Warren Buffett to Step Down as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO, Will Bitcoin (BTC) Be Welcomed in the Post-Buffett Era?

Warren Buffett, the Founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and a known critic of Bitcoin (BTC) is set to step down from his role with the company.

Legendary investor and Founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) Warren Buffett is set to step down from his role with the company by the end of this year, the company confirmed during its Annual Meeting on Wednesday.

What Happened: Buffett, 92, will be retiring after nearly 60 years at the helm of the investment firm, making it a major leadership change in the company’s history and the future of Bitcoin (BTC), which is a new sensation among some Wall Street firms.

The billionaire investor is leaving the company in capable hands, as he names Greg Abel, Berkshire’s Vice Chairman, as his top pick to succeed him.

“It’s not a secret. Greg knows it, and they’re not going to announce it or anything. But I would hope that, if I’m in good shape, I might still be able to come in and do some minor role, but Greg will have the final say,” Buffett said.

The investor was diagnosed with triple threat heart disease at age 51 and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery in 1992.

During the meeting, Buffett was also asked about his thoughts on the U.S.-China trade war, which was a major focus of the Trump administration.

“I think we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world. We don’t want to use trade as a weapon,” Buffett said.

The billionaire investor’s comments come amid a broader shift in thinking on trade among some economists and policy-makers.

The transition process will occur internally, but the implications for Bitcoin and crypto remain unknown.

Will Berkshire Hathaway Embrace Bitcoin Post Buffett Era?

Beyond his business acumen in the TradFi world, Buffett is known for his dislike of Bitcoin. While he has a stake in Brazilian crypto finance firm Nu Bank, he has consistently criticized Bitcoin as an asset class.

With many now looking up to Greg Abel’s era, it remains unknown if the company will make a pivot in the long term.

What is known, however, is that Greg Abel rose to the top with his hands-on approach to investments, a move different from Warren Buffett’s "hands-off" style.

Since the company did not divest its stake from Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU) but increased its stake in the firm, which is helmed by Israeli billionaire banking tycoon David Baumgartel, it is likely that, under Abel, the company may build on this.

Also helping in the company’s likely pivot is the pro-crypto stance of the U.S. government, which may aid in facilitating the integration of crypto.

With Senator Cynthia Lummis’s Bitcoin Act Bill, which aims to regulate Bitcoin as a commodity, and the bipartisan support for crypto regulation, many regulatory bottlenecks which may have limited Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) are being cleared up.

This move will also be in line with the moves of some Wall Street firms. Earlier this year, reports revealed that the crypto firm, Strategy, acquired 15,355 BTC for $1.4 billion.

The firm, which is not primarily a crypto firm, has continued to raise money to buy Bitcoin.

Other firms, like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and GameStop (NYSE:GME), are bullish on Bitcoin, creating a precedent for the Warren Buffett-led company to follow suit. Whether this projection will play out remains to be seen.