Rich Dad, Poor Dad Author Says 'Major Banking Crisis Coming,' Praises Bitcoin and Gold

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the best-selling book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” explained this week that time is running out as a “major banking crisis is coming fast.” The best selling author says now is “not a time to think about it” and said people should start considering leveraging precious metals and bitcoin.

Robert Kiyosaki wrote the popular book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” and he also offers personal finance education to people interested in learning about real estate, investing, cash flow, and how to start a business. During the last few years, Kiyosaki has been an advocate for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and he’s predicted an economic collapse for years now.

In 2018, during an interview with the Sane Crypto Podcast, Kiyosaki called bitcoin “the people’s money” and said he expects digital currencies to outlast fiat. Following the Covid-19 outbreak and the beleaguered global economy, Kiyosaki has continued to praise precious metals and bitcoin.

On August 21, the best selling author tweeted about Warren Buffet’s recent decisions to invest in gold.

“Why Buffet is out of banks?” the author said. “Banks bankrupt. Major banking crisis coming fast. [The] Fed [and] Treasury to take over the banking system? Fed and Treasury “helicopter fake money” direct to people to avoid mass rioting?”

Kiyosaki continued:

Not a time to ‘Think about it.’ How much gold, silver, [and] Bitcoin do you have?

A number of Kiyosaki’s 1.4 million followers questioned his statements about bitcoin and some recommended other investments.

One individual replied to Kiyosaki’s tweet and said that it was “highly irresponsible not to own any bitcoin.”

“Some say they can’t afford one whole Bitcoin-just like gold, [but] you can buy a portion of it,” the Twitter account Stack Satoshi’s said responding to Kiyosaki’s statement.

“[One] bitcoin has 100 million units called Satoshis. Start buying Satoshis and in no time, you will have one whole Bitcoin and many more,” he added. Kiyosaki’s tweet got a number of responses from his followers and most people didn’t seem to appreciate his recommendations.

The author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” said similar statements last April when the U.S. government started distributing stimulus. At the time, Kiyosaki said the “death of the dollar” was imminent.

“Death of dollar,” Kiyosaki told his Twitter followers at the time. “People desperate for money. Very sad. If [the] government gives you free money, take it yet spend it wisely. Do not save. Buy gold, silver, bitcoin. Dollar is dying.”

What do you think about Robert Kiyosaki warning about a major banking crisis? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

The Bitcoin Network Now Consumes 7 Nuclear Plants Worth of Power

The SHA256 hashrate that secures the Bitcoin network has grown massively during the last few years, as Bitcoin’s processing power has touched all-time highs in 2020. Moreover, the gigawatts of electrical consumption powering industrial bitcoin mining today consumes as much as seven nuclear power plants.

Bitcoin mining is a process where groups of miners compete in order to capture as many block rewards as they can. Bitcoin miners essentially plug machines into the wall that consume electricity in order to hash away at the Bitcoin network’s consensus algorithm so they can outpace competitors. Hashrate is how analysts measure the amount of computing power dedicated to the blockchain network.

The BTC network’s hashrate has touched close to 140 exahash per second (EH/s) in 2020. Today, according to charts.Bitcoin.com data the hashrate is hovering around 120EH/s.

Basically, ASIC mining machines that produce higher hashrate values than others, will obtain more BTC via mining. In 2020, there are now extremely large facilities and warehouses filled with thousands of ASIC mining rigs. Additionally, solo miners working in remote areas in the world typically join a mining pool so they can pool their hashrate together in order to gather more bitcoins.

On Monday, August 24, 2020, the price per BTC has been hovering between $11,600 to $11,800.

Collectively the aggregate total of all the bitcoin miners combined makes up the total amount of hashrate dedicated to the blockchain. Today the Bitcoin (BTC) network hashrate is around 120 exahash per second (EH/s).

Analysts don’t know exactly how much electricity is consumed to power the entire network. But researchers have been able to come up with a very close estimate on how much electricity is consumed and the average price miners pay per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

The researchers from Bitooda estimate that China’s overall hashrate is only 50% of the global network. Bitooda also estimates the cost of production of one single BTC in July is around $5,000.

For instance, findings from Tokeninsight’s 2020 mining research and the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) show that on average, miners are paying between $0.03 to $0.05 per kWh this year. Estimates also indicate that at the end of March 2020, the cost to mine a single bitcoin (BTC) is roughly $7,577.51. At current exchange rates, this gives miners a profit margin of around $4,184 on Monday, August 24.

