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- Munger’s recent comments aren’t surprising given that he has long held a skeptical opinion about cryptocurrency, once calling it a rat poison.
- Saylor admonishes everyone to research BTC and decide whether to invest in it instead of listening to Munger’s advice.
According to billionaire investor Charlie Munger, the US should ban cryptos as China did. Munger, the Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman, claimed that the crypto industry enables a gambling mentality due to its lack of regulation. The 99-year-old billionaire investor shared his views about cryptos in a recently published op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
He said, “Crypto is neither a currency, commodity nor security. Instead, it’s gambling and is allowed only in states with reckless regulation.” Hence, he suggested that the US promulgate a law prohibiting such from happening. It is worth noting that Munger and his friend, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet, have always criticized digital assets. They often argue that cryptos aren’t productive or tangible assets.
The timing of Munger’s recent comments
Munger’s recent comments come at a time the digital asset industry is facing several issues, especially liquidity crunch and failed projects, with the most recent being the crash of a once-prominent crypto exchange, FTX. The problems affecting the crypto industry caused its market cap to drop by over $2 trillion last year.
The price of the leading digital asset, BTC, was 65 percent down from its all-time high in 2022. But it has made significant gains in the new year to trade at $23,422, according to our data. Hence, it is now 40 percent down from its all-time high, which it attained in November 2021.
Munger argued that there had been no government preapproval of disclosures for nearly all privately owned firms that launched their tokens or have become publicly traded in the last few years. He further said many promoters had bought crypto tokens for almost zero, which they sell with lots of hype to the unsuspecting public.
However, the public doesn’t know that the pre-dilution of such tokens always favors the promoter. The 99-year-old billionaire investor suggested two precedents that can guide us authorities to making a sound decision. The first is China’s outright ban on all crypto-related activities and services.
The second is the English parliament’s ban on all public trading for new common stocks. According to Munger, this law was in place since the 1700s for nearly 100 years. Then, he added that the Chinese Communist leader had laid the example of what the US should do after banning cryptos.
Michael Saylor responds to Munger’s comments
Meanwhile, BTC advocate Michael Saylor has responded to Munger’s criticism of BTC. During an interview in a recent podcast, Saylor says BTC is so powerful that everyone, especially those with influence and power from Presidents to investors like Munger and Buffett, is sharing their opinion about it. He also said that no one could genuinely understand BTC unless they have a vested interest in it.
He argued that many people study less than 100 hours or stop studying altogether once they reach 40 years of age, let alone Munger and Buffet, who are in their 90s. Saylor also said it is obvious neither of them has taken any time to learn about BTC. The BTC advocate added that none of these wealthy investors would have recommended Apple, Facebook, or Amazon stocks for purchase last decade.
However, these stocks have proven to be excellent purchases for those who bought them then. The BTC advocate added that these older men share their opinion because the media men want to use their views to sell their publications. For instance, no one is asking Buffett his opinion about gold or silver because many people are not interested in that information.
Saylor concluded by saying no one should listen to an older man’s advice about a new technology in which he has no interest.
