Bitcoin is a gamble not an investment, warns Warren Buffett

​Renowned investor Warren Buffett has claimed that buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrency is closer to gambling than investing.

Mr Buffett, whose personal wealth is only surpassed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is a long-time sceptic of bitcoin and remains unconvinced by the virtual currency despite its considerable gains over the last year.

“There’s two kinds of items that people buy and think they’re investing. One really is investing and the other isn’t,” the 87-year-old head of Berkshire Hathaway said ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

“If you buy something like a farm, an apartment house, or an interest in a business… you can do that on a private basis… and it’s a perfectly satisfactory investment… Now, if you buy something like bitcoin or some cryptocurrency, you don’t really have anything that has produced anything. You’re just hoping the next guy pays more.”