It's similar to gold, by default it is private although some bars can be tracked, origins can be obfuscated through admixture.

@Garrett - interesting point, thanks. The thing is I could give you 1kg of gold and that would be off record, BTC has to be on the Blockchain. What started as a bit of an anarchist idea to me seems to be a bit of a conspiracy-like theory - meaning the intent of BTC could be (could be!!) not the hyped secrecy/anonymity, but getting people to willingly! allow their financial lives to be public. Govts would love that for a start...?!

Having been through two intellectual property lawsuits, a Patent is only worth the $$$ that you have (liquid) to defend said Patent. No money...No honey, it's literally worthless. So yes, go get your Patent, but bankroll it in such a fashion that one day you may have to defend it.

Unlikely. Addresses are pseudonymous and can be rotated. Bitcoin can move easily between accounts.

That's fine. Stick with gold. Remember that it was confiscated in the 1930's? Bitcoin is the only logical solution to growing distrust worldwide of governments and Central Bankers. They may yet come for your gold. They can't come for your Bitcoin in cold storage.

John, are you still in gold or you came out of it completely? if so, what % of your portfolio is it now if I may ask?

Addendum to my comment above since there is no edit button: I first thought emails and texting would not catch on, but this didn't prevent me from investing in those companies just in case. I'm sure glad I didn't short them is all I'm saying.

Great comment. It's not binary. You can have stocks, gold AND Bitcoin in a portfolio, alongside property, bonds, cash, etc. Size according to conviction and risk profile.

To Andrew A. That's right Andrew, it doesn't have to be binary. I remember hearing about Bitcoin in 2013 and thinking "what a crock of shit". When it hit $100 I remember thinking, "Man, this is a Tulip Bubble waiting to pop.". When it surpassed $1,000, I started wondering, "Perhaps I should look into what all the hype is about.". Too bad I didn't read up on it and start investing in it till BTC price was at $6,000. I've been trading BTC since 2016. I bought some at lows of 2019 ($3200 level), more in 2020 March low ($3800 level), added more in March dip ($5800 level), and continue to buy at opportune pullbacks. To the unbelievers and those on the fence out there, I can only say I am so glad I ultimately told myself, "Oh well, better late than never." HODL on!!!

Valid point Tim but I think you need to dig deeper. Network Effects are powerful. The amount of money and brain power supporting this platform is powerful. Keep learning and you will answer your own concerns. But shoot, even if you feel that way, a small % bet on the upside is still worth it.

Literally no new crypto projects claim to compete with Bitcoin. Everyone's given up on that race. It's over. Bitcoin won the digital money race.

reality distortion worsens later in the interview... ETH DAO hack? how about the early bitcoin hack where bitcoin was hard forked by Satoshi? ETH inflation research is in the interest of supporting long-term network security. Bitcoin security is not based on time or trust or community or monetary policy... it's based the network of miners who are choosing to burn electricity to run the protocol What happens when block rewards reduce to zero? What if network fees are not enough to incentive miners? What if miners become malicious and try to re-org the chain to capture mine higher fee transactions? What happens if then the miners decide to run a fork which supports additional inflation? If miners stop running the protocol, bitcoin is done bitcoin inflation schedule is just a social contract, and like other social contracts it can be changed These are real problems, often reality distorted away by bitcoin maximalists Sure these problems are somewhat theoretical and in the distant future, but they are legitimate problems that other honest builders and researchers are trying to solve

I think it's too early, way too early, for anyone to make definitive statements about when BTC will fulfill its use as currency. Look to the numerous countries where the people are turning to BTC because they have lost faith in their own currency, ie. Venezuela, Turkey, Iran, China (and Hong Kong), African nations, Colombia, Argentina, etc. To think this evolution has taken place in such a short time, without a single government backing; indeed, rather a lot of government animosity, it is near miraculous what BTC has achieved so far. A final word for the naysayers: A) If you don't believe in BTC, simply don't invest in it. B) If you are worried it might work out, put a small percentage to work in it. C) If having researched it fully as best as possible, you believe in it's long term viability, invest more than just a little in it. As for me, my stock positions are up over 55% this year, my gold, silver, and miners have yielded 69%, and my BTC has increased 157%, YTD. Just my two cents. :)