He founded Xapo, a Bitcoin custodian in 2014.
He's also a board member at Libra, PayPal, and Kiva.
But most importantly, he's responsible for bringing thousands of people into Bitcoin.
I'd recommend his podcast with @laurashin
This is the argument for a 5% allocation to Bitcoin.
It’s a summary of Wences Casares’ blog post written nearly two years ago (with direct quotes copy pasted).
Part one: Why Bitcoin could hit $1 million
Part two: Why you should buy Bitcoin
Here we go! 👇👇👇
He founded Xapo, a Bitcoin custodian in 2014.
He's also a board member at Libra, PayPal, and Kiva.
But most importantly, he's responsible for bringing thousands of people into Bitcoin.
I'd recommend his podcast with @laurashin
Bitcoin right now is similar to the Internet in 1994.
You don't need to know how the Internet works to understand it.
You don't need to know how Bitcoin works to understand it.
Investors who understand this will have an advantage over investors who don't.
Those platforms had to obey the will of their owners and the rules of the jurisdiction where they resided.
Bitcoin takes control away from the owners.
Kings and Queens used to be sovereign.
Then nation states became sovereign.
Now, for the first time, a computer platform has the aspiration to be sovereign.
This is revolutionary.
Miners secure it because they get paid in Bitcoin to do so.
If you were to remove the Bitcoin, miners would stop mining and Bitcoin would not be very robust nor sovereign.
Use Bitcoin to run a global system of value and settlement.
This is no different than what gold was for 2,000 years and or what the US dollar has been for the last 70 years.
Why?
a) 21M Bitcoin hardcap
b) Bitcoin is open and uncensorable
This allows for unprecedented economic freedom similar to how the internet allowed for freedom of information.
Gold has the advantage that it is tangible and many people (especially boomers) prefer assets they can touch.
Gold also has in its favor that it has been around for over 2,000 years, and it may be impossible for Bitcoin to match that history and reputation.
The dollar has the advantage that it is already understood and accepted globally and it is a platform with remarkable network effects.
Or it may be that we collectively come to appreciate the advantages of a digital unit that cannot be inflated or censored.
Only time will tell.
That’s correct.
Most forms of good money have no intrinsic value.
The main hurdle Bitcoin has to clear is to develop a similar social perception of value.
It may be a supranational currency that exists on top of all national currencies.
In other words, it could become a global non-political standard of value and settlement.
When your granddaughter asks what is the price of the New Zealand dollar she may receive an answer in satoshis: the New Zealand dollar is 72 satoshis today.
The US dollar? 107 satoshis
A barrel of oil? 5,600 satoshis today
The GDP of Indonesia? 1,417,007 Bitcoin
You get the idea.
Then all of these values would be easily comparable across time and across geographies.
You: We used the US dollar.
Granddaughter: But isn’t that the currency of the United States?
You: Yes
Granddaughter: But then how did you keep track of the US dollar?
She will think we were weird.
Once a protocol gets established it almost never changes.
We only use one web protocol and one email protocol.
Right now it looks like the standard protocol for a sovereign platform will be Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin price rallies are Bitcoin’s best moments but they are also its most dangerous and vulneread the word and how more people want to own it.
The Bitcoin price rallies are Bitcoin’s best moments but they are also its most dangerous.
During the rally too many people buy too many Bitcoin thinking that they will be able to sell them for a big gain very soon.
Usually that does not happen.
Anyone who tells you that they know what the price of Bitcoin will be next week is either ignorant or outright lying to you.
It's best to dollar cost average.
First, Bitcoin is not guaranteed to succeed.
But the numbers and amount of investment and activity in the space sure point to its success.
Wences put Bitcoin's chance of success in 2019 at 50%+.
And a lot has happened since then!
That is 30x what it’s worth today ($30k).
Based on this, you should allocate 5% to Bitcoin.
*Wences used 1% when Bitcoin was at $4,000*
$10M portfolio invests $500,000 (5%).
