Cryptocurrency amounts to a “gross excess” that should be banned in the US, billionaire Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger argued in a scathing column this week.
Munger — the 99-year-old right-hand man to legendary investor Warren Buffett — has been an outspoken critic of bitcoin and other unregulated digital tokens, which he once likened to a “severe disease” he avoids. were happy
In a Wall Street Journal column, Munger doubled down on his view that cryptocurrencies are predatory scams targeting ordinary investors.
“Cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security,” Munger wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday. “Instead, it’s a gambling treaty with an almost 100% house advantage, entered into in a country where gambling treaties have traditionally only been regulated by states that compete with laziness. are.”
“Obviously, the United States must now enact a new federal law to prevent this from happening,” Munger added.
Munger suggested that Congress should follow the example set by China, which banned cryptocurrency trading and mining in 2021 over concerns about its potential risks.
The billionaire also made a more obscure reference to the British Parliament’s passage of the Bubble Act in 1720, which banned public trading of new common stocks after the speculative trading saga known as the ‘South Sea Bubble’. This resulted in a major economic crisis. This ban remained in place for over a century.
“In this 100 years,” Munger said, “England played the greatest national role of all time in the march of civilization as it led firmly in both the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, and it gave birth to a promising nation called America.” gave birth to a small country.” .
Blaming the crypto sector is nothing new for Monger, who has blasted the industry and its major players on several occasions in the past.
When asked about FTX’s bankruptcy last November, Munger told CNBC that cryptocurrency is a “very, very bad thing” that is ripe for exploitation.
“The country didn’t need a currency that was good for kidnappers and things like that,” Munger said at the time. “There are people who think they have to be on every deal that’s hot. They don’t care if it’s child prostitution or bitcoin. If it’s hot, they want to be in on it. . I think it’s absolutely crazy.”
Last July, Monger compared the crypto sector to an “open sewer” that was “full of malicious organisms.”
“I think anyone who sells this stuff is either delusional or evil. I wouldn’t touch crypto,” Munger added. “I’m not interested in weakening the world’s national currencies. “
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