Warren Buffett has issued a warning that there has been a boom of gambling in the financial markets. He has also thrown a jab at bitcoin, stating that the cryptocurrency has no inherent value.
Even though Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has increased by more than 80% since the beginning of the year, the most popular cryptocurrency asset still has its critics.
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Is Bitcoin A ‘Gambling’ Coin?
In an interview Wednesday with CNBC, one of the most successful investors in the world known as the “Oracle of Omaha” took the opportunity to take another shot at Bitcoin, this time calling it a “gambling token.”
“#Bitcoin is a gambling token and it doesn’t have any intrinsic value. But that doesn’t stop people from wanting to play the roulette wheel,” says Warren Buffett on #crypto. pic.twitter.com/6MQAiyrS5J
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) April 12, 2023
Buffett made the following observation in reference to gambling in general:
“The urge to participate in something that looks like easy money is a human instinct which was always there.”
The big boss at Berkshire Hathaway has previously referred to the popular crypto as “rat poison squared” and declared that it is a “mirage” that attracts charlatans. Additionally, he has cautioned investors to steer clear of the cryptocurrency, describing it as a “delusion.”
The critique of Bitcoin that comes from the business magnate’s notion that investments should have some sort of inherent value is where the criticism originates.
The anti-crypto billionaire views these types of digital assets as speculative that are vulnerable to dramatic price swings and do not have any fundamental value.
Buffett, Not A Fan Of Bitcoin
Recent weeks have seen significant gains across the board for crypto markets. According to Messari, Bitcoin and Ethereum have had respective gains of 61% and 35%, although they are still approximately 56% and 36% behind their all-time highs, which were reached in November of 2021.
On Tuesday, the price of BTC went beyond $30,000 for the first time. The previous time that occurred was back in June. Two days later, it was still approximately $29,900 at that point.
It is common knowledge that Buffett is not a fan of bitcoin; in fact, he previously stated that even if someone offered him $25 for all the bitcoin (BTC) in the world, he would not buy it.
His senior deputy and Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger has been even more vocal over the years about his distaste for the alpha coin. Earlier this year, he called for the US government to outlaw cryptocurrency in a manner similar to that of China.
According to Buffett, the human propensity to gamble is one of the factors that drives investment in cryptocurrencies. He stated that committing funds to the asset class will “eat up” one’s financial resources.
Bitcoin (BTC) total market cap currently at $582 billion on the daily chart at TradingView.com
Bitcoin Up Nearly 8% In The Last Week
A number of influential people have expressed their reservations regarding bitcoin. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, gave an interview to CNBC in January during which he referred to bitcoin as a “hyped-up fraud” and compared it to a “pet rock.”
Berkshire Hathaway is now ranked as having the world’s eighth-largest market capitalization in terms of its assets, as reported by the most recent information from companiesmarketcap.com.
According to the same source, the market value of Bitcoin is currently the 10th largest in the world.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $30,104, up 7.7% in the last seven days, data from crypto market tracker CoinMarketCap shows.
-Featured image from PAUL MORIGI/GETTY IMAGES/FORTUNE/TIME INC.