If Bitcoin fails, this portfolio will lose $500,000, or 5% over the next 3-5 years.
If Bitcoin succeeds, that $500,000 will grow to more than $15M.
It’s nearly impossible to find an asset that is so misplaced and where possible outcomes are so asymmetrical.
Bitcoin offers a unique opportunity for a 5% exposure to produce a life changing outcome.
But it would be almost as irresponsible to not have any exposure at all.
Follow me for more threads like this one: @JasonYanowitz
And most importantly...
Go read the actual post by Wences! It's much better than this summarized thread.
https://t.co/TLLOf1BBIj
More from Crypto
0/ The Great Crypto Reversal
Key difference between the '17 and roaring 20s in crypto is that back then everyone was aping a16z and Naval.
Today everyone apes 3AC wanting to be the next Degen.
'17 was an idealistic *saving the world* kind of thing
20s is *me against the world*
1/ The financialization of crypto means more volatility but pretty long ascend to the top.
Multi-year bull and an ATH surprising even to the biggest bulls as the infinite Cantillon "wealth" is pumped into crypto
Crypto becomes the ultimate Cantillon insider circle-jerk.
2/ This will be one the most iconic ideological reversals in history, comparable to Google who was firmly against advertising but turned into the most powerful ad company ever.
3/ This scenario reminds me of the 90s privatization period in the post-socialist countries.
The regime transition allowed the communist party elite to benefit from the wild west form of "capitalism" that ensued, transferring (and multiplying) their wealth into the new regime.
4/ We are far from Satoshi's original vision . But words and intentions of *prophets* were used to manipulate and corrupt all throughout human history and this time it is no
Key difference between the '17 and roaring 20s in crypto is that back then everyone was aping a16z and Naval.
Today everyone apes 3AC wanting to be the next Degen.
'17 was an idealistic *saving the world* kind of thing
20s is *me against the world*
1/ The financialization of crypto means more volatility but pretty long ascend to the top.
Multi-year bull and an ATH surprising even to the biggest bulls as the infinite Cantillon "wealth" is pumped into crypto
Crypto becomes the ultimate Cantillon insider circle-jerk.
2/ This will be one the most iconic ideological reversals in history, comparable to Google who was firmly against advertising but turned into the most powerful ad company ever.
3/ This scenario reminds me of the 90s privatization period in the post-socialist countries.
The regime transition allowed the communist party elite to benefit from the wild west form of "capitalism" that ensued, transferring (and multiplying) their wealth into the new regime.
4/ We are far from Satoshi's original vision . But words and intentions of *prophets* were used to manipulate and corrupt all throughout human history and this time it is no
At "forever" Cantillon insiders are infinitely wealthy. Everybody else lives in pods & eats what the livestock eats, or joins the harem or household staff of an infinitaire.
— Nick Szabo (@NickSzabo4) January 21, 2020
Quick Thread on #Altcoins/ #Altseason
Step 1: $BTC has a huge correction. Every range starts with either a pump (or dump) and then follows with a dump (or pump). In this case, #Bitcoin pumped and is now pulling back. This is
Step 2: $BTC ranges big once it finds a bottom. This will allow it to reaccumulate for a big summer run in 2021. This is HEALTHY IMO.
Step 3: Once $BTC finds a bottom and starts to grind up again, I expect $ALTS to do very very well in both alt/usd and alt/btc pairs. ALTSZN is almost always characterized by strong alt/btc pairs moving- I've already accumulated most and have done my final buying today and more.
$BTC.D typically has a very nice time during this time of the year. I was off on December prediction bc I thought $BTC was going to pull back by then but oh well! #Altcoins will start their pumping time VERY soon now.
More information on what #Altseason is and $ALTS market
Step 1: $BTC has a huge correction. Every range starts with either a pump (or dump) and then follows with a dump (or pump). In this case, #Bitcoin pumped and is now pulling back. This is
If you want #Altseason, you should want $BTC to make a decent sized pullback. Ranges start after huge moves in both directions, IMO we need to see some cooling off before the ranging starts. Plz give 26k. #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/yLG9xSrbKz
— Altcoin Sherpa (@AltcoinSherpa) January 3, 2021
Step 2: $BTC ranges big once it finds a bottom. This will allow it to reaccumulate for a big summer run in 2021. This is HEALTHY IMO.
