Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. issued a warning to investors on Friday stating that it is not associated with a fictitious cryptocurrency trading website that uses the Berkshire Hathaway brand.
According to the website's creator, a Texas-based broker was established in 2020 to offer investors the chance to earn a fully passive income through investments in cryptocurrency mining.
It concerns alleged client endorsements and claims that the broker is licensed in the US, UK, Cyprus, and South Africa while mispronouncing the names of two authorities. Its email format is different from Buffett's company's.
Buffett has always been wary of cryptocurrencies; despite a change in the public's opinion of bitcoin, Buffett still would not purchase it. He has a bias to view cryptocurrencies as passive investments that holders purchase with the expectation of long-term price growth.
At the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting on Saturday, he said that the asset is not productive and produces nothing measurable.
"The entity that owns this web address has no affiliation with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or its Chairman and CEO, Warren E. Buffett," according to a statement from Buffett's company, which claimed it learned about the website.
It has gained recognition as an investment asset in Western countries, especially during the past year as rates and inflation have increased. People continue to see great potential for its application as digital currency in other areas.
"Assets must provide someone with something in order to be valuable. Additionally, just one type of currency is recognized. You can think of all kinds of things; we can even put up Berkshire coins, but at the end of the day, this is money," remarked Warren Buffett, holding up a $20 bill.
Requests for comment from the website's owner were not immediately answered. Recent months have seen increased scrutiny of cryptocurrencies.
As a result of reports of $10 billion in client, assets were transferred from FTX to Bankman-trading Fried's firm Alameda Research, FTX declared bankruptcy and is now under investigation by American authorities.