Although, another estimate from Bitooda’s mining report published in July claims the cost to produce a single BTC is around $5,000. Bitooda’s researchers think the BTC network hashrate could surpass 260 exahash per second during the next year and a half.

“By our assessment, the Bitcoin network can exceed 260EH/s in Hashrate in the next 12–14 months,” the report published on July 15, 2020, notes. “Led by a modest increase in available power capacity from 9.6 to 10.6GW and an upgrade cycle that will replace older generation S9 class rigs with newer S17 and next-generation S19 class rigs.

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) shows the estimated power to run the Bitcoin (BTC) network is 7.46 gigawatts (GW). An average-sized nuclear plant in 2020 produces 1GW of electrical power.

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), produced by the Cambridge Center for Alternative finance, attempts to estimate the amount of energy consumed by bitcoin mining. Today, the CBECI says the Bitcoin network’s power consumption is more than seven gigawatts (GW) of electricity.

On Monday, the CBECI indicates that there is 7.46 GW running the BTC network which equals around 63.32 TWh or terawatt-hours of energy consumption. The amount of power consumed by bitcoin miners is equal to more than seven nuclear power plants or 21.8 million photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.

The Bitcoin (BTC) network is as powerful as 9.1 million horses (horsepower) of energy or 14,000 Corvette Z06s engines.

The BTC network is as powerful as 2,884 utility-scale wind turbines or 9.1 million horses (horsepower) of energy.

For instance, last week the mining facility operator Enegix told the financial technology columnist, Paddy Baker, that the firm was set to launch a large mining facility in Kazakhstan with 50,000 ASIC devices.

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) Mining Map on August 24, 2020.

Baker’s story calculates that the operation would power 180,000 U.S. homes, but news.Bitcoin.com’s calculations indicate the Kazakhstan facility would power only 90,000 American houses. This would mean that according to CBECI’s data the whole BTC network could power 2.25 million U.S. homes.

Cambridge’s mining map shows that China commands 65.08% of the global hashrate, but this estimate may be incorrect. In July, researchers from Bitooda claims that Chinese miners only account for 50% of the network and the U.S. has upped its game to 14%.

Countries by hashrate consumption according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) data.

In contrast, Cambridge’s mining map indicates that the U.S. only commands 7.24%, Russia 6.9%, Kazakhstan 6.17%, Malaysia 4.33%, and Iran captures 3.82% of the SHA256 hashpower. The mining map leverages geo-location data (IP addresses) of miners connected to major mining operations.

More than a decade ago, Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor who allegedly mined the first 18,000 blocks on a single high-end computer workstation, predicted the massive growth the network handles today.

“At first, most users would run network nodes,” Nakamoto wrote on November 2, 2008. “But as the network grows beyond a certain point, it would be left more and more to specialists with server farms of specialized hardware. A server farm would only need to have one node on the network and the rest of the LAN connects with that one node,” Nakamoto added.

What do you think about the Bitcoin network’s current power consumption in 2020? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Re-Mining Simulation Shows Satoshi Used a Single High-End PC to Mine 1.1M Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency advocates have been recently discussing the mysterious Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto as RSK’s chief scientist, Sergio Demian Lerner, published a paper called “The Patoshi Mining Machine.” Essentially, Lerner simulated Satoshi’s mining experience. The findings estimate that Bitcoin’s creator used a single computer to mine an estimated 1 million bitcoin minted in the early days.

Sergio Demian Lerner is well known for publishing one of the first estimates backed by technical data in 2013 concerning Satoshi Nakamoto’s alleged stash of bitcoin.

During the last seven years, Lerner has published a few more papers about this subject and it is estimated that Satoshi mined 1.1 million BTC. Not too long ago in 2018, Bitmex Research published findings that estimated Satoshi may have only mined 700,000 BTC.

At the end of July 2020, the blockchain trackers and researchers from Whale Alert published a new research report which placed the figure around 1,125,150 BTC.

Lerner’s latest paper “The Patoshi Mining Machine” looks into whether or not the Patoshi pattern (Satoshi’s mining) was done by multiple computers or a single PC. Lerner simulated Satoshi’s mining experience by “mining a large part of Patoshi nonce space scanning sequentially in the range.”

The RSK chief scientist paper noticed a tendency while re-mining the old Satoshi bocks which reduces the nonce value.

