@ Alejandro

[](https://newsletter.bitcoinforfamilies.com?utm-source=blogstack) > But I don't understand Bitcoin > > — Every parent of a Bitcoiner Welcome to the latest issue of the Bitcoin For Families newsletter. This issue covers: * 💡 Arguments to explain why Bitcoin to your boomer parents * 🐦 Notable Notes * 📝 Recommendations ---  # Proven ways to orange pill your boomer parents My parents are part of the wealthiest generation on Earth. My parents are not particularly wealthy but their generation is far better financially than Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z and whatever we end up calling my kids generation. The reason is simple: they grew up and spent their most productive years with sound money. They saved in US dollars backed by gold while all the generations after them have spent their productive years working for confetti money. >I want my parents to have money to live with dignity until they die and I know that the only way to ensure such thing is if they save with Bitcoin. **I set myself the goal of them allocating 5% of their net worth to Bitcoin** and these are the different arguments that I’ve used in my conversations with them and that culminated with me setting them up with a Coldcard to hold their Bitcoin. >See this past [newsletter issue](https://newsletter.bitcoinforfamilies.com/p/setting-up-cold-storage-for-my-parents) covering how I setup the Coldcard for my parents. > >Throughout this article, I will use the term my parents to refer to the boomer generation at large. > I start with a bit of history because it’s important for my parents to acknowledge that things have changed before they can start thinking about why they have changed. ## A little bit of history Back in the 60’s, the golden era, a janitor could to buy a home and raise a family with his salary. A janitor can’t do that now. What has changed since? The money has changed. You grew up and spent your most productive years with sound money. Money backed by gold. This meant that **the government couldn’t just print more money whenever it wanted** and that kept the money sound and valuable. Since the 60’s, the US government has been printing money without having the extra gold to back the extra dollars. Initially it did it without admitting to it, and finally, in 1971, it started doing it openly. Now the government can print as much as it wants and it has gone crazy in doing so.  You do know that if you print too much money, the money will lose value and lost it, it has.  ## We don’t save anymore. We play the casino >The next step is to connect it with something they know: that you need to invest your money and can’t just save it anymore. The US dollar has lost its effectiveness as a saving tool. We all know it. That is why we are forced to invest our money if we want to save. That is what 401K accounts are: you’re playing at the casino of the stock market with your savings, hoping that the savings will grow enough to hold their value and really hoping that the market won’t crash and they evaporate. Think how sad this is. You need to play the casino if you want to hold the fruit of your labor for more than a year. >You shouldn’t have to play the casino. > Real money should allow you to “just” save and hold its value over a long period. [](https://youtu.be/Y3AM00DH0Zo) ## With endless printing, houses are the new money >Next comes a reality check around housing. It reinforces the fact that the US dollar has lost its value as a saving vehicle. Houses are the new savings vehicle. People with wealth do not save in US dollars. They are fully aware that it has lost 98% of its value in the last 50 years. So what do they use? Wealthy people use stocks, real estate and art as their savings vehicles. Money is meant to have no intrinsic value. The value of money comes ONLY from being money but these assets have intrinsic value that reflects their original purpose and this is a BIG problem. Now there are two sets of people pursuing the same asset: - A young family trying to buy their first home - A wealthy person trying to park $200,000 in savings This can only result in one thing: prices go up. That's why stocks, real estate and art prices are skyrocketing. The constant devaluation of the US dollar benefits wealthy people who already owned these assets and now their value has gone up. It also hurts the middle and low class: if you didn't have a home before, you can't buy a home now. Sounds familiar? Just ask any millennial. I was able to buy a house but only because I joined a startup when it was founded and got a nice payment when it was acquired. But most people don’t have that opportunity. >How many of my cousins own a house? How many friends do you have whose kids can’t afford to buy a house? ## The government debt is out of control >Boomers understand debt and that you do need to pay it back. They will also understand that no government will do that and instead they will print to pay the debt. The government has been printing money by issuing debt and consequently the debt has gotten out of control. The chart below shows the debt since 1966. The US public debt has grown 1000x since then and it is now at 118% of the GDP.  