Veteran Wall Street investor Warren Buffett is known for his unabashed takes on cryptocurrencies and has never shied away from voicing his disapproval in the harshest terms possible.
What happened: Buffett has made Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world’s most valuable corporations through a succession of acquisitions and investments over the years, becoming one of the most followed stock investors globally.
However, cryptocurrency as a financial asset has failed to capture the interest of the “Oracle of Omaha.”
During a January 2018 interview with CNBC, Buffett said he sees little hope for the asset class.
“In terms of cryptocurrencies generally, I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending," he argued. "If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I'd be glad to do it, but I would never short a dime's worth."
See Also: Crypto Analyst: Bitcoin Poised To Skyrocket To $180K and ‘Eventually’ Top $1M
When Buffetts made these remarks, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization was $828 billion, compared to Berkshire Hathaway's valuation of $510 billion.
Fast forward to now, the cryptocurrency market has ballooned to a market value of $3.23 trillion, implying a 290%, or nearly fourfold, expansion.
During this time, leading cryptocurrencies recorded astronomical gains, with Bitcoin surging 520% and meme token Dogecoin exploding 2,961%.
| Cryptocurrency | Price (Recorded during Buffett's Remarks) | Price (Recorded at 3:06 a.m. EDT) | Gains +/- |
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | $15,043 | $93,343.04 | 520.508% |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | $1,248.00 | $3,379.52 | 170.795% |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | $0.012839 | $0.3931 | 2961.76% |
In comparison, Berkshire's market valuation stood at $1.03 trillion. This meant that the cryptocurrency market is three times as big as Buffett's firm today.
It should be noted that the legendary investor has not bought cryptocurrencies, directly or through exchange-traded funds.
That said, Buffett and Berkshire are shareholders in Nu Holdings Ltd. NU, a crypto-friendly digital bank in Brazil. According to the company's latest 13F filing, it had a position worth over $1 billion in Nu Holdings.
Why It Matters: For the uninitiated, the "Inverse Cramer" phenomenon hinges on the belief that doing the opposite of what Cramer advises could lead to profits.
In fact, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) was floated in 2022, allowing investors to bet against Cramer's predictions. The ETF eventually shut down earlier this year.
Even influential cryptocurrency analysts like Ali Martinez wrote, "Another sell signal," reacting to Cramer's endorsement.
That said, there has been no definitive proof of counter-trading Cramer's predictions being a profitable strategy.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $93,343.04, plunging 5.72% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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