Stop giving the general public one-dimensional or misleading information about something you don’t really understand.
I am referring to investment veterans Warren Buffett and his right-hand man (whether he likes the reference or not), Charlie Munger. The latter made comments days ago that provoked the ire of (and essentially disappointed) crypto enthusiasts for superficial and poor arguments against Bitcoin and other crypto assets.
Firstly, credit where it’s due — They’ve amassed insane fortunes over the years for themselves and the investors behind Berkshire Hathaway, of which Buffett and Munger and Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively.
Buffett is also no stranger to lambasting crypto, previously labelling Bitcoin “probably rat poison squared”.
The soon-to-be centenarians should just concede that emerging tech is not their forte. Whilst I am at it, here is a 2022 video of the two side-by-side, with Munger reinforcing his disdain for those who support crypto and subsequently praising China’s move to ban cryptocurrencies.
Just because they have been successful with other investments, it does not qualify them as a reputable source of information for investing in this asset class, one that they clearly know little about.
Yes, there are scams in the space and overall pieces of s**t unashamedly promoting fraudulent projects/digital assets that should vanish into the ether and F off for good.
I acknowledge that crypto has been used for illicit purposes…but few sources conveniently ignore three things:
– Illegal activity involving crypto accounted for a whopping 0.24%*…and this is fresh off the press from Chainalysis’ The 2023 Crypto Crime Report; don’t get me started about other fallacies or misinformed claims about crypto;
– Scams have occurred with cash and they always will (for as long as it exists);
– (Perhaps the most crucial consideration here), crypto is a means of transferring value and is used as a scapegoat for online criminal activity. If digital assets did not exist, the crime(s) would still occur by exchanging other goods or services.
*This only accounts for available on-chain data. The renowned blockchain-data platform, Chainalysis (who produced the report) acknowledges that there would be off-chain fraudulent activity (see page 4 of the report mentioned earlier). Still, it is best not to speculate how much this is. Nonetheless, the point I am making is that it is a tiny percentage of overall crypto transactions, though it has still risen compared to 2021.
As a reminder for laypeople, crypto assets, like many things, could be used for good or evil.
Cryptocurrencies have flourished because many people are fed up with a system that has significantly devalued fiat currency (i.e., inflation), not to mention the historically slow, expensive and antiquated processes for readily transferring wealth digitally from one user to another, thousands of kilometres/miles away, all without an intermediary.
Crypto is perceived as something sinister for those who feel most threatened by the status quo being overhauled. When you’ve been riding the gravy train for years and raking in the profits, particularly with expensive remittances and restricting the flow of assets to further your agenda, of course, you will feel threatened, especially when Bitcoin and altcoins come along to gate crash your party.
Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash
Having said this, ironically, Buffett, Munger and others of that age range would barely be impacted by crypto, as they have already legitimately made their billions (and hats off to them for that) and, let’s face it, are in their twilight years (no offence fellas, but come on, you’ve each had great innings, and still going).
Fortunately, we see through the BS and keep investing in protocols and assets that aim to solve actual problems and take back control of our money.
I liken Bitcoin to the person in your life that you detest (but respect in some ways) who simply refuses to piss off and die for good; 471 times and counting? Cats have got nothing on BTC.
To reiterate, stop misleading people and talking them out of investing in assets related to this innovative set of technologies. Do your due diligence, and regardless of what happens, you are solely responsible for your own investment decisions (or whoever you trust to manage these).
Additionally, seek information from various (reputable sources), critically analyse and consider getting some skin in the game rather than sitting on the sidelines for years and constantly contemplating decisions.
Oh, and before I forget, how could I ever leave out these two famous figures in the financial space?
– Jamie Dimon’s recent comments (just last month) about Bitcoin; little (if anything) has changed over the years with his stance towards permissionless blockchains and related decentralised digital assets;
– The one and only maverick commentator, Jim Cramer. Here’s a YouTube Short from early Jan regarding his stance on crypto.
As always, you do you, but I know where I, and many of you, stand on Bitcoin, reputable altcoins and anyone genuinely interested in furthering blockchain tech and distributed ledger tech in general.
On a concluding note, sometimes, with friends, family, your partner(s?) and others in your life, you need to agree to disagree if you want to maintain peace amongst yourselves.
Not financial advice, and I am not a financial advisor.
None of this is financial, and I am not a financial advisor. This piece contains news and opinions from either myself or the sources. Please do adequate research before investing in any crypto assets, NFTs and any product affiliated with this space.
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Featured image by Max Bender on Unsplash.