“It turned out that re-mining reveals a strong tendency of the Patoshi mining algorithm to choose higher nonces when scanning the inner nonce,” Lerner discovered. “This tendency suggests the nonce was being decremented, which is the opposite that the Satoshi client version 0.1 does.”

Re-mining revealed some of the possible solutions chosen by the miner, Lerner detailed and “one that exists in the blockchain, will be called the real solution.”

The finding leads Lerner to believe that Satoshi didn’t leverage 50 computers to mine the Patoshi blocks and it’s very likely the inventor utilized a single machine back then.

Lerner thinks that Satoshi may have been scanning subranges in parallel when he examined the nonce imbalance decreases. “Since the nonce imbalance decreases when analyzing two subranges together, this suggests Patoshi was scanning the 5 subranges in parallel, but each subrange internally sequentially,” Lerner’s paper notes.

The researcher’s study further adds:

This contradicts a theory that Patoshi deployed the first mining farm of 50 independent computers (or any other highly decoupled system) and supports the theory that Patoshi was simply multi-threading in a high-end CPU.

Lerner said that he attempted the re-mining process in 2014, but shelved the idea for a number of years. The researcher detailed that this year he re-mined with “ a standard CPU” and re-mined “the first 18K block only to check that the theory matched the reality (It does).”

During the last few years, the search for clues about Satoshi has been a fan favorite and people continue to investigate his past movements and how the inventor jumped-started the Bitcoin network.

Lerner’s Patoshi papers have always lent credence to a number of theories about the estimated size of Satoshi’s bitcoin stash and how Nakamoto may have operated in the early days.

What do you think about Sergio Demian Lerner re-mining 18,000 blocks in order to discover Satoshi’s secrets? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

CFTC seeks more than $500 million from missing Bitcoin ponzi mastermind

The US CFTC has requested summary judgement for more than half a billion dollars after failing to locate 2017 Benjamin Reynolds, who the CTFC alleges created a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme.

In brief

• The US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission is seeking summary judgment in the case of Bitcoin fraudster Benjamin Reynolds.
• The CFTC alleges Reynolds defrauded more than 1,000 investors out of $143 million worth of Bitcoin in 2017.
• Regulators are also seeking more than $400 million in penalty charges as a deterrent to future Bitcoin frauds.

US regulators are seeking more than half a billion dollars from Benjamin Reynolds, an alleged Ponzi-scheme creator they can’t track down.

The US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed the huge penalty to the New York court, which it is asking to resolve the case against Reynolds in his absence.

The regulatory agency said it had exhausted all options for inducing UK-based Benjamin Reynolds to appear in court to face charges for a $147 million 2017 Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, according to court documents filed August 20.

The CTFC accuses Reynolds of defrauding more than 1,000 investors out of 22,858 Bitcoin in 2017, advertising profits from a crypto trading scheme that never actually generated any returns. 

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Instead, Reynolds’ Control-Finance Limited firm paid withdrawal requests from clients using contributed funds from other victims—classic Ponzi fashion—until authorities shut down the company website in September 2017.

Reynolds continued to correspond with clients for a time after the website’s removal, assuring customers funds were secure and operations would soon resume. In reality, Reynolds was busy funneling what remained of customer funds into accounts in South Korea, Switzerland, Canada, and offshore tax havens like the Seychelles islands.

The sum requested by the CFTC includes restitution of more than $143 million lost by investors and an additional $429 million deterrent against future would-be fraudsters. 

The CFTC has failed to locate Reynolds since filing their original complaint in June 2019, going so far as to place advertisements in British newspaper The Daily Telegraph for several weeks requesting his appearance in court before pursuing summary judgment. Court documents show that Control-Finance Limited and Reynolds had registered addresses in Manchester, England.

Nigeria's Foreign Currency Crisis Boon for Bitcoin: Country Tops Wallet Downloads Ahead of the US

Nigeria’s weakening naira currency, as well as the shortage of U.S. dollars, are forcing businesses to switch to bitcoin as the means of settling payments for international transactions. Nigerian businesses need the American currency to buy new supplies, as well as to order essential equipment from abroad. However, formal sources of foreign currency like banks are failing to meet this demand.

According to a report by the Nigerian publication, Businessday, even Bureau De Change (BDCs), the popular alternative sources of foreign currency in Nigeria, are unable to meet the high demand for dollars.

An anonymous source tells the publication that “in recent times, a few BDCs have tried to take an education in bitcoin operation.” The education efforts are now paying off as “many of them (businesspeople) are coming to ask us how it works, and the ones that already know are switching to BTC for international trade.”

