The Bitcoin buying spree continues
Big companies are now buying this once silly investment and calling it a real asset class. Oh how things have changed.
Welcome to issue #016 of DMD.
Money Moves
Bitcoin (BTC), one of the most controversial financial topics over the last decade, continues to shine as an investment. Hitting an all time high of $110,000 just a few days ago.
Let’s look at some “experts”” share their views on BTC from the past:
“Bitcoin is rat poison squared” - legendary investor Warren Buffett
“Bitcoin is a pseudo asset” - economist Nouriel Roubini
“Bitcoin is worthless” - J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
“Bitcoin is a fraud and will fail” - Blackrock CEO Larry Fink
The list of “experts” who said BTC is basically a joke years ago is endless.
The about face of BTC
Staggering facts of the reality of BTC today:
The largest asset manager in the world, Blackrock, has over $70 billion invested by individuals and institutions in its less than two-year old BTC ETF (IBIT). Larry Fink now says he “was wrong about BTC”.
Nearly 100 publicly traded companies own BTC on their company balance sheet. Meaning, they bought some BTC with the idea/strategy that some of their cash would not lose value from inflation by investing in BTC.
Many asset managers are now calling BTC digital gold.
The price of Bitcoin has gone from $250 per coin in 2015 to over $100,000 today. That’s an explosive gain of 400x over that time span.
DMD thoughts on Bitcoin
Makes sense to own a little bit of BTC as part of your overall investment portfolio and you can do so by opening a crypto account on exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken or through Robinhood brokerage. Or simply buy the BTC ETF from Blackrock with the symbol of IBIT.
BTC is becoming a hedge against inflation and the $36 trillion of debt our government holds. Yep, you read that number correctly.
We own some BTC as part of our overall investment portfolio so do your own research to see if it makes sense for you.
Markets update (stocks and crypto)
The S&P 500 (where most of the stocks in your ETF’s and mutual funds are located if you have an investment account) is up nearly 1% year to date (YTD).
The Nasdaq (which has a heavy concentration of tech related stocks) is down nearly 1% YTD. A huge reversal from being down almost 20% in early April.
Stock in focus: Uber - the massive ride hailing service that connects drivers with passengers and also operates Uber Eats (food delivery) is up 33% YTD and 121% over the last 2 years.
Bitcoin trades at $106,000 and is up 10% YTD and 277% over the last two years.
Top alternative cryptocurrencies Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Chainlink trade at $2,569, $160, $2.18 and $14.18 respectively with the total crypto market cap at $3.4 trillion - about $500 billion from an all time high (ATH).
Get Money Savvy: Net Worth
Definition: represents the financial health of an individual or entity, calculated as your total assets minus your total liabilities. It’s essentially what you own (assets) minus what you owe (liabilities).
I’ve never been a fan of the words “net worth” as it places emphasis on someone’s value based solely on the number in their bank account. When someone’s real net worth is so much more than that.
Why it’s important: However, understanding and calculating your financial net worth gives a clear picture of your financial status and is crucial for planning both short-term budgets and long-term financial goals. It helps track your financial progress over time, indicating whether financial health is improving, declining, or remaining stable.
Stocks
ROTH IRA (held with Robinhood)
Currently own the following ETF’s: VOO (tracks 500 stocks that make up the S&P 500 index), VTI (total stock market that tracks 4,000 U.S. stocks) and VYM (tracks high dividend paying stocks).
Currently own the following individual stocks as of May 29, 2025: Cava (CAVA) IBIT (Bitcoin ETF) and cash.
SEP-IRA (held with the Acorns saving and investing app) - this is my “401(k)” because I’m self-employed.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH), iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR), iShares Core Total International Stock ETF (IXUS), iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)
Personal investment accounts (Acorns, Robinhood, E*Trade)
Moderately aggressive portfolio (mix of stock and bond ETFs) and individual stocks of Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), Stryker (SYK), Celestica (CLS), Robinhood (HOOD), Adobe (ADBE) and Visa (V).
Basic tenet of investing in stocks - when you automatically invest weekly or monthly into solid growth stock ETF’s and mutual funds you don’t have to worry about the ups and downs of the stock market. Time, based on historical evidence of the U.S. stock market returns, does the heavy lifting of wealth creation. Stocks are your primary foundational investments to winning the money game.
Over the last 150+ years the U.S. stock market has given investors about a 10.2% annual ROI. Fantastic annual returns that compound into significant wealth over time.
Crypto
Currently own Bitcoin (BTC), Chainlink (LINK) and Star Atlas (ATLAS).
We consider crypto an asymmetric investment opportunity and philosophy whereby you can invest small amounts of money that can possibly lead to high investment returns over time. There is nobody that can argue with crypto returns over the last 10 years in certain blockchain projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and others. But you always need to be aware that asymmetric investments can always go to zero too.
Young Money University has helped thousands of young people begin using Acorns as one of their initial investment accounts. Takes five minutes to set up and Acorns automatically invests your money into one of five investment portfolios based on your age. You don’t have to choose the stocks -phew!
Click the Acorns logo above or this link to get started on your investment journey. You will receive a special $40 bonus as long as you set up at least a $5 or more weekly or monthly recurring investment.
Until next time, thanks for being a valued subscriber to DMD and choosing the path of financial rebellion to create a better life for you and others.
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TR