Labeled Bitcoin enemy number one by Pierre Thiel, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) CEO warren buffet now owns a stake in Bitcoin thanks to one of his investments.
What happened: In June 2021, Berkshire Hathaway invested $500 million in Brazilian digital bank Nubank. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway strengthened its position in digital banking when the company went public as a Now have NOT in December 2021.
For months, many have pointed out that Nubank is a cryptocurrency-friendly bank that could end up giving Buffett exposure to cryptocurrency trading. While Nubank is launch cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin BTC/USD And Ethereum ETH/USD for its millions of users, the bank’s parent company also allocates 1% of its liquidity to Bitcoin, according to a CoinDesk report.
Some Nubank users can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum since last week. The trading platform is expected to be available to all users by the end of July. Additional cryptocurrencies are expected to be added to the platform in the future.
Nubank has offered several ETFs to its clients that previously offered exposure to cryptocurrency.
“There is no doubt that crypto is a growing trend in Latin America, a trend that we are following closely and which we believe will have a transformational impact on the region,” said the CEO of Nubank. David Velez said.
Nubank has 53.9 million users in Brazil and several other Latin American countries.
Related link: If Charlie Munger Spent ‘100 Hours Studying the Issues’ Outside the US, He’d Be More Bullish on Bitcoin Than Me, Says Michael Saylor
Why it matters: Berkshire Hathaway possesses a stake in Nu Holdings worth over $1 billion.
Buffett and Vice Chairman of Berkshire Charlie Munger have been vocal critics of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin.
Buffett called Bitcoin squared rat poison. Buffet said Berkshire shareholders that he wouldn’t buy Bitcoin even if it fell to $25.
Munger also spoke about Bitcoin at the annual shareholder conference.
“When you have your own retirement account and your friendly advisor suggests that you put all the money in bitcoin, just say no,” Munger said.
Through its wide range of investments, Berkshire Hathaway could have indirect exposure to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as more companies become crypto-friendly. Berkshire Hathaway is also a significant shareholder of Visa Inc. Vwhich gives Buffett partial ownership of one CryptoPunk NFT.
This article was originally published on May 14, 2022.
Photo: created with an image of Aaron Friedman on Flickr