Warren Buffett: 'Rat Poison Squared'

The Oracle of Omaha gave Bitcoin his most creative insult. His partner called it 'dementia.' One of them died. Bitcoin kept going up.

At Berkshire Hathaway's 2018 annual meeting, Warren Buffett called Bitcoin "probably rat poison squared." His partner Charlie Munger added that crypto trading was "just dementia." The crowd laughed. Bitcoin didn't care.

Buffett's argument was consistent and simple: Bitcoin produces nothing. No earnings, no dividends, no products. You buy it hoping someone else will pay more later. By Buffett's value investing framework, that makes it pure speculation. He said he wouldn't buy all the Bitcoin in the world for $25. It was a good line.

The problem with Buffett's analysis is that he applies the same logic to gold, which has been a store of value for 5,000 years. He has always been transparent about this blind spot. He doesn't buy non-productive assets. Period. But the "rat poison squared" quote became the single most-cited piece of Bitcoin FUD in history, used by everyone from CNBC guests to your uncle at Thanksgiving.

Crypto Twitter adopted it as a badge of honor. "Rat poison squared" merchandise appeared. The joke became that Bitcoin was indeed rat poison - and the rats were the legacy financial system. Buffett had accidentally created one of crypto's best marketing slogans.

Charlie Munger died on November 28, 2023, at age 99, just weeks before his 100th birthday. He went to his grave calling crypto "worthless" and comparing it to "venereal disease." He never wavered. Neither did Bitcoin, which hit $100,000 within a year of his death.

Buffett himself, now 95, has never changed his mind. He is one of the few major Bitcoin critics who remained 100% consistent. No secret crypto investments, no quiet pivots, no JPMorgan-style hypocrisy. Just a man who thinks Bitcoin is worthless and says so publicly every year. His portfolio missed the best-performing asset of the last 15 years. He does not appear to care.

Buffett is crypto's most respected critic precisely because he never cheated. He didn't say one thing and do another. He was just wrong.