Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman Charlie Munger has long voiced his criticism of crypto, with a particular focus on bitcoin (BTC). Unsurprisingly, the ongoing market downturn and the abrupt collapse of major exchange FTX have further pushed the investor over the brink.

“This is a very, very bad thing. The country did not need a currency that was good for kidnappers and so on,” Munger, who is Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, said in an interview with US broadcaster CNBC.

“There are people who think they’ve got to be on every deal that’s hot. And they don’t care whether it’s child prostitution or bitcoin,” he stated. “I think that’s totally crazy. Reputation is very helpful in financial life.”

Munger also compared investing in crypto to a “delusion” despite the fact that numerous legacy finance players from across the world have investment major funds in crypto.

“Good ideas, carried to wretched excess, become bad ideas,” according to the businessman. “Nobody’s gonna say I got some shit that I want to sell you. They say—it’s blockchain! Blockchain is the new good thing to come up. Like fairy dust.”

It is noteworthy that, during an interview in February 2022, Munger said that crypto is “an ideal currency if you want to commit extortion or kidnapping, or have a protection racket” and reiterated that BTC and other cryptos are “beneath contempt”.

“Why should a civilized government want an ideal, untraceable technology to come into the payment system, run by a bunch of people who want to get rich quick for doing very little for civilization?” the investor asked. “Of course I hate it.”

Munger concluded his tirade by praising China’s government for being “wiser than we were” and banning crypto.

Two months later, Munger also