Greetings all:
It’s been some time since we last spoke; I hope you are well.
First, an apology. Given what has happened since I regret I did not send this out to you one year ago, in April of 2021, when I began the first draft, and I thought you deserved an explanation.
Those of you who know me well know that I am on the quiet side, and I am also most certainly not a “sky is falling” type. I don't do drama. Oddly, this made me an excellent emergency room RN. When emergencies happen around me, I become calm and executed. Still, better than knowing how to respond to an emergency is learning how to see when one is coming, and in this, I excelled. To this day, I am good at assessing situations around me, identifying risks, and acting. In no small part, this is why I studied Economics in college, it provided tools to see what might be happening just a little earlier than most, and I like that.
One of my long-held, non-medical biases has been that by the time I notice anything that might be unique or noteworthy, I presume by default that it is commonly known to everyone. I thought so after purchasing my first computer in 1984, after using Google before its launch in August of 1998, and later when I recommended my daughters migrate from MySpace to Facebook in early 2004. In retrospect, all somewhat insightful and totally quiet. This would repeat itself in 2015 after restarting an investigation into Bitcoin I began four years earlier, but this one was different.
In Bitcoin, there is a convergence of two things in which I felt I had sufficient expertise: Economics, and Technology. Like many technologies, Bitcoin is better experienced than explained, so I bought some. While Bitcoin brilliantly solved unique technical issues (the Byzantine generals problem), I found that was also highly consistent with foundational economic principles. Bitcoin created a store of value without mass, across a distributed network no one individual controlled. This was BIG. Still, I remained quiet about it. What insight could I possibly bring? Who would listen to me? What if I’m wrong?
Most of the time, being reserved works just fine. However, as I often experienced in the ER, if you determine a patient is “going south” and you don’t speak up, someone can get hurt. This is one of those times.
On my birthday last year (April 21, 2021), Bitcoin was around $55,000; on the same day the year earlier, it was a little over $7,200, and around $5,500 the year before that. Similar growth has happened already seen this year, and this is not going to stop. Now in 2022 people are beginning to talk about $500,000 Bitcoin and being bashful is no longer acceptable.
I am no better at telling the future than you. I can provide a lot of experience in a revolutionary technology that is still new, highly disruptive, and wildly impactful to our future. The important point of this is that Bitcoin can no longer be ignored. For the younger among us, might as well learn it now because this isn’t going away. For those about to retire, time is more meaningful, and the benefits from Bitcoin participation more impactful. Either way, it’s time to acquire some.
Let me know how I can help.
Regards,
Tom
