Munger protégé Li Lu says crypto is 'fundamentally bogus' and will vanish

Himalaya Capital founder Li Lu, a protégé of Charlie Munger, has branded digital assets “fundamentally bogus” and predicted they will disappear. At a value investing luncheon in New York, he said society would be better off if they were banned.

Li Lu, who founded and chairs Himalaya Capital, was an early backer of BYD, the Chinese carmaker. Still, he regarded owning crypto as a matter of personal taste, similar to appraising an individual artist.

Why Does Li Lu Believe Crypto Cannot Function as Money?

Li Lu was speaking on October 5 at the 36th Annual Graham & Dodd Luncheon in New York. Tano Santos, a Columbia Business School professor, moderated the fireside chat.

The question about crypto came from an audience member and was posed against the backdrop of global financial conditions.

“I don’t think anything of it. I think eventually it will disappear on its own, and that’s okay, because it’s fundamentally bogus.”

Li Lu

Munger's Successor: Crypto Will Eventually Disappear on Its Own

On October 15, 2026, Li Lu, founder of Himalaya Capital and Munger's successor, said in an interview at Columbia Business School that crypto is fundamentally bogus and will eventually disappear on its own.

— Wu Blockchain, October 21, 2026

Li Lu argued that a currency needs an enforcement mechanism before it can serve as a means of settlement or a store of wealth. A project built by just a few people cannot offer that, he said.

Earlier in the session, Li Lu defined wealth as a share of global purchasing power, not gold, diamonds or currencies. He did not tie that observation to crypto.

Li Lu also said crypto assists criminals and makes illicit transactions easier to carry out. He went further when the subject was regulation.

“I think we’re all better off banning it, but that’s okay.”

Li Lu

Does Munger’s Circle Still Set Wall Street’s Tone?

Munger and Warren Buffett have historically taken a critical view of Bitcoin (BTC). Under new CEO Greg Abel, who has avoided commenting on crypto, Berkshire Hathaway’s anti-Bitcoin stance appears to be unchanged.

In 2025, however, Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, argued that critics keep underestimating Bitcoin. His Bitcoin Hall of Shame ranking placed Munger and Buffett on the list.

The divide now runs through finance itself. Li Lu, by contrast, rejects crypto as a store of wealth, while Sigel says critics keep losing the argument.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meanwhile, have drawn billions of dollars in inflows since 2024.