Cryptocurrencies have gained prominence in Nigeria given their use as a medium for settling cross border payments and for remittances. The global pandemic and the associated restrictions on movement appear to have spurred on a new wave of demand for bitcoin. More Nigerians are exploring cryptocurrencies as shown by the number cryptocurrency wallets downloaded.

For instance, data from Local.Bitcoin.com shows that Nigeria overtook the United States as the country with the most downloads of the Bitcoin.com Wallet in the past week.

Out of the 18,613 wallets downloaded between 16 and 10 August, 3,473 were from Nigeria which shows the country is well ahead of the 2,802 from the United States. India is a distant third with a total of 1,420 downloads during the same period.

Data from Usefultulips also shows that Nigeria is one of the countries with high peer to peer bitcoin traded volumes in the world.

The publication also highlights the report by Blockchain.com which shows the country leading the African continent in terms of peer-to-peer traded bitcoin volumes. According to this report, Nigeria recorded trades valued at $34.4 million in the second quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, the publication quotes Yele Badamosi, CEO of Bundle who says “there are certainly a lot more use-cases for bitcoin in Nigeria. However, Badamosi believes “most people see it as a speculative asset”

The CEO adds “that (speculation) will probably be the biggest and one of the primary use-cases. We then have remittances and a medium of exchange between other currencies (as use cases).” The publication also says the cryptocurrency exchanges that it spoke to “have seen a spike in remittances.”

The Nigerian newspaper also quotes Tomiwa Lasebikan, co-founder and head of Products at Buycoins who is attributing growth in the use of bitcoin “to the naira depreciation which has seen more people willing to hold and trade in bitcoin.”

Rume Ophi, a Partner at Vorem Nigeria is more emphatic in his opinion. He says:

They are using it to buy stuff abroad, especially the people doing business in China because it is lucrative there even though the Chinese government is clamping down on transactions using cryptocurrencies. All you need to do is have a VPN, you are on the internet, you can do your transaction. Bitcoin is not censored so it is difficult for them to control. The number of people spending bitcoin now in Nigeria is increasing like wildfire. I get all sorts of questions these days like ‘How can I start?’ ‘How can I trade?’

Still, some experts say the increased use of bitcoin is also exposing old challenges like poor education and ignorance. A report by Luno, a cryptocurrency exchange, shows that “while more Nigerians were aware of cryptocurrencies, many are not adequately educated.”

Efforts to educate Nigerians about cryptocurrencies and bitcoin are ongoing and just recently, a local cryptocurrency exchange used the local reality television show, Big Brother Naija to showcase bitcoin and its use cases.

Housemates in the reality show were made to participate in a bitcoin quiz. All contestants received $500 in bitcoin.

What do you think about Nigeria’s growing bitcoin use? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Bitcoin Price Set To Explode Once It Breaks $13,000: Prop Trader

 

Bitcoin recently breached the $12,000 checkpoint after weeks of consolidating gains. This was a psychological milestone that BTC has been battling for a long time as it has always rejected the crucial mark. 

So, what’s next for the bitcoin market? A prop trader believes the asset breaking through $13,000 would act as a launchpad for further highs.

Why BTC Will Explode Upon Breaching $13K

Bitcoin opened this week with strong momentum as it raced past $12K. The world’s largest cryptocurrency had been trading in a tight range between $11,200 and $12,000 for around two weeks.

Well, BTC cleared the $12K level, rocketing past $12,400 for the very first time in over a year. And for some observers, the cryptocurrency could moonshot if it can take out $13,000. In an August 17 tweet, trader Julien observed that the BTC futures spreads suggest the cryptocurrency will continue trending upwards.

To be specific, the trader noted that the bitcoin futures contracts set to expire in March next year are trading 6% above bitcoin’s spot price. “If #BTC breaches 13k+ this thing is going to explode,” the trader posited.

Bitcoin’s Upsurge Is A Picture Perfect Advance So Far

The famed inventor of the Bollinger Bands that are used to measure bitcoin’s volatility, John Bollinger, has asserted that bitcoin’s recent surge was a picture-perfect advance.

The technical analyst further stated that Bitcoin’s move above $12,000 was well within the Bollinger Bands:

“I imagine that someone is complaining about the $BTCUSD rally. Not me, a picture-perfect advance so far.

Squeeze, confirmed break out, walk up the upper band, consol, support at middle band, mini-Squeeze, break to new highs. How much more could one ask for?!”