Step 3: Once $BTC finds a bottom and starts to grind up again, I expect $ALTS to do very very well in both alt/usd and alt/btc pairs. ALTSZN is almost always characterized by strong alt/btc pairs moving- I've already accumulated most and have done my final buying today and more.
$BTC.D typically has a very nice time during this time of the year. I was off on December prediction bc I thought $BTC was going to pull back by then but oh well! #Altcoins will start their pumping time VERY soon now.
$BTC.D: This is the chart for inverse #Bitcoin Dominance, the macro chart you need to check out for #Altcoins and when they have their runs. Still potentially more pain to go for $ALTS but I'm thinking that they will turn around strong when $BTC is done w. its run. pic.twitter.com/Q8ewTSRywp
— Altcoin Sherpa (@AltcoinSherpa) December 27, 2020
More information on what #Altseason is and $ALTS market
Big #Altcoin thread for $ALTS: Where are we at in the cycle, how long do we have, is this #ALTSEASON, what are the relationships like, all of that. $BTC #Bitcoin $ETH $LINK #Altcoins pic.twitter.com/nwVjgZu4fw
— Altcoin Sherpa (@AltcoinSherpa) November 9, 2020
I'm sure someone else has explained this, but it is just so cool and I want to explain how this works.
So Curve is awesome for swaps between similar assets, right? The fact that they trade very close to each other is a key part about how Curve works, using it's custom swap invariant function.
That's step 1
Step 2 is that Synthetix is awesome for creating "synthetic assets" (aka synths) which are assets that trade like other assets, that are backed by another, entirely different asset. Basically, a plastic banana that I can buy and sell like a real banana.
Synthetix has a feature that lets you swap between any two synths with zero slippage and a flat fee. That's because it is simply converting the sythentic asset into another synthetic asset, the backing for the synth doesn't change it just uses a different price oracle now.
This is important. Absolutely no slippage, at any size
Swap $1m sUSD for $1m sBTC? flat 0.3% fee
Swap $10m sUSD for $10m sBTC? flat 0.3% fee
swap $100m sUSD for $100m sBTC? Well, there isn't that many synths in Curve, yet but you get the point. The only limit is the pool depth
— Andre Cronje (@AndreCronjeTech) January 15, 2021
So Curve is awesome for swaps between similar assets, right? The fact that they trade very close to each other is a key part about how Curve works, using it's custom swap invariant function.
That's step 1
Step 2 is that Synthetix is awesome for creating "synthetic assets" (aka synths) which are assets that trade like other assets, that are backed by another, entirely different asset. Basically, a plastic banana that I can buy and sell like a real banana.
Synthetix has a feature that lets you swap between any two synths with zero slippage and a flat fee. That's because it is simply converting the sythentic asset into another synthetic asset, the backing for the synth doesn't change it just uses a different price oracle now.
This is important. Absolutely no slippage, at any size
Swap $1m sUSD for $1m sBTC? flat 0.3% fee
Swap $10m sUSD for $10m sBTC? flat 0.3% fee
swap $100m sUSD for $100m sBTC? Well, there isn't that many synths in Curve, yet but you get the point. The only limit is the pool depth
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Stan Lee, who died Monday at 95, was born in Manhattan and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. His pulp-fiction heroes have come to define much of popular culture in the early 21st century.
Tying Marvel’s stable of pulp-fiction heroes to a real place — New York — served a counterbalance to the sometimes gravity-challenged action and the improbability of the stories. That was just what Stan Lee wanted. https://t.co/rDosqzpP8i
The New York universe hooked readers. And the artists drew what they were familiar with, which made the Marvel universe authentic-looking, down to the water towers atop many of the buildings. https://t.co/rDosqzpP8i
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