Author: Sydney Lake Fortune; Compiler: Liam
On January 23, according to the latest report from Fortune magazine, Warren Buffett has never concealed his dislike for cryptocurrencies. But Berkshire Hathaway has invested millions of dollars in Nu Holdings Ltd., a Brazilian bank related to cryptocurrency, and the bank's stock price has risen 34% year-on-year.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett has repeatedly stated his position on cryptocurrencies: he is not a fan of cryptocurrencies.
At Berkshire Hathaway's 2018 annual shareholders meeting, Buffett said Bitcoin "may be rat poison squared."
In 2018, Buffett told CNBC: "As far as cryptocurrencies are concerned, I can almost certainly say that they are not going to end well, we don't hold any cryptocurrencies, we are not short any cryptocurrencies, and we will never hold any cryptocurrency positions."
But recent reports suggest that Berkshire Hathaway and some of its investment managers may have become more lenient with cryptocurrencies.
Berkshire Hathaway has invested in Brazilian digital banking company Nu Holdings, which has its own cryptocurrency platform and supports the cryptocurrency market. According to Nu, Buffett's company initially invested $500 million in a Series G round in 2021 and later invested another $250 million.
In 2022, Nu launched its cryptocurrency platform Nubank Cripto, initially supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum and Polygon. The platform now includes Uniswap and Chainlink and allows users to send, receive and convert cryptocurrencies.
Nu Holdings did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Nu from 0.1% in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2022, to 0.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, according to SEC filings.
Representatives for Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment. This means that as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Berkshire Hathaway held more than 86 million shares of Nu, worth nearly $1.2 billion. This means that Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are benefiting from a business that he used to claim not to know much about.
"I've gotten into enough trouble with things that I think I understand. Why would I want to be long or short on something that I know nothing about?" Buffett told CNBC in a 2018 interview.
As of midday Wednesday, shares of Nu Holdings were up nearly 34% year-over-year. Now that Berkshire Hathaway appears to be making cryptocurrency-related investments, Buffett may need to reconsider his previous comments that cryptocurrencies won't change the status quo.
"If you tell me you own all the Bitcoin in the world and sell it to me for $25, I'm not going to take it, because what am I going to do with it?" Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. I'm going to have to sell it back to you one way or another. It's not going to do anything.
It's worth noting, though, that Berkshire Hathaway's overall investment strategy tends to be more conservative. According to the company's quarterly financial statements, Berkshire Hathaway held more than $325 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of 2024, but most of it was in U.S. Treasuries. This means that Berkshire Hathaway is staying away from large investments in hot stocks, even when the market is on a winning streak. In November 2024, Meyer Shields, managing director of boutique investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Wood, told Fortune magazine: Berkshire has been successful for decades by being steady in this way. ”