Wealth is not discovered. It is created. So, there must be a connection between the makers and the made...between producers and their products...and between the income and the capital accounts.
One benefit of Bitcoin et al/crypto (in general) is that it soaks up $trillion$ of faux-money creation that emits from the Fed, yet places no significant claim on tangible goods & services in the real economy. That is, crypto is a parking lot for junk money; a place for excess dollars to hang out and cause little practical harm.
Not only does it cause "little practical harm", it also has/is allowing "investors" to add to their pile of Ghost Money. A fake asset, valued for nothing more than magical/digital "Demand" and bought/sold using faux money.
Could there be anything more fitting to our world in 2025? The only thing "real" are the people getting wealthy off of it by turning Crypto gains into Hard Assets - and like it or not Mr. Bonner, they DO exist....
...what I have noticed particularly amongst the younger folks is the realization they cannot "work" to riches, they must invest.
They cannot afford a house as an investment, so they turn to other vehicles.
Mr. Bonner asks "where did this wealth come from?"
...my guess it's the wealth that used to be down payments for housing, savings accounts, monies diverted from other anticipated expenditures like college, and inheritances.
Now desperately inserted into the market or crypto's because there really is no other choice.
I know this will sound simplistic, but I see wealth as having come from wage earners retirement savings and simply looking for a safe harbor to grow. The real estate market is maxed out as is the stock market. So, Gold becomes a go-to and soon probably Silver and Platinum.
Artwork and other tangible assets used to have a place here, but seem to have lost its shine recently - as grandmas antiques, china and silver table settings for the now, more mobile, young is seen as an anchor in search of a home as a ship... The intangible and opaque world of Crypto is still somewhat suspect as are many overseas market funds.
So where to now? We do live in interesting times. Perhaps a complete economic restart (i.e. meltdown) is the only answer? Is it possible that when "the chickens come home to roost", this will be the new source of survival as we passively resolve ourselves to a cyclic renewal?
Or do we hope for a new season of prosperity by actively re-shoring the nation's most critical manufacturing sectors - energy, pharma and a new AI intellectual property development as our "seed corn" and our best hope for a renewed and better future?
If so, let's lean into it together or hear from those critics with a better plan - sooner rather than later.
Nah. They'd rather Bitch, try to suck us into their Lifestyle of Constant Fear and Feed their ignorant Hatred of Donald Trump. Helping, Contributing and Producing are NOT part of their program. Envy, Violence, Arrogance and Corruption are the only items on their menu.
Lots of questions and little in terms of substantial answers. Obivously the young and more accustomed to the internet believe cryptos will become the new currency. At this point I'm still in the Missouri camp. Speculation running rampant has in the past shown up as a collapse of most forms of risk. I'm almost as old as Bill but suspect the future won't be all that different from the past or at least will rhyme.
There is at least one very tangible aspect of the Bitcoin phenomenon - the gigawatts of electricity being squandered to "mine" the Bitcoins....excuse me, if I believe this is an absolute waste of resources.
I will agree that the limitation on the number of Bitcoins that could be produced was the critical genius behind the Bitcoin phenomenon. But at the end of the day the miner of precious metals extracts something tangible that has an exchange value because it can be used as part of a product that has a use other than solely as a medium of exchange. At the end of the day the miner of Bitcoin has only two things: an electronic marker which has no intrinsic use other than as an exchange medium - and a bill for electricity used. Hey, and as long as there is the "greater fool" out there willing to pay for that electronic marker at the inflated market price...
The only reason you have value of any commodity is that someone is willing to pay for it. Holding it in your hands does not make it valuable. The fact that someone else also wants to hold it makes it valuable. The finite supply of BTC makes it different from all other โcommoditiesโ. Even gold has an elastic supply. Higher prices create better economics for previously marginal reserves. Not so for BTC.
Both gold and crypto are arbitrary assets. The only reason they have the Value that they have is because people are willing to pay that sum of money. They
intrinsically, produce no wealth.When the shit hits the fan and I walk down the street with a bitcoin and try and buy an apple with my twenty three thousand dollar bitcoin? Perhaps I use a piece of sandpaper to scratch off a couple dollars worth of gold to buy a pharmaceutical for my dying child.? Maybe, like the old Dutchmasters, I could trade the equivalent of a million dollar tulip bulb.
When The tulip bulb market crashed At least they could have a nice tulip,if needed,did they could eat it.
No prediction.
Here. But money and value have always been a conundrum.
OK - so ANGRY ICEBERGS is ready to ditch the Dollar (et.al.) in favor of Bitcoin. And BILL looks forward to bartering Bitcoin for food (in a post apocalyptic world?). Interestingโฆ
You know so little about Bitcoin I hesitate to respond. Bitcoin miners mainly use stranded energy; they canโt afford to pay for energy that would go elsewhere. Get your facts straight before commenting.
Bitcoin is a high-tech Ponzi scheme. That is my firmly held belief - but I would honestly like to entertain arguments to the contrary, for anyone who would like to share their reasoning with me.
OK, let me give this a shot...I spent a lot of time researching/reading about BTC, and just watching it with suspicion (I am after all a conservative, retired professional accountant) before I took the plunge and started buying (at around $16k per coin).
I believe BTC is very similar to gold in many respects, including its inflation protective and wealth preservation properties. It is superior to gold in two ways: it is almost infinitely more transportable almost anywhere in the world than gold, and, given that it is tracked in "Satoshis" (sats), which equals one-one hundred millionth of a coin, it is massively more divisible than gold (unless you carry a scale around with you). Also, transacting in cryptos is laughably cheaper and easier than other methods...often just a few sats even for transactions of millions or billions of dollars, all without having to deal with annoying bank intermediaries.
As I have watched developments (suspiciously) I have gained more comfort due to the growing acceptance and adoption of BTC around the world (including the USA (which is now setting up a crypto sovereign fund). It's not readily apparent to those of us in first-world countries, but in less-developed places, BTC is widely used. In these places, it can be almost impossible to open a bank account and currency transactions can be quite difficult. However, cell phones are often widely used, making crypto transactions dead easy and very common.
BTC was introduced in 2008-09, and I believe that in the 16 years it's been around it has been well-tested and withstood almost all attempts to break it (MTGox attack came close, but it survived).