How will the government pay this debt? Which politician will drastically reduce spending to go into a fiscal surplus and suggest that we maintain this policy for a decade to slowly pay down this massive debt? **NO ONE**. The debt is only going to get higher. The government will print more dollars to pay the debt and the value of the dollar will go even lower. The US dollar is broken and it is beyond salvation. **You can’t rescue a currency that has lost 98% of its value in the last 50 years**. >At the current debt levels, holding your savings in US dollars is extremely risky. ## The solution >Here is where you explain Bitcoin as an upgrade to gold. You need a new type of money. Money that is capable of holding its value. Money that can't be easily debased. There are only two options: gold or Bitcoin. Gold is physical, large and heavy. This means that it is difficult to transport. It is difficult to break down into smaller units for smaller payments. It needs to be physically protected in a vault with security guards… These shortcomings are what enabled governments to co-opt gold as they did when FDR confiscated the gold from citizens in 1933. Bitcoin is a better version of gold. Bitcoin, just like gold, has a fixed rate of issuance that can’t be controlled by governments. And on top of that Bitcoin has a finite supply. There will only be 21 million bitcoin and 19.5 million have already been issued. There is no possibility for governments, companies or any powerful individual to debase Bitcoin. It is not possible. Bitcoin is also digital and not physical so it is cheap to store, cheap to transfer, easy to self-custody and hard to confiscate. Bitcoin is a better version of gold. That is why it has been gaining value compared to gold as more and more people get to understand it. The US Dollar has been losing value against gold as more and more people understand that it is doomed. The same situation applies to the Euro and to every other fiat currency. The chart below shows how many oz of gold you can buy with 1 US Dollar (left axis) and 1 Bitcoin (right axis).  >Which currency would you bet on based on the chart above? ## Diversification >The last argument is about basic diversification. By now, my parents understand that the US Dollar is not a sure thing and diversifying makes sense, even if they only understand Bitcoin as digital gold. The US Dollar is in a clear decline and other countries like China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and even France and moving away from it. Given everything that is happening right now, allocating 5% of your net worth in Bitcoin is not so much a bet on Bitcoin as it is an insurance against the possibility of a dollar collapse. You can afford to lose 5% of your net worth, but you can’t afford to lose it all and if the 95% remaining loses its value due to the collapse of the US dollar, your Bitcoin will likely be much more valuable and may help cover some of the losses from the remaining 95%. Even banks want to hold Bitcoin. Starting January 2025, they will be allowed to hold up to 2% of their core assets in Bitcoin. The banks wanted up to 5% and the council of central banks wanted them to only have 1% so they settled on 2% as a compromise. I want you to have money to live through your retirement with dignity and I know that the only way to ensure such thing is if you allocate some of your savings to Bitcoin. >Bitcoin is insurance against the default of US credit. --- # Notable notes  [](https://primal.net/thread/note1sy67j2fuaul0vpqy74ufjkv5stkdhhdqpr02pwlqadtkjeky9ekshknewy) --- # Recommendations  ## Maybe: Daniel Bitcoin has a reputation for being mostly used by people on the right but that is completely untrue. Bitcoin is for everybody and it will play a critical role in advancing human rights and reducing wars. Maybe: Daniel is part of the progressive side of Bitcoiners and worth reading to understand how Bitcoin helps everyone. You can follow him [here](https://primal.net/profile/npub1aeh2zw4elewy5682lxc6xnlqzjnxksq303gwu2npfaxd49vmde6qcq4nwx). --- ## What did you think of today's newsletter? Your feedback helps me create the best newsletter possible for you. Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers. I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤️ 🙏🏻 --- [](https://www.swanbitcoin.com/bitcoinforfamilies?gc=yanbook1020&utm_campaign=yanbook1020) --- ## Buy Bitcoin with Swan If you want to buy Bitcoin, I highly recommend using Swan. They are a Bitcoin only business that is focused on self-custody and educating their users. It's where I buy my Bitcoin. Use this [link](https://www.swanbitcoin.com/bitcoinforfamilies) to receive $10 free to get you started. --- See you again next week! — Alejandro This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.