Locally Grown with Jim Fini
In my book, Locally Grown: The Art of Sustainable Government, I talk about how our country's bottom up design of 20,000 zip codes, 50 states and 1 Federal government, brilliantly distributes power within that bottom-up infrastructure. Our Founders intended most governance to be done locally. And about the inherent dangers of too much centralized power. My book exposes the unsustainability of our government debt and the awful bargain we make when we exchange freedom for security. I introduce readers to Locally Grown principles like sustainability, accountability, the double-bottom line, harnessing excess capacity, simplification, and engaged citizenship. I make the case that returning to our federalist roots through Locally Grown principles is the path to sustainable, effective government that better serves the “Common Good.”
Locally Grown with Jim Fini
Episode 33 - Bitcoin and Crypto with Stormborn Partners
For years, really smart people sneered at Tesla and shorted its stock. Over the past 10 years, all Tesla has done is revolutionize the auto industry, deliver an 18,885 percent return for its shareholders, and make Elon Musk either the richest or second richest man in the world, depending on the day.
Bitcoin is kind of like Tesla. Here’s what Bill Gates said on 2/27/2018 when Bitcoin was $10,755:
“The main feature of crypto currencies is their anonymity. I don't think this is a good thing. The Government’s ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now, crypto currencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way.”
Then there is no less an investing legend than Warren Buffet on May 5, 2018, summing up Bitcoin as “probably rat poison squared.” Gotta admit that is funny. Bitcoin was $8,723.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is at $52,314 and is the best performing asset class over the last decade, rising over 9 million percent. We are seeing an increasing amount of buying by large financial institutions and billionaire investors who see it as a great hedge against our corrupt political class and profligate money printing by the Federal Reserve. Tesla just announced that it will convert $1.5 billion of the cash on its balance sheet to Bitcoin. That follows other big-time investors like Paul Tudor Jones, Stanley Druckenmiller, Bill Miller and publicly-listed companies Square and MicroStrategy to putting some of the company’s cash into Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Mexico’s second richest billionaire, Ricardo Salinas Pliego stated that he put 10% of his liquid net worth into Bitcoin. I expect Apple to announce this year that it will convert several billion dollars of its massive cash hoard to Bitcoin.
Don’t miss this episode as I dissect all things Bitcoin and Crypto with my guest, Putnam Kling of the exciting new digital asset fund, Stormborn Partners.
United We Stand. Divided We Fall. Each One for the Other, and All for All.