Warren Buffett Openly Called Bitcoin A 'Rat Poison' In 2018. 7 Years Later, He Is Invested In This Crypto-Linked Stock Which Soared 27% In 2024 - Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) Common Units Of Fractional Undivided Beneficial Interest (ARCA:BTC)

Despite his well-known disdain for cryptocurrencies, the ‘Oracle Of Omaha’ – Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRK BRK has invested in a company that supports the cryptocurrency market and has soared by 27.43% in 2024.

What Happened: Buffett’s Berkshire had initially invested $500 million in a Series G funding round and subsequently another $250 million in Nu Holdings Ltd NU.

Nu, a Brazilian digital banking company launched its cryptocurrency platform, Nubank Cripto, in 2022. Berkshire has since added 0.3% of this company’s shares in 18 months as of the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024.

Berkshire increased its holdings from 0.1% in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2022, to 0.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025.

Initially supporting Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, and Polygon MATIC/USD, the platform, Nubank Cripto, now includes Uniswap UNI/USD and Chainlink LINK/USD. It allows users to send, receive, and convert cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins like USD Coin.

In 2018, during Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual shareholder meeting, Buffett famously described Bitcoin as “probably rat poison squared”. On the contrary, Berkshire has profited substantially through its investment in Nu.

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Why It Matters: According to its 13F filings, Berkshire held 86.438 million shares of Nu valued at $1.179 billion, as of the end of the third quarter.

With data for the fourth quarter not available at the time of writing, assuming that Berkshire’s holdings in Nu don’t change during this period, the value of these shares would have declined by 24.10% as of the quarter ended Dec. 31, when the share price was $10.36, as compared to $13.65 on Sept. 30, 2024.

See also <!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Exploring Palantir's Growth Amid Microsoft Partnership</title></head><body> <h2>Unpacking the AI Landscape</h2> <p>As we delve into the third quarter of 2024, the world of artificial intelligence (AI) reigns supreme on Wall Street, with tech behemoths and emerging startups engaged in a fierce battle for dominance in this dynamic realm. The global AI market, set to surpass a staggering $184 billion in 2024, is forecasted to inject around $15.7 trillion into the global economy by 2030.</p> <h2>Palantir's Evolution and Microsoft Collaboration</h2> <p>Palantir Technologies (PLTR), a pivotal figure in enterprise software and security since its inception in 2003, has recently captured widespread attention due to its strategic collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT), unveiled on the heels of PLTR's robust quarterly earnings release in early August. This collaboration has buoyed investor confidence, propelling Palantir's stock by over 6% in a mere week.</p> <p>Furthermore, this partnership comes at a pivotal juncture as both public and private entities intensify their focus on AI technologies. A visionary like Dan Ives from Wedbush sees this collaboration as a potential game-changer for Palantir, particularly within the federal landscape, where its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) holds substantial promise.</p> <p>So, the burning question lingers – is Palantir stock a gem worth acquiring? Let's navigate through Palantir's market performance, growth trajectory, and expert prognostications.</p> <h3>Palantir's Stellar Stock Surge</h3> <p>Following a period of lackluster performance, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has capitalized on the AI frenzy gripping the stock market. With an impressive 81.8% year-to-date surge and a remarkable 103.1% leap over the past 52 weeks, PLTR now boasts a market capitalization of $69.01 billion and an enterprise value of $68.20 billion, solidifying its stance among the leading data analytics and AI software entities.</p> <p>However, this lofty valuation entails towering expectations, evident in the company's valuation metrics. Palantir's forward price/earnings (P/E) ratio stands at 87.25 on an adjusted basis, while its price/sales ratio clocks in at 25.16. These figures, substantially above the tech sector averages, imply that investors are willing to shell out a premium for PLTR's prospective earnings growth at prevailing price levels. Although the company's PEG ratio hovers around 3.63, indicating somewhat steep valuations, particularly concerning PLTR's envisaged growth potentials.</p> <h3>Exemplary Q2 Performance Uplifts PLTR's Prospects</h3> <p>Echoing its stock rally, Palantir's financial aspect has been equally noteworthy. In the Q2 2024 earnings disclosure, the company reported a remarkable 27% year-over-year revenue uptick, hitting $678 million. Notably, Palantir achieved a record GAAP earnings per share of $0.06, marking its seventh consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability, a noteworthy feat within the AI domain that typically prioritizes expansion over immediate profits.</p> <p>The U.S. commercial revenue, excluding specific contracts, surged to $159 million, denoting a robust 55% year-over-year spike. This commercial sector growth augurs well, indicating that Palantir is diversifying its revenue streams beyond core government contracts. Moreover, the company's bottom-line performance surpassed analyst estimates, with earnings per share of $0.09 surpassing the projected $0.08.</p> <h3>Strategic Collaborations and AI Advancements</h3> <p>A subsequent 11% surge post-earnings saw PLTR clinch another victory as it unveiled collaboration plans with Microsoft. These plans aim to fortify AI and analytics services targeting U.S. government agencies, especially within classified networks crucial for national safeguarding.</p> <p>The partnership entails the deployment of Palantir's suite of products – Foundry, Gotham, Apollo, and AIP – on Microsoft's Azure Government and classified cloud environments. Integration of Microsoft's large language models (LLMs) into Palantir's AI platforms via Azure OpenAI Service signals a pathway for AI-driven operational loads within defense and intelligence arenas. Investors' fervor was palpable, with PLTR's stock breaching $30 per share last week for the first time since February 2021 on the announcement.</p></body></html><!DOCTYPE html><html><head> <title>PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES: A Financial Perspective</title></head><body> The Rise of Palantir Technologies in the Financial Landscape

However, Nu’s shares have risen by 27.43% in 2024, according to the data compiled by Benzinga Pro.

While Nu offers cryptocurrency services, one can argue in favor of Buffett that it’s not primarily a cryptocurrency company.

However, back in 2018, Buffett also said “In terms of cryptocurrencies generally, I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending.”

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Warren Buffett Openly Called Bitcoin A ‘Rat Poison’ In 2018. 7 Years Later, He Is Invested In This Crypto-Linked Stock Which Soared 27% In 2024 – Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) Common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest (ARCA:BTC)