
Where things got more interesting was when Elon Musk responded to a tweet that highlighted these statements by Charlie Munger about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies:
In his response, Elon Musk explains that he was at a lunch with Munger in 2009 during which he explained to the whole table that Tesla would fail. Elon Musk replied that he agreed with all the reasons Munger had given and that Tesla would probably fail, but that it was worth trying to succeed anyway.
This is the difference between Charlie Munger and an entrepreneur like Elon Musk.
Even if the chances of success are almost inexistent, an entrepreneur like Elon Musk will go all the way if he feels that the rewards of success are worth the risk. Failure is part of the game in life. Without the risk of major failure, there is no chance of major success either.
With Bitcoin, it's the same, which is why Charlie Munger will never be able to understand this incredible monetary revolution. Even though the Bitcoin revolution may fail, it is entirely worth fighting for given what Bitcoin can bring to the world of the future. Bitcoin is an open and inclusive payment system that allows everyone to benefit from P2P and encrypted hard money.
Final Thoughts
The impacts that Bitcoin will have on the world of the future are still poorly understood by the vast majority, but for people living in countries in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, Bitcoin is already an absolute necessity: a plan A they can't imagine doing without.
It means nothing to a nearly 100-year-old multi-billionaire like Charlie Munger, but to people who dare to look beyond their small Western comfort zone, it is something to fight for. I am one of those who think so, and that is why I choose to believe in the future success of the Bitcoin revolution.
Sorry, Charlie, the venereal disease is not Bitcoin, but rather the debt-based system that is unfair to the vast majority of the people on Earth.
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