The Blubber

Warren Buffett, CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has long been vocal about his skepticism toward cryptocurrency, famously labeling Bitcoin as “probably rat poison squared” during Berkshire Hathaway’s 2018 annual shareholder meeting.

“In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending,” Buffett told CNBC that same year. “We don’t own any, we’re not short any, we’ll never have a position in them.”

However, recent developments suggest Berkshire Hathaway may be softening its stance on cryptocurrency, at least indirectly.

The investment giant has backed Nu Holdings, a Brazilian digital banking firm that operates a cryptocurrency platform. Berkshire initially invested $500 million during a Series G funding round in 2021, followed by another $250 million, according to Nu Holdings.

In 2022, Nu Holdings launched Nubank Cripto, a platform that initially supported Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. Over time, it expanded to include Uniswap and Chainlink, allowing users to send, receive, and convert various cryptocurrencies.

Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Nu from 0.1% at the close of 2022 to 0.4% by the third quarter of fiscal 2024. As of the end of fiscal Q3 2025, Berkshire held over 86 million shares of Nu, worth nearly $1.2 billion.

This means Buffett’s company is now profiting from a business tied to the cryptocurrency market—despite Buffett’s earlier assertions that he would avoid such investments.

“I get into enough trouble with things I think I know something about,” Buffett said in his 2018 CNBC interview. “Why in the world should I take a long or short position in something I don’t know anything about?”

Nu Holdings’ stock price has risen nearly 34% year over year as of midday Wednesday. With Berkshire Hathaway now benefiting from crypto-related ventures, Buffett may need to revisit his famous statement that cryptocurrency wouldn’t “move the needle.”