The US is dangerously over-leveraged with immense debt across sectors, making a monetary reset inevitable through inflation and transition to government-controlled monetary systems.
Investing in tangible assets like gold and silver provides a hedge against currency crisis, as they tend to increase in value when currency decreases.
The US government’s central city culture in Washington DC has become disconnected from the rest of the country, with a constellation of lobbying firms funded by taxpayers.
A real estate boom in the DC area signals over-concentration of power, sucking wealth from the rest of the country to government-related entities.
The US defense budget, long considered sacred, could potentially be cut by a third to make a significant dent in the deficit.
The Deep State, gradually established over the past century, has entrenched interests and military profits as significant counterforces to government downsizing.
The military-industrial complex profits from war and destabilization, overlapping with those who believe the US should rule 95% of humanity for the next millennium.
A currency crisis will likely be triggered by a resurgence of inflation caused by cutting interest rates to allow increased government borrowing.
The inevitable collapse of the dollar due to immense debt and inflation will necessitate a new monetary system, potentially limiting personal freedoms.
Stories of government workers being laid off could influence Congress, potentially slowing down the downsizing process.
Bullion Banks may be instructed by the US government to take physical delivery of gold at the Comex to drain the LBMA, creating a “doom loop” where banks must cover contracts by buying spot gold, intensifying demand and shortages.
The Comex has seen a spike in physical gold deliveries, with approximately 500 metric tons stored in vaults as of February, equivalent to half of annual global gold mining production.
LBMA is experiencing delivery delays up to 48 weeks due to physical gold shortages, causing a huge paper loss for banks shorting Comex and longing LBMA.
US government may be behind 2,000 metric tons of physical gold imports in December and January, equivalent to China’s annual gold imports of 1,450 tons.
US gold reserves have allegedly depleted from 8,133 tons to 6,000 tons, with the government now repatriating 2,000-3,000 tons from foreign countries.
The US is reportedly urging Budan Banks to borrow gold from sovereign central banks for shipment to the US, potentially allowing repatriation of physical gold from foreign countries.
Revaluing US gold reserves to market value could increase the US balance sheet by $870 billion to $1 trillion, according to former Federal Reserve member Judy Shelton.
Donald Trump’s team is considering forcing US allies to exchange US Treasury bonds for perpetual serial coupon bonds, potentially decreasing US government interest payments and debt by 25%.
A multi-decade bond bear market may have begun in 2020-21, ending the 40-year bond bull market that started in 1981, with interest rates likely trending in generation-long phases.
Sticky inflation is expected to persist due to government spending, borrowing, and shelter costs (36-37% of CPI), which have risen 26-40% in the past five years.
Higher interest rates will impact corporate balance sheets built on low-rate expectations, requiring equity raises and reorganization, with potential tension in banking, real estate, and private equity.
Reinvesting coupon income at higher rates benefits savers, who can now earn 4-6% without much effort.
Gold is favored as a long-term investment, acting as money without a PE ratio, while TIPS offer a 2.4% positive return over 29 years, above the inflation rate.
Municipal bonds present opportunities in neglected pockets of value, with some small college issues yielding 5-6% tax-exempt.
Active investing is likely to outperform passive investing in a volatile environment, as index investing may not yield positive returns at current valuations.
Value investing protocols remain valid, involving looking for companies underpriced relative to their intrinsic value.
Cash provides opportunities during volatile markets, allowing investors to buy undervalued assets that others can’t afford.
The 1970s inflationary period was tough for passive investors, with stocks and bonds losing value on an inflation-adjusted basis, while commodities and gold performed well.
Chair Powell stated the Fed won’t consider quantitative easing until short-term interest rates reach zero, indicating a need for major market damage before QE is back on the table.
As the world adjusts to higher rates, there may be downward pressure on stock valuations currently at fancy earnings multiples.
Failed bond auctions could signal a prolonged bear market, potentially requiring Federal Reserve intervention as a last resort.
