Warren Buffett invests $1B in Bitcoin-friendly neobank, dumps Visa and Mastercard stocks
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway dumped a portion of its Visa and Mastercard holdings and increased exposure in Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Brazil that's also popular among the country's Bitcoin investors.
In a securities filing late Monday, the industrials conglomerate disclosed that it had purchased $1 billion worth of Nubank Class A stock in Q4/2021. On the other hand, it sold $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion worth of Visa and Mastercard stock, respectively, signaling a shift away from credit companies to gain exposure in their fintech rivals.
Buffett, the so-called "Oracle of Omaha," is popular for his cautious approach to investing, particularly in the market's hottest sectors such as fintech. The veteran investor had also downplayed emerging decentralized finance solutions like Bitcoin (BTC), ridiculing it as an asset that "does not create anything."
But Berkshire's new stake in Nubank shows that Buffett has been softening up to fintech lately. In detail, the firm had invested $500 million in the startup in July 2021. Its returns on the said investment amounted to $150 million in Dec. 2021 after Nubank debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
$NU Buffett-backed Nubank stock set for NYSE debut as IPO pricing valued company at about $41.5 Billion.The company raised $2.60 Billion as it sold 289.15 Million shares in IPO. Berkshire bought 10% of the shares in the offering.#fintechnews pic.twitter.com/HTujZZvCtJ
So far, Buffett has not shown any intention to sell his position in Nubank.
Buffett's additional investment into Nubank shows his acknowledgment of the fintech sector's underlying theme: the digitization of financial services, as well as his willingness to associate with companies that are involved in the
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