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DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

South African Regulator Pressures Bitcoin Investment Company, Urges Clients to Request Refunds

An embattled bitcoin investment company, Mirror Trading International (MTI)’s troubles took another twist August 18 after the South African regulator, Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said that it is investigating the investment company.

MTI’s latest conflict with the regulator follows the cease and desist order issued against it by the Texas States Securities Board (TSSB) in July.

In a press statement, the FSCA says it is of the “view that the current MTI business model requires it to be in possession of a financial service provider license.” TSSB similarly accuses MTI of operating in Texas without the requisite approvals or licenses.

The South African regulator explains that it had been informed by MTI that “they accept clients’ funds in the form of bitcoin. The funds are then pooled into “one trading account on a forex derivative trading platform.” MTI will then “conduct high-frequency trading through the utilization of a bot.”

However, the regulator says if MTI is carrying out the activities as described, “then this amounts to financial services, hence the license requirement.”

Still, the South African regulator says it has more significant concerns about the investment company’s activities. The statement adds that while “MTI claims to have more than $168 million (at current conversion rates) in clients’ funds in trading accounts,” the regulator has “not been able to conclusively confirm that the funds exist.”

Meanwhile, the FSCA statement seems to repeat earlier concerns raised by TSSB about the “far-fetched and unrealistic” returns on the investments claimed by MTI. According to MTI “its Bot-trading is able to generate consistent profits of an average of 10% per month.”

The FSCA’s stance on the bitcoin investment company seems to rely on public comments made by FX Choice, the previous platform broker for MTI. At the beginning of August, FX Choice issued a statement in which it says it blocked the MTI account after noting some “compliance concerns.”

Consequently, the regulator says it is in “the process of obtaining confirmation from FX Choice of the correctness of the statements attributed to them.”

While investigations are ongoing, the regulator does acknowledge that MTI “has partially co-operated with the FSCA.”

Despite this acknowledgment, the regulator statement goes on to say:

We are reviewing the information as it becomes available and will involve the South African Police Service if the discrepancies are confirmed. MTI has undertaken to inform all of its clients of the investigation and to provide the opportunity to all its clients to withdraw their assets that are with MTI. We recommend that clients request refunds into their own accounts as soon as possible.

After the TSSB issued the cease and desist order, the MTI CEO Johann Steynberg, issued a statement denying that his organization is running a multi-level scam. Steynberg also said MTI would cooperate with FSCA and TSSB.

Similarly, and perhaps in anticipation of the press statement by FSCA, Steynberg issued another statement on behalf of MTI on August 18. In the statement, Steynberg argues that MTI has furnished the FSCA with all the information it requested.

However, the investment company says “after considerable time spent with the FSCA it has become clear to MTI that they will not guide MTI as to what needs to be done in order to be regulated and FSCA approved.”

The CEO clarifies that while the process of engaging FSCA was done “so that our operations would not be interrupted” is it by “no means an admission of any wrongdoing.”

Still, Steynberg’s statement suggests there is an impasse between MTI and the FSCA. Consequently, MTI has since taken steps that seemingly moves it outside the FSCA regulatory ambit.

“As a result of the current situation with the FSCA, as mentioned above, MTI has changed from Forex trading to Crypto’s and we are thoroughly excited about this change,” reads part of the MTI’s statement.

Meanwhile, Steynberg also admits that FX Choice has blocked MTI from accessing its account prompting the investment company to look for another broker.

Interestingly, however, the MTI statement says the investment company “has taken the decision that the details of its new broker will not be made public.” In justifying this position, the company argues this decision has been in order “to protect our relationship with the broker and we ask that MTI members respect that.

The new broker is not regulated.

Steynberg ends the five paged statement by assuring clients they “have the freedom to remain with MTI or to withdraw. The withdrawal and administration service that MTI offers to members is FREE.”

What do you think of the latest statement on MTI? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin Trusts from Grayscale Investments Begin Trading

Grayscale Investments’ Litecoin Trust (LTCN) and Bitcoin Cash Trust (BCHG) have received DTC eligibility on Monday, which means the shares can begin trading publicly. The firm’s latest funds give investors exposure to the crypto assets bitcoin cash and litecoin and shares will be traded via secondary markets.

Both LTC and BCH supporters were pleased to hear that Grayscale’s new crypto trusts met DTC eligibility on Monday, August 17. This means eligible investors can gain access to these two trusts and invest in them like other types of securities.