The transition to a new market paradigm is expected to be disruptive, not gradual, with the potential for a major repricing as investors adjust to the changing environment.
The official price of gold is $42.22 per ounce, while the market price is around $2,950 per troy ounce, indicating a massive increase in currency supply over the past 50+ years.
Revaluing gold to match the market price would bring the gold balance to about $800 billion, only 1/136th of the US debt of $36 trillion, making it insignificant in addressing the debt situation.
A gold run scenario is possible, with investors demanding delivery of their gold from London to New York due to delays in the LBMA and concerns about gold quality.
The audit of gold reserves is not just about verifying existence but also determining ownership, as gold can be moved between facilities to balance books.
Some gold in Fort Knox is coin melt (90% gold), raising concerns for gold holders as it may not meet the 999 fine standard required for valid gold contracts.
The gold market is experiencing a disconnect between institutional and retail investors, with institutions buying at high prices while retail investors are burned out.
Gold has reached $3,000, creating a barrier for retail investors and contributing to a market imbalance.
The gold market is overbought and due for a pullback in the near term, as sentiment is extremely bullish and all news is already priced in.
The US Social Security database lists over 1.4 million people as alive and over 150 years old, despite the oldest living American being only 114 years old.
There are 395 million active Social Security numbers, which is 60 million more than the entire US population, suggesting a need for government auditing.
The US Treasury System has been unable to trace $4.7 trillion in payments, with no official explanation for the high search frequency of these terms in DC.
President Trump reported tax dollars being spent on $10 million for voluntary male circumcision and $486 million to rig elections in Malawi and India.
Research indicates that liberal women are the least happy group in America, with 4% of the country unable to urinate due to hardships under Trump’s administration
GameStop’s potential Bitcoin strategy, involving 20% of net income and up to 33% of cash holdings, could trigger a short squeeze on its heavily shorted stock (30% current short interest), potentially attracting both Bitcoin investors and the meme stock community.
The blockchain trilemma highlights Bitcoin’s superiority, as it optimizes for decentralization and security, while Ethereum’s focus on scalability compromises these crucial aspects.
Bitcoin’s unmined supply alone has a market cap that would make it the 5th largest cryptocurrency, showcasing the unprecedented dislocation between Bitcoin and broader crypto markets.
Central banks, especially in China, bought record amounts of gold in Q1 2023, indicating a significant liquidity drain from exchanges to central banks.
The Shanghai gold exchange’s physical delivery option creates arbitrage opportunities against COMEX and LBMA, driving an institutional and retail gold drain from West to East since late 2022.
80% of London’s gold is claimed, with extended redemption waits (4-8 weeks) and widening premiums (up to $5 over spot), signaling potential trust issues in vault holdings.
Gold has historically front-run QE waves by 12-18 months, suggesting a potential massive rise in Bitcoin prices in the next 6 months if this pattern holds.
In 2024, the US will roll over $10 trillion of debt, nearly 1/3 of total federal debt, with an additional $130 billion in annual interest expense from 10-year Treasuries alone.
The Fed has never cut rates without QE since 2008, and operationally, it would be nearly impossible to lower rates to 0% without buying bonds to move the yield curve.
The “Peruvian Bull Debt Paradox” suggests higher rates lead to more interest expense and borrowing, creating a debt spiral that requires more QE and bond buying.
Historically, when a country’s debt-to-GDP exceeds 120%, the only exception to defaulting through currency demonetization, hyperinflation, or depression has been Japan, currently facing a yen crisis.
The Fed is trapped in a “black hole” of its own design, facing the dilemma of either dying by inflation through cutting rates and QE or by interest expense and a debt spiral from raising rates.
Bitcoin’s digital nature and decentralized structure make it a superior sound money alternative to gold, avoiding systemic settlement issues and trust problems associated with physical assets.
