I have a friend — we’ll call him Steve. Steve’s a comedian — a very good one. He started around the same time as me, maybe a bit later.
Back in the day, we all thought Steve was going to be a huge star. If there were any justice in the world, he would have been. But there isn’t. We all know that. Steve ended up one of those many jobbing, circuit comedians, with a brilliant act — good enough to storm pretty much any room under any circumstances — but who never seemed to get beyond the circuit. There are plenty of unknown, but brilliant acts like Steve, believe me.
Maybe he didn’t have the right mindset — I don’t know. If you want my opinion, I think he over-thought things. But what do I know?
Steve was always interested in investing and, in his spare time (comedians have plenty of that) he began speculating with his earnings. Steve liked to do things properly, and investing was no different. He studied hard, researched, read loads, watched videos, listened to podcasts, scrutinised company reports and accounts, evaluated the fundamentals. He did everything you’re supposed to do.
It didn’t work out. Steve lost money. Consistently. Bad choices dogged him.
As Covid took hold in 2020, Steve took stock of his 20 years on the circuit. Where was he was in life? What he had achieved?
Just as he never broke out of the circuit, Steve had never broken into the higher tax bracket either. Despite scrupulous and honest accounting, he had never once made it beyond the basic band. He had no property — which, for a man closing in on 50, was unimpressive. He had very little in the way of savings, even though he was frugal. No pension. The comedy circuit was already in recession. Now Covid had shut it down. Things were looking bleak.
Then Steve started watching Michael Saylor videos.
Michael Saylor is the billionaire genius Chairman of Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) who, amidst all the money printing during Covid, was trying to protect his corporate treasury from erosion by inflation. This led him to bitcoin, which he embraced. He became one of its most articulate proponents, while his company — which had been all but dormant, share-price-wise, for 20 years — suddenly took off like a rocket. He gave birth to the bitcoin treasury model that is becoming so widespread today.
Everything Saylor said made sense to Steve. Not only that — it chimed with him. Bitcoin is stored energy. Investing in bitcoin is like buying Apple, Amazon, Google, or Facebook a decade ago. They’re all dominant technology networks, so destined to grow. The more you obsess over timing the market, the more mistakes you make. The best strategy is to buy bitcoin and wait. It will have a market cap in the multi-trillions. All that stuff.
Steve had known about bitcoin for many years. But he never invested. He bought shares in Lloyds instead.
He changed tack. He decided he was going to do for himself what Saylor had done for Strategy.
He began buying bitcoin with any spare cash he had. In his ISA, he bought Strategy.
He started bitcoin wallets for his nephews, nieces, and godchildren and bought them small amounts of bitcoin on their birthdays and at Christmas.
Something unlikely happened: Steve’s investments started going up.
By now he was obsessing over Michael Saylor videos. Watching and rewatching them. Finding old interviews and presentations and marvelling at the consistency of message — and Saylor’s extraordinary gift for spotting and riding technological trends.
“There’s not a single interview that man has done that I haven’t watched,” Steve told me the other day.
Steve sold every stock he owned. He couldn’t buy bitcoin through his broker — thanks, FCA — so he bought Strategy instead, then other bitcoin treasury companies, last year, including the amazing Metaplanet.
Meanwhile, everything he earned he sent straight to an exchange and converted to bitcoin. Only the bare essentials he needed to cover that month’s bills did he keep in fiat. Steve turned his entire personal operation into a bitcoin treasury.
What’s more, he didn’t told anyone he’d done this. Except with me — because he knows I know and love bitcoin.
He doesn’t mind when bitcoin sells off — it just means he can buy more on the cheap. He thinks it is inevitable — because of its superior technology — that bitcoin becomes the world’s dominant money system. That individuals, corporations and countries will store their capital in bitcoin, rather than fiat, so they do not suffer erosion by inflation (which is inevitable, because governments everywhere are incapable of reining in their spending — even with Elon Musk in charge).
He just keeps on accumulating, keeps on watching Saylor vids, and keeps on keeping his head down.
There are lots of people like Steve. I read about them every day. I just met a load out here at Freedom Fest in California.
I’m headed to BTC Prague next week. I know I’ll meet a load more there. (If you’re in Prague, by the way, come say hi. And if you’re thinking of going, you can get 10% off tickets using code FRISBY)
I’ve said it before and I say it again, if you save in strong currencies, and spend in weak ones, you will change your social status — you don’t have to earn a lot of money to do that
I saw Steve the other day. I’ve never seen him happier (except after he’s just stormed a gig). Guess what? He’s now in a position, just four years later, where he can buy a house. That’s what his girlfriend wants him to do. How about that for a transformation.
Only problem is: that would mean selling some of his bitcoin.
If only there were vehicles by which you could borrow against your bitcoin … That’s the next chapter in this extraordinary story: borrow against your bitcoin, spend in fiat, keep the asset.
Trouble is, if you’re in the UK — you won’t be able to. Because FCA
Thanks very much for reading this. If you enjoyed it, please like, share - all that stuff - it helps.
Until next time,
Dominic
PS Don’t forget my brilliant book about bitcoin, if you want to learn more about the space. I hear the audiobook is very good indeed.
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