Top Three Videos – July 4 2023

Impact and Potential of Bitcoin

• “Gold and silver have been money for 5,000 years and are incorruptible money.”
• “Bitcoin is actually a technological innovation that gold bugs should try to understand and not dismiss.”
• The invention of Bitcoin and its blockchain protocols can be compared to groundbreaking technological advancements like the printing press or the telephone, highlighting its potential long-term impact.
• “There are two things that can destroy Bitcoin: one, it technically doesn’t work anymore, and two, if people collectively decide we don’t care about it and won’t use it.”
• Unlike other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Dogecoin, Bitcoin has no CEO or management team, making it resistant to manipulation and ensuring the 21 million cap remains unchanged.
• “Bitcoin’s value has experienced repeated cycles of highs and lows, with each cycle showing higher highs and higher lows, indicating increasing adoption and potential long-term growth.”
• “The only wrong allocation to bitcoin is zero because I sincerely believe Bitcoin is going to go up 10x 100x.”
• “How do I protect myself from the decreasing value of money? Get the soundest money out there: silver, gold, and Bitcoin.”

Potential Failure of Fiat Currency

• Lepard refers to the current situation as “rivets popping,” indicating that the monetary system is under unprecedented stress, suggesting a potential failure of fiat currency in the future.
• Larry Lepard predicts a global economic collapse due to excessive leverage and zero percent interest rates, leading to bad economic decisions and malinvestment.
• “The trouble will show up sometime, if not sooner, and that will shove all this stuff up enormously.” – Lepard implies that a financial crisis is imminent and will have a significant impact on the economy.
• “I think we might have complete Fiat failure by as early as 2030 which is seven years away it could happen even earlier.”
• “I could see a scenario where one day everybody kind of wakes up and something has occurred and suddenly gold is at three thousand or four thousand, there’s not much for sale, and the currency is collapsing.”

Predictions on Gold and Silver

• “I strongly believe that gold will take out 2100 and it will Rip to three thousand when the first hint of the next easing occurs and I think that that’s not very far away.”
• “When we get the next wave of inflation, gold and silver are going to take off like rockets and go to much higher numbers.”
• “I honestly think in three years, Gold’s gonna be thirty five hundred dollars and if that’s the case these companies are going to be just throwing off cash like you read about.”

Transcript:

