Recently, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: behind Warren Buffett’s succession story, there is actually an intergenerational tug-of-war over values.

Warren Buffett is about to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year, handing the reins to Vice Chairman Greg Abel, but he still firmly keeps the chairmanship. This arrangement looks like a smooth transition, but for the crypto community, it could be bad news.

Do you know just how harsh Buffett’s view of virtual currencies is? In 2018, he called Bitcoin “rat poison,” “a real bubble,” and later said it’s like a gambling machine. By 2020, he went even further, declaring, “Cryptocurrencies have no value, and I will never hold them.” This isn’t just a couple of complaints—it’s a deeply ingrained belief.

More importantly, he and the late partner Charlie Munger were unusually steadfast in their stance on this matter. A KBW analyst said bluntly that their hostility toward virtual currencies has gone beyond the level of “not understanding technology”—it’s fundamentally a clash of values.

So even though Greg Abel will be at the helm of Berkshire’s day-to-day operations, changing the ideological legacy left behind by Buffett and Munger? It’s almost impossible. Analysts expect that even if Greg Abel has different thoughts, in the short term it’s unlikely he will take any actions that appear to deviate from Buffett’s values. That means Berkshire’s cold attitude toward crypto assets is likely to continue.

Interestingly, Buffett once mentioned at a shareholders’ meeting that if the U.S. economy were to change, he might consider diversifying assets and holding other currencies. But honestly, given his consistent harsh criticism of virtual currencies, Bitcoin is clearly not on that list.

However, from another angle, this succession arrangement from Buffett does show his seasoned judgment. He kept it low-key and confidential until the shareholders’ meeting, allowing Greg Abel to handle questions comfortably, while Buffett himself continued to stay on the board to provide steady support. Investment managers all see it as a model example of how Berkshire handles major events. Shareholders should feel reassured about this smooth transition—Buffett’s influence hasn’t truly gone away.