Warren Buffett buys Bitcoin

Author: Sydney Lake Fortune; Translation: Liam

On January 23, according to the latest report from Fortune magazine, Warren Buffett has never hidden his disdain for cryptocurrencies. However, Berkshire Hathaway has invested millions of dollars in Nu Holdings Ltd., a Brazilian bank associated with cryptocurrencies, and the bank’s stock price has risen by 34% year-on-year.

Warren Buffett, CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has repeatedly stated his position on cryptocurrency: he is not a fan of cryptocurrencies.

At Berkshire Hathaway’s 2018 annual shareholders meeting, Buffett referred to Bitcoin as the ‘rat poison squared’.

In 2018, Buffett told CNBC, “As far as cryptocurrencies are concerned, I can almost say for sure that they will not end well. We do not own any cryptocurrency, we do not short any cryptocurrency, and we will never have any cryptocurrency position.”

However, recent reports suggest that Berkshire Hathaway and some of its investment managers may have become more tolerant of cryptocurrencies.

Berkshire Hathaway has invested in Brazilian digital bank company Nu Holdings, which has its own cryptocurrency platform and supports the cryptocurrency market. According to Nu, Buffett’s company initially invested $500 million in the G-round financing in 2021, followed by an additional investment of $250 million.

In 2022, Nu launched its cryptocurrency platform Nubank Cripto, initially supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. The platform now includes Uniswap and Chainlink, allowing users to send, receive, and convert cryptocurrencies.

Nu Holdings did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s filing, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. increased its stake in Nu from 0.1% in the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2022 to 0.4% in the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.

*Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett’s representatives did not immediately respond to Fortune magazine’s request for comment. This means that as of the end of the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, Berkshire Hathaway held more than 86 million shares of Nu, worth nearly $1.2 billion. This means that Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are benefiting from businesses that he previously claimed not to understand.

In a 2018 interview with CNBC, Warren Buffett said, “I’ve gotten into enough trouble with what I think I know. Why should I trade long or short on something I don’t know anything about?”

As of Wednesday noon, Nu Holdings’ stock price has increased by nearly 34% year-on-year. Now Berkshire Hathaway seems to be making investments related to cryptocurrency, and Buffett may need to reconsider his previous remarks that cryptocurrency will not change the status quo.

“If you tell me that you have all the bitcoins in the world and sell them to me for $25, I won’t accept it, because what would I do with it?” Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. Anyway, I have to sell it back to you. It won’t do anything.

However, it is worth noting that Berkshire Hathaway’s overall investment strategy tends to be more conservative. According to the company’s quarterly financial statements, as of the end of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway holds over $325 billion in cash and equivalents, but most of it is in U.S. Treasury bonds. This means that Berkshire Hathaway is staying away from heavy investments in popular stocks, even when the market is on a winning streak.

In November 2024, Meyer Shields, managing director of boutique investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, told Fortune: Berkshire has been maintaining stability in this way for decades, thereby achieving success.