Would I be shocked if somehow the bottom fell out, or someone figured a way to steal all the BTC in the world? Not at all. For that reason, I keep a limited percentage of my portfolio (but certainly more than the 1% recommended by BPR), and when I exceed that percentage, I sell some to maintain a fixed share. AT this point, I have enough gains, that even if my remaining BTC becomes worthless, I am ahead of the game.
Lots more I could say, but I think this is long enough.
"BTC is a recognized ... global exchange ..." So? Sort of like a casino gaming table where consenting adults can congregate to ... well, gamble.
Excuse me, for being blunt about it - but to insinuate that Bitcoin can take its place among the fiat currencies of the world is laughable. The extreme volatility of Bitcoin blows that argument.
... yes indeed El Salvador experiment met with value fluctuational issue that hindered widespread adoption, otherwise it would've likely worked.
Consensus is BTC volatility will lessen, we'll see.
What would you do if the king dollar were no longer "king"?
Wanna bet you'd find yourself contemplating alternative monies...
I agree with you BTC currently is more of a betting medium than an investment or viable currency, however BTC is a recognized global player, it's gonna be around for sometime.... and likely folks will find all sorts of machinations for it... so get used to it.
While your favorite version of Money might have been recorded by the Stones, it was penned by Janie Bradford and Barry Gordy and recorded by Barrett Strong in 1959 on Tamla Records, the predecessor to Gordyโs Motown.
Bill what you donโt understand and Iโve been a subscriber of yours for multiple decades and you continue down this path despite what bitcoin has done over the past 15 years. Bitcoin has the largest strongest secure computer system in the world. Independent people come together not knowing at all who they are on the largest independent most secure computer and security system in the world There are multiple billion dollar companies out there mining And using Energy to actually mine and produce the bitcoin. There is enormous amount of infrastructure computers, data centres and energy used to produce each of the blocks that are required to produce the finite bitcoin. Itโs one of the largest independent financial systems in the world and the beauty of it is all the things that you indicate is being negative. That there are no owners, no employees, no people to run it and guide it and direct it. Thatโs the beauty of this because in the legacy system, they are all the things that have created all the corruption that you write about every day. On one hand you put all of that legacy system down and write about it pretty much every day is being the worst Thing in the history of the world, and itโs gone on like this for centuries, but yet when there is a system out there that does the exact opposite and it has been thriving and the greatest asset of the timeframe that it has been in existence, you put this down. Mate you canโt have your cake and eat it too.
Interesting thought, Weston. Some say 1/2 of the bitcoins "allowed" are not currently in the system. If so, where might they be? And, where is Nakamoto? There are those that think Nakamoto in Japanese means CIA and wasn't created out of thin air for the good of mankind. So where did it come from (remember folks be a skeptic if not a cynic) and where will it go? Everybody is looking for a fast (and easy) buck. The World has never worked that way over any length of time. Could BTC be the new "tulip bulb"? Is BTC as clean and unhackable as rumors suggest? The Ol' Man wonders and Time will tell........
Today Mr. Bonner leads off with a quote from the song "Money (That's What I Want)", citing the Rolling Stones' version. While there have likely been a jillion covers of this tune, first released in 1959 by Barrett Strong on Barry Gordy's Tamla label, the best in my opinion, and best by far, is that of the Kingsmen on their "Louie, Louie" live album, "The Kingsmen in Person" (Wand Records, 1963). The Kingsmen were one of the best garage/club bands of the era, and their performance of "Money" proves it. It starts hot, and it's nothing but hardcore rocking out the rest of the way. The crowd response is epic. Best always. PM
Mick's obviously in a class by himself. Even the Beatles recorded this, and John Lennon gives his expected gritty performance. It was a perfect anthem for the times, I guess. Thanks for the reply. Best always. PM
I am not convinced by Mr. Bonner's argument about bitcoin today.
I look at "wealth" as the product of expenditure of energy. Gold meets this criterion and once produced to the level of a gold coin or bar acts much like bitcoin- it is valued for its very existence but does not enter again into a productive role. Similarly, bitcoin is an output of energy expenditure by the miners.
So I have $100,000 deposited to my checking account from my dead sister's estate.
What do I see?
With any luck, a ledger entry on my bank statement or a display showing my account balance greatly enhanced. My Sprott gold fund looks much the same (well, not that great, but...)
My empty bitcoin cold wallet is sitting on my desk hoping that I win a lottery and can fill it up.
If I had $100,000 in bitcoin I could convert and spend it. If I was a member of the Freedom Convoy and had $100,000 in my bank account Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland would have seized it and I could not convert or spend it.
I also have an old gold filling in an envelope sitting on my desk and I can assure you that it would be considerably more difficult to convert and spend that than any bitcoin I had available. Just the other day I saw an ATM which was willing to convert bitcoin.
Yeah well I opt for silver and gold and a little platinum in coins and small bars (silver). I have started to give silver coins and bullets to my sons and grandchildren. 2 oz silver bullets are pretty cool but they cost about $81 each. Figuring on transfer my love of coin collecting and precious metals to them. Iโm not going to ever sell them unless SHTF and then at my age I really donโt care.
I fully support the utility of cryptocurrencyโafter all, itโs not fiat. But letโs be honest: we still depend on centralized exchanges to use it, and those are increasingly under regulatory control. The powerful arenโt going to let crypto flourish unrestrained. Why would they? It would erode their ability to monitor, tax, and manipulate the flow of value. When collapse becomes imminent, theyโll pull out quietly, leaving retail investors holding the digital bag.
The truth is simple: when things fall apart, survival depends on whatโs real. Those whoโve prepared will retreat to their bolt holesโequipped with clean water, sanitation, food stores, land for cultivation, fishing rights, and the kinds of โtoolsโ forged from steel and lead. And theyโll trade with actual hard currencyโprecious metals you can hold, not digital entries on a disconnected ledger.
Because if the grid failsโwhether from war, solar flares, cyberattacks, or economic collapseโBitcoin becomes worthless code. Its value only exists if you convert it into something tangible before the lights go out.
The upcoming 2028 halving underscores Bitcoinโs fatal flaw. When the block reward drops from 3.125 to 1.5625 BTC, miner revenue will be slashed in half. But their costsโhardware, electricity, logisticsโwonโt budge. At todayโs energy prices, some miners will lose over $150,000 per block. The network becomes economically unsustainable. The smart money knows this. Itโll exit early, and when it does, the selloff will cascade. As security degrades, so does trustโand Bitcoinโs price with it.
