Dear Mr. Buffett,
I hope this message finds you well.
If there’s one thing Corporate America is unsure of, it’s what to do with millennials, noticeably the largest generation in the US labor force. Perhaps, the world labor force?
While your date of birth was in 1930, millennials are turning 30 and rising up as the next generation of leaders for the next 30 years.
Cryptocurrency is speculative, but for how long? And is it less speculative now than it was in 2014? Speculation is defined as theory without firm evidence. Knowing this, I’m left to assume a lot of investments are speculative. A consumer or business loan at a bank might be speculative. The bank determines one’s ability to repay monthly debt based on current circumstances. What happens if one loses their job? Goes out of business? The market crashes? A loan might then be a speculative investment to the person receiving the money. Perhaps, a bank has strong strategies in place to cover themselves in the event of default. Perhaps, they even budget each year for losses. But I wonder more about the person who applied for the loan? Was this a speculative investment on their end? And if so, should they not apply for a loan?
To some, Bitcoin is a get rich fast. I’ve seen this mentality crash and burn.
For others, including major institutions, Bitcoin is the future. And there is still plenty of room to grow while a lot of information is yet to be learned. Some have lost money, yet Bitcoin is still here. We have new investors and existing investors adding to their portfolio. We have people who have even taken losses, back. And we have the ones who have held through the volatility. If these ones held longer than 9 months to date on one of the top 100 crypto currencies, they should be in profit.
One basic piece of consideration while speculating on this digital currency is that it’s not backed by the federal government. My understanding is the US dollar is backed by a federal note. So, then comes trust or “good faith.”
Why should millennials trust the government acting in good faith? Snowden shared infamously and famously with the public that our data is not private. The SEC has been breached with our information, a credit reporting agency was hacked with our information we provided to the banks. Wells Fargo and more like them generated revenue at the expense of the consumer’s best interest. The banks put us in a recession in 2008. Bitcoin was created shortly after this crash. Trust is defined as the firm belief of the strength or reliability in something or someone.
My generation is tired of deceit from the corporate world and we do not want to put our financial freedom in the hands of this ‘speculation’ any longer.
A lot of money is made through transferring money in a banks system, yet we now have the technology to minimize multiple hands at play, to control our own money. To be able to accept multiple payments as a business owner without paying the payment card industry 3% each time for the processing. Sure, this might hurt merchant companies, payroll companies, western union, bank fees, treasury management, but millennials are less concerned about keeping these businesses in business. They are concerned about transparency, keeping data secure, and efficiency.
The economy is going to have to adapt to the next generation of innovation and find a way to work with it not against it. If Bitcoin doesn’t work better than our current way of doing things, something else will. At any rate, the consensus of millennials, the next leaders of millennials will have this say.
My observation is that millennials, above all, want their freedom. They are less concerned about hoarding money and more concerned about making a life. They are a defiant generation that’s not afraid of breaking rules. Not afraid of expressing opinions. They are tired of politics and tired of making money for corporations at the expense of ones personal well being. They are determined to live a life of authenticity. They are determined to not work harder than required.
Bitcoin can’t be stopped. We know this. Whether it’s a good investment or not depends on the millennials, the next generation.
Your legacy will live on as one of the most brilliant and well respected. Much of your investment strategy seems timeless; namely to know as much as possible about what you are investing in. Bitcoin aside, you’ve taught me a lot and I’m sincerely grateful.
