Warren Buffett Thinks Bitcoin Will End Badly

Cryptocurrency falls on talk of South Korea ban
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 11, 2018 6:50 AM CST
Buffett: Cryptocurrencies 'Will Come to Bad Ending'
It will not end well, according to Buffett.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Warren Buffett's advice on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be summed up in two words: Stay away. In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, the billionaire Berkshire Hathaway investor said that "in terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending." The 87-year-old, however, said he couldn't predict when that bad ending would occur—and admitted he doesn't know that much about cryptocurrencies. "We don't own any, we're not short any, we'll never have a position in them," he said. "I get into enough trouble with the things I think I know something about. Why in the world should I take a long or short position in something I don't know about?"

Charlie Munger, Buffett's 94-year-old right-hand man, also told CNBC he sees cryptocurrencies as a bubble. Investors "are excited because things are going up at the moment and it sounds vaguely modern," he said. "But I'm not excited." Bitcoin fell more than 10% to $13,200 early Thursday after South Korea's government announced that it plans to ban trading in cryptocurrencies, Reuters reports. The government later clarified that legislation to bring in a ban is being discussed with financial regulators, among others, but has not been finalized. Earlier this week, police raided South Korea bitcoin exchanges in a crackdown on tax evasion. (Kodak is creating its own cryptocurrency.)

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