Miningโs final stretch isnโt some golden opportunity. Itโs a capital trap. A small-scale 10-miner operation now demands six figures in up-front investmentโbefore a single rig is powered on. And for what? That same $150,000 could secure real, productive assets: off-grid solar, fertile land, clean water access, food systems, livestock. Things that actually workโregardless of whether the dollar, the internet, or the power grid still do.
Of course, if Bitcoin reaches $212,000 by 2028, then mining might remain worthwhile - if the cost of producing a single BTC remains the same (electricity, rent, regulation, etc). And if BTC hits $424,000 by 2032, the party continues. Big numbersโif only the entire market doesn't implode by then.
The disconnect couldnโt be clearer. Markets chase abstract, ghostly wealth built on faith in systems already rotting at the core. Meanwhile, practical assets and hands-on skills quietly retain their valueโregardless of what version of money happens to be trending this year.
"Because if the grid failsโwhether from war, solar flares, cyberattacks, or economic collapseโBitcoin becomes worthless code."
I've said this here before, Lucas, but if the grid goes down, bitcoin will still be there when the grid comes back.
If the grid goes down and stays down, we'll all be living in the stone age, the vast majority of humanity will be dead in 6 months, and bitcoin will be worth the same as gold and silver, which is to say---zilch.
Well, if we're in the stone age, gold and silver will still have some valueโfor jewelry, electronics, or tradeโas opposed to a hard drive full of encrypted code that no one can access or verify.
But grid failure was just one scenario where Bitcoin goes to zero. There are more immediate threats:
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐บ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ: When quantum computers crack Bitcoin's encryptionโand it's a matter of when, not ifโthey can alter the blockchain at will, creating endless forks and destroying trust. The entire system becomes compromised overnight.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น: Miners simply can't make money anymore. This 15-year-old technology has gone from costing a penny per Bitcoin in 2009 to $106,000 todayโleaving razor-thin margins even at current prices. The 2028 halving cuts miner revenue in half while costs stay fixed. Bitcoin would need to hit $212,000 just for miners to break even. People will start exiting in droves well before then, creating a cascade collapse as network security degrades.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ต: Bitcoin needs 100% price appreciation every halving cycle just to maintain current (already marginal) profitability. That exponential requirement eventually hits the wall of available capital and new buyers.
These aren't distant theoretical problemsโthey're baked into Bitcoin's design. The mining economics alone guarantee a timeline for system failure, regardless of grid stability or adoption rates.
We'll see how it plays out, but the math is unforgiving.
โWell, if we're in the stone age, gold and silver will still have some valueโfor jewelry, electronics, or tradeโ
๐ In what universe can you have โelectronicsโ without electricity???
Your idea of stone age living is obviously different than mine, my friend.
Back in my younger years, I used to do 30 day survival trips on the high desert. Thatโs 30 days with NOTHING but the clothes on your back, a pocketknife, and a small wool blanket. And I can tell you that two weeks in, you wouldnโt trade a kangaroo rat for all the gold in Fort Knox (assuming there is any).
No one with more than two functioning brain cells would trade anything for jewelry in a true survival situation, which we would all be in very quickly once the grid went down (again, assuming it was going to stay down). A bar of gold would be no more useful than a rock.
As for the bitcoin boogey-men you listed, they are not any more (or less) serious than past BTC boogey-men that have already been slain. A great many bright people are currently working on the very issues you brought up, and there is no reason to believe they wonโt solve them just as they've solved problems in the past.
And remember, there is one hell of a lot of money being made in BTC right now, and entities like Blackrock have every incentive to make sure it stays that way.
Yeah, they didn't have electricity in Egypt circa 3000 BC either. But they still knew the value of gold. Trade.
Your desert survival experience was you and maybe a few othersโno need for trade. But come across a village with resources, and suddenly your kangaroo rat becomes as useful as toenail clippings. "What else you got, brother?" Trade emerges wherever there are multiple parties with different needs.
Math isn't a boogeymanโit's reality staring us in the face. Unless inflation somehow makes electricity cheaper, or someone invents Ayn Rand's magical motor with no visible power source, Bitcoin needs to hit $212k just for miners to break even after 2028. That's not solving past problems; that's hitting an exponential wall.
The fundamental difference: Bitcoin isn't forever like gold. It requires constant inputs to survive:
Continuous electrical power (massive amounts)
Functioning internet infrastructure
Profitable miners willing to secure the network
Regulatory tolerance in countries with cheap electricity
Remove any of those pillars and the system collapses. Gold sits in a vault for millennia doing nothing and retains value. Bitcoin goes to zero the moment miners shut down.
You mention Blackrock's incentives, but they're rational actors too. When the 2028 economics become clearโrevenue halved, costs unchangedโthey'll exit before retail investors catch on. That's exactly what institutional money does: gets in early, gets out before the obvious problems hit.
This isn't about technical innovation solving future problems. The halving schedule is hardcoded and immutable. The physics of electricity costs aren't changing. Even if quantum computing gets solved, the economic death spiral is already programmed in.
Not a Ponzi scheme, but I'd rather not be the last one holding when there isn't a miner left who can profit from keeping the lights on.
Lucas, your โimmediate threatsโ are so sophomoric. I will respond to the first only. Global wealth is approx $900 Trillion, all on centralized networks. BTC is approx $2 Trillion, on a decentralized network. Not only would someone with a quantum computer want to steal $900T as opposed to $2T, the centralized nature of the $900T makes it much easier to hack.
You're missing the point entirely. We're not talking about global wealth comparisons - we're talking about Bitcoin's specific vulnerabilities.
Quantum computing is just one threat on a long list. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, and you're ignoring the math:
- $1 trillion in **visible** margin debt on FINRA.org
- Unknown billions in **hidden** margin through offshore exchanges
- Derivatives exposure that makes 2008 look quaint
- Bitcoin gets sold **first** during margin calls because it's the most liquid
5. More selling pressure โ death spiral accelerates
This isn't about quantum computers attacking Bitcoin versus traditional finance. It's about Bitcoin being the ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ธ in a leveraged system - the asset everyone dumps first when they need actual cash.
