Is Dave Ramsey Right About Bitcoin?

“So, That’s the End of Bitcoin Then” – Forbes. = WRONG!!

“Bitcoin is a fraud. It’s worse than tulip bulbs.” – Jamie Dimon = WRONG AGAIN!!

Dave Ramsey (like SO many other "financial experts") is completely wrong about Bitcoin like, 1000% wrong!

Today, I’m going to do a “response” video to a recent call Dave had with one of his audience members who’s Bitcoin investment of $1500 had turned into over $120k.

I’m all about the opportunity to do a critical thinking exercise, so today’s video post is for you IF:

1) You’re a died in the wool “Dave fan” (like I used to be) and you’re curious about Bitcoin and crypto, but you haven’t thought twice about it because of Dave’s apparently malinformed perspective OR 

2) If you’ve been a natural skeptic of the Bitcoin/Crytpo space (which you should be) and are looking for some honest analysis on “how to think” about it or to learn, “what are the right questions that I need to be asking about it?”

Now, I don’t mean to pick on Dave Ramsey, in fact he’s JUST ONE of a long list of now former “cyrpto haters” that were ultimately forced to change their tune on the whole asset class.

Let’s get into it...

Hey friend, it’s Brad Long here with ZeroDebtCoach where we help 5 and 6 figure corporate burnouts escape their nightmare by teaching them how to: 1) organize and optimize their financial lives, 2) eliminate debt and 3) accelerate toward financial independence by starting and growing an online business.

Download the free guide and (safely) start your crypto journey.

The Point: Form Your OWN Opinion On Crypto

So,. my point is NOT for you to be converted into a Bitcoin/crypto-fanatic overnight. NO! My point is to get you to know the right questions to ask so that you can ferret out the answers to those questions in a way that allows for you to:

1. Make up YOUR OWN MIND about crypto based on factual evidence and 

2. NOT to just accept what “Dave says”, which is either based on almost complete ACTUAL ignorance OR is possibly FEIGNED ignorance for the purposes of “protecting” the more vulnerable in his audience. I’ll leave that part for a whole other discussion later.

Either way, you yourself need to be equipped to decide this for yourself because, in my more than a decade of experience in the crypto space, I can tell you that I emphatically believe that it’s here to stay AND that you’re going to need to know about it whether you like it or not.

The Video

Let me start off by saying that, I believe (my opinion) Dave (and Chris Hogan) know A LOT more about Bitcoin as an asset class than he lets on and I’ll point out some specific data points in the video.

One of the top comments on this video says: “This video won’t age well.” I completely agree.

So, let’s set up the call: Guy calls in and says he invested $1500 in Bitcoin back in 2014 and that it’s now worth $120,000. 

Was a “small amount” that he put in and forgot about. Acknowledges it’s risky and volatile.

What do you guys think about that?

Note body language, facial scowls, especially Chris Hogan’s - which btw, doesn’t feel genuine to me.

Dave immediately asks:… “wait, wait, are you saying you could cash it out today for 100 grand?”

Man replies, “for sure”.

My response: So, rather than asking the normal, “what’s your household income, how much consumer debt do you have and what’s the entirety of your investment portfolio, Dave instead goes on a mini rant meant to scare the doo doo out of this guy about “sunk costs analysis” and how if this guy doesn’t “cash out” by tomorrow, it’s like he’s reinvesting $100k back into Bitcoin and that that should “scare your brains out”.

Dave says: “So, by nightfall dude, cash it!”

Chris Hogan says in the background: “Bitcoin is going bye bye.”

“It’s over 50 freaking percent of your net worth is on the roulette table… on one roll of the dice.”

Chris Hogan: “It’s in code.” 

My response: You don’t think the US dollar and all other fiat currencies are “in code”. How many of the dollars that you own, control and use are ACTUALLY paper currency? If you’re like most people practically zero! So don’t kid yourself my friend, your fiat dollars are “in code” as well.

Dave: “If you REALLY CAN cash it out annnnnnnd you may find out that this is “funny money”, but I hope you can.

My response: At the time of me making this video, there are over 504 exchanges world wide that will HAPPILY exchange your Bitcoin for dollars or other fiat currencies ALL DAY LONG. How do you not know this, Dave? All you have to do is a simple Google search to find this out. And let us not forget the current IPO of the largest crypto exchange in the US, Coinbase? 

Chris Hogan: “I hope you can too. Run, run away. This is one of those things guys where again you’re hearing about this stuff out there and it sounds too good to be true, it is. And, you gotta be careful.”

I’ve talked to a lot of people who have been burned on this and unfortunately gone the routh of leveraged investments schemes. Which is pulling money out of their house to invest, which is an absolute no-no.”

My response: I don’t disagree that you MUST be careful and that MANY things in this life that appear too good to be true are indeed too good to be true. And yes of course, who in their “right mind” would EVER borrow money from their home equity to invest in ANY asset?

And I have a video specifically designed for complete beginners who think they want to dip their toe into the crypto spacem, here.

AND YES, people have been burned, ESPECIALLY if they’ve done “leveraged investment schemes. But what does that specifically have to do with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. People get burned in non-crypto “investment schemes” every single day.

