Despite many making a lot of money on Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, I have to say I agree with his position.
Warren Buffett:
“If you said... for a 1% interest in all the farmland in the United States, pay our group $25B, I'll write you a check this afternoon. For $25B, I now own 1% of the farmland.
If you tell me you own 1% of all the apartment houses in the United States and you want another $25B, I'll write you a check, it's very simple.
Now if you told me you own all of the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25 I wouldn't take it because what would I do with it? I'd have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn't going to do anything. The apartments are going to produce rental and the farms are going to produce food. That explains the difference between productive assets and something that depends on the next guy paying you more than the last guy got."
"Assets, to have value, have to deliver something to somebody. And there's only one currency that's accepted. You can come up with all kinds of things - we can put up Berkshire coins... but in the end, this is money," he announced, holding up a dollar bill. "Anyone that thinks the United States government is going to let Berkshire money replace theirs is out of their minds. Whether it goes up or down in the next year, or five or 10 years, I don't know. But the one thing I'm pretty sure of is that it doesn't multiply, it doesn't produce anything. It's got a magic to it and people have attached magic to lots of things."
Charlie Munger chimes in:
“In my life, I try and avoid things that are stupid, and evil, and make me look bad in comparison to somebody else - and Bitcoin does all three. In the first place, it's stupid because it's very likely to go to zero. In the second place, it's evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve system that we desperately need to maintain its integrity and government control... and third, it makes us look foolish compared to the Communist leader in China. He was smart enough to ban bitcoin in China, and with all of our presumed advantages in civilization, we are a lot dumber than the Communist leader in China."
Warren Buffett:
“If you said... for a 1% interest in all the farmland in the United States, pay our group $25B, I'll write you a check this afternoon. For $25B, I now own 1% of the farmland.
If you tell me you own 1% of all the apartment houses in the United States and you want another $25B, I'll write you a check, it's very simple.
Now if you told me you own all of the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25 I wouldn't take it because what would I do with it? I'd have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn't going to do anything. The apartments are going to produce rental and the farms are going to produce food. That explains the difference between productive assets and something that depends on the next guy paying you more than the last guy got."
"Assets, to have value, have to deliver something to somebody. And there's only one currency that's accepted. You can come up with all kinds of things - we can put up Berkshire coins... but in the end, this is money," he announced, holding up a dollar bill. "Anyone that thinks the United States government is going to let Berkshire money replace theirs is out of their minds. Whether it goes up or down in the next year, or five or 10 years, I don't know. But the one thing I'm pretty sure of is that it doesn't multiply, it doesn't produce anything. It's got a magic to it and people have attached magic to lots of things."
Charlie Munger chimes in:
“In my life, I try and avoid things that are stupid, and evil, and make me look bad in comparison to somebody else - and Bitcoin does all three. In the first place, it's stupid because it's very likely to go to zero. In the second place, it's evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve system that we desperately need to maintain its integrity and government control... and third, it makes us look foolish compared to the Communist leader in China. He was smart enough to ban bitcoin in China, and with all of our presumed advantages in civilization, we are a lot dumber than the Communist leader in China."
