Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger Compares Bitcoin to a ‘Venereal Disease’

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger described cryptocurrencies as akin to “venereal disease” and are “beneath contempt.”

The longtime crypto critic made the comments during an appearance with Becky Quick on Yahoo! Finance on Wednesday.

Quick read a question from a viewer asking, “Crypto is a $2 trillion asset class – are you willing to admit you missed something?”

The 98-year-old replied, “Well, I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve avoided it. It’s like, you know, some venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt.”

Munger said crypto bulls “welcome a currency that’s so useful in extortions and kidnappings, and so on, and so on, tax evasion.”

He added, “I wish it had been banned immediately. And I admire the Chinese for banning it. I think they were right and we were wrong to allow it.”

Elsewhere in his appearance, Munger said markets are now run by “people who want to get rich quick,” but don’t do much for civilization.

“I don’t think it’s good that our country is going crazy over bitcoin and its ilk,” he said. “I hate it.”

Munger concluded, “You let a bad genie out of the bottle.”

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has also been critical of crypto. In 2018 he called it “rat poison, squared.”

Some cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen meteoric rises in price over the years. That has sparked a debate about whether these assets are in a bubble. Notably, several crypto-related commercials aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl. The fact that these assets are now being peddled to retail investors may signal forthcoming mainstream acceptance – or a looming burst.

Watch above via Yahoo! Finance

h/t: The Recount.