“Cryptocurrencies basically have no value,” Warren Buffett said in an interview on Monday.
Speaking to CNBC reporter Becky Quick on February 24, the fourth-wealthiest person in the world discussed his impression of bitcoin following a fundraiser, Cointelegraph reported. In attendance was Justin Sun, CEO of Tron, and long-time believer in crypto.
In May 2019, the two gathered with others at a fundraiser for the Glide Foundation, a charity organization that helps the homeless in San Francisco. Speaking billionaire to billionaire, the young Sun suggested the seasoned Warren consider investing in cryptocurrency.
However, when pressed on whether Sun had given him any bitcoin after the exchange, Buffett balked: “I don’t own any cryptocurrency. I never will. You can’t do anything with it except sell it to somebody else.”
But Sun has challenged the tycoon’s claim that he does not own any crypto, revealing in a tweet that the Bershire Hathaway founder still owns a Samsung Galaxy Fold containing bitcoin and Tron that he gifted him during their much-hyped dinner together, TheBlockCircle reported.
To buttress his point, Sun posted the wallet addresses which showed the coins were still intact. However, he also highlighted that despite holding cryptocurrencies, Buffet was not a crypto investor.
He tweeted: “The cryptos $BTC/ $TRX Mr. Buffett owns remain intact w/ #blockchain proof which is the beauty of blockchain. I won’t interpret Mr.Buffett as a crypto investor, which he’s not. He only has the $BTC/ $TRX I gifted him in his @Samsung Galaxy Fold, which is a 20% return thus far!”
Money laundering
Buffet also commented on the fact that bitcoin has been associated with money laundering and terrorism: “Bitcoin has been used to move around a fair amount of money illegally.”
Buffett made the bulk of his fortune from hedge funds and insurance. He has an estimated net worth of $88.9 billion, said the Cointelegraph report.
Reluctant billionaires
Bitcoin has seen major investments from millionaires and billionaires alike, but as Warren demonstrated, some who made their fortunes using more established means are reluctant to accept cryptocurrencies. Mark Cuban, the billionaire who rose to fame in the dot-com bubble, has said he’d rather “have bananas” than bitcoin.
On the other hand, there have been some success stories. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss may not have reaped the benefits of Facebook, but the two have a combined net worth of over $1.4 billion after founding the crypto exchange Gemini.
Rich Luddite
Members of the crypto Twitter community were quick to point out the 89-year-old tycoon’s apparent lack of tech savvy, highlighting the stellar investment opportunities he has missed over the years, such as Google, Amazon, Uber and Apple.
