Berkshire Hathaway, the investment corporation founded by famed investor Warren Buffett, has invested $1 billion in Nubank, one of Brazil’s largest fintech banks focusing on bitcoin.
First, Berkshire has a stake in Nubank, which isn’t its only one. When Nubank went public in December 2021, Buffett’s group is said to have bought $250 million worth of shares. Nubank was worth $41.5 billion at the time, according to a Coindesk report. In June 2021, Berkshire Hathaway bought a $500 million stake in the company.
While Nubank does not let users trade cryptocurrencies, its investment arm NuInvest does let them participate in a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). In a US SEC filing announcing the latest transaction, Hathaway said it sold Mastercard and Visa shares for $1.3 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.
Berkshire Hathaway’s sponsorship of Nubank represents a turning point in the company’s investment strategy. This is indicative of the corporation’s transition away from credit card businesses and toward fintech startups because It’s not just Buffett’s partner and Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, who doesn’t like cryptos. He once said Bitcoin was “disgusting and against the interests of civilisation.”
Nubank is a big lover of bitcoin and has a few bitcoin-related products. This may mean Buffett has finally warmed up to cryptocurrencies, or at least cryptocurrency products like Bitcoin ETFs.
In September 2020, Nubank acquired Easynvest, a popular trading site that has been offering a Bitcoin ETF since June 2021. The ETF is listed on the B3, Brazil’s second-oldest stock exchange.
Buffett will benefit from Nubank’s growing exposure to crypto due to his huge shareholding. No matter what, Buffett stands to profit.
The number of crypto-related financial products has increased. From 35 to 80 crypto-related goods, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Asset value increased from $24 billion to $63 billion in 2021.
As reported by Cointelegraph, Valkyrie Investments CEO Leah Wald expects a rise in money flow into crypto-related financial products. “Many institutions are coming,” she said. Despite price drops, Bitcoin’s price has stayed stable, and more institutions are joining.
Cryptocurrencies and associated items have a linear future. Why is Buffet interested in crypto? A crypto wallet co-founder and CEO thinks Buffett’s Nubank investment “may be regarded as a strategy to assist the fintech/crypto industry without reversing his past criticism.”