Essentially, DTC eligibility means that the securities, in this case, LTCN and BCHG are able to be pledged through the DTC. It is by far the largest securities depository in the world managing $35 trillion worth of securities on deposit.

Investors can now gain exposure to these crypto assets by investing in eligible shares. The Bitcoin Cash Trust will be available to trade on over-the-counter (OTC) markets according to the announcement, and shares will leverage the ticker symbol: BCHG.

Eligible Shares of Grayscale Investments’ Litecoin Trust will be available to trade on OTC markets under the symbol: LTCN.

“The Trusts are open-ended trusts sponsored by Grayscale and are intended to enable exposure to the price movement of each Trust’s underlying assets through an investment vehicle, avoiding the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping digital Bitcoin Cash or Litecoin directly,” explains Grayscale.

Grayscale’s announcement noted that the trusts saw private placements in March 2018, and shares drafted through each trust’s respective placement are available to sell into the public market. However, Rule 144 of the Securities Act requires a “statutory one-year holding period.”

As of July 31, 2020, there were 6,028,000 shares outstanding of BCHG and each share represented ownership of 0.00941311 bitcoin cash,” Grayscale’s announcement on Monday states. “There were 2,500,800 shares outstanding of LTCN and each share represented ownership of 0.09413112 litecoin,” the press release adds.

Grayscale Investments’ announcement on Monday further concludes:

All investors with access to U.S. securities will be able to buy and sell freely-tradable shares of BCHG and LTCN through their investment accounts in the same manner as they would other unregistered securities.

What do you think about Grayscale’s new litecoin and bitcoin cash investment products? Let us know in the comments section below.

 

Warren Buffett Changes Mind on Gold: He Will Panic-Buy Bitcoin at $50K, Says Max Keiser

Warren Buffett has changed his mind about gold as an investment, prompting some people to think that he might do the same with bitcoin. Max Keiser has predicted that the Berkshire Hathaway CEO will panic-buy bitcoin at $50,000.

Buffett Changes His Mind About Gold, Bitcoin Could Follow

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett had always held a negative view on gold as an investment. He previously said repeatedly that he preferred to buy shares of good companies instead of any gold investments. That has changed, however.

Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway revealed Friday that it had dumped bank stocks and took a position in a gold miner. The price of gold recently spiked to more than $2,000 an ounce. Berkshire Hathaway closed position in Goldman Sachs completely, reduced position in JP Morgan Chase by 61%, and sold holdings in Wells Fargo and PNC. Instead, the company bought a stake in Barrick Gold, one of the top gold mining firms, sending the miner’s shares soaring Monday along with shares of its competitors.

Another investment the Oracle of Omaha made no secret of disliking is bitcoin. In 2018, he referred to the cryptocurrency as “rat poison squared.” In February, he had lunch with Tron founder Justin Sun and several other crypto companies’ executives. Sun gifted him his first bitcoin, stored in a Samsung Galaxy Fold phone. However, the billionaire investor donated it to a charity and emphasized that he will never own bitcoin.

Nonetheless, Buffett’s changed stance on gold has made people in the crypto sector wonder if he will do the same with bitcoin. Jason Williams, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder, tweeted Saturday:

Buffett sold banks and bought gold. He will buy bitcoin soon.

 

While a few people in the crypto niche saw Buffett’s change of heart on gold as bullish for bitcoin, many on social media still do not believe he will ever invest in BTC. One Twitter user opined, “He doesn’t understand technology but he’s old like gold so that makes sense.” Another suggested that he is too stubborn to buy bitcoin. “His pride is far more valuable to him,” a third user concurred. A few believe that the Berkshire Hathaway CEO has already been secretly invested in bitcoin.

Gold bug Peter Schiff was upbeat about “Buffett finally buying a gold stock,” he tweeted, adding: “Warren Buffett knows inflation is a tax. If you don’t want to pay the tax, buy gold or gold stocks, just like Buffett did.”

Some people tried to guess at which price level Buffett will start buying bitcoin. Popular television personality and bitcoin proponent Max Keiser sees Buffett’s gold investment as positive for bitcoin. Believing that the Berkshire Hathaway CEO will start panic-buying the cryptocurrency at $50,000, the same level he feels would entice Schiff and veteran investor Jim Rogers, Keiser tweeted:

Warren Buffett will start panic-buying bitcoin at $50,000, just like Peter Schiff.

Do you think Warren Buffett will change his mind about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.