Charlie Munger has always been vocal about despising cryptocurrencies. The billionaire has made a new declaration addressing digital tokens. 

“I wish they’d never been invented,” Munger said at the Sohn conference in Sydney on Friday, according to The Australian Financial Review.

“I admire the Chinese, I think they made the correct decision, which was to simply ban them,” Munger added.

In the last years, interest in cryptocurrencies has risen exponentially. The cryptocurrency market value surged about $3 trillion in November, while several major cryptocurrencies soared to all-time highs. 

This isn’t the first time that the 97-year-old vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway showcased his despise of cryptocurrencies. During a Q&A session in May at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting, Munger said that his dislike to Bitcoin increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Of course I hate the bitcoin success,” he said. “I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth, nor do I like just shuffling out of your extra billions of billions of dollars to somebody who just invented a new financial product out of thin air.”

“I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization,” Munger added.

Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation

On the other hand, Bitcoin enthusiasts criticized Munger. Several traders argued that Bitcoin is a store of value that is used as a hedge against inflation.

But Munger has consistently criticized the high volatility of Bitcoin.

“It’s really kind of an artificial substitute for gold. And since I never buy any gold, I never buy any bitcoin,” Munger said at the annual shareholders meeting for the Daily Journal in February. “Bitcoin reminds me of what Oscar Wilde said about fox hunting. He said it was the pursuit of the uneatable by the unspeakable.”

Bitcoin is currently trading at around $56,085, according to Coin Metrics, with a market value of over $1 trillion.