Warren Buffett Admits Amazon Miscalculation — But What About Bitcoin?

Warren Buffett’s multinational holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has just announced that it is finally buying shares of Amazon.  Warren Buffett is often treated as a financial oracle for investments, but he nonetheless failed to grasp the fallout of the internet boom of the 1990s. Buffett told CNBC that “stupidity” was to blame for not investing in Amazon earlier. By his own admission to CNBC, Buffett said that “I’ve been an idiot for not buying [Amazon Shares].” Although he’s praised the company and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, he was, for a long time, still skeptical on its long-term prospects. However, his investment firm is now jumping into Amazon shares — despite being so late in the game.

Amazon: One of Warren Buffett’s Worst Miscalculations

Although Buffett recently told CNBC about his major mistake in not investing in Amazon, the billionaire reiterated these same regrets last year. “It’s far surpassed anything I would have dreamt could have been done,” he stated, adding, “Because if I really felt it could have been done, I should have bought it. I had no idea that it had the potential. I blew it.” Even in 2017, Buffett admitted that “stupidity” was to blame for not seeing Amazon’s potential. Moreover, he never expected the company to be able to be dominant in so many disparate industries, from e-commerce to cloud computing. Buffett has historically been skeptical of tech stocks and has invested in them sparingly.

Is Bitcoin Still a “Delusion,” Buffett?

Earlier this year, Buffett made headlines for calling Bitcoin a “delusion.” Although he praised some aspects of blockchain technology as “important,” he nonetheless could not grasp the importance of the market-leading cryptocurrency. Speaking to CNBC’s Beck Quick, he said:

It’s ingenious and blockchain is important but bitcoin has no unique value at all. It doesn’t produce anything, you can stare at it all day and no little bitcoins come out or anything like that.

Buffett’s inability to foresee Amazon’s potential in various industries may indicate that he likewise does not fully understand the scope of Bitcoin’s potential disruption. After all, decentralized ledger systems can impact much more than just finance — similar to how Amazon expanded beyond just e-commerce. Buffett’s statements on the flagship cryptocurrency indicates that he has a poor grasp on Bitcoin — like he did on Amazon and other tech stocks years ago. It just may be that Buffett’s regret over Amazon may not be his last major miscalculation. Is Warren Buffett wrong on Bitcoin like he was on Amazon? Let us know your thoughts below.