Bitcoin also displaced the world’s largest electronic components company. The pioneering cryptocurrency outperforms firms Visa, MasterCard, and JP Morgan Chase Co.
The recent increase in the price of Bitcoin led the pioneering cryptocurrency to reach USD 32,000. In that way, it exceeds the value of the Berkshire Hathaway company, which American billionaire Warren Buffet runs.
The capitalization of Bitcoin, that is, the sum of its price multiplied by the total number of bitcoins in circulation, reached USD 607 billion. This value of the cryptocurrency exceeds that of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B stock market, which stands at USD 543 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway is a US company that owns all or part of the shares of various insurance, energy, distribution, manufacturing, and retail business groups, as well as investment funds. In 2019, they reported revenues of USD 256 billion, with a workforce of almost 400 thousand people. Warren Buffet has bought shares in the company since 1962.
Bitcoin has become the ninth largest asset by market capitalization, displacing well-known firms such as Visa and MasterCard. The main crypto asset in the market has even surpassed the world’s largest electronic circuit company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which ranks No. 10 above Berkshire Hathaway.
In December 2020, Bitcoin surpassed Visa with a market capitalization of USD 505 billion. This is the largest finance company in the world, with a valuation of USD 497 billion.
Analysis firm Datalight released a report in which they indicate that the average value of transactions in Bitcoin exceeds that of traditional means of payment such as Visa and MasterCard. While each transaction in BTC is equivalent, on average, to USD 40,000, those of the aforementioned systems do not even reach USD 100 on average.
The two financial service giants and the world’s largest bank, JP Morgan Chase & Co., are below the main cryptocurrency.
At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin is behind Alibaba Group Holding, Tesla, and Tencent, which rank eighth, seventh and sixth respectively, according to data from AssetDash.
Warren Buffet Once Said that “Bitcoin Is a Gambling Device”
Warren Buffet has repeatedly spoken of Bitcoin as something worthless and went on to say in an interview with the CNBC television channel that he would never own cryptocurrencies.
The businessman stated that cryptocurrencies “have no value and do not produce anything”, adding that “you cannot do anything with them but sell them to other people.” In that case, he said that “those people that you sold them to are the ones who have the problem now.”
The investor continued to attack Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies; disqualifying them in statements that he made to reporters, according to the abovementioned mass media outlet.
“Bitcoin is a gambling device and there have been many scams connected with it. There have been disappearances, so there is a lot of loss in it. Bitcoin has not produced anything,” said the billionaire, who Forbes magazine has ranked as the third richest man in the world.
Tron CEO Justin Sun tried to get Buffet to change his mind about cryptocurrencies. To do this, he paid USD 4.5 million for a charity dinner and waited six months to talk to him.
However, Buffet maintained his skepticism about cryptocurrencies, again referring to Bitcoin as “rat poison squared”. As to what the two executives discussed over dinner, Sun declined to comment.
By Alexander Salazar
