Charlie Munger, Vice-Chair of Berkshire Hathaway, recently said that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies' rise is “disgusting and contrary to [the] interest of civilization.” It is amazing how many of the old guards cannot seem to get engaged with the new paradigms which are coming. The highways are literally being built, and these people are still holding on to the horse and buggy. This brings us to the heart of this article: the old cabal and the new cabal.
It should be beyond the criticism of being labeled a conspiracy that banks, the elite, and the state have worked into a symbiotic relationship. Murray Rothbard in Anatomy of the State outlines much of the underlying reasons for this. This is perhaps why those like Munger and Warren Buffett, who called Bitcoin “rat poison squared,” still insist on not learning about the technology, the why, and the macro need for digital assets.
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, Elon Musk’s Tesla, Square, and a host of other firms have added BTC and crypto to their balance sheets. High-net-worth individuals like Raoul Pal are buying crypto and trying to explain why the larger macro picture is creating a converging environment for the explosion of interest in these markets. But there may also be something larger under the surface going on.
We can see that many big institutions like JP Morgan went from Jamie Diamond saying he would fire employees for peddling crypto to offering their clients exposure to it.
We have also seen big institutions like HSBC banning the involvement of their clients with companies engaged in cryptocurrency ventures. Many firms have figured out the “future is here.” But why the reluctance from the other half?
While it is true that crypto will take many average-income individuals and make them into wealthy ones, this is not the end of the story. This cycle will also make institutions with means become the next banks; the next large financial powerhouses will rise from this cycle to be the names everyone pictures when they hear the words, “titans of industry.” The Winkelvoss Twins and Gemini will be the next Goldman Sachs. MicroStrategy will be the next Blackrock. Coinbase will be the next Chase Manhattan. These images make the old cabal lose their lunch. They have no real power to stop it other than through fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) articles. They cannot stop DeFi, they cannot stop decentralized peer-to-peer money like BTC or BCH, and they cannot stop the future. But they also will not join the rest of the enlightened bunch who have embraced it.
This leaves an “old cabal” and a “new cabal” situation. The old cabal is more than happy to create an environment where they are part of the systems in place that allows them to maintain their power and place in the world. They do not understand the macroevolutionary convergence, which is taking place with technology in the form of crypto-blockchain, currency/debt crisis, and generational shifts.
Saylor and company are part of the “new cabal.” While it would be nice to believe they will not be corporatists when they take over the old seats vacated by those who refuse to relinquish some of their power, no one can know for sure. However, the underlying tools which would be the backbone of their rise to power do limit just how far they can run as opposed to the old system.
It is in this same sense that while we, “the little guy,” applaud and admire these future gods of the universe, we must also continuously acquire the means of this future and distribute it amongst ourselves. Crypto is like the fire that was stolen from Olympus. The old cabal is upset it got stolen. The new cabal is happy because now they understand it and are going to acquire as much of it as they can. In order to keep it decentralized, we also much acquire and distribute the fire to as many individuals as possible. Or else, the old boss may be the same as the new boss.