Your $2T market cap becomes $500B overnight, and miners can't afford to keep the lights on.
But sure, keep focusing on theoretical quantum threats while ignoring the leverage bomb ticking right now.
Easily achieve that and much more. Easy to put the math up just like everybody has done since its inception saying exactly the same stories that youโre telling now. Thatโs okay because the people who got in early and the people who are getting in even now we all do very very well come four years from now come 40 years from now. We now have the biggest institutions in the world such as Blackrock with their ETF. Thatโs the most profitable ETF theyโve ever had in all of their existence. To have not had bitcoin in your portfolio at a much greater rate than one percent has been the biggest failure of any investor in the history of investing. The bottom line is the people investing in bitcoin and the companies investing in bitcoin are the winners, have been the winners and the people that put it down and continue to put it down at the losers. Thereโs no argument with that. You can make all the arguments you like that you have above but youโre a loser when it comes to investing if you have not had bitcoin in your portfolio year on year since itโs inception. Itโs out done every other asset class and thereโs no denying it or arguing it. Continue with the stories as everybody has and continue to be losing simple as that.
Yes, Bitcoin went up with each halvingโwhen mining was profitable and the economics worked. But we've hit a plateau where the math breaks down.
For Bitcoin to survive the 2028 halving, one of these must happen in the next 3 years:
- Mining technology becomes 100% more efficient
- Electricity costs drop 50% globally
- Bitcoin price doubles to $212k
Unless you're designing the next-gen chips or sitting on unlimited free energy, none of those are realistic timelines.
I held Bitcoin beforeโgot out when I did the math.
The "winners vs. losers" argument ignores basic risk management. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results, especially when the underlying economics are programmed to fail.
Here's the bigger problem: Bitcoin isn't just correlated with traditional markets anymoreโit's *dependent* on them. When retail investors leveraged on credit cards get margin called, when institutions rebalance portfolios during market stress, Bitcoin gets sold first. It's the most liquid "risk asset" they hold.
And here's the cruel irony: Bitcoin was supposed to be revolutionary digital money, but it can only process 3-7 transactions per second globally. Visa handles 65,000 per second. When panic selling hits, people get trapped watching their portfolios crash while their sell orders sit in a network bottleneck that's slower than mailing a check.
ETFs didn't decouple Bitcoin from market crashesโthey amplified the correlation. BlackRock's ETF makes it easier for institutions to dump Bitcoin quickly during selloffs, not harder.
You're betting the house on exponential price growth continuing forever. I'm just not willing to be collateral damage when the exponential curve hits the exponential wall.
Bitcoin - what is the Asset?? It has no intrinsic value hence its only value can be as a currency. But, as a currency itโs then unadulterated inflation because it will compete with government currencies. And, why would any government allow another currency to compete with it? Unlike gold itโs man made and like all things man made itโs just fiat - digital rather than of paper. Gold is money, everything else is credit โฆ or just a game!!
Bill-there you go again spewing B.S. the fact that bitcoin cannot be controlled by government makes it a very viable type of money. Actually our dollar doesnโt create anything, over the years since 1971 it has become less and less valuable. Only time will tell where our financial system ends up. I am hoping that whatever it is, the dollar, bitcoin, sea shells it can be tagged to gold.
One of my favorite songs is 'Baker Street' by Gerry Rafferty. Every time I hear it now - on Spotify, on the radio, or somewhere totally unexpected (like a restaurant or bar) - it instantly transports me back to my young adult days. With a smile.
rKf and Lucas, Your posts are so in touch with mine. While working and studying I lived in an apartment a short walk from Baker Street and Gerry Rafferty still brings back deep memories of emotion. On my advice I was separated from my wife and baby daughters who had temporarily returned to South Africa to allow me to study and for them to escape the 1979 Winter of Discontent. Mark Knopfler remains my favourite genius musician
One benefit of Bitcoin et al/crypto (in general) is that it soaks up $trillion$ of faux-money creation that emits from the Fed, yet places no significant claim on tangible goods & services in the real economy. That is, crypto is a parking lot for junk money; a place for excess dollars to hang out and cause little practical harm.
^^^THIS^^^^
Not only does it cause "little practical harm", it also has/is allowing "investors" to add to their pile of Ghost Money. A fake asset, valued for nothing more than magical/digital "Demand" and bought/sold using faux money.
Could there be anything more fitting to our world in 2025? The only thing "real" are the people getting wealthy off of it by turning Crypto gains into Hard Assets - and like it or not Mr. Bonner, they DO exist....
...what I have noticed particularly amongst the younger folks is the realization they cannot "work" to riches, they must invest.
They cannot afford a house as an investment, so they turn to other vehicles.
Mr. Bonner asks "where did this wealth come from?"
...my guess it's the wealth that used to be down payments for housing, savings accounts, monies diverted from other anticipated expenditures like college, and inheritances.
Now desperately inserted into the market or crypto's because there really is no other choice.
I know this will sound simplistic, but I see wealth as having come from wage earners retirement savings and simply looking for a safe harbor to grow. The real estate market is maxed out as is the stock market. So, Gold becomes a go-to and soon probably Silver and Platinum.
Artwork and other tangible assets used to have a place here, but seem to have lost its shine recently - as grandmas antiques, china and silver table settings for the now, more mobile, young is seen as an anchor in search of a home as a ship... The intangible and opaque world of Crypto is still somewhat suspect as are many overseas market funds.
So where to now? We do live in interesting times. Perhaps a complete economic restart (i.e. meltdown) is the only answer? Is it possible that when "the chickens come home to roost", this will be the new source of survival as we passively resolve ourselves to a cyclic renewal?
Or do we hope for a new season of prosperity by actively re-shoring the nation's most critical manufacturing sectors - energy, pharma and a new AI intellectual property development as our "seed corn" and our best hope for a renewed and better future?
If so, let's lean into it together or hear from those critics with a better plan - sooner rather than later.
"๐๐ง ๐ด๐ฐ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต'๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ - ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ."
Nah. They'd rather Bitch, try to suck us into their Lifestyle of Constant Fear and Feed their ignorant Hatred of Donald Trump. Helping, Contributing and Producing are NOT part of their program. Envy, Violence, Arrogance and Corruption are the only items on their menu.