The adoption of Bitcoin by entities like GameStop could lead to a poetic culmination of the fight against market manipulation, as Bitcoin’s immutability and hard money characteristics counter traditional financial system vulnerabilities.
Money printing is analogous to alcoholism, offering short-term benefits but leading to long-term consequences that worsen over time, requiring progressively more printing to achieve the same effects, as noted by Milton Friedman.
The inflationary age that began in 2020 is worsening and will continue, with those who protect themselves financially being better off than those who ignore the problem.
The inflation chart in the book shows a hockey stick increase after the U.S. abandoned the gold standard in 1971, which the author describes as “galactically stupid“.
Inflation, caused by printing money, destroys the middle class by widening the wealth gap between the rich, who can game the system, and the poor, who depend on dollars to hold their value.
The Federal Reserve has effectively bought the economics profession, paying monetary scholars to not criticize fiat currency, creating a protection racket that suppresses alternative economic theories like Austrian economics.
The central banking system is a primary driver of wealth inequality, as the rich can borrow at lower rates and benefit from money printing, while the poor face high interest rates and are left behind.
Bitcoin’s fixed supply and mathematical certainty eliminate the manipulation and dishonesty of fiat money, providing a unique and powerful solution to the problem of unsound money.
Bitcoin’s decentralized ledger technology enables triple-entry accounting, making it a superior, verifiable form of money compared to gold, which is subject to manipulation and debasement.
Bitcoin’s multi-institution custody with segregated cold storage and multi-key vaults guarded by three independent custodians provides unparalleled security, fault tolerance, and redundancy for Bitcoin holdings.
Sovereign nations like El Salvador, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman are stacking Bitcoin as a superior reserve asset, competing for it, which could drive its price orders of magnitude higher in the future compared to gold.
Hyperbitcoinization could occur within the next 5-10 years, with Bitcoin becoming the dominant form of money, but it may also bring societal instability and economic challenges.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a sovereign wealth fund, is a foregone conclusion despite political corruption and shitcoins trying to attach themselves to it, as Michael Saylor suggests.
Since 9/11, the US has wasted $8 trillion on Middle East wars, with Iraq now producing oil for China, and Afghanistan’s takeover resulting in little benefit for the US, despite Haliburton and war contractors profiting immensely.
Wars are financed by printing money and inflating currency, as taxing the population at 100% would cause a revolution; this connection between war and money printing is often dismissed, despite being straightforward.
Metcalfe’s Law states the value of a network grows at the square of its user growth, leading to incredibly valuable networking businesses like Google, Amazon, and Facebook that break traditional investing models.
Bitcoin mining offers a more consistent accumulation strategy than dollar-cost averaging, with Blockware Solutions providing a service that handles everything from securing miners to sourcing low-cost power.
The paper gold market is vulnerable to a critical state event, with a potential 100:1 leverage on physical gold, which could lead to a rapid price increase if the system collapses.
Bitcoin’s debasement rate is currently 8% per year, but it will be halved every four years, making it sounder than gold, which is only being debased at 1.7% per year.
Honest money is essential for human cooperation; if money is manipulated, trust is lost, leading to dishonesty in politics and morals, according to fund manager Tod Deon.
Sound money, like a gold standard, is a moral issue that protects people’s savings from debasement, according to Judy Shelton, a sound money advocate and scholar.
“The Big Print” emphasizes the importance of experiences over material possessions, urging readers to prioritize memorable moments with loved ones, as these cherished memories become the true wealth one values later in life.
BRICS nations are developing new financial infrastructure to challenge US dollar dominance, including Swift alternatives and blockchain-based payment systems not controlled by Western institutions like the BIS and IMF.
China’s $1 trillion trade surplus enables it to issue US-denominated bonds payable in yuan, directly competing with the US Treasury market and potentially disrupting global finance.
Saudi Arabia and UAE’s consideration of energy trades outside the US dollar could have massive ramifications for the dollar’s status and the Trump administration’s policies.
