Yellow metal naysayer Warren Buffet bought up Barrick Gold in Q2, and sold banks, including Goldman Sachs.

That’s a rather telling commentary on the state of the economy. Warren Buffet, the doyen of buying when blood is on the street, has been remarkably circumspect in buying stocks during the pandemic panic. An analysis of SEC filings shows that Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) jettisoned stocks of Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). On the other hand, he bought 20.9 million shares in Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) – a safe haven bet worth about $563.6 million. Gold and crypto bugs are currently joined at the hip. So it’s no surprise that one analyst has predicted a price of $50,000 for bitcoin. (Coin Telegraph)

Toronto-based Barrick Gold is a gold and copper miner with operations and projects in 13 countries.

Dalio and Paulson in gold bets too

Quarterly filings show that Paulson & Co., run by billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson, also added to holdings in Barrick Gold, according to Bloomberg.

Reuters said that hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, which is run by Ray Dalio, raised its investment in gold-backed exchange-traded funds by a third in the second quarter. The world’s largest hedge fund bought the equivalent of 170,000 ounces of gold worth $340 million at current prices, according to regulatory filings.

Gold and bitcoin have common tailwinds

Both gold and cryptocurrencies have received a boost from the massive stimulus measures unfolding around the globe as economies totter from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. More and more investors have started to consider bitcoin as a safe haven asset.

Lately, bitcoin and gold have moved somewhat in tandem.

Said investor Max Keiser to Coin Telegraph:

“Global $100 trillion fund management biz is less than 1% invested in gold. With Buffett now moving into gold. Expect global allocation of 5% AU min. Implies $5,000 gold. Expect a 1% BTC global allocation ($1 trillion). This implies $50,000 for Bitcoin Expect PTJ ups to 10%.”

Former L/S Equities portfolio manager and Ikigai Fund founder Travis Kling:

“Today it was announced Berkshire Hathaway just bought its first gold stock ever. The reasons are self-apparent at this point. Just in case you’re wondering what the coming years are going to look like for bitcoin, this was Buffett on gold in 1998.”

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Warren Buffet image: Flickr