BTC208: Why CBDCs are Failing & Bitcoin is Winning w/ Dread (Bitcoin Podcast)

On today’s episode, Clay is joined by Adam Seessel to discuss the developments of Big Tech over the past couple of years. Adam is an investor in Alphabet and Amazon, and in this discussion, he shares his updated thoughts on the two since he published his book, Where the Money Is, back in 2022. Adam began his investing career doing research for Sanford C. Bernstein, Baron Capital, and Davis Selected Advisors. After these stints, he started his own firm, Gravity Capital Management. Since beginning a track record in the mid-2000’s he’s beaten the S&P 500. He’s been a contributor for financial writing in Barron’s and Fortune. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:47 - Adam’s key realizations as a value investor over the past 20+ years. 13:36 - How the concept of intrinsic value can help anchor us in reality even though it’s just a mental model we use to evaluate businesses. 27:37 - Adam’s updated views on Alphabet and Amazon since he published his book in 2022. 47:40 - Adam’s approach to taking advantage of the AI wave without paying hefty valuations. 54:01 - Why Progressive Insurance is dominating the auto insurance space. And so much more! Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Adam’s Book: Where the Money Is. Follow Adam on LinkedIn. Related Episode: Listen to TIP465: Value Investing in the Digital Age w/ Adam Seessel. Join our highly vetted community of value investors here. Email Shawn at shawn@theinvestorspodcast.com to attend our free events in Omaha or visit this page. Follow Clay on Twitter. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Fundrise 7-Eleven The Bitcoin Way Onramp Public Vanta ReMarkable Connect Invest SimpleMining Miro Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In this episode, Sam Callahan and the host explore key developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem, including BlackRock’s statement on allocation, Marathon Digital’s impressive Bitcoin strategy, and Bitcoin’s positioning as digital gold. The conversation also touches on geopolitical impacts with BRICS, U.S. policies, and Michael Saylor’s vision for Bitcoin's corporate adoption. Additionally, Sam shares insights on health and fitness for a balanced lifestyle. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:25 - Why BlackRock considers a 2% Bitcoin allocation reasonable. 06:14 - How Marathon Digital leads the Bitcoin mining space with 6% of the hashing network. 17:14 - Jerome Powell’s statement on Bitcoin as a competitor to gold. 19:36 - The geopolitical implications of Bitcoin in the context of BRICS and U.S. trade policies. 26:35 - Trump administration's stance on cryptocurrency, with Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. 31:30 - The paradox of meme coins like DOGE in the crypto space. 41:16 - Insights from Michael Saylor’s presentation to Microsoft’s board about Bitcoin adoption. 48:32 - Why diet is the key to fitness success, with minimal cardio requirements. 50:20 - The importance of resistance training and viewing carbs as sugar for effective nutrition. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Sam Callahan on X. Sam’s and Natalie Brunell’s Newsletter. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Fundrise 7-Eleven The Bitcoin Way Onramp Public Vanta ReMarkable Connect Invest SimpleMining Miro Shopify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In today's episode, Kyle Grieve is joined by co-host Clay Finck to summarize key learnings from 2024. We chat about the importance of focus and avoiding confusing noise, data that shows how difficult individual stock picks are to succeed in, why you should welcome disconfirming evidence, the impermanence of seemingly impenetrable businesses, how to close feedback loops to ensure investments are on the right track, the importance of being trustworthy and reliable, and much more! IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 03:11 - Why investors need to focus on the things that matter and how to avoid spending time on noise. 09:19 - Why investors should be aware of the base rates of success of investing in individual stocks (hint, making money is a lot harder than you think). 25:42 - How you can utilize and search out disconfirming evidence to improve your thinking processes. 29:46 - The impermanence of business success and the importance of updating your thinking when new information becomes available. 