Crypto is a malicious combination of fraud and delusion: Charlie Munger

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Digital currencies are a malicious combination of fraud and delusion, said Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger, in an interview with CNBC.

“This is a very, very bad thing. The country did not need a currency that was good for kidnappers,” the longtime cryptocurrency skeptic said. “There are people who think they’ve got to be on every deal that’s hot. I think that’s totally crazy.”

The investor’s comment came as crypto currency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection after concerns over the company’s financial health resulted in a run on the exchange and a plunge in the value of its native FTT token.  FTX is facing scrutiny from US authorities amid reports that $10 billion in customer assets were shifted from FTX to founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research.

Binance had backed out of a deal acquiring FTX after reports of mishandled customer funds and alleged U.S. government investigations into FTX.

“You are seeing a lot of delusion. Partly fraud and partly delusion. That’s a bad combination,” Munger said.

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings also said it would write down the value of its entire investment of $275 million in collapsed FTX.

Also read:  As FTX collapses, Temasek becomes latest backer to write down $275 million funding

US crypto investors have sued Bankman-Fried and several celebrities who promoted his exchange, claiming they engaged in deceptive practices to sell FTX yield-bearing digital currency accounts.

The price of bitcoin, the world’ largest cryptocurrency, has fallen more than 60 percent this year to trade below $17,000, according to Coin Metrics.

Also read: FTX's Bankman-Fried, Tom Brady and other celebrity promoters sued by crypto investors