Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger Says Government Should Ban Bitcoin — Calls Crypto ‘Venereal Disease’ – Featured Bitcoin News

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, wishes crypto would be banned immediately. He says the government made “a huge mistake” to allow cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin. “It’s like a venereal disease,” he opined.

Charlie Munger Says ‘It Was a Huge Mistake’ to Allow Crypto at All

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and longtime business partner, talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo Finance ahead of the annual shareholders meeting at the Daily Journal, where he serves as chairman.

Munger previously called bitcoin “rat poison” and said last year that he hated the success of the cryptocurrency. When Munger was asked about his surprise that bitcoin is now more popular, he replied:

The Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman replied: “If you stop to think about it, it’s an ideal currency if you want to commit extortion, or kidnapping, or have a protection racket or something.”

He added: “Why should a civilized government want an ideal untraceable technology to come into the payment system run by a bunch of people who want to get rich quick for doing very little for civilization. Of course, I hate it.” Munger elaborated:

I don’t think it’s good that our country is going crazy over bitcoin and its ilk. The Communist Chinese are wiser than us, I believe. They banned it.

He was also asked if he had any predictions on what’s going to happen with crypto in the U.S.

“No,” he replied. “You let a bad genie out of a bottle, God knows what happens.” The Berkshire executive opined:

This was a big mistake.

Munger continued to speak out about crypto regulation. “The truth of the matter is our regulatory establishment when they quit the government, they go out into this heavily promotional capitalism and so it’s very hard to get the government to make good, wise decisions about something like bitcoin.”

At the Daily Journal meeting, Munger reiterated: “I wish it [crypto] had been banned immediately, and I admire the Chinese for banning it.” He continued:

I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact I’ve avoided it. It’s like a venereal disease or something. It’s something I regard as a low form of contempt.

Munger’s statements echo his previous comments about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He said in December last year: “I’m never going to buy a cryptocurrency. I wish they’d never been invented.”

He also warned other investors against buying Bitcoin. In May, he said: “The whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization.”

What do you think about Charlie Munger’s comments about bitcoin and crypto? Please comment below.

Kevin Helms

Kevin, a student of Austrian Economics and evangelist since 2011, discovered Bitcoin. His main interests are in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, cryptography, and intersections between economics, cryptography, and Cryptography.