Gates and Buffett bully bitcoin
Just as bitcoin was soaring back to five-figure levels (reaching US$9,932 on May 5), two of the world’s richest people decided to bring it back down to Earth with a bump. Bill Gates had this to say about the leading cryptocurrency while talking on CNBC’s business news show Squawk Box:
I agree I would short it if there was an easy way to do it.
Gates (value US$91.7 billion) vs. bitcoin (value US$160.8 billion) seems like an unfair tussle, so fortunately fellow mega-rich Apple tech-lover Warren Buffett (value US$84.4 billion) was on hand to side with Bill. Apparently, the master of investment was a little harsher in terms of criticism than the Microsoft co-founder. He was reported making this choice comment about bitcoin:
It’s probably rat poison squared.
Strangely enough, that was not the most extreme comment reserved for cryptocurrency at the recent Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. The holding company’s vice-chairman, Charlie Munger (value US$1.69 billion), was even more hostile in his opinion of decentralized currency:
I like cryptocurrency even less than Warren does...to me it's just dementia.
And on bitcoin trading desks:
[...] like somebody else is trading turds and you're being left out.
All Gates, Buffett, and Munger need now is for Jeff Bezos (value US$132.2 billion) to join in the anti-bitcoin fray and the cryptocurrency will be back down to three-figure levels again in no time. The continued expectation of regulation is also believed to have prevented bitcoin crossing the US$10,000 mark.
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