• 00:00 Hold gold, silver, and Bitcoin as alternative investments due to potential monetary distress caused by the US federal deficit, rising interest rates, and intractable inflation caused by continuous government spending and money printing.
  • The recent mini banking crisis in the United States highlights the potential for rapid contagion and stresses on the monetary system, indicating a need to consider alternative investments such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
  • Central banks have been making radical moves with zero interest rate policies, repo blowouts, and balance sheet increases, causing monetary distress in various areas such as the bond markets, while the US federal deficit is trending in the wrong direction, leading to concerns about the debt loop.
  • The US federal government’s increasing debt and reliance on short-term bonds will lead to a surplus of debt for sale, causing interest rates to rise and the cost of financing to increase, ultimately exacerbating the already significant federal deficit.
  • The continuous spending and printing of money by governments to cover deficits and costs will lead to intractable inflation, and higher interest rates may worsen the situation by discouraging investment.
  • Hold sound money assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin due to the government’s inability to stop printing money, despite the current lack of concern among investors.
  • Major events often fade away quickly in the media-driven world, causing people to forget about them and move on to the next narrative.
• 10:50 Lepard predicts a total fiat failure by 2030 due to excessive leverage, zero percent interest rates, and poor management of the economy by central banks, suggesting that alternative assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin may be a solution.
  • The authorities have done a good job of calming the herd and preventing panic, but there are underlying problems in the financial system that could lead to a total fiat failure by 2030.
  • Lepard predicts an impending global economic crisis due to excessive leverage and zero percent interest rates, citing examples of malinvestment and problematic events in Silicon Valley and commercial real estate, but acknowledges that authorities have been successful in calming people down and maintaining the perception of a stable system.
  • As inflation worsens and more people struggle to afford basic necessities, the Federal Reserve will be forced to reverse their policies and cut interest rates to address the economic downturn.
  • Lepard predicts that the Bond Market will be a problem due to excessive debt and a lack of capacity, and warns that if interest rates rise, it could have a significant impact on the leveraged economy.
  • The Federal Reserve’s excessive monetary policies have led to inflation and will likely result in economic consequences, prompting a cycle of tightening and loosening that will continue to fuel inflation.
  • Lepard criticizes the poor management of the economy by central banks, resulting in unstable prices and a need for alternative assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
• 20:47 The US dollar is losing its reserve currency status due to high deficits and the need to print more money, leading people to seek alternative assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
  • The US seizing assets during the war showed the world that if they have dollar-based assets and do something politically unfavorable to the US, their assets can be taken, leading other countries to consider moving away from holding dollars and weakening the currency.
  • The value of the dollar affects inflation and the use of currencies for transactions does not necessarily mean endorsing that currency.
  • The US dollar is losing its reserve currency status due to the government’s irresponsibility, leading people to seek alternative forms of storing value such as gold, bitcoin, oil, and other currencies.
  • The speaker predicts that the US dollar will decline in value due to high deficits and the need to print more money, leading to the emergence of alternative assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
  • Gold and silver prices have held up relatively well despite not increasing as sharply as they did in the past, and although rising interest rates typically lead to a decrease in gold prices, they have remained relatively stable.
  • Gold is expected to surpass $2100 and reach $3000, while silver is predicted to easily surpass $30 and potentially reach $50, as it has never beaten its all-time high and is expected to do so this time.
• 28:17 Gold and silver prices are expected to rise due to inflation and central bank policies, providing opportunities for investors, while the overvalued stock market and potential economic crisis may negatively impact AI investments.
  • When inflation increases and central banks adjust their policies, gold and silver prices will rise significantly, leading to a positive impact on gold and silver mining stocks.
  • Gold stocks have been performing poorly due to the increasing cost of production (Asic) and stagnant gold prices, causing frustration among investors.
  • Investors are treating gold and silver stocks as if they will never go up again, but the speaker believes that the market will prove them wrong in the next few years and that if the Federal Reserve were to stop raising interest rates, their portfolio would likely double.
  • Gold stocks are predicted to increase in value in the next three years, providing an opportunity to buy high-quality companies at cheap prices, while the overvalued stock market may lead to negative outcomes for those investing in AI.
  • Lepard predicts that due to the Federal Reserve’s inability to stop printing money, the economy will eventually collapse, leading to increased inflation and the need to invest in assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
  • Lepard predicts that there will be a significant economic crisis within the next few months to a year, similar to the 2008 financial crisis, and expects this to greatly impact the value of assets such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
• 38:08 Gold, silver, and bitcoin are viable investment options due to the US government’s inability to balance the budget and the potential for further monetization of debt, and bitcoin’s technological innovation has the potential to revolutionize the concept of scarcity in the digital world.
  • Lepard discusses the importance of being mentally tough and knowing why you own certain assets, and mentions the counter argument that the US federal government could become responsible and make changes to social security and medicare benefits.
  • The US government’s attempt to balance the budget and reduce military spending is unlikely to happen, and even if it did, the existing debt is too large to sustain without further monetization, making gold, silver, and bitcoin a more viable investment option.
  • Lepard, who has been invested in gold since before Bitcoin existed, believes that gold and silver have been reliable forms of money for thousands of years and considers them to be incorruptible.
  • Gold and Bitcoin can coexist as sound money options, despite the skepticism of gold enthusiasts, as Bitcoin is a technological innovation.
  • Bitcoin’s technological innovation of creating digital scarcity through its blockchain and proof of work algorithm is a significant development that has the potential to revolutionize the concept of scarcity in the digital world.
  • Bitcoin is a form of money that can be owned and obtained through mining, and although it is intangible, it functions as a ledger and represents value.
• 44:42 Gold has historically been successful as a form of money due to its scarcity and proof of work, and Bitcoin has the potential to be a digital form of gold as long as there is widespread adoption and it continues to function technically.
  • Money is a social obligation that allows people to exchange goods and services.
  • Gold became the soundest form of money because it was scarce and tangible, but even before gold, people were keeping score with a score keeping mechanism, and that’s what Bitcoin is – a digital entry that represents value and can be exchanged for something else.
  • Gold has historically been a successful form of money due to its scarcity and proof of work, and Bitcoin has the potential to be a digital form of gold as long as there is widespread adoption and it continues to function technically.
  • Adoption of Bitcoin is growing as more people are using it for transactions, particularly in countries with unstable currencies like Nigeria.
  • Bitcoin is a digital form of money that is easy to use, secure, and has a limited supply, making it a legitimate technical innovation unlike other cryptocurrencies.
• 49:23 Investing in gold, silver, and Bitcoin is recommended as governments printing money will dilute the value of all money held, and Bitcoin’s increasing adoption and outperformance compared to gold will drive its price up faster in the coming years.
  • The value of gold, silver, and Bitcoin will increase due to governments printing money to provide benefits they can’t afford, which dilutes the value of all money held.
  • The increasing adoption of Bitcoin, coupled with its outperformance compared to gold, will drive its price up faster than gold in the coming years.
  • Bitcoin’s adoption curve is driving its popularity among younger generations, despite its volatility, and its value continues to increase with each cycle of adoption.
  • Investing in both gold and Bitcoin is recommended as Bitcoin has the potential to be one of the highest performing assets, and even a small allocation can significantly increase net worth, while the risk of losing one percent is mitigated by the remaining assets.
  • Lepard compares the early skepticism towards the internet to the current skepticism towards cryptocurrencies and emphasizes the importance of network-based technologies.
  • The fixed supply of Bitcoin makes it a sound and deflationary form of money that can protect people’s savings from inflation caused by irresponsible government actions.
• 55:16 Invest in sound assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin to protect yourself from the potential total fiat failure by 2030, as governments’ behavior poses a risk of high inflation and currency devaluation.
  • Lepard discusses the fluctuating price of something, starting at 120 and eventually reaching 180 dollars.
  • Protect yourself from the decreasing value of money by investing in sound assets like silver, gold, and Bitcoin, even if they experience volatility, as long as you have a long-term perspective and believe in your investment thesis.
  • Lepard predicts a total fiat failure by 2030, which could happen even earlier, and emphasizes the potential rapidity of such a collapse using the example of the Silicon Valley Bank.
  • He suggests that there could be a scenario where the fiat monetary system collapses, causing a rush to buy gold and Bitcoin as the value of the currency declines rapidly.
  • Real estate prices are rising rapidly, and there is a risk of currency failure leading to high inflation, so it is important to have some sound money as a safeguard.
  • Protecting oneself from the potential economic storm caused by fiat failure can be achieved by investing in sound money like gold, silver, and Bitcoin, as governments’ behavior poses a non-zero probability risk of high inflation and devaluation of currency.