Charlie Munger bashes cryptos again, admires China for banning them

97-year-old billionaire investor Charlie Munger on Friday says he wishes cryptocurrencies were never invented, he said at the Sohn conference in Sydney, according to The Australian Financial Review. "Of course I hate the bitcoin success," Munger said. "I don't welcome a currency that's so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth, nor do I like just shuffling out of your extra billions of billions of dollars to somebody who just invested a new financial product out of thin air." Munger, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) (NYSE:BRK.A), "admires the Chinese" as the country banned crypto-related transactions earlier this year, though the U.S. doesn't appear to be following the same path, with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler in October affirming the U.S. will not ban cryptos. "I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization," Munger added. Meanwhile,