Billionaire Charlie Munger calls crypto’ venereal disease,’ praises China for the ban

Legendary investor Charlie Munger slammed bitcoin on Wednesday, calling inflation the greatest threat to the United States, besides nuclear war.

The 98-year-old Munger, one of the biggest crypto-critics, ripped bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as “beneath contempt” during a shareholder Q&A session at the annual meeting of Los Angeles-based newspaper chain Daily Journal Corp, of which he is chairman. He said that the principal purposes of cryptocurrencies are extortion, kidnappings, and tax evasion.

From his statements, it is guessable that he has never invested in cryptocurrencies, which he confirmed by saying:

“I’m proud of the fact I’ve avoided it… it’s like some venereal disease.”

Munger, who is the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and the right-hand man of Warren Buffett who can buy two-thirds of all existing Bitcoins, said that:

“I wish it had been banned immediately. I admire the Chinese for banning it. I think they were right, and we were wrong to allow it.”

Munger bashing crypto

Munger, who previously called Bitcoin “rat poison,” has always been hateful towards crypto and is known for being one of the biggest crypto-critics. Last year, while speaking at the Sohn Hearts and Minds conference, Munger discussed expanding markets and lashed crypto.

During Berkshire’s annual meeting, he said,” I hate the bitcoin success. I think the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization,” calling bitcoin a worthless asset built entirely on speculation.

When asked about the CBDC on Wednesday, he said he is fine with the U.S. Federal Reserve releasing its own digital currency. However, he questioned the point:

“The Federal Reserve could have a currency if they want one… we’ve got a digital currency already; it’s called a bank account. The banks are all integrated with the Federal Reserve system.”

Munger showed concerns over increasing inflation and said that it is the way democracies die, citing hyperinflation as the primary cause of the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on Munger’s views by saying that in 2009, Munger told all the ways Tesla would fail, but it was worth trying.

I was at a lunch with Munger in 2009 where he told the whole table all the ways Tesla would fail.

Made me quite sad, but I told him I agreed with all those reasons & that we would probably die, but it was worth trying anyway.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2022