Lines are being drawn, folks...
I'm gonna use your strategy, Bill. Just comment on how bad any new idea is, like tariffs.
Lots of questions and little in terms of substantial answers. Obivously the young and more accustomed to the internet believe cryptos will become the new currency. At this point I'm still in the Missouri camp. Speculation running rampant has in the past shown up as a collapse of most forms of risk. I'm almost as old as Bill but suspect the future won't be all that different from the past or at least will rhyme.
There is at least one very tangible aspect of the Bitcoin phenomenon - the gigawatts of electricity being squandered to "mine" the Bitcoins....excuse me, if I believe this is an absolute waste of resources.
...well yes and no.
One could postulate the expense of mining gold far exceeds its intrinsic value as a resource element.
-
The expenditure of energy is precisely what identifies value to BTC.
BTC does not exist without it.
One cannot manufacture gold as one cannot manufacture BTC.
They're both "mined".
I will agree that the limitation on the number of Bitcoins that could be produced was the critical genius behind the Bitcoin phenomenon. But at the end of the day the miner of precious metals extracts something tangible that has an exchange value because it can be used as part of a product that has a use other than solely as a medium of exchange. At the end of the day the miner of Bitcoin has only two things: an electronic marker which has no intrinsic use other than as an exchange medium - and a bill for electricity used. Hey, and as long as there is the "greater fool" out there willing to pay for that electronic marker at the inflated market price...
The only reason you have value of any commodity is that someone is willing to pay for it. Holding it in your hands does not make it valuable. The fact that someone else also wants to hold it makes it valuable. The finite supply of BTC makes it different from all other โcommoditiesโ. Even gold has an elastic supply. Higher prices create better economics for previously marginal reserves. Not so for BTC.
... seems folks on this comment section assume I am a BTC advocate.
I just think for the next decade or so BTC will be a viable play.
I have done well with it...
Cash is king for me.... for now...
Should the king dollar crash or disappear, many on this site criticizing BTC might very well find themselves BTC advocates.
Both gold and crypto are arbitrary assets. The only reason they have the Value that they have is because people are willing to pay that sum of money. They
intrinsically, produce no wealth.When the shit hits the fan and I walk down the street with a bitcoin and try and buy an apple with my twenty three thousand dollar bitcoin? Perhaps I use a piece of sandpaper to scratch off a couple dollars worth of gold to buy a pharmaceutical for my dying child.? Maybe, like the old Dutchmasters, I could trade the equivalent of a million dollar tulip bulb.
When The tulip bulb market crashed At least they could have a nice tulip,if needed,did they could eat it.
No prediction.
Here. But money and value have always been a conundrum.
Yeah Bill, But gold looks and feels great!
OK - so ANGRY ICEBERGS is ready to ditch the Dollar (et.al.) in favor of Bitcoin. And BILL looks forward to bartering Bitcoin for food (in a post apocalyptic world?). Interestingโฆ
.... I never said BTC is an alternative to cash.
Nor do I use BTC, I have some invested, just like gold I don't use that for exchange either.
Do you?
I merely explained it has all the potentials that can be made to store fiat value as does gold.
Cash is still king and untraceable exchanges will always be sought.
โStranded energyโ โฆ how does that work?
You know so little about Bitcoin I hesitate to respond. Bitcoin miners mainly use stranded energy; they canโt afford to pay for energy that would go elsewhere. Get your facts straight before commenting.
Agree totally waste of energy
Bitcoin is a high-tech Ponzi scheme. That is my firmly held belief - but I would honestly like to entertain arguments to the contrary, for anyone who would like to share their reasoning with me.
OK, let me give this a shot...I spent a lot of time researching/reading about BTC, and just watching it with suspicion (I am after all a conservative, retired professional accountant) before I took the plunge and started buying (at around $16k per coin).
I believe BTC is very similar to gold in many respects, including its inflation protective and wealth preservation properties. It is superior to gold in two ways: it is almost infinitely more transportable almost anywhere in the world than gold, and, given that it is tracked in "Satoshis" (sats), which equals one-one hundred millionth of a coin, it is massively more divisible than gold (unless you carry a scale around with you). Also, transacting in cryptos is laughably cheaper and easier than other methods...often just a few sats even for transactions of millions or billions of dollars, all without having to deal with annoying bank intermediaries.
As I have watched developments (suspiciously) I have gained more comfort due to the growing acceptance and adoption of BTC around the world (including the USA (which is now setting up a crypto sovereign fund). It's not readily apparent to those of us in first-world countries, but in less-developed places, BTC is widely used. In these places, it can be almost impossible to open a bank account and currency transactions can be quite difficult. However, cell phones are often widely used, making crypto transactions dead easy and very common.
BTC was introduced in 2008-09, and I believe that in the 16 years it's been around it has been well-tested and withstood almost all attempts to break it (MTGox attack came close, but it survived).
Would I be shocked if somehow the bottom fell out, or someone figured a way to steal all the BTC in the world? Not at all. For that reason, I keep a limited percentage of my portfolio (but certainly more than the 1% recommended by BPR), and when I exceed that percentage, I sell some to maintain a fixed share. AT this point, I have enough gains, that even if my remaining BTC becomes worthless, I am ahead of the game.
Lots more I could say, but I think this is long enough.
Well done. Let them deny. And grow poorer every day. Everyone has to pay the price they deserve.
Ponzi scheme 100%
...BTC is a recognized decentralized global exchange fiat medium.
That makes it more utilitarian and secure than any other fiat.
The dollar is king only because post WWII by default (and Bretten Woods) it became the dominate global fiat medium.
-
They are both fiat, they are both merely digits.
-
Do you really think the banks "print" money for each other?
The actual printing that does occur is only to maintain circulation.
"BTC is a recognized ... global exchange ..." So? Sort of like a casino gaming table where consenting adults can congregate to ... well, gamble.
Excuse me, for being blunt about it - but to insinuate that Bitcoin can take its place among the fiat currencies of the world is laughable. The extreme volatility of Bitcoin blows that argument.
... yes indeed El Salvador experiment met with value fluctuational issue that hindered widespread adoption, otherwise it would've likely worked.
Consensus is BTC volatility will lessen, we'll see.
What would you do if the king dollar were no longer "king"?