33:00 - The three sources of investing returns that drive the performance of a stock. 42:53 - How to use punctuated equilibrium to be active at the correct times and inactive at the proper times. 50:52 - Critical lessons on how to close feedback loops for long-term investors. 1:00:29 - How to utilize the "cone of uncertainty" to signal conviction in great ideas. 1:02:49 - Why a great business can still have times of high uncertainty. 1:07:00 - The importance of being trustworthy and reliable. And so much more! Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Listen to Clay’s interview with Chris Mayer here | YouTube Video. Listen to Clay’s interview with Hendrick Bessimbinder here | YouTube Video. Listen to William Greens’ interview with Bryan Lawrence here | YouTube Video. Listen to Clay’s interview with Morgan Housel here | YouTube Video. Listen to Clay’s interview with John Huber here | YouTube Video. Listen to Kyle’s review of What I Learned About Investing From Darwin here | YouTube Video. Listen to Kyle’s interview with Annie Duke here | YouTube Video. Listen to Kyle’s review of the Nomad Partnership Letters here | YouTube Video. Listen to Stig’s interview with Mohnish Pabrai here | YouTube Video. Follow Kyle on Twitter and LinkedIn. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Fundrise 7-Eleven The Bitcoin Way Onramp Public Vanta ReMarkable Connect Invest SimpleMining Miro Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

On today’s episode, Clay Finck invites Stig Brodersen to discuss current market conditions and one of Stig’s favorite books — Poor Charlie’s Almanack. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:23 - How Stig and Clay think about today’s market. 08:02 - Why we expect the stock market to continue to hit new all-time highs. 08:02 - How Stig is protecting himself against potential inflation going forward. 39:49 - Why Stig re-reads Poor Charlie’s Almanack each year. 49:55 - The psychological biases we need to be mindful of. 01:02:14 - How the endowment effect can be detrimental to our portfolio’s returns. 01:11:45 - How we can apply Munger’s principle of inversion to our lives and our portfolios. 01:27:00 - How you can attend the live events TIP is hosting in Omaha during the Berkshire weekend. And so much more! Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Book discussed: Poor Charlie's Almanack. Join our highly vetted community of value investors here. Check out Stig’s portfolio here. Email Shawn at shawn@theinvestorspodcast.com to attend our free events in Omaha or visit this page. Follow Clay on Twitter. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Fundrise 7-Eleven The Bitcoin Way Onramp Public Vanta ReMarkable Connect Invest SimpleMining Miro Shopify HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a rating and review on Spotify! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Jeff Ross, American Hodl, and Joe Carlasare discuss Bitcoin’s historic price surge to $96,000, the influence of Donald Trump's re-election on crypto policy, and global proposals for Bitcoin reserves. Topics include regulatory challenges, institutional inflows, and game-changing corporate strategies. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 06:58 - Why experts believe $96,000 may not be the top for Bitcoin. 14:10 - The potential impact of Trump’s re-election on U.S. Bitcoin policy. 11:06 - How countries like Brazil and the U.S. are exploring Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. 17:38 - The global regulatory landscape: Russia’s legalization and China’s possible policy shifts. 30:57 - Nic Carter’s insights into Chokepoint 2.0 and its implications for crypto innovation. 31:19 - The FDIC’s controversial handling of crypto-friendly banking products. 31:37 - How "pause letters" have stifled crypto innovation in traditional finance. 41:31 - The surge in institutional adoption, including ETF investments and corporate treasury moves. 48:07 - Microstrategy's influence on corporate debt and treasury strategies. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Related Episode: Bitcoin Mastermind 3rd Quarter 2024. Related Episode: Base Fiat Money and Bitcoin w/ Matthew Mežinskis. Related Episode: Jack Mallers on Bitcoin 2025 Expectations. American Hodl on Nostr. Jeff Ross on Nostr. Joe Carlasare on  X (Twitter), Nostr. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Fundrise 7-Eleven The Bitcoin Way Onramp Public Vanta ReMarkable Connect Invest SimpleMining Miro Shopify Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm