Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and Berkshire Hathaway vice president Charlie Munger calls people who oppose a cryptocurrency ban “idiots,” adding that it’s “just ridiculous” for anyone to buy cryptocurrency. He also compared the replacement of national currencies to the replacement of air, stating that “it’s enormously stupid.”
Berkshire Vice President Charlie Munger says replacing national currencies is like replacing air
Berkshire Hathaway Vice President Charlie Munger continued his insults against cryptocurrencies and their supporters Wednesday during an interview broadcast live with CNBC at the Daily Journal’s annual shareholder meeting.
Referencing his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed stating that cryptocurrencies should be banned, the 99-year-old executive insisted there is no “rational” argument against his position to ban cryptocurrencies. He opined:
I think the people who oppose my position are idiots… It’s just ridiculous for anyone to buy these things.
“You can’t think of anything on Earth that has done more good for the human race than currency, national currencies. They were absolutely necessary to turn man from a successful fucking ape into successful modern humans and a human civilization, because they allowed all these convenient exchanges,” Munger described, explaining:
So if someone says that I’m going to create something to replace the national currency, it’s like saying that I’m going to replace the national air…it’s a huge nonsense.
“And of course, it’s very dangerous, and of course, the governments were totally wrong to allow it, and of course, I’m not proud of my country for allowing this crap,” he stressed. “It’s useless, it’s not good, it’s crazy, it will do nothing but harm, it’s antisocial to allow it.”
The Berkshire executive continued: “The guy who made the right decision on this is the Chinese leader. The Chinese leader took one look at cryptocurrencies and said ‘not in my China’ and boom… there are no cryptocurrencies in China. He is right and we are wrong.”
While he believes one should be able to lay out the arguments for and against a particular issue, the Berkshire vice president said that cryptocurrencies are an exception. “When you’re up against something as horrible as crypto… There’s only one right answer for smart people: just avoid it completely and avoid all the people who promote it.” He emphasized:
It’s just indescribable, it’s an absolute horror, and I’m ashamed of my country that so many people believe in this kind of garbage, and the government allows it to exist.
“It’s a totally, absolutely, crazy, stupid bet with huge house odds for the people on the other side, and they cheat… It’s just crazy,” he concluded.
Munger has criticized cryptocurrency many times in the past. he called earlier BTC “rat poison” and compared trading cryptocurrency to “trading excrement.”
The Berkshire executive said in 2021 that he wished cryptocurrencies had never been invented and praised China for banning cryptocurrencies. He also called bitcoin “disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization.” In February of last year, he urged the government to ban bitcoin, calling cryptocurrencies a “venereal disease.” In July, he advised everyone to avoid crypto as an “open sewer, full of malicious organisms.”
Do you think Berkshire VP Charlie Munger will ever change his mind about crypto? Let us know in the comments section.
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