Dominic Frisby gives his views on investing in Bitcoin, gold

CryptoSlate sat down with Dominic Frisby, the author of Bitcoin: The Future of Money?, to discuss gold, Bitcoin and geopolitics.

The themes were fitting, given our collective fixation with all things macro at the moment, particularly inflation, and the mechanics that have brought us to this point. But also because Frisby is a strong advocate of “keeping it to the man”.

Frisby’s content often criticizes the government for perpetuating the struggles of the oppressed. Usually these criticisms are delivered in a satirical style for entertainment while conveying a deeper message.

For example, in a recent YouTube video, through song and dance, Frisby proudly sings “f*ck the government” