On September 18, a 96-year-old man wrote a letter to shareholders. His wording is very Buffett-like: “Recently, I celebrated my 96th birthday with my family and friends. Among them was a great-grandson who has just turned one—‘he’s now walking a little faster than I do.’”
I read that letter twice.
“Time the old man always wins. But he has always treated me well.”
These are Buffett’s exact words. Judge for yourself. For a man who ran Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years and created returns of 61,000 times, the final summary of his career isn’t some investment philosophy—it’s those eight words.
He didn’t say, “I beat the market,” and he didn’t say, “I’m faster than time.” What he said was: Time wins, but it has been polite to me.
A 96-year-old man, through his mere existence, holds up the valuation of a trillion-dollar company. While he’s alive, the premium is there. When he leaves, the premium dissipates. This isn’t investment logic—it’s faith logic.
Now the chairman has also stepped down. For a company holding $365.5 billion in cash, the most important thing is the culture left behind by an old man who has already retired.
But what I want to say isn’t about Berkshire.
I want to say: with Buffett gone, the crypto world has lost one target.
“Rat poison,” “tulips,” “I wouldn’t buy the whole world’s Bitcoin for $25”—these lines, over the past decade, have been turned into punchlines by every person in crypto. During every bull market, someone screenshots Buffett’s words and adds a caption like, “The Oracle isn’t all that great.”
But the real opponent changes.
Buffett’s value investing core logic is: assets must have cash flow, be capable of valuation, and be able to be accounted for. Bitcoin has no cash flow—so that logic doesn’t apply.
But when you look back now, in the past ten years the money that truly made Bitcoin rise didn’t come from people who believe in “cash flow.” It came from those who believe in “scarcity,” “narratives,” and “consensus.” The two groups don’t speak the same language.
Buffett didn’t have his logic overturned. He just stopped playing.
You’re still sitting at the card table—but across from you, the chair is empty.
There’s really only one thing worth remembering: the person who talked to you with logic based on cash flow, a moat, and intrinsic value has stepped off the stage. Next, the person who talks to you may be using an entirely different language.
You have to judge for yourself which language is truer.
—Clear Stream Channel #巴菲特卸任伯克希尔董事长
I read that letter twice.
“Time the old man always wins. But he has always treated me well.”
These are Buffett’s exact words. Judge for yourself. For a man who ran Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years and created returns of 61,000 times, the final summary of his career isn’t some investment philosophy—it’s those eight words.
He didn’t say, “I beat the market,” and he didn’t say, “I’m faster than time.” What he said was: Time wins, but it has been polite to me.
A 96-year-old man, through his mere existence, holds up the valuation of a trillion-dollar company. While he’s alive, the premium is there. When he leaves, the premium dissipates. This isn’t investment logic—it’s faith logic.
Now the chairman has also stepped down. For a company holding $365.5 billion in cash, the most important thing is the culture left behind by an old man who has already retired.
But what I want to say isn’t about Berkshire.
I want to say: with Buffett gone, the crypto world has lost one target.
“Rat poison,” “tulips,” “I wouldn’t buy the whole world’s Bitcoin for $25”—these lines, over the past decade, have been turned into punchlines by every person in crypto. During every bull market, someone screenshots Buffett’s words and adds a caption like, “The Oracle isn’t all that great.”
But the real opponent changes.
Buffett’s value investing core logic is: assets must have cash flow, be capable of valuation, and be able to be accounted for. Bitcoin has no cash flow—so that logic doesn’t apply.
But when you look back now, in the past ten years the money that truly made Bitcoin rise didn’t come from people who believe in “cash flow.” It came from those who believe in “scarcity,” “narratives,” and “consensus.” The two groups don’t speak the same language.
Buffett didn’t have his logic overturned. He just stopped playing.
You’re still sitting at the card table—but across from you, the chair is empty.
There’s really only one thing worth remembering: the person who talked to you with logic based on cash flow, a moat, and intrinsic value has stepped off the stage. Next, the person who talks to you may be using an entirely different language.
You have to judge for yourself which language is truer.
—Clear Stream Channel #巴菲特卸任伯克希尔董事长