It appears that the growing popularity of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies – despite the continuing carnage on the wider crypto market – has prompted one of the greatest investors of all time, Warren Buffett, to change his mind.
The 91-year-old investor was asked at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting on May 2 whether he had changed his notoriously harsh opinion on bitcoin or cryptocurrency.
“If you had every bitcoin in the world and he offered me $25, I wouldn’t accept it,” Buffett said. “Because I won’t have any use for it, I’ll have to sell it back to you in some capacity. It’s not going to do anything.”
At the same annual shareholders meeting in 2018, Buffett referred to bitcoin as a “possibly rat poison class” and cautioned investors against investing in it.
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Warren Buffett called bitcoin a poison for rodents, "squared". (YouTube grab)
a change of heart?
Fast forward May 13, NuBank – one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms (surprise!) backed by the “Oracle of Omaha” Mr. Buffett himself – has launched cryptocurrency trading.
Beginning with bitcoin and ether, the bank claimed that its 54 million users can “buy, hold and trade digital assets from the same app” without registering new accounts or transferring funds.
Currently, NuBank is available in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. In addition, they have started offering cryptocurrency trading service in Brazil.
Users can start trading bitcoin and ethereum for as little as $0.2. And since no new accounts are required, the barrier to entry for bitcoin and other related tokens is further lowered.
full bitcoin access
It is estimated that by the end of July 2022, all users in Brazil will have full access to cryptocurrencies through Nubank. In addition to providing more crypto options in the future, they also intend to educate customers on crypto through various sites.
BTC total market cap at $558 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
NuBank is a so-called Neobank, a type of lender that operates outside the rules of the standard banking system.
NuInvest, the investment division of the “crypto-friendly” digital bank, allows users to invest in a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), giving them access to a financial sector in which Berkshire’s leaders have shown little interest. is shown.
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According to various sources, crypto infrastructure provider Paxos will supply the necessary trading and custody services for Nubank’s offering.
Buffett has long been opposed to bitcoin. In 2018, he told CNBC that “they will come to a disastrous end” and that Berkshire Hathaway “will never have stock in them.”
Featured image from Financial Express, chart from TradingView.com