According to Warren Buffett, an investment pays people by putting them to work. Buying gold is not an investment because it's not necessarily going towards anyone's paychecks. Buying gold hoping that its price would go up in the future is just speculation. Buying land on the other hand, is an investment because it produces something of value, in the form of crops that grow on it, or act as a space that can be rented out for others to use.
Since cryptocurrencies are speculative like gold, buying them cannot be considered investments, according to Warren Buffett's reasoning.
Here's what Warren Buffett missed
- ICOs fund projects. The money you shell out to buy those tokens, go towards the paychecks of those employees who in turn build a product.
- Buying assets like Bitcoin or Litecoin contribute to the network effects that drive adoption. This in turn helps create a decentralized economy that is self-sustaining.
- Speculating on crypto assets drives human behavior centered around it. For example if STEEM's value rises, more people are going to post articles on Steemit.
This is why buying cryptocurrencies also counts as investing.