Key Takeaway: Our parents' wealth came from fleeing fiat into assets. Today, Bitcoin is harder money than the dollar -- so the playbook is simpler, but psychologically harder to execute.
When we look back, it seems so obvious. Our parents built wealth by going to college, buying a house, and investing in stocks. Where possible, they juiced returns with leverage: student debt and mortgages.
This formula worked so well it became virtue. But how could an entire generation get rich doing the same thing?
These assets absorbed the monetary premium from excess money printing after 1971. It wasn't smart investing -- it was defense against currency debasement. Our parents didn't realize they were fleeing fiat money; they thought they were participating in economic growth.
What Should Today's Generation Do?
There are two basic rules of wealth preservation:
- If there's harder money available, move to that money
- If your currency is being debased, move to assets, add leverage
For our parents, USD was the hardest money globally. So they followed the second rule, fleeing to assets and adding leverage.
Today, the first rule dominates since Bitcoin is harder than the dollar. Therefore, we should buy Bitcoin ... at any price.
Why It's Psychologically Difficult
But it's psychologically difficult because:
We've internalized our parents' strategy as "responsible investing." We're trained that sound investing requires both effort and restraint.
Bitcoin lacks tangible utility, which challenges conventional investment wisdom tied to productive assets.
Historical price patterns don't apply to Bitcoin given its unique monetary characteristics without real-world constraints.
Most Americans lack exposure to currency regime shifts, focusing instead on asset appreciation rather than currency erosion.
Our kids will ask us "You just had to buy Bitcoin?" the same way we ask our parents "You just had to buy any house and any stocks?"
It's both that easy, and that hard.