Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and the right-hand man of Warren Buffet, says that he is worried about the rise in the price of Bitcoin. The 99-year-old also compared cryptocurrencies to a ‘stink ball’ among traditional currencies.
In this context, the executive was heard saying, “When you start creating an artificial currency, you’re throwing your stink ball into a recipe that’s been around for a long time, that’s worked very well for a lot of people.”
Charlie Munger Calls Crytpocurrncis Including Bitcoin A Stink Ball:
On Friday, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Charlie Munger, the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, again took a dig at Bitcoin. The 99-year-old was asked whether he was concerned about the recent rise in Bitcoin’s price.
He replied, “Of course, it concerns me. I have a lot of very simple fundamental ideas that I think every educated person ought to have. Those ideas include what Adam Smith taught everybody… In order to get the Smithian results, you need a currency to facilitate exchanges. And to make the currency respected widely, the trick we’ve used is the sovereign issues it. The only way to get from hunter-gathering to civilization that we know of that’s ever worked is to have a strong currency. It can be seashells, it can be corn kernels, it can be a lot of things. It can be gold coins, it can be promises in banking systems like we have in the United States and England and so on.”
The expert Berkshire executive stressed, “When you start creating an artificial currency…you’re throwing your stink ball into a recipe that’s been around for a long time, and that’s worked very well for a lot of people.”
Munger’s Vocal Criticisms About Cryptocurrency:
Munger has been vocal with his criticisms about cryptocurrencies for a long time, especially Bitcoin. Only last month, he had warned that a majority of crypto investments would end up going to zero, noting that Bitcoin was probably the “stupidest investment,” according to him.
Previously, he had called Bitcoin a “rat poison,” likening its trading to “trading turds.” Then, in February, he had also said, “It’s just ridiculous that anybody would buy this stuff … It’s just unspeakable, it’s an absolute horror, and I’m ashamed of my country that so many people believe in this kind of crap, and the government allows it to exist.”
Last year, in July, he had talked about how he would not touch cryptocurrency, suggesting everyone simply “avoid it as if it were an open sewer full of malicious organisms.” Plus, he had likened the cryptocurrency to “a venereal disease,” advocating governments to ban the same. Additionally, he also wished that cryptocurrency had “never been invented,” mentioning, “The whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization.”
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