China issued $2 billion worth of US-denominated bonds in Saudi Arabia, which were 20 times oversubscribed and rated A+ by Fitch, demonstrating strong investor confidence in BRICS financial instruments.
Embridge technology exists as a viable option for neutral settlement currencies, despite Western influence causing the BIS to withdraw support.
BRICS countries are building physical infrastructure like railways between Iran and Iraq, strengthening economic ties and reducing dependence on Western-controlled trade routes.
China’s development of 150 nuclear power plant facilities is driven by its need for a non-US dollar energy system, allowing it to source uranium from Russia and Kazakhstan and potentially bypass the petrodollar.
Central banks are becoming net sellers of US treasuries and net buyers of physical gold, indicating a shift towards viewing gold as a sound money alternative to US debt-based currency.
Gold and Bitcoin serve as alternative assets to bonds and stocks respectively, with gold acting as a bond market proxy and Bitcoin replicating the tech sector.
Gold and Bitcoin’s low correlation makes them ideal for portfolio diversification, providing similar benefits to perfect negative correlation in financial markets.
Adding a small amount of Bitcoin to a gold portfolio can enhance returns with lower risk, according to expert Charlie Morris, due to their complementary risk-return profiles.
Gold’s 14% volatility compared to Bitcoin’s 42% and silver’s 28% indicates its credibility as a liquid asset, consistently attracting central bank buyers and billions in daily trading volume.
Gold and Bitcoin have a complementary relationship in portfolios, with one typically performing well when the other underperforms, creating a counterbalancing effect.
Gold is a hugely liquid market with the ability to buy and take delivery of large amounts quickly, while Bitcoin’s liquidity is comparatively lower.
Gold miners have a simple, predictable business model with low margins and cyclicality, potentially presenting investment opportunities when undervalued, unlike Bitcoin miners which are difficult to analyze.
MicroStrategy’s stock trades at a 150% premium to its Bitcoin holdings, providing limited upside compared to Bitcoin itself due to its volatile capital structure and unsustainable premium.
The US dollar’s expensive valuation and high stock prices present challenges for continued outperformance, with a falling dollar potentially benefiting gold and Bitcoin.
Gold-backed cryptocurrencies and tokens are an innovation that could replace the dollar with gold in stablecoins, but liquid gold tokens are still lacking in the market.
The maturity of the crypto sector will be signaled when cryptocurrencies start moving independently from Bitcoin, indicating distinct market dynamics.
Gold remains a central bank asset, while Bitcoin caters to the general public and institutional investors, competing for the same investor dollars but driven by different market factors.
Central banks in the East are buying gold and requesting physical delivery, causing a depletion of 400-ounce bars in London vaults since the US seized Russia’s Western assets.
The COMEX February delivery month may reach an unprecedented 240-250 metric tons, far exceeding the usual 100-150 tons, indicating a severe shortage of good delivery 400-ounce physical bars.
The US Federal Reserve has not allowed an independent third-party audit of Fort Knox, the Denver Mint, and West Point gold storage, despite nearly half of Fort Knox’s gold being relocated.
Germany’s repatriation of gold from the US Federal Reserve in the early 2010s, after being denied inspection access, raises concerns about the verifiability of gold in US vaults.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has drastically reduced gold swaps from ~500 tons to under 100 tons in the past year, suggesting a potential shortage or reluctance to swap 400-ounce bars.
Paper gold contracts on the COMEX are a potential “ticking time bomb” due to lack of physical gold backing, with the CME’s disclaimer on warehouse stock reports indicating unverifiable information.
The US is experiencing record inflows of gold, allegedly to bolster the COMEX derivative market, yet none is leaving COMEX as reported daily.
The gold market’s rally in response to President Trump’s statement about auditing Fort Knox demonstrates high sensitivity to news and potential transparency initiatives.
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