Warren Buffett watcher echoes warning on bitcoin

'We're probably near the top of a bubble'

Warren Buffett was right to warn about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a veteran investor says.
"When everyone's talking about it, it makes me feel like we're probably near the top of a bubble," says John Rogers Jr.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is right about cryptocurrencies, and the price of bitcoin will be much lower in the near future, a veteran investor told CNBC on Thursday.

Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, warned on Wednesday the recent craze over bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies won't end well. But Buffett added he would not take a short position on bitcoin futures.

"I wouldn't bet against Warren," said John Rogers Jr., chairman and CEO at Ariel Investments. "At the same time, I continue to see everywhere I go, everyone's talking about [cryptocurrencies]. College students, business school students."

"When everyone's talking about it, it makes me feel like we're probably near the top of a bubble," Rogers said in an interview on "Squawk Box." "I agree with Warren."

Rogers, a longtime Buffett watcher and Berkshire shareholder, said investors could see the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies "much, much lower" in about five years.

Buffett's bitcoin comments to CNBC on Wednesday came a day after J.P. Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon backpedaled his earlier criticisms of cryptocurrencies. In September, Dimon called bitcoin a fraud.

The price of bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies fell sharply Thursday after South Korea's justice minister announced that a bill is being prepared to ban all cryptocurrency trading in the country, citing concerns regarding virtual currencies.

But those declines pale in comparison to bitcoin's more than 1,500 percent surge in the past 12 months.

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