How will Buffett decide in the tide of digital currency: change attitude or adjust investment portfolio

After VISA announced on Monday that it would use digital currency to purchase NFT artworks, the long-dormant NFT market has once again attracted people's attention. However, Buffett, one of VISA's major shareholders, is in an awkward position because he has always been negative about digital currency. Now the question is, if his portfolio companies continue to get involved in digital currency, how will Buffett respond?

It is speculated that Buffett has two paths before him: either he is forced to change his attitude towards cryptocurrencies or sell those companies in his investment portfolio that are involved in cryptocurrencies.

According to recent media reports, Buffett's VISA company paid 49.9 Ethereum (about $150,000) to purchase an NFT artwork - CryptoPunk 7610. VISA's move will help formalize and legalize NFT, because a large company's bet on this alternative investment variety with rising valuations will help boost outside confidence.

VISA, which has said it hopes to have a presence in the future NFT market, has been developing its cryptocurrency services and products.

According to the latest 13F filings released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire Hathaway holds 9,987,460 shares of VISA, accounting for 0.59% of the total floating equity. In addition, VISA is Buffett's 16th largest holding, with a total value of $2.3 billion.

However, Buffett has always held a negative view on Bitcoin, calling it "rat poison squared." He also predicted that Bitcoin is destined to have a bad ending.

Although Buffett has publicly criticized Bitcoin many times, he has remained unusually silent on Ethereum and NFT. If he publicly opposes these two investments, it would mean that Buffett is criticizing VISA, one of his major holdings.

In addition to VISA, Nubank, a Brazilian bank invested by Buffett, announced earlier this year that it supports cryptocurrencies and recently acquired digital investment broker Easynvest. Currently, the bank provides Bitcoin exposure through an ETF and has a section dedicated to cryptocurrencies on its website.

It is worth mentioning that the market value of Bitcoin, which is despised by Buffett, has exceeded 900 billion US dollars, ranking seventh in the stock market value ranking, while the market value of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is only 643.5 billion US dollars, ranking ninth.