Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has reiterated his long-standing reservations about Bitcoin and expressed how blockchain technology “is important”, but remains unconvinced about Bitcoin.

Speaking to CNBC, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO repeatedly expressed his apprehensions about Bitcoin and went as far as terming it “a delusion”. He said about blockchain, “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.”

He did reveal that the concepts of Bitcoin and blockchain were explained to him by other people. Buffett added:

“PEOPLE GET THEIR HOPES UP THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES, AND IT’S A VERY INGENIOUS THING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE A LIMITED SUPPLY AND MAKE IT HARDER AND MORE EXPENSIVE TO CREATE THEM AS YOU GO ALONG AND ALL THAT SORT OF THING BUT IT DOESN’T, THE FUNCTION… BLOCKCHAIN DOES NOT DEPEND ON [BITCOIN].”

His argument against Bitcoin’s utility and importance seem precipitous, furthered revealed by the fact that he didn’t dwell much on why he saw blockchain as being important. He also said that he is sympathetic towards the “optimists” who bought some share in the world’s largest cryptocurrency hoping that “it would change their lives”.

“It attracts charlatans,” Buffett said. “If you do something phony by going out and selling yo-yos or something, there’s no money in it — but when you get into Wall Street, there’s huge money.”

Buffett has never left anyone wondering about his feelings on Bitcoin, going back to 2014 when he warned investors and advised them to avoid the cryptocurrency. He also famously called bitcoin “probably rat poison squared” ahead of the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting. Other descriptors used by the billionaire include a “mirage”, “not a currency”, and “tulips”.

Yet it remains to be seen how he reacts to the news of JP Morgan becoming the first major bank to develop and launch its own proprietary cryptocurrency for cross-border payments, the same bank he bought a stake of USD 4 billion in last November.