Warren Buffett Says Bitcoin Is More Gamble Than Investment

"Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett, whose aphorisms and advice many investors take as gospel, has laid into bitcoin, saying it's a gamble, not an investment.

The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO - and the world's third-wealthiest person, according to Forbes - has long been skeptical of bitcoin.

In his latest comments on the subject, he told Yahoo Finance on Saturday, "If you buy something like bitcoin or some cryptocurrency, you don't really have anything that has produced anything. You're just hoping the next guy pays more."

Buffett bought Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile mill, in the early 1960s and turned it into one of the world's most successful investment vehicles.

That philosophy has led Buffet to be skeptical of the technology sector and of bitcoin in particular, which he called a "Mirage" in March 2014.

Bitcoin was trading at around $600 when Buffett made that comment.

In January, when the price was around $14,000, Buffett doubled down, saying cryptocurrencies "Will come to a bad ending." The cryptocurrency's price is close to $9,300 at the time of writing.

One of Buffett's most famous quotes is "Our ideal holding period is forever." In Saturday's comments, he further criticized bitcoin, arguing its value is too dependent on trading.

"Now if you ban trading in farms, you can still buy farms and have a perfectly decent investment," he said, but if trading in bitcoin was banned, people would have no reason to invest.

He did not address the bitcoin "Hodler" movement, whose advocates urge investors never to sell.