How much Bitcoin can Berkshire Hathaway buy?

Key takeaways:

• Berkshire holds $347B in cash, enough to buy ~18% of Bitcoin’s supply.

• Greg Abel has not signaled a shift from Warren Buffett’s anti-Bitcoin stance.

• Berkshire already has indirect crypto exposure via Nu Holdings, Jefferies.

Warren Buffett announced at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting on May 3 that he will step down as CEO by the end of 2025, with Greg Abel taking over. This transition raises speculation about Berkshire’s financial capacity to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) under the new leadership.

Berkshire ended Q4 2024 with a record $347 billion in cash and US Treasury bills, representing about 32% of its $1.1 trillion market capitalization.

The company could acquire approximately 3.52 million BTC if it purchases the cryptocurrency at May’s approximate price of $95,000. This equates to about 17.88% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply of 19.69 million coins.

If the company tapped only its estimated $295.98 billion in US Treasury, it could buy around 3.12 million BTC, or 15.85% of the circulating supply, positioning it as a dominant player in the crypto market.

Berkshire Hathaway is 20th Century Bitcoin.

Such a move would easily eclipse Nasdaq-listed Strategy Inc. (formerly MicroStrategy), the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, which owns 553,555 BTC worth approximately $52.2 billion as of May 6.

In other words, Berkshire can theoretically match Strategy’s stash with roughly one-sixth of its cash pile if it converts it to Bitcoin.

Related: Strategy, Semler bag 2K Bitcoin as price edged toward $100K last week

Bernstein analysts forecast roughly $330 billion in corporate treasury-driven inflows into Bitcoin by 2029, with $205 billion expected from listed companies between 2025 and 2029.

Much of this, analysts say, will come from smaller, slow-growing companies trying to copy Strategy Inc.’s Bitcoin strategy. They see it as one of the few ways to boost their value when other growth options are scarce.

Bernstein’s bull case anticipates an additional $124 billion of Bitcoin purchases from Strategy alone, backed by the company’s recently upsized capital-raising plans, which aim to secure $84 billion by 2027, nearly double its previous target.

Whether Berkshire would buy Bitcoin under Abel’s leadership is speculative.

The new Berkshire Hathaway leader has not publicly indicated a shift from Buffett’s value-investing philosophy, prioritizing assets with tangible cash flows over speculative ones like Bitcoin, which Buffett once termed “rat poison squared.”

BTC’s price has climbed by nearly 900% since Buffett’s criticism in May 2018.

However, Berkshire, despite its anti-crypto stance, has indirect exposure in the sector through investments in crypto-friendly companies like Nu Holdings and Jefferies Financial Group, which holds shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).

The strategy is similar to how Berkshire approached gold, which Buffett repeatedly ridiculed for lacking productivity. However, Berkshire surprised markets by buying Barrick Gold shares (a gold mining company) in 2020, though it later sold that position.

Under Abel, Berkshire may not dive straight into Bitcoin, but its cautious, indirect approach could expand as markets evolve. Whether that leads to full adoption or careful toe-dipping remains to be seen.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.