Earlier this month, Charlie Munger, the right-hand man of Berkshire Hathaway fund manager Warren Buffet, declared in a fierce argument that bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies should be banned. The volatile assets would only do damage. Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki thinks the advice is nonsense.
Robert Kiyosaki diametrically opposed to Charlie Munger
Munger has been a skeptic ever since he learned about bitcoin. For example, he called the assets a venereal disease in the past, and the complete ban that China had put in place was nothing but positive.
Earlier this month, he denounced the US government for allowing investors to put money into crypto. Therefore, the US should take China as an example. Replacing national currency (with crypto) is akin to trying to replace air in a country, he says.
Robert Kiyosaki disagrees with Munger. In an interview with Stansberry Research, he stated that he thinks Buffet’s right-hand man would still recommend buying stocks. But the reason Kiyosaki is investing in bitcoin is because of blockchain.
“Blockchain is an accounting system. It is more legitimate than the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Wall Street. Charlie Munger is in the camp of the Fed, Treasury Department and Wall Street. The younger generations, the Millennials and younger, are in the iPhone camp. [De iPhone] is the most powerful tool you can use,” explains Kiyosaki.
The writer thus notes that part of the population is in a new paradigm, namely that blockchain as part of the internet is going to change the world. In fact, he thinks that Munger is talking past the new generation.
Blockchain yes, crypto no?
Of course there is something to be said for Munger’s extreme opinion. Crypto is of course risky and we never know in advance whether and which assets will stand the test of time. Yet more and more veterans in the financial system are convinced that blockchain does indeed have a use. For example, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon thinks that blockchain will be used a lot. The oldest bank in New York even thinks that crypto can no longer be ignored.
Even China seems to be slowly backing down from its extreme views. For example, 84% of patent applications for blockchain techniques come from China, and a large proportion are approved. Blockchain is very popular in the country.