Warren Buffett's Crypto Paradox: Berkshire Hathaway's $1.2 Billion Bet Defies Years of Skepticism

For nearly two decades, Warren Buffett has been one of crypto’s most vocal critics. Yet in a striking reversal, his company Berkshire Hathaway now holds over $1.2 billion in investments linked to the digital asset space—a position that seems to directly contradict everything the legendary investor has said about cryptocurrencies.

Decades of Crypto Criticism from Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett’s disdain for cryptocurrencies has been consistent and blunt. At the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, he famously called Bitcoin “probably rat poison squared.” That same year, during a CNBC interview, he doubled down on his position: “When it comes to cryptocurrencies, I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending. We don’t own any cryptocurrency, we don’t short any cryptocurrency, we will never own it.”

His skepticism extended into the 2020s. At the 2022 shareholder meeting, Buffett offered a particularly colorful critique: “If you told me you owned all the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25, I wouldn’t take it because what would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you, in any case. It doesn’t do anything.”

Buffett has consistently argued that his reluctance to invest in crypto stems from a fundamental principle: “I’ve gotten in trouble for the things I think I understand. So why would I want to get long or short something I don’t understand at all?” This philosophy has long defined his cautious approach to the sector.

The Quiet Investment: How Berkshire Hathaway Built Its Crypto Exposure

Despite Buffett’s public opposition to crypto, Berkshire Hathaway has quietly built a significant position in Nu Holdings Ltd., a Brazil-based digital bank that operates its own cryptocurrency platform. The company’s investment strategy unfolded in stages:

In 2021, Berkshire Hathaway participated in Nu’s Series G funding round with a $500 million investment, followed by an additional $250 million. This $750 million commitment marked the beginning of what would become the company’s substantial crypto-adjacent holdings. In 2022, Nu launched Nubank Cripto, a dedicated cryptocurrency platform initially supporting Bitcoin ($68.80K), Ethereum ($1.98K), and Polygon. The platform has since expanded to include Uniswap ($3.51) and Chainlink ($8.82), enabling users to send, receive, and exchange digital assets.

According to SEC filings, Berkshire Hathaway steadily increased its stake in Nu Holdings from 0.1% in Q4 2022 to 0.4% by Q3 2024. By the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, the company held over 86 million shares, valued at approximately $1.2 billion. Nu’s stock has climbed roughly 34% year-over-year, demonstrating strong market performance.

Warren Buffett’s company and the investment legend himself declined to comment on this apparent shift in strategy when contacted by media outlets including Fortune.

Why the Shift? Understanding Berkshire’s Conservative Approach

The discrepancy between Buffett’s public statements and Berkshire Hathaway’s actual investment behavior raises an important question: why the investment in a crypto-linked financial institution?

One possible explanation lies in the nature of the investment itself. Berkshire Hathaway is investing in Nu Holdings as a financial services company, not purely as a crypto play. Nu operates as a comprehensive digital banking platform with millions of users across Latin America. The cryptocurrency feature represents just one component of a broader fintech offering.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to understand Berkshire Hathaway’s overall investment posture. As of Q4 2024, the company maintains over $325 billion in cash and cash equivalents, with the majority held in U.S. Treasury bonds. Even with the $1.2 billion Nu position, Berkshire remains remarkably conservative—avoiding major stakes in surging stocks even during bull markets.

“Berkshire has succeeded over the years precisely because it has maintained a boring approach in this regard,” Meyer Shields, managing director at boutique investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, told Fortune in November 2024. This assessment captures the essence of the company’s philosophy: methodical, patient capital deployment rather than speculative bets.

While Warren Buffett has not explicitly abandoned his skepticism about crypto, Berkshire Hathaway’s actions demonstrate that the distinction between avoiding cryptocurrencies entirely and avoiding cryptocurrencies as a core investment may be more nuanced than his prior statements suggested. Whether this represents a genuine shift in thinking or simply an investment in a successful fintech company that happens to offer crypto services remains an open question for observers and shareholders alike.