Castanza

I also think it's worth noting that we don't need to understand fully the future impact or utility of BTC to understand it's current "value." Much like the internet, the value is found in the utility derived from it's existence and the well spring of use cases that come from it.

@Cigarbutt A few books if you have the time (below) . I think to understand Bitcoin you have to understand the perspective and reason for it's existence. A large degree of BTC value is derived from the fact that it is NOT institutionally backed or that is does NOT require government entities to maintain, defend, or secure it. History tell us that ALL centralized currencies trend towards zero in terms of value. History tells us that no country or empire lasts forever. BTC offers the truly first alternative to assets and wealth being tied to said institutions and governments. Now you can believe the above and also believe that BTC is not a good investment for a multitude of valid reasons. Time for one may not be on the side of the BTC investor. Governments could issue bans on it which would most definitely hamper it's adoption and make conversion to your relevant currency impossible. This could last your entire lifetime and is a REAL risk. However I think with some advancements in tech and the ease of ability to host a node yourself this defeats the above actions in time. Lastly, if your end goal of owning BTC is only for the conversion rate you might obtain some years down the road then I think that is a view lacking depth and scope but is also reasonable if viewed in the context of your lifetime. It's all about managing your own risk and sizing accordingly. Gold -> digital gold is the first step BTC will conquer in my opinion. There is not a national currency that is backed by Physical gold. As the older generations move on, there are fewer individuals who will consider it valuable. Gold has 5000 documented years of being used as money....Some point to this as a staying power. But I look at the other end of that and think that history has 5000 years of life without computers. We truly live in the beginning of a new age for humanity and a lot of people really fail to grasp that. It's only logical that our Analog stores of value move to digital variants. - The Bitcoin Standard - The Sovereign Individual - The Network State - Softwar (The PDF can be found in this thread)

Thanks for sharing that Parsad! Definitely understand your point on wishing they held far more cash. What are you thoughts on reasoning for such low volume in Fairfax equities? It seems like everyone both knows of and doesn't know of Fairfax at the same time...But being young as I am, I welcome the low coverage/volume as it gives me more time to accumulate for cheap!

Good read thanks Saluki

Wow wild story for sure! What caused them to go after Fairfax to begin with? Pretty cool to see this board or at least the members on here play a role in all of it. btw - I'm in my early 30's

I wouldn't say it's contrarian, but more of about risk management regarding trust. At least that's what the talking heads are saying. Primarily I was just curious what changed @Gmthebeau mind. Two weeks ago he way saying investing in any country that is at odds with the US is playing with fire; or that it's impossible for American investors to properly analyze Chinese equities....or that BABA specifically would go up only once the CCP takes all your money. I'm just curious how someone can hold such a strong view and then when asked about a position the response is...."the sentiment changed on this forum." <--- that doesn't address any of the risks or opinions they shared (confidently) previously.. Frankly I don't believe them to be an honest person so I'll just disregard any of their posts moving forward.

Thanks Cigarbutt

Then why even post to begin with?

LOL sentiment from who? Every hedge fund and talking head is pumping China right now. If anything the sentiment is positive as Chinese equities are at 52 week lows. Regardless of sentiment your initial comment has little to do with sentiment...

Just enough mystery with just enough sprinkled in credibility, potential catalysts, and fomo that make it easy to sell to the masses.

I was just a kid when the last round of this happened to Fairfax. Was this really some of what happened?! Since finding this board I have always wanted to hear the full story on this.

FFH

Well...

Added a good amount at 913-915.....would love to see this hit October prices; but with earnings soon, not sure we will get there.

$SAVE, $PARA, and $FFH....great start to the year.... Time to put on the big boy pants and buy the dip. Greg does make a good point that the majority of what he said is simply in the past. I mean he's talking about their short positions from the GFC lol Fairfax is a whole new animal at this point. Carson: "Nobody's done the work on Fairfarx." @Viking <---- someone who HAS done the work

Grid has been on my list for a few years, but I tend to focus on other topics regarding the power grid because of reasons. You've inspired me to pick up a copy. If you're interested in power grid related topics I highly recommend the following two books which have focuses on cyber security aspects of the grid. Sandworm : Andy Greenberg Countdown to Zero Day : Kim Zetter ___________________ Quick example of how vulnerable our power grid is: 1 - Looks for ICS (Industrial Control Systems) on Google or any search engine 2 - Peruse CISA to see if there are any recent announcements 3 - Once you determine a ICS continue begin "Googling" eg: Siemens Synco OZW default password" 4 - You're looking for the product manual 5 - Search the Table of Contents for default passwords "Log info Web Server" 6 - Head on over to Shodan.io, and search for your ICS model and a port. "Siemens port:80" <---who needs https anyways? 7 - You will now see hundreds of ICS systems (connected to the internet) and their detailed information 8 - From here you could begin trying default passwords and gain access....(do NOT do this as from this point on you're breaking the law) 9 - With a little luck and a little time you too could find 20+ year old equipment managing key infrastructure with ZERO security.

Yeah not sure either….haven’t seen any news regarding the acquisition and not sure we’ll hear anything till next earnings call. Hopefully some more insider buying shows up soon. 1% position for me currently so figured I’d average down a bit.

HQI

Balcones is good stuff. Stopped by their distillery back in 2021 when I was out that way for a wedding. Texas has some unique whiskeys for sure. There’s quite a few micro distilleries throughout Texas. Rebecca Creek is a little hidden gem in San Antonio. Pretty new and not all their products are great. But their Double Barrel about a Spanish Oak was pretty solid as well. At least a unique offering.

Sparrow plus Coldcard

Equally weighted 10% - SCHD - ITA (or something similar) - BRKb - FFH - MSFT - NFLX - CPRT - WFG - TPL - GLD (or t-bills)

There is a lot of amazing inventions that were obvious in hindsight. The idea of the steam engine existed since antiquity but was never applied commercially until the Industrial Revolution. Bread existed for 14,000 years, yet nobody sliced it and sold it until 1928. Pockets didn’t exist in clothes until the 13th century. Gunpowder took awhile before it was used for weaponry. The cotton gin…people picked it by hand for thousands of years…. Point being, BTC absolutely was a genius invention; no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Appreciate the perspective

It's called a soft takeover. Different means to a similar end. Both are bad imo. One chose immense violence and the other chose corrupt legalese and political influence. The only reason Hong Kong didn't continue to get coverage was Covid started to take off. Again, you're missing my simple point by overcomplicating and going well beyond what I said.... I'm talking about ADRs and ADRs only. The fact is and supporting evidence shows, the biggest threat to YOU as an American retail investor owning ADRs of foreign companies is the US Govt blocking ownership or freezing assets. Main Point: Everyone was blaming Russia and China or saying they are the biggest threat to holding ADR shares. When in actuality so far the US govt has been the perpetrator. I'm not whining about it; I knew it was definitely a possibility when I bought the shares (hence the beer sized position). Frankly I expected it. This is also why I don't own Chinese equities even though some look dirt cheap.

That’s fine and I accept that risk. It’s just my opinion that the biggest risk to your foreign investment shouldn’t be your own govt.