Wanna bet you'd find yourself contemplating alternative monies...
I agree with you BTC currently is more of a betting medium than an investment or viable currency, however BTC is a recognized global player, it's gonna be around for sometime.... and likely folks will find all sorts of machinations for it... so get used to it.
Cool story. Now do non-Dividend Equities.....
Yeh Larry, youโre probably correctโฆ.but fiat currency is a Ponzi scheme as wellโฆ.
While your favorite version of Money might have been recorded by the Stones, it was penned by Janie Bradford and Barry Gordy and recorded by Barrett Strong in 1959 on Tamla Records, the predecessor to Gordyโs Motown.
And here I thought that it was Pink Floyd.
My research revealed that there are several very different songs of the same title. Pinkโs is undoubtedly the biggest seller.
Bill what you donโt understand and Iโve been a subscriber of yours for multiple decades and you continue down this path despite what bitcoin has done over the past 15 years. Bitcoin has the largest strongest secure computer system in the world. Independent people come together not knowing at all who they are on the largest independent most secure computer and security system in the world There are multiple billion dollar companies out there mining And using Energy to actually mine and produce the bitcoin. There is enormous amount of infrastructure computers, data centres and energy used to produce each of the blocks that are required to produce the finite bitcoin. Itโs one of the largest independent financial systems in the world and the beauty of it is all the things that you indicate is being negative. That there are no owners, no employees, no people to run it and guide it and direct it. Thatโs the beauty of this because in the legacy system, they are all the things that have created all the corruption that you write about every day. On one hand you put all of that legacy system down and write about it pretty much every day is being the worst Thing in the history of the world, and itโs gone on like this for centuries, but yet when there is a system out there that does the exact opposite and it has been thriving and the greatest asset of the timeframe that it has been in existence, you put this down. Mate you canโt have your cake and eat it too.
Bingo!
It will go by-by when buyers realize they hold a $123,000 item worth far less than a tulip bulb.
Interesting thought, Weston. Some say 1/2 of the bitcoins "allowed" are not currently in the system. If so, where might they be? And, where is Nakamoto? There are those that think Nakamoto in Japanese means CIA and wasn't created out of thin air for the good of mankind. So where did it come from (remember folks be a skeptic if not a cynic) and where will it go? Everybody is looking for a fast (and easy) buck. The World has never worked that way over any length of time. Could BTC be the new "tulip bulb"? Is BTC as clean and unhackable as rumors suggest? The Ol' Man wonders and Time will tell........
Today Mr. Bonner leads off with a quote from the song "Money (That's What I Want)", citing the Rolling Stones' version. While there have likely been a jillion covers of this tune, first released in 1959 by Barrett Strong on Barry Gordy's Tamla label, the best in my opinion, and best by far, is that of the Kingsmen on their "Louie, Louie" live album, "The Kingsmen in Person" (Wand Records, 1963). The Kingsmen were one of the best garage/club bands of the era, and their performance of "Money" proves it. It starts hot, and it's nothing but hardcore rocking out the rest of the way. The crowd response is epic. Best always. PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABenLIHTJGU&list=RDABenLIHTJGU&start_radio=1
I like that version Paul, the guitar is great but you can't beat Micks vocals!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f8pclcJJDdg&pp=ygUUbW9uZXkgcm9sbGluZyBzdG9uZXPSBwkJxwkBhyohjO8%3D
Mick's obviously in a class by himself. Even the Beatles recorded this, and John Lennon gives his expected gritty performance. It was a perfect anthem for the times, I guess. Thanks for the reply. Best always. PM
I'm beginning to regret that my name is bill. Every time I read this everybody's bitching at me. ๐
Most of us hate it when you show up in our mailbox, too.....
You are lucky the real Bill doesn't post here haha.
or does he?
I am not convinced by Mr. Bonner's argument about bitcoin today.
I look at "wealth" as the product of expenditure of energy. Gold meets this criterion and once produced to the level of a gold coin or bar acts much like bitcoin- it is valued for its very existence but does not enter again into a productive role. Similarly, bitcoin is an output of energy expenditure by the miners.
Show me what a bitcoin looks like. I can show you gold.
So I have $100,000 deposited to my checking account from my dead sister's estate.
What do I see?
With any luck, a ledger entry on my bank statement or a display showing my account balance greatly enhanced. My Sprott gold fund looks much the same (well, not that great, but...)
My empty bitcoin cold wallet is sitting on my desk hoping that I win a lottery and can fill it up.
If I had $100,000 in bitcoin I could convert and spend it. If I was a member of the Freedom Convoy and had $100,000 in my bank account Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland would have seized it and I could not convert or spend it.
I also have an old gold filling in an envelope sitting on my desk and I can assure you that it would be considerably more difficult to convert and spend that than any bitcoin I had available. Just the other day I saw an ATM which was willing to convert bitcoin.
Yeah well I opt for silver and gold and a little platinum in coins and small bars (silver). I have started to give silver coins and bullets to my sons and grandchildren. 2 oz silver bullets are pretty cool but they cost about $81 each. Figuring on transfer my love of coin collecting and precious metals to them. Iโm not going to ever sell them unless SHTF and then at my age I really donโt care.
Coors has a "silver bullet" for far less than $81!
Do you have werewolves or vampires in your vicinity?
And, yes. We have had a pretty good passage over the past few decades. I am far more concerned for the offspring and grandchildren.
I also agree about the convoy but if they had gold stashed they could go and use that to get cash. Knowing my luck I would lose the cold wallet. ๐ณ
I fully support the utility of cryptocurrencyโafter all, itโs not fiat. But letโs be honest: we still depend on centralized exchanges to use it, and those are increasingly under regulatory control. The powerful arenโt going to let crypto flourish unrestrained. Why would they? It would erode their ability to monitor, tax, and manipulate the flow of value. When collapse becomes imminent, theyโll pull out quietly, leaving retail investors holding the digital bag.
The truth is simple: when things fall apart, survival depends on whatโs real. Those whoโve prepared will retreat to their bolt holesโequipped with clean water, sanitation, food stores, land for cultivation, fishing rights, and the kinds of โtoolsโ forged from steel and lead. And theyโll trade with actual hard currencyโprecious metals you can hold, not digital entries on a disconnected ledger.
