Li Lu, a Charlie Munger protégé and Himalaya Capital founder, calls crypto fundamentally bogus and expects it to disappear. He told a New York value investing luncheon that society would be better off banning it.
Li Lu, founder and chairman of Himalaya Capital, an investment firm, was an early investor in Chinese carmaker BYD. Still, he called collecting crypto a personal preference, much like valuing a certain artist’s work.
Why Does Li Lu Say Crypto Fails as Money?
Li Lu spoke on October 5 at the 36th Annual Graham & Dodd Luncheon in New York. Columbia Business School professor Tano Santos moderated the fireside chat.
An audience member asked about crypto in the context of global financial conditions.
“I don’t think anything of it. I think eventually it will disappear on its own, and that’s okay, because it’s fundamentally bogus.”
Li Lu
He argued that a currency needs an enforcement mechanism to work as settlement or a store of wealth. A project started by a few individuals cannot provide that, he said.
Earlier in the talk, Li Lu defined wealth as a share of global purchasing power, not gold, diamonds, or currencies. He did not link that point to crypto.
Li Lu also said crypto helps criminals and facilitates illicit transactions. On regulation, he went further.
“I think we’re all better off banning it, but that’s okay.”
Li Lu,
Does Munger’s Camp Still Set the Tone for Wall Street?
Historically, Munger and Warren Buffett were critics of Bitcoin (BTC). Berkshire Hathaway’s anti-Bitcoin stance appears intact under new CEO Greg Abel, who has avoided public comment on crypto.
However, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, argued in 2025 that critics keep underestimating Bitcoin. His Bitcoin Hall of Shame ranking named Munger and Buffett among them.
The split now runs through finance itself. Li Lu, in contrast, rejects crypto as a store of wealth, while Sigel argues critics keep losing the argument.
Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have drawn billions of dollars in inflows since 2024.
