The US should follow in China’s footsteps and implement “a ban of cryptocurrencies,” according to billionaire investor Charlie Munger.
In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Mr. Munger said crypto “isn’t a currency,” and likened the crypto market to a casino “with a nearly 100% edge for the house.”
“A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security,” Mr. Munger wrote, calling crypto instead “a gambling contract” where the odds strongly favor the house. And to make matters worse, these bets are being entered into in “a country where gambling contracts are traditionally 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 crypto:
“Obviously the U.S. should now enact a new federal law that prevents this from happening.”
The well-known investor, who has served as Warren Buffet’s right hand in the investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway for decades, added that the only reason why the crypto craze has been allowed to go on in the US is because of “a gap in regulation.”
Follow China’s example
Mr. Munger, who celebrated his 99th birthday earlier this year, did not specify in his piece what exactly he means by a “ban of cryptocurrencies,” and whether this includes a ban on crypto trading, crypto transactions, or even just holding crypto.
What he did do, however, was praise the Chinese communist government’s effort to rid their country of all things crypto, while suggesting that the US should do the same.
“What should the U.S. do after a ban of cryptocurrencies is in place? Well, one more action might make sense: Thank the Chinese communist leader for his splendid example of uncommon sense,” Mr. Munger wrote.
Not the first time Munger criticizes crypto
The latest opinion piece by Mr. Munger is far from the first the billionaire has voiced his criticism of crypto and called for increased regulation.
Following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November last year, Mr. Munger called Bitcoin (BTC) specifically “a very, very bad thing.” He added that the US, in his view, “did not need a currency that was good for kidnappers and so on.”
“There are people who think they’ve got to be on every deal that’s hot. And they don’t care whether it’s child prostitution or Bitcoin. I think that’s totally crazy. Reputation is very helpful in financial life,” the veteran investor said at the time.
