RE: Doug Casey On Trump, Cryptocurrencies, the Coming Collapse and the End of Western Civilization
Mr. Casey doesn't seem to grasp the full import of Bitcoin.
This is usually due to inherent mistrust of new technologies, and he's an old-school kind of guy. He'd be wise to hedge some of his portfolio in crypto, it might be the only real hedge that isn't fully captured by the government.
Gold, and other metals unfortunately are completely ring-fenced by the powers-that-be, and they use the sale of Gold coins and rounds to finance their activities.
Why people still advocate Gold and Silver is really puzzling - it just seems like it all falls on "well, its been around for a long time, so..." -- and the government relies on this attitude too, so that people buy from them directly (and indirectly).
I'm sure most will disagree, but I'm used to being a lone holdout while the world slowly turns towards the truth.
You can hold the physical medal in your possession. No internet needed. That is still going to be an advantage in a worst case scenario
STEEM On !!
Dave B
I disagree. In a worst case scenario, the currency will be water and food - in that order.
You don't see people setting up benches with scales after a natural disaster, waiting for customers to redeem gold for services.
Besides, no one is going to carry around an assaying kit to make sure what you have is real, if they are going to transact with you. It isn't practical when there isn't any trust. And there wouldn't be much trust post-apocalypse.
I don't think there is a solution to that kind of apocalypse except for a sound mind and lots of knowledge. Trust me bitcoin will be safe, but will you be able to exchange? Until at least 50% of population either have crypto or metal, that kind of apocalypse will hurt for all
There are basically two possible scenarios. The first is an economic collapse where some sense of order is maintained. In that scenario precious metals will be accepted and valuable. History of other collapses proves this. Venezuela today proves it.
The second scenario is far worse, and all usual forms of wealth will be meaningless. If things get so bad that your primary concerns are safety and food, no investment is going to matter. You will only care about how to live. That scenario will also probably only be within the northern hemisphere.
You should still make those investments though since the worst scenario will hopefully be avoided, and the other scenario makes a majority of such investments still worth holding. Besides, no amount of preparedness is ever enough, and you can always be more prepared.
Once you have a decent amount of applicable skills, food, water sources, ammunition, weapons, etc., you should start to diversify your wealth. Spread it around to a ton of different baskets or hedges. No one should be buying anything like that though until they are out of debt and have the basic preparedness items checked off.
Venezuela citizens are turning more towards Bitcoin than trying to buy gold rounds. They're also fleeing that country, and I don't see the advantage to having bulky metal in a pocket that can be taken by border security.
I don't think Gold is the real standard, anymore. Its been pummeled into the ground by captured markets, and the stifling regulation and banking laws make sure that you can't easily transact using metals without every middleman taking a slice.
Honestly, if it was such a threat to sovereign monetary policy, they wouldn't be selling coins from their Treasury.
Silver has been mentioned numerous times as a way to purchase food there right now.
The only thing that turns up with "silver, food, venezuela" is a PR post on zerohedge by a metals concern and a few random quotes by people holding silver pumping their book.
I don't see any mainstream or independent media reports that they are using silver as a daily means to put food on the table. It looks like an out-of-context PR snippet gone viral instead.
Their fiat currency is practically worthless, and goods are still being exchanged. You really hate PM's, ehh? Crypto is helping people there too. If people are using crypto, surely PM's are being used as well.
I question the precious metals narrative. "Hate" is a word that denotes some personal vendetta, which I don't have.
I appreciate the back-and-forth, most people who have an interest in metals usually don't explain themselves.
I appreciate it.
Precious metals should be just another basket of many hedges. It doesn't hurt to have 5-10% of your wealth within them.
"You don't go broke buying IBM", until then, you do.
I don't subscribe to any strategy just because others do - it has to be a bit more meaningful than that. I prefer crypto as a hedge. Its one of the only asset classes that hasn't been ring-fenced by governments.
It's not a "do this and nothing else" strategy though. Crypto should not be your only investment. You should own land, precious metals, some stocks, some peer to peer lending notes, etc. The point is to spread your wealth around to many different things to better protect it and limit your risk. I have both crypto and PM's along with a TON of other hedges.
5% is a pretty small amount too.