Because if the grid failsโwhether from war, solar flares, cyberattacks, or economic collapseโBitcoin becomes worthless code. Its value only exists if you convert it into something tangible before the lights go out.
The upcoming 2028 halving underscores Bitcoinโs fatal flaw. When the block reward drops from 3.125 to 1.5625 BTC, miner revenue will be slashed in half. But their costsโhardware, electricity, logisticsโwonโt budge. At todayโs energy prices, some miners will lose over $150,000 per block. The network becomes economically unsustainable. The smart money knows this. Itโll exit early, and when it does, the selloff will cascade. As security degrades, so does trustโand Bitcoinโs price with it.
Miningโs final stretch isnโt some golden opportunity. Itโs a capital trap. A small-scale 10-miner operation now demands six figures in up-front investmentโbefore a single rig is powered on. And for what? That same $150,000 could secure real, productive assets: off-grid solar, fertile land, clean water access, food systems, livestock. Things that actually workโregardless of whether the dollar, the internet, or the power grid still do.
Of course, if Bitcoin reaches $212,000 by 2028, then mining might remain worthwhile - if the cost of producing a single BTC remains the same (electricity, rent, regulation, etc). And if BTC hits $424,000 by 2032, the party continues. Big numbersโif only the entire market doesn't implode by then.
The disconnect couldnโt be clearer. Markets chase abstract, ghostly wealth built on faith in systems already rotting at the core. Meanwhile, practical assets and hands-on skills quietly retain their valueโregardless of what version of money happens to be trending this year.
"Because if the grid failsโwhether from war, solar flares, cyberattacks, or economic collapseโBitcoin becomes worthless code."
I've said this here before, Lucas, but if the grid goes down, bitcoin will still be there when the grid comes back.
If the grid goes down and stays down, we'll all be living in the stone age, the vast majority of humanity will be dead in 6 months, and bitcoin will be worth the same as gold and silver, which is to say---zilch.
Well, if we're in the stone age, gold and silver will still have some valueโfor jewelry, electronics, or tradeโas opposed to a hard drive full of encrypted code that no one can access or verify.
But grid failure was just one scenario where Bitcoin goes to zero. There are more immediate threats:
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐บ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ: When quantum computers crack Bitcoin's encryptionโand it's a matter of when, not ifโthey can alter the blockchain at will, creating endless forks and destroying trust. The entire system becomes compromised overnight.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น: Miners simply can't make money anymore. This 15-year-old technology has gone from costing a penny per Bitcoin in 2009 to $106,000 todayโleaving razor-thin margins even at current prices. The 2028 halving cuts miner revenue in half while costs stay fixed. Bitcoin would need to hit $212,000 just for miners to break even. People will start exiting in droves well before then, creating a cascade collapse as network security degrades.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ต: Bitcoin needs 100% price appreciation every halving cycle just to maintain current (already marginal) profitability. That exponential requirement eventually hits the wall of available capital and new buyers.
These aren't distant theoretical problemsโthey're baked into Bitcoin's design. The mining economics alone guarantee a timeline for system failure, regardless of grid stability or adoption rates.
We'll see how it plays out, but the math is unforgiving.
โWell, if we're in the stone age, gold and silver will still have some valueโfor jewelry, electronics, or tradeโ
๐ In what universe can you have โelectronicsโ without electricity???
Your idea of stone age living is obviously different than mine, my friend.
Back in my younger years, I used to do 30 day survival trips on the high desert. Thatโs 30 days with NOTHING but the clothes on your back, a pocketknife, and a small wool blanket. And I can tell you that two weeks in, you wouldnโt trade a kangaroo rat for all the gold in Fort Knox (assuming there is any).
No one with more than two functioning brain cells would trade anything for jewelry in a true survival situation, which we would all be in very quickly once the grid went down (again, assuming it was going to stay down). A bar of gold would be no more useful than a rock.
As for the bitcoin boogey-men you listed, they are not any more (or less) serious than past BTC boogey-men that have already been slain. A great many bright people are currently working on the very issues you brought up, and there is no reason to believe they wonโt solve them just as they've solved problems in the past.
And remember, there is one hell of a lot of money being made in BTC right now, and entities like Blackrock have every incentive to make sure it stays that way.
Yeah, they didn't have electricity in Egypt circa 3000 BC either. But they still knew the value of gold. Trade.
Your desert survival experience was you and maybe a few othersโno need for trade. But come across a village with resources, and suddenly your kangaroo rat becomes as useful as toenail clippings. "What else you got, brother?" Trade emerges wherever there are multiple parties with different needs.
Math isn't a boogeymanโit's reality staring us in the face. Unless inflation somehow makes electricity cheaper, or someone invents Ayn Rand's magical motor with no visible power source, Bitcoin needs to hit $212k just for miners to break even after 2028. That's not solving past problems; that's hitting an exponential wall.
The fundamental difference: Bitcoin isn't forever like gold. It requires constant inputs to survive:
Continuous electrical power (massive amounts)
Functioning internet infrastructure
Profitable miners willing to secure the network
Regulatory tolerance in countries with cheap electricity
Remove any of those pillars and the system collapses. Gold sits in a vault for millennia doing nothing and retains value. Bitcoin goes to zero the moment miners shut down.
You mention Blackrock's incentives, but they're rational actors too. When the 2028 economics become clearโrevenue halved, costs unchangedโthey'll exit before retail investors catch on. That's exactly what institutional money does: gets in early, gets out before the obvious problems hit.
This isn't about technical innovation solving future problems. The halving schedule is hardcoded and immutable. The physics of electricity costs aren't changing. Even if quantum computing gets solved, the economic death spiral is already programmed in.
Not a Ponzi scheme, but I'd rather not be the last one holding when there isn't a miner left who can profit from keeping the lights on.
Lucas, your โimmediate threatsโ are so sophomoric. I will respond to the first only. Global wealth is approx $900 Trillion, all on centralized networks. BTC is approx $2 Trillion, on a decentralized network. Not only would someone with a quantum computer want to steal $900T as opposed to $2T, the centralized nature of the $900T makes it much easier to hack.
Your arguments, bruh. Do better.
You're missing the point entirely. We're not talking about global wealth comparisons - we're talking about Bitcoin's specific vulnerabilities.
Quantum computing is just one threat on a long list. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, and you're ignoring the math:
- $1 trillion in **visible** margin debt on FINRA.org
- Unknown billions in **hidden** margin through offshore exchanges
- Derivatives exposure that makes 2008 look quaint
- Bitcoin gets sold **first** during margin calls because it's the most liquid
๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ:
1. Margin calls force immediate Bitcoin sales
2. Price crashes 50-75% (like 2022's $69k โ $16k drop)
3. Mining becomes unprofitable (costs $70k-$106k, revenue drops to $78k per block)
4. Miners shut down โ network security degrades โ trust collapses
5. More selling pressure โ death spiral accelerates
This isn't about quantum computers attacking Bitcoin versus traditional finance. It's about Bitcoin being the ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ธ in a leveraged system - the asset everyone dumps first when they need actual cash.
Your $2T market cap becomes $500B overnight, and miners can't afford to keep the lights on.
But sure, keep focusing on theoretical quantum threats while ignoring the leverage bomb ticking right now.
Easily achieve that and much more. Easy to put the math up just like everybody has done since its inception saying exactly the same stories that youโre telling now. Thatโs okay because the people who got in early and the people who are getting in even now we all do very very well come four years from now come 40 years from now. We now have the biggest institutions in the world such as Blackrock with their ETF. Thatโs the most profitable ETF theyโve ever had in all of their existence. To have not had bitcoin in your portfolio at a much greater rate than one percent has been the biggest failure of any investor in the history of investing. The bottom line is the people investing in bitcoin and the companies investing in bitcoin are the winners, have been the winners and the people that put it down and continue to put it down at the losers. Thereโs no argument with that. You can make all the arguments you like that you have above but youโre a loser when it comes to investing if you have not had bitcoin in your portfolio year on year since itโs inception. Itโs out done every other asset class and thereโs no denying it or arguing it. Continue with the stories as everybody has and continue to be losing simple as that.
Yes, Bitcoin went up with each halvingโwhen mining was profitable and the economics worked. But we've hit a plateau where the math breaks down.
For Bitcoin to survive the 2028 halving, one of these must happen in the next 3 years:
- Mining technology becomes 100% more efficient
- Electricity costs drop 50% globally
- Bitcoin price doubles to $212k
Unless you're designing the next-gen chips or sitting on unlimited free energy, none of those are realistic timelines.
I held Bitcoin beforeโgot out when I did the math.
The "winners vs. losers" argument ignores basic risk management. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results, especially when the underlying economics are programmed to fail.
Here's the bigger problem: Bitcoin isn't just correlated with traditional markets anymoreโit's *dependent* on them. When retail investors leveraged on credit cards get margin called, when institutions rebalance portfolios during market stress, Bitcoin gets sold first. It's the most liquid "risk asset" they hold.
And here's the cruel irony: Bitcoin was supposed to be revolutionary digital money, but it can only process 3-7 transactions per second globally. Visa handles 65,000 per second. When panic selling hits, people get trapped watching their portfolios crash while their sell orders sit in a network bottleneck that's slower than mailing a check.
ETFs didn't decouple Bitcoin from market crashesโthey amplified the correlation. BlackRock's ETF makes it easier for institutions to dump Bitcoin quickly during selloffs, not harder.
You're betting the house on exponential price growth continuing forever. I'm just not willing to be collateral damage when the exponential curve hits the exponential wall.
Hope you time the exit right.
Excellent, Lucas....
I agree, but my question is where were you during the โdo nothing except open the bordersโ Biden years????? Not a word was said.
Bitcoin - what is the Asset?? It has no intrinsic value hence its only value can be as a currency. But, as a currency itโs then unadulterated inflation because it will compete with government currencies. And, why would any government allow another currency to compete with it? Unlike gold itโs man made and like all things man made itโs just fiat - digital rather than of paper. Gold is money, everything else is credit โฆ or just a game!!
Bill-there you go again spewing B.S. the fact that bitcoin cannot be controlled by government makes it a very viable type of money. Actually our dollar doesnโt create anything, over the years since 1971 it has become less and less valuable. Only time will tell where our financial system ends up. I am hoping that whatever it is, the dollar, bitcoin, sea shells it can be tagged to gold.
The dollar with all its fiat faults ( loss of value) remains an easier medium of exchange than BTC Tagging whatever with gold remains IMHO the best
https://open.spotify.com/track/3Vby4nGmtbDo7HDJamOWkT?si=PZUmllVgTh-wRtlIwG2B1w
Love that song. I asked ChatGPT about it. Cuz I've thought for some time now, that it sounded like an early Bob Dylan. Here's what AI said:
๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ข๐ณ-๐ง๐ฆ๐ต๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ. ๐๐ฏ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ต, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต โ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏโ๐ด ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ต๐บ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ โ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ.โ
๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ-๐ฆ๐ด๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ โ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ โ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏโ๐ด ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐บ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ-๐ช๐ฏ-๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฃ ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐บ, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ.
๐๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ 1970๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต.
๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ โ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ.
Lol. I am always wary these days of AI "hallucinating." So I get one to verify the other. Claude on ChatGPT's research:
๐ ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ (from ChatGPT) ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ.
"๐๐ต๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ" ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ'๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐บ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐บ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ.
๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ'๐ด ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ต๐บ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ - ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐จ๐ข๐จ. ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ'๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง "๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด" ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ถ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐บ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด "๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ค ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐บ (๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ค ๐ฆ๐น๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ)."
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ "๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ฑ๐บ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ด, ๐ข๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ." ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฅ, ๐ค๐บ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ญ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ 1970๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต.
๐๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต - ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ช๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด!
Thanks for looking that up. We lived in England in the 70s. Gerry Rafferty and Mark Knopfler were two of my favorites - MK still is, of course.
One of my favorite songs is 'Baker Street' by Gerry Rafferty. Every time I hear it now - on Spotify, on the radio, or somewhere totally unexpected (like a restaurant or bar) - it instantly transports me back to my young adult days. With a smile.
rKf and Lucas, Your posts are so in touch with mine. While working and studying I lived in an apartment a short walk from Baker Street and Gerry Rafferty still brings back deep memories of emotion. On my advice I was separated from my wife and baby daughters who had temporarily returned to South Africa to allow me to study and for them to escape the 1979 Winter of Discontent. Mark Knopfler remains my favourite genius musician