Warren Buffett Misses $850M in Bitcoin Gains by Sticking to Cash in H1 2025

Key takeaways:

Berkshire Hathaway has posted a headline profit of $12.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, according to its latest filings. A closer look reveals a rougher story, however, especially when it comes to missed hedging opportunities from ignoring Bitcoin (BTC).

Bitcoin could’ve softened Berkshire’s $4.60 billion equity loss

The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate took a massive $5 billion impairment hit on its Kraft Heinz stake during the quarter, contributing to $4.60 billion in equity method investment losses for the year’s first half.

Net earnings are down sharply from the same period last year, and the firm’s stock has lagged behind both Bitcoin and the S&P 500 in 2025, especially after Buffett announced that he would step down from the CEO position.

As of Aug. 5, Berkshire shares are up just 3.55% year-to-date. By contrast, the S&P 500 has gained 7.51%, while Bitcoin is up 16.85%.

Berkshire held $100.49 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of June, most of it parked in short-term Treasury bills and low-yield instruments.

If just 5% of that capital had been allocated to Bitcoin at the beginning of 2025, it would have delivered over $850 million in unrealized gains by August, based on BTC’s 16.85% year-to-date return.

That hypothetical Bitcoin gain wouldn’t have erased the Kraft Heinz shortfall but would have meaningfully offset the loss.

Related: How much Bitcoin can Berkshire Hathaway buy?

It also would’ve given Berkshire more flexibility since the firm hasn’t conducted stock buybacks in the first half of the year.

BTC beats Berkshire’s top holdings in 2025

The missed BTC gains put into perspective just how much Berkshire’s conservative approach has cost in relative performance.

For instance, the cryptocurrency has outperformed Berkshire’s top three stock holdings—Apple (AAPL), American Express (AXP), and Coca-Cola (KO)—so far in 2025, as shown below.

The irony is that Buffett has long dismissed Bitcoin as “rat poison squared.” He’s repeatedly said that Bitcoin produces no yield, has no intrinsic value, and does not belong in any investment portfolio.

And yet, Bitcoin has outperformed Berkshire’s top holdings in a year defined by rising ETF inflows, institutional adoption, and a macro backdrop that has increasingly favored hard assets.

Related: Bitcoin ETF inflows show institutions ‘doubled down’ on BTC at $116K

Buffett’s successor, Berkshire’s new CEO Greg Abel, has so far offered no public statements supporting Bitcoin or any crypto.

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.