On Valentine's Day 2018, at the annual shareholder meeting of Daily Journal — a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary — 94-year-old Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's right-hand man, unleashed a scathing attack on the world's most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. The event, traditionally a platform for Munger's economic overview, turned into a fervent denunciation of digital assets.
Munger: 'I Detested It the Minute It Was Raised'
“I never considered for one second having anything to do with [Bitcoin]; I detested it the minute it had been raised. The more popular it got, the more I hated it. It's just disgusting that people have been taken in by this,” Munger declared. His remarks were not limited to Bitcoin alone; during the two-hour interview-style Q&A, he touched on issues like the regulation of Wells Fargo, where Berkshire holds nearly $30 billion in stock. Munger defended the embattled bank, suggesting regulators had gone too far in punishing it for past wrongs, including creating fake accounts and adding unauthorized charges.
A Clash of Investment Philosophies
When the conversation turned to Bitcoin, Munger's tone hardened. “Our more relaxed approach is wrong,” he spat. “The right answer is to step on it hard. It's the government's job.” He characterized Bitcoin as a “noxious poison” and contrasted it with alternative payment systems like China's WeChat, which he seemed to approve of. Munger lamented that Bitcoin represented “everyone wanting easy money” and hoped future generations would not embrace it, calling it “totally asinine.” Berkshire Hathaway's stock, routinely trading above $300,000, reflects the firm's famously tech-phobic stance: it has sat out much of the technology boom over the last quarter century. Munger, a champion of value investing for over four decades, views long-term holdings in understandable, fundamentally sound companies as the only path.
The Fundamental Divide
For seasoned investors like Munger, Bitcoin's lack of traditional fundamentals — no corporate offices, no accountable board, no large regulatory apparatus — spells its doom. This classic division between old-world success and new-world innovation continues to polarize the financial community. While Bitcoin has faced repeated skepticism from establishment figures, its resilience and adoption have grown. Munger's comments, rooted in a strictly conservative investment philosophy, highlight the ongoing tension between traditional finance and the emerging crypto ecosystem.
Reactions and Legacy
Munger's remarks were met with cheers from his audience of loyal followers, but echoed across the broader financial world as a stark warning. His views represent a powerful voice against the digital currency movement, yet they also underscore the generational and philosophical shifts occurring in global finance. As Bitcoin has evolved, the debate Munger ignited remains as relevant as ever.