巴菲特60年执掌生涯落幕，其比特币观点令人难忘

Warren Buffett stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway with unforgettable views on Bitcoin

As one of the most famous investors of our generation (and even the previous generation), Warren Buffett officially resigned as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after more than 60 years in the service. He has now been transferred to honorary chairman and continues to remain on the board. His son, Howard G. Buffett, will take over as chairman, while Greg Abel will continue to serve as CEO in charge of the company's day-to-day operations.

In a farewell letter to shareholders, the 96-year-old said the time was ripe to "complete the transition," praising Abel for having fully taken control of the daily decision-making of the Berkshire empire and describing his son as a guardian of the company's culture and values.

For the cryptocurrency world, his retirement also marks the official end of the career of one of Bitcoin's most famous and determined skeptics. The "Prophet of Omaha" has repeatedly dismissed the asset for many years as speculative, unproductive, lacking in intrinsic value, and is not suitable as an investment target. Here is a review of some of his most famous remarks.

"Poison squared"

In 2018, when Buffett described Bitcoin as "probably rat poison squared," this comment was very representative. The remarks came after years of criticism from Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger, and quickly became one of the most quoted anti-Bitcoin quotes in the traditional financial world.

This was not impulse. Earlier that year, Buffett said cryptocurrencies would "come to a bad end" and emphasized that Berkshire had no intention of holding any such assets. Over the years, his main objection has remained the same: Unlike businesses, farmland or rental properties, Bitcoin itself does not generate cash flow or produce anything physical.

Stay away from it

The "poison squared" argument in 2018 is not the first case. In fact, Buffett criticized much earlier. In 2014, when the cryptocurrency was only a few hundred dollars, he told CNBC investors to "stay away", calling it a "mirage." He acknowledged that Bitcoin could be used as a means of money transmission, but questioned how this could give the asset major intrinsic value.

During the same period, he also described Bitcoin as "extremely speculative" and said he would not be surprised if Bitcoin no longer existed in 10 or 20 years. However, it has been more than 10 years now and it still exists. Even critics will admit that it may be bigger than Berkshire Hathaway. Not only critics, but also the data-Bitcoin's market value has exceeded $1.6 trillion, while Berkshire Hathaway's market value is less than $1.1 trillion. This is no small matter.

Not to buy even if he bid $25

Unlike many other former critics who eventually eased their stance or even completely reversed their views, Buffett has remained consistent. At the company's 2022 annual shareholders meeting, he gave the clearest explanation yet of why Bitcoin did not fit his investment philosophy.

He compares cryptocurrencies with productive assets that generate food and rental income, such as farmland and apartment buildings, pointing out that Bitcoin produces nothing and ultimately depends on whether anyone is willing to pay a higher price in the future. To strengthen this view, Buffett said that even if someone sold him all the bitcoins in the world for $25, he would not buy them. "What did I buy it for?" he asked.

Gambling Tokens

A year later, Buffett called Bitcoin a "gambling token" in an interview with CNBC and compared its appeal to people's psychology of wanting to play roulette. The criticism also reflects one of his recurring concerns about broader markets: speculation.

He has long argued that investors may be attracted to certain assets simply because of price increases, creating a cycle where buyers rely on the enthusiasm of the next participant rather than the underlying asset to produce value. Bitcoin supporters have long rejected the framework, arguing that scarcity, decentralization, censorship resistance, settlement utility and fixed supply give it value, even if it does not generate cash flow like some companies.

如上所述，比特币已经挺过了自十年前（甚至更早；我们无法找到2014年之前的相关记录）开始的所有批评。正如上文所述，尽管尚未达到去年的峰值，但它已成为比巴菲特own company（其所在公司）更大的资产。尽管如此，比特币投资者很清楚，该资产颇具争议性，尤其是在老一辈人中。

尽管巴菲特对比特币持有看法并发表过评论，但他仍将是投资界的传奇人物（GOAT），我们祝愿他一切安好。