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Swiss National Bank: ‘Buying Bitcoin Is Not a Problem for Us’

Switzerland’s central bank, the Swiss National Bank, says buying and holding bitcoin as a reserve currency is not a problem for the bank. “We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet,” the chairman of the Swiss central bank reportedly explained.

Switzerland’s Central Bank on Buying and Holding Bitcoin as a Reserve Currency

The Swiss National Bank could buy and hold bitcoin as a reserve currency if the cryptocurrency meets the bank’s currency reserves requirements, Chairman Thomas Jordan reportedly said at the central bank’s annual general meeting Friday.

The Swiss central bank chief was quoted by Reuters as saying:

Buying bitcoin is not a problem for us. We can do that either directly or can buy investment products which are based on bitcoin.

However, he noted: “But from the current perspective we do not believe bitcoin meets the requirements of currency reserves. That’s why we have until now decided not to have bitcoin on our balance sheet.”

Nonetheless, he stressed:

We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet.

A growing number of corporations are holding bitcoin on their balance sheets while more countries are establishing a framework to make BTC a legal currency.

El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September last year, and recently the Central African Republic made the crypto an official currency.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of people are expecting the U.S. dollar to lose its dominance, fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine war. Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, for example, has repeatedly warned about the end of the U.S. dollar. Renowned investor Jim Rogers also warned in March about the end of the U.S. dollar.

What do you think about the comments by the Swiss central bank’s chief? Let us know in the comments section below.

source https://news.bitcoin.com/swiss-national-bank-buying-bitcoin-is-not-a-problem-for-us/

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Skeptical of Crypto but Says ‘Not All of It Is Bad’

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, says that he does not particularly like crypto but will defend your right to invest in it. However, he sees benefits in some aspects of digital currency.

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon on Crypto, Digital Currency

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with KMTV 3 News Now in Omaha Friday ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting this weekend.

Commenting on cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, the JPMorgan boss said:

I always say I don’t particularly like it. I defend your right to do it. I’d say be very, very careful how much money you put into it.

However, Dimon sees benefits in some aspects of crypto, such as its technology, admitting that the banking industry has its inefficiencies. The executive opined:

Not all of it is bad. If you said to me ‘I want to send $200 to a friend in a foreign country,’ that could take you two weeks and cost you $40. You could do it through a digital currency and it’ll take you seconds.

“So, it’ll work out. I think it will be adopted over time by lots of players out there, including banks,” he concluded. However, he did not specify whether he is referring to cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), or his own JPM Coin.

JPMorgan Chase has its own digital currency called JPM Coin. Dimon previously described: “We use a blockchain network called Liink to enable banks to share complex information, and we also use a blockchain to move tokenized U.S. dollar deposits with JPM Coin.” The JPM Coin website states that the coin “facilitates real-time value movement, helping to solve common hurdles of traditional cross-border payments.”

Dimon has long been a bitcoin and crypto skeptic. In November last year, he warned people to be careful when investing in crypto citing that it has no intrinsic value. In October, he said bitcoin was worthless and questioned its limited supply.

Meanwhile, he said in his April letter to shareholders that decentralized finance (defi) and blockchain are real. In addition, JPMorgan is now offering a number of crypto investment products.

What do you think about Jamie Dimon’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.

source https://news.bitcoin.com/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-skeptical-of-crypto-but-says-not-all-of-it-is-bad/

Idaho Warns of Crypto Scams Promising 80% Returns Every 24 Hours

The finance department of the U.S. state of Idaho has warned investors of a series of cryptocurrency scams promising returns as high as 80% every 24 hours with no risks to investors.

Crypto Scams Promising High Returns

The Idaho Department of Finance announced Wednesday “a series of fraudulent
cryptocurrency schemes seen recently targeting Idaho investors.” The regulator detailed:

The companies purport to provide high returns with no risks to the investor.

These fraudulent schemes are operating under the names and websites of Crypto FX Direct, Shield Investors Ltd., Quartz FX Trade, and Finvest Trading. At the time of writing, some of the schemes’ websites are already offline.

The regulator added:

These websites make outrageous, demonstrably false statements and claims such as guaranteed returns on investment as high as 65% – 80% every 24 hours.

To begin investing with these companies, investors have to purchase an investment plan using cryptocurrency, the finance department described. One of the companies, Finvest Trading, charges between $500 and $100,000 to begin trading.

“They offer profitable investments with any plan, and purport the more invested, the greater the return,” the regulator detailed, adding that the companies’ investment advisors provide investors with “phony credentials.”

At the end of the agreed trading period, investment advisors contacted the investors and notified them that they made substantial returns on their investments. However, they had to pay a fee to receive their investment returns. Investors were then advised of additional fees and penalties before they could receive payouts.

The regulator noted that these entities are neither registered to sell securities in Idaho nor have they filed with the Idaho Secretary of State to conduct business in the state.