This is an example that Dave and the Ramsey personalities engage in on a regular basis called the “straw man argument”. 

Download the free guide and (safely) start your crypto journey.

The Ever-Present Ramsey "Straw Man"

A straw man argument is when someone takes another person's argument or point, distorts it or exaggerates it in some kind of extreme way, and then attacks the extreme distortion, as if that is really the claim the first person is making.

JUST because someone has been scammed in a leveraged investment scheme where they foolishly used dollars that they borrowed against their home to invest in crypto, DOES NOT MEAN that crypto is a scam or that it’s not legitimate.

You have to ask your own questions here and NOT succumb to the fear and ignorance-based commentary of these guys. 

So, in my opinion, Dave will join the chorus of “former Bitcoin/crypto haters” like Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein, Mark Cuban, ... and countless others.

Chris Hogan continues: “So be smart, do long term investing. What I find is that when you try to get rich quick you usually go broke fast. And so you want to have a long-term mindset with building wealth and investing.

My response: How was this guy trying to “get rich quick” when he invested $1500 back in 2014, 6 years ago? How is that get rich quick? Wouldn’t that ACTUALLY be considered long term investing? AND isn’t that like a fabulous ROI?

Dave continues: “I hope that you can cash it out when you go to do it tonight. I’m suspect when I hear $1500 turns into $120k…”

My response: Have you actually been living under a rock? Again, I go to the fact that there are over 500 crypto exchanges that will gladly accept 

I understand that if you’re JUST getting into the space, there’s a lot to wrap your mind around and if you’ve had guys like Dave Ramsey and the mainstream financial media shaping your opinion of Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies for any amount if time,  you actually have some deprogramming to do ON TOP OF the education that you need in order to navigate the space successfully.

Additional Thoughts

So, all that to say, in my opinion Dave is TOTALLY WRONG and I’ll tell you why.

I really hate to use this term, but I think in this case it’s appropriate because it denotes a certain mindset more than it does an age.

Dave and his (boomer) ilk are caught in what’s called the normalcy bias trap and it’s dangerous.

It's A "Real Time" Paradigm Shift

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency is what I call a “real-time paradigm” shift, for better or for worse away from the old financial system.

Let’s say you just dust off the ‘ol tried and true: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Analysis, which I ALWAYS recommend you do especially if you’re going to put your hard earned cash into any kind of investment.

Who? Go to the Satoshi White paper for that or many other YT channels that will read it to you if you don’t have time.

What? Again, Satoshi White papter. Andreas Antonopolous is also a great and credible resource to start with.

When? 2009 is when Bitcoin was launched. Again, the aforementioned resources are great places to start.

Where? It’s kind of everywhere, so that’s kind of a moot question in this case.

Why? This is A GREAT question that “experts” like Dave Ramsey seem to perpetually ignore and it goes along with what I was saying about macroeconomics and the central bank fiat based inflationary monetary system which is WAY beyond the sope of this exercise.

But suffice it today, Bitcoin was invented precisely because of the incessant printing of currency done by both the Federal Reserve AND other global central banks.

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So, to wrap up here are some additional relevant points:

Number of active crypto to fiat exchanges operating in operation = 500+ = Liquidity (Dude, you can cash it ANYTIME you want!)

Companies who have adopted:

PayPal

Square

Mass Mutual

Microstrateg

Coinbase IPO

ETFs "in the pipeline"

Here's a more substantial list: Who Accepts Bitcoin as Payment?

Bitcoin haters who have changed their minds:

Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase CEO

Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Dozens of billionaires - Check out these articles:

Meet Top Crypto Haters: Who They Are And What Makes Them So Angry?

Top 5 Bitcoin Skeptics Who Changed Their Minds About Crypto

Bitcoin haters who WILL likely change their minds:

Warren Buffett, American business magnate

Charlie Munger, American investor

Nouriel Roubini, American Economist

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Economist

Dave Ramsey

So again, this video is not aimed at telling you what you should do about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, rather it’s ALL ABOUT helping you develop YOUR OWN critical thinking skills so that you can make an INFORMED decision about it and not succumb to fear-based straw man skullduggery.

Call To Action 

So, we’re all about taking immediate action around here, so I wanted to offer you this free “Basics of Bitcoin” resource that will help you blast through the first few steps of this process with ease and confidence. Link is in the description below and is my free gift to you as a “thanks for watching”.

Download the free guide and (safely) start your crypto journey.

Also, by popular demand I'll be creating much more content around this in the coming months, so be sure to subscribe and join our coaching community to stay on top of all the latest developments. 

And, if you have particular questions or things you’d like for me to talk about, leave me a comment below. 

Let’s make this your best year yet!

Thanks so much for watching and we’ll see you in the next video!

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All that said, let's keep on building your financial acumen and make this your best year yet!

Thanks so much for reading and we’ll see you in the next video post!

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FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOT LEGAL OR FINANCIAL ADVICE.

The information provided in this video and on this channel is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for legal or financial advice that can be provided by your own attorney, accountant, and/or financial advisor. Practical Personal Finance accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses or damages arising from your own personal financial decisions. You are advised to consult with your financial advisor, tax professional, or attorney regarding any and all financial decisions involving your own income and taxes.