Dave Ramsey told a caller, seeking advice on his Bitcoin holdings, he has “Vegas problems.” Offering his advice on what he would do, the radio host unceremoniously recommended the caller cash out tomorrow.
“You’ve got Vegas problems, man. You walked up to the slot machine, put a quarter in and it dumped a bunch of quarters out and now you have this temptation to think that’s a plan. And thus is the problem with anything that is an extremely volatile asset…”
Bitcoin is Benefiting Everyday People
Ray from Kentucky got more than he bargained for when calling into The Dave Ramsey Show. Explaining his situation, Ray said in late 2019, his income tripled, and throughout the following year, he focused intently on paying off his debt. Currently, he has balances owed on just a car and a house.
Ray also mentioned he bought Bitcoin during that period, and his holdings are now worth about $100k. While substantial, Ray said it isn’t enough to pay off both the car and house. He asked Ramsey what he would do in this situation.
“It’s ballooned into this huge account now worth roughly $100k. So one of the things I want to do with it is obviously pay off the car, but it’s not quite enough to pay off the house.”
In 2020, the price of Bitcoin ranged from $3.7k at its lowest following the “Corona Crash” in March. To $29k at its peak going into 2021.
Despite the 649% ROI that Ray disclosed, as well as the expectation of further price appreciation, Ramsey, in no uncertain terms, told Ray, if it were him, he would take the money and run. Adding, Bitcoin is not something he would be buying in the first place.
Isn’t The Crypto Narrative Changing?
Ramsey’s views on Bitcoin are typical of many, particularly those born in the Baby Boomer years, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Gen Xs. But it’s getting harder to dismiss Bitcoin as each day passes.
Coinbase is scheduled to debut on the Nasdaq on April 14. As a significant crypto company going mainstream, some see this event as the defining spark in legitimizing Bitcoin.
The FT hinted at this by giving a rundown of the first quarter financials of Coinbase, saying the earnings show that traditional finance can no longer ignore the crypto industry.
“Twitter folk quickly forged a consensus that such figures prove not only that Delaware-incorporated company is a profit-minting machine but that crypto itself can no longer be ignored by traditional finance.”
But changing hearts and minds will not happen overnight, especially not from a stock listing. Nor should it.
While Ramsey may have good intentions, he may also be fixated by his extreme biases to the detriment of his audience. It’s the extreme positions, on either side, that turns everyone else off.
Maybe it’s time to accept that not everyone gets it or even wants to get it.
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com