Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested $500 million in Brazilian Nubank. The funding came as part of the Series G round, in which the neobank was valued at $30 billion.
According to the press release, funds from investors will be used by the digital bank for international expansion and to broaden its staff.
“In terms of customer numbers, Nubank is the largest digital bank in the world — its number has surpassed 40 million. During the first five months of 2021, 45,000 new users joined it every day,” the statement said.
In September 2020 Nubank acquired the Easynvest investment platform. In May 2021 the Central Bank of Brazil approved the merger, and on June 2 the parties closed the deal.
Easynvest manages assets of $5 billion, and its clients number 1.6 million. The platform offers users investments in digital assets and Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds.
Berkshire Hathaway’s executives have repeatedly criticised cryptocurrencies. In May 2021, the vice chairman of the holding company’s board Charles Munger said that hates the success of Bitcoin, and called it “a financial asset invented out of thin air.”
In February 2020, Buffett said that cryptocurrencies have no value and produce nothing. He stressed that he does not own and never will own digital assets.
Earlier, Munger ruled out the possibility of investing in Bitcoin due to its high volatility.