Warren Buffett's farewell! Bitcoin rises 319%, outperforming Berkshire Hathaway, and giving a slap to Omaha's prophet.

On November 10th, Warren Buffett released his annual letter to shareholders, widely regarded as his “final act,” in which the “Oracle of Omaha” officially announced he will no longer write personal shareholder letters nor attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings. Buffett previously compared Bitcoin to “rat poison,” but from 2015 to 2025, Bitcoin’s cumulative gains have been approximately 319%, while Berkshire Hathaway’s average return over the past decade has been around 13%.

Five Key Takeaways from Buffett’s Farewell Letter

(Source: Berkshire Hathaway)

In the letter, Warren Buffett straightforwardly states: “I will no longer write Berkshire’s annual reports, nor will I give long speeches at the shareholder meetings. As the British say, I am going to ‘quietly step away.’” This marks the end of his role as a public commentator for the company and indicates that the next annual shareholder letter will be written by his successor. Buffett praises Greg Abel as “an outstanding manager, tireless worker, and honest communicator,” adding, “Greg Abel has fully met the high expectations I set for Berkshire Hathaway’s next CEO.”

Five Main Points from Buffett’s Farewell Letter

Retirement from Public Role: No longer writing annual letters, stepping back from shareholder meetings, ending his role as a public commentator.

Succession Plan: Fully endorses Greg Abel as the new CEO, emphasizing his excellent management skills.

Charitable Giving Acceleration: Converting Class A shares into Class B shares to be donated to family foundations, accelerating lifetime giving.

Scale Challenges: Admits the company’s size has become a limiting factor, with fewer feasible investment opportunities.

Valuable Message: Reflects on humility, gratitude, and long-termism, emphasizing that kindness is priceless but costless.

Buffett disclosed in the letter that he has converted Class A shares into Class B shares and donated these to four family charitable foundations: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and NoVo Foundation. He stated, “Accelerating charitable donations during my lifetime does not mean I have any change in my outlook on Berkshire’s prospects.”

Buffett candidly acknowledged that the company’s scale has become a limiting factor: “Due to Berkshire’s size and market levels, feasible investment opportunities are scarce—but not nonexistent.” He also reassured shareholders: despite recent underperformance, he remains “slightly optimistic” about the company’s outlook. Reflecting on himself, Buffett wrote, “Surprisingly, I feel good overall… I spend five days a week in the office working with outstanding colleagues.” He added, “Greatness does not come from accumulating vast wealth… When you help others in various ways, you are also helping the world. Kindness is without cost, but also priceless.”

The Irony of Rat Poison and 319% Gains

(Source: CoinMarketCap)

As a legendary investor of his era, Warren Buffett has long led the value investing movement. However, a comparison between his views on the crypto industry and actual market performance reveals an interesting contrast. It is well known that Buffett has consistently criticized digital assets. He once said, “As for digital currencies, I can almost guarantee they will end badly.” He even directly compared Bitcoin to “rat poison.”

In an interview, he stated: “If you told me you owned all the Bitcoin in the world, and offered me a price of $25, I wouldn’t buy it because I don’t see what I could do with it.” He believes cryptocurrencies “cannot produce anything”—they do not generate products, provide services, have cash flow, or possess intrinsic value like traditional investments. Clearly, within Buffett’s value investing framework, assets that depend solely on being bought by the next person are viewed with skepticism.

Yet, market data shows a stark contrast: Bitcoin’s performance from 2015 to 2025 has been approximately 319% cumulatively, meaning an investment of $1 in 2015 would grow to over $319 by 2025. Breaking it down annually, Bitcoin’s gains have been particularly strong in recent years, with approximately 155% in 2023 and 121% in 2024. In comparison, Berkshire Hathaway’s returns have been much steadier, with an average annual return of about 13% over the past decade.

This 24-fold difference in returns (319% vs. 13%) is not just a numerical contrast but also a collision of two investment philosophies. Buffett’s value investing emphasizes company fundamentals, cash flow, and long-term holding, whereas Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built on scarcity, network effects, and decentralized trust. Their definitions of “value” are fundamentally different, and the market’s own return figures reflect this divergence.

Former Chinese billionaire CZ (Changpeng Zhao) publicly stated in 2018 that he “does not think Buffett understands cryptocurrencies,” and that Buffett made “a big mistake” in this area. He pointed out that crypto assets have their own emerging value and potential, which traditional investment masters might overlook due to their experience and frameworks. In a tweet, CZ commented on Buffett’s refusal to invest in Bitcoin at the time: “No one is right about everything.”

Stablecoins and DeFi Reshaping Financial Logic

Meanwhile, the new trends in the crypto market are not limited to the rising prices of Bitcoin and other mainstream digital currencies. The development of stablecoins has quietly changed the market landscape. The emergence of dollar-pegged stablecoins (such as USDT, USDC, etc.) has provided greater liquidity and trading convenience amid high volatility, attracting more institutional participation and laying the infrastructure for decentralized finance (DeFi), cross-border payments, and digital asset applications.

This development also highlights new dimensions of value and function within the crypto ecosystem—these assets are not only speculative tools but also serve as currency substitutes and payment mediums to some extent. Tether’s USDT market cap has surpassed $183 billion, making it one of the most liquid stablecoins globally. This scale exceeds the money supply of many countries, indicating that cryptocurrencies are moving from the periphery toward the core of mainstream finance.

The rise of DeFi further challenges traditional financial paradigms. In DeFi, users can lend, trade, and invest without banks or intermediaries, with protocols executing automatically via smart contracts, and governance shared among token holders. This model disrupts the centralized financial institutions that Buffett is familiar with.

Digital currencies, DeFi, blockchain technology, and NFTs are not only reshaping global capital flows but also transforming perceptions of wealth, value, and investment logic. The traditional standards relying on cash flow and corporate profits are increasingly supplemented or replaced by network effects, protocol usage, and community engagement metrics. As times change, the financial landscape is rapidly evolving, and the definition of value is entering a more diverse and dynamic phase.

Buffett’s farewell and the rise of crypto symbolize an era transition. The 94-year-old investment legend has witnessed the shift from industrial to information economy but ultimately chooses to pause at the threshold of the digital asset era. His value investing philosophy remains effective but is no longer the sole investment truth. A new generation of investors is writing their own wealth stories, and the protagonist of this story is the very cryptocurrency that Buffett once despised.