Benzinga - by Khyathi Dalal, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The late Charlie Munger called Bitcoin rat poison. His friend and longtime business partner, Warren Buffett, termed it "rat poison squared."
Today, Bitcoin's (CRYPTO: BTC) market cap currently stands at $813.9 billion — significantly ahead of the $778.1 billion reported by Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B).
“That’s a pretty damn big bottle of rat poison,” CryptoLaw founder John Deaton said on social media.
Bitcoin, considered the flagship digital token, is inching close to breaking the $1 trillion market cap mark which it breached earlier in February 2021 when prices peaked at $53,700.
Despite chasing BRK-B ahead of its market valuation, BTC still falls behind bullion major gold and silver at $13.9 trillion and $1.43 trillion, respectively.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT) are also ahead of Bitcoin by a significant margin, based on CompaniesMarketCap data.
Also, as Bitcoin zoomed past the $40,000 mark, CoinGlass data indicates that more than $184 million in short derivatives positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours.
Buffett, meanwhile, maintains a stance he first took in 2018 when he claimed that Bitcoin is “probably rat poison squared.” He also says it's not a “productive” asset, unlike land or corporate shares. He forecasted that the crypto community is in for a “bad ending” after the “euphoria wears off.”
Munger agreed. “I think it’s rat poison,” he said at Berkshire's 2018 annual meeting. “To me, it’s just dementia. It’s like somebody else is trading turds and you decide 'I can’t be left out.'”
Price Action: While the past year led the Berkshire stock to gather 15% gains, Bitcoin prices have seen a 142% surge in the same period. As Bitcoin prices breached the $40,000 mark over the weekend, the market cap also raced past the American financial giant.
Currently, Bitcoin is 39% below its high levels posted in November 2021.
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