Buffett insists that "cash is king," missing out on $850 million Bitcoin profits in 2025!

In 2025, Bitcoin once again outperformed traditional assets, achieving an annual increase of 16.85%, far exceeding Berkshire Hathaway’s mere 3.55% stock performance. Warren Buffett insists that cash is king, yet he missed out on potential Bitcoin gains of up to 850 million dollars, sparking heated discussions in the market about his conservative investment strategy.

Bitcoin outperforms Berkshire’s top three holdings

Since 2025, the price of Bitcoin has continued to rise, with a year-to-date return of 16.85%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 index (+7.51%) and Berkshire Hathaway stocks (+3.55%). More notably, the increase in Bitcoin has also surpassed that of traditional blue-chip stocks held by Berkshire, such as Apple (AAPL), American Express (AXP), and Coca-Cola (KO).

Only 5% of funds allocated to BTC, Berkshire can earn an additional 850 million USD

According to the latest financial report, Berkshire Hathaway held $100.49 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of June, primarily invested in short-term Treasury bills and low-yield instruments. Analysts estimate that if only 5% of the funds were allocated to Bitcoin, based on this year’s 16.85% pump, Berkshire could have realized over $850 million in unrealized gains, enough to offset part of the $5 billion impairment loss from Kraft Heinz.

Cost of Conservative Strategy: Significant Decline in Net Profit, Missed Growth Opportunities

In the second quarter of 2025, Berkshire’s operating profit decreased by 3.8% to 11.16 billion USD, while net profit fell even more by 59% to 12.37 billion USD. Due to significant impairments in holdings such as Kraft Heinz, equity method investment losses reached as high as 4.6 billion USD. If high-growth assets like Bitcoin can be moderately allocated, it may bring more flexibility and hedging effects to the company’s financial reports.

Buffett stands firm on cash position, successor’s attitude unclear

Despite Bitcoin ETF inflows reaching new highs and institutional funds continuing to pour in, Buffett still regards Bitcoin as “rat poison” and firmly refuses to include it in his investment portfolio. His successor, Greg Abel, has not publicly supported crypto assets to date, continuing Berkshire’s consistent value investing tradition.

Conclusion

In 2025, Bitcoin strongly leads the capital market, while Berkshire Hathaway missed out on a potential profit of 850 million dollars due to its insistence on cash as the main asset. This phenomenon highlights the pros and cons of traditional defensive investment portfolios in the new financial era. Investors should carefully assess asset allocation and seize high growth opportunities.