Warren Buffett Dumps Visa and Mastercard Stocks to Invest $1 Billion in Bitcoin-Friendly neobank

As a report has it, Berkshire Hathaway founded by a Bitcoin critic Warren Buffett has recently dumped a portion of its Visa and Mastercard stocks to increase exposure in Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Brazil, which is also popular among the Bitcoin investors in the country.

In a filing of Feb. 14, the company disclosed the acquisition of $1 billion worth of Nubank Class A stock in the fourth quarter of 2021. The most notable of the new development is that the company said it has sold $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion worth of Visa and Mastercard stock, respectively, indicating a shift away from credit companies to gain exposure to their fintech rivals.

Warren Buffett, who is popularly known as the “Oracle of Omaha” has over the years downplayed emerging decentralized finance solutions such as Bitcoin (BTC). He once termed the flagship crypto as an asset that does not create anything.

However, now that his company has a stake in Nubank implies that Buffett is starting to accept the current trend, which is fintech. This shows that he’s now willing to associate with companies that are part of the crypto ecosystem.

The new investment implies that Nubank, which is exposed to the emerging crypto sector via Easynvest, could use the additional revenue opportunities to benefit its top investors, which include the billionaire entrepreneur Warren Buffett, who once termed Bitcoin as a “rat poison squared.”

Warren Buffett’s Portfolio Is Dominated By Crypto-Loving Companies

Although Buffett is not directly investing in Bitcoin (BTC), he is already gaining indirect exposure to the emerging industry as companies in his portfolio foray into the crypto sector.

Back in October 2021, just a month before Bitcoin recorded its all-time high of $69,000, the 5th largest bank in the United States, U.S. Bancorp, launched a crypto custody service for its institutional investment managers, due to an increase in demand from their “fund services clients” over the last few years.

Likewise in October 2021, Bank of America announced the launch of a crypto research initiative, citing growing institutional interest.

Reacting to the new development, Greg Waisman, co-founder and chief operating officer of crypto wallet service Mercuryo, said:

“The Nubank investment can be tagged as Buffett’s way of supporting the fintech/crypto world without taking back his criticisms of the past.”

Waisman added that Buffett is now supporting the crypto ecosystem indirectly. He said, “Even an indirect exposure is bound to increase the positive sentiment that may push more investors into the space.”

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