It makes more sense as we become more digital that things like Bitcoin become a currency.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a salt-of-the-earth entrepreneur.
He’s a Russian immigrant.
Who, as a child, would take plants from his neighbours’ gardens and then sell them back to the same neighbours.
He weirdly always swallows his chewing gum and never washes his hands after going to the toilet because he says it makes you soft.
Garyvee, as he’s affectionately known, has a fascinating story of how he arrived in America at age three.
Russia was hardcore and had strict rules for people leaving the country, particularly Jews.
A group of Soviet Jews attempted to hijack a civilian aeroplane to escape the country and Immigrate to Israel in 1970. Three men and one woman boarded a domestic flight. Once the plane was in the air, they produced weapons and demanded that the aircraft be flown to Sweden, which had a reputation for being sympathetic to refugees.
The Russian police caught the people who hijacked the plane, and because of the incident, the Russian government made it harder for Jewish people to leave the country and punished people who spoke out against the government. However, the event made people worldwide support the idea that Jewish people should be allowed to leave Russia, which put substantial international pressure on the government to make immigration easier.
The relaxing of immigration laws allowed Garyvee and his family to flee the country and have the lives they have today.
The rich tradition of storytelling and folk wisdom in Russian culture often leads to using analogies to convey complex ideas, which could be why Gary Vaynerchuk, whose upbringing is unknown to me, uses metaphors and historical references brilliantly.
Vaynerchuk’s entrepreneurial spirit evolved in America from successfully running a lemonade stand franchise at age seven to his early teens selling baseball cards and stashing $4000 a week under his bed.
His success today as a serial entrepreneur is undeniable, founding multiple companies valued in the Hundreds of Millions of Dollars.
Still, his most recognised skill is understanding human behaviour and identifying trends before they happen.
One of his early insights was Blockchain technology which Vaynerchuck believes is way bigger than people realise.
He believes that you must understand that Blockchain technology can overthrow America, China, and Russia, given the trust-less nature of peer-to-peer transactions.
When a relatively hostile crowd of Bitcoin maximalists asked if he had invested in Blockchain technology or Bitcoin, he responded.
Gary Vaynerchuk — Source
“I bought Bitcoin in 2014.
I need all of you to eat that for a minute.
I love showing my Coinbase to people; they are like Fuck.
I put in $25,000 (the estimated price was $300).
Blockchain as a technology is an entirely gone conclusion. Still, the currencies built on top of that have enormous volatility for everyone who made a million bucks. Some people have got wrecked”.
Vaynerchuk says he gets emails daily from people who bought Bitcoin, maxed out their credit cards, and are in deep depression and sadness.
So he wants people to understand that there is enormous volatility when we’re in these spaces, and it’s “very f*cking early”.
Gary Vaynerchuck — Source
“The lack of patience, proving you were right, or your need to make $10 million bucks or whatever is going through your mind is your vulnerability.
Our lack of patience is our collective vulnerability. You must change your path from the quick score and get out of this Gold rush mentality to like Blockchain technology and believing in decentralisation.”
Vaynerchuck says citizens have already adopted Bitcoin as a currency, while governments have reacted slowly or have not made their intentions public.
He says governments won’t just allow an asset class to grow under their noses, so he believes Bitcoin will have no middle ground. It’ll either skyrocket and become the 12th sector of the S&P500 or be heavily taxed and suppressed by Governments.
Vaynerchuck believes Bitcoin has already happened and is adopted as a currency by a substantially growing population mainly because people create their echo systems of what is valuable.
Gary Vaynerchuck — Source
“Bitcoin is much further along than most things that have come before it as an accepted currency.
I do not get to say, nor do most humans get to say, what should and should not be accepted as value.
If enough people believe in it, then it becomes.
I always remind folks that some people lived in the world before Gold meant anything. Gold was a created echo system.
In that case, f*ck Gold, F*ck Bitcoin, what about Tulips?”
Garyvee is a serial investor with an obnoxious strike rate for success.
He sees round corners.
His first three investments ever were Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. While it’s easy to see these as big companies now, he made substantial investments at a time when people scratched their heads, wondering how social media could even make a profit.
It’s why I sit up and listen when he gives his view on things, and he’s often accurate because he understands human behaviour on a level I’ve never seen before.
He acknowledges the volatility of Bitcoin as a currency but sees it as part of the early stages of a technological shift because the underlying blockchain technology is profound.
Garyvee says governments are still debating whether Bitcoin should have recognisable value when the people have decided already.
The human race will continue to evolve.
As we become more digital, Bitcoin’s adoption as a currency will become more widespread.