What do you think about these crypto investment scams? Let us know in the comments section below.

source https://news.bitcoin.com/idaho-warns-of-crypto-scams-promising-80-returns-every-24-hours/

Shareholder meeting edition: Massive Chevron purchase revealed

A summary of the highlights from the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, including details on a big spending spree in the second half of this year's first quarter.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE SAT, APR 30, 2022 WARREN BUFFETT WATCH Shareholder Meeting Special Edition 'We spent $40 billion in a hurry there in three weeks' In late February, Warren Buffett's letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders essentially told them there wasn't much going on.   When it came to what was "new or interesting" at Berkshire, "there was little action of that sort in 2021."   At today's meeting of Berkshire shareholders, Buffett reported that between the beginning of the year and just a few days before the letter was released, the company spent $2.2 billion.   In the three weeks after the letter, it spent $40 billion. (Buffett says that now "we're back somewhat to our more lethargic mood.")   In total, Berkshire's cash fell from $147 billion at the start of the year to $106 billion at the end of March.   In response to a shareholder question, as relayed by CNBC's Becky Quick, asking what changed, Charlie Munger got a big laugh by answering simply, "We found some things we preferred owning to Treasury bills." VIDEO: Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger kick off Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting Allegheny's new CEO, who used to run a Berkshire subsidiary, sent Buffett his first annual report. That led to a meal in New York and, very soon thereafter, an $11 billion acquisition deal.   Buffett read an analyst presentation and annual report from Occidental Petroleum, decided what the CEO was saying "made nothing but sense" and "decided that it was a good place to put Berkshire's money."  Over the next few weeks, Berkshire bought a stake now worth $7.5 billion. (See the item below for Buffett's thoughts on how he got some help from people who are treating stocks like a "casino.")   Berkshire also picked up around $5 billion of HP.   And while he didn't say much about it, we learned today that Berkshire was spending a lot of money on Chevron.   Berkshire bought $21B of Chevron in the first quarter It's the first time since 2019 that Buffett and Munger appeared before an arena with thousands of shareholders, but perhaps the biggest headline came before they took the stage, in the form of a footnote in this morning's first quarter 10-Q SEC filing.   Under a table summarizing its equity holdings, Berkshire says it owned $25.9 billion of Chevron stock as of March 31.   The oil giant's stock closed at $148.46 that day, which means Berkshire had around 174 million shares.   In its stock portfolio snapshot filing for the fourth quarter, Berkshire said it owned around 38 million shares as of December 31. That means Berkshire bought more than 136 million shares during the first three months of the year.   Those shares are worth $21.3 billion at Friday's closing price of $156.67, putting the value of the entire stake at $27.3 billion.   It now accounts for almost 8% of Berkshire's publicly-disclosed stock portfolio, and is its third largest equity holding, behind Bank of America ($36.9 billion) and ahead of American Express ($26.5 billion). 'It's not because we're smart' A recurring theme in today's meeting, and in past meetings, was Buffett and Munger complaining that some people were trading stocks, and especially options, as if they were in a casino. They pointed out that its in Wall Street's interest for that to happen.   "They don't make money unless people do things... and they make a lot more money when people are gambling than when they're investing. It's much better to have somebody that's going to trade 20 times a day and get all excited about it, just like pulling the handle on the slot machine."   But this time, Buffett said that the gambling sometimes produces opportunities for long-term investors. VIDEO: Berkshire's Charlie Munger calls stock market manipulation 'incredible, crazy situation' He marveled that Berkshire was able to buy a big chunk of a big company like Occidental in a short period of time.   "Where did the people go? The investors just were sitting around and there weren't very many, and the money was being made essentially by a bunch of people gambling on things. And that enabled us in a two-week period to buy 14% of a business that's been around for decades."   Treating companies like "poker chips" sometimes makes "markets do crazy things. And occasionally, Berkshire gets a chance to do something. And it's not because we're smart ... I think we're sane." Berkshire bought more ActivisionBlizzard Buffett also made some news on another Berkshire holding.   We already knew one of the other managers bought around a billion dollars of ActivisionBlizzard, roughly a 2% stake, before MSFT announced it had a deal to buy the company for $95 a share. VIDEO: Buffett says he's been buying Activision shares since Microsoft, now owns 9.5% of company Today, Buffett said he decided to buy a lot more after that announcement, picking up shares that are trading below that deal price as an arbitrage play. (They're currently going for $75.60 per share.   He's essentially betting the deal will go through, and Berkshire will pocket the difference between what it paid for the shares and the higher deal price. And, of course, some bitcoin bashing ... VIDEO: If you offered me all the bitcoin in the world for $25, I wouldn't take it, says Warren Buffett VIDEO: Bitcoin is stupid 'cause it's very likely to go to zero,' says Charlie Munger BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription CNBC Television on YouTube: Buffett at 2022 Berkshire Hathaway meeting (Playlist of all clips posted) CNBC.com: Berkshire earnings decline in the first quarter on slowing economic growth, stock market pullback CNBC.com: Charlie Munger says the Robinhood trading app is justly 'unraveling' for 'disgusting' practices CNBC.com: Bill Murray reflects on inappropriate behavior that led to the shutdown of his latest film (Interview during CNBC.com's Berkshire meeting coverage) CNBC.com's live blog: Warren Buffett says inflation 'swindles almost everybody,' Munger rails against bitcoin, market 'mania' at Berkshire meeting TheStreet: An Inside Look at Berkshire Hathaway's Shareholders-Only Movie Associated Press: Buffett invests big chunk of Berkshire Hathaway's cash Reuters (subscription): Buffett slams Wall St, extols cash, addresses nuclear risk at Berkshire meeting The Wall Street Journal (Subscription): Warren Buffett Says Markets Have Become a 'Gambling Parlor' Bloomberg (subscription): Buffett Bought Even More Activision Stock as Arbitrage Play The New York Times (Subscription): Berkshire Hathaway Reports Drop in Earnings, Driven by Investment Losses Barron's (subscription): Why did Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Spend Billions on Chevron? Look at "Shareholder Yield." QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)   If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.     -- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy © 2022 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS