According to billionaire investor Charlie Munger, the US should follow in China’s footsteps and implement a “cryptocurrency ban.”
In his articles to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Mr Munger said cryptocurrency was “not a currency” and compared the cryptocurrency market to a casino, “with almost a 100% house edge.”
“Cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, not a security,” Mr. Munger wrote, calling cryptocurrency a “gambling contract” where the odds are in the company’s favor. And to make matters worse, these bets are placed in “a country where gambling contracts have traditionally been regulated only by states that compete in laxity,” Munger wrote.
He went on to suggest that the US should take action at the federal level to get rid of cryptocurrency:
“Obviously, the US needs to pass a new federal law to prevent this.”
The prominent investor, who was Warren Buffett’s right-hand man at investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway for decades, added that the only reason the crypto-craze has been allowed to continue in the US is a “gap in regulation”. »
Follow China’s example
Mr. Munger, who celebrated his 99th earlier this year – anniversary, did not specify in his article exactly what he means by “cryptocurrency ban” and whether it includes a ban on cryptocurrency trading, cryptocurrency transactions, or even simply storing cryptocurrencies. .
However, he praised China’s communist government’s efforts to rid his country of anything cryptocurrency-related, while suggesting the U.S. should do the same.
“What should the US do after banning cryptocurrencies? Well, one more action might make sense: thank the Chinese Communist leader for his excellent example of common sense,” Mr. Munger wrote.
Munger is not the first to criticize cryptocurrency
Mr. Munger’s latest opinion is far from the first in which the billionaire has voiced his criticism of cryptocurrencies and called for increased regulation.
After the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange last November, Mr. Munger called Bitcoin (BTC) “a very, very bad thing.” He added that the US, in his opinion, “didn’t need a currency that was good for kidnappers and so on.”
“There are people who think they have to be in on every hot deal. And they don’t care if it’s child prostitution or bitcoins. I think this is complete madness. Reputation helps a lot in financial life,” the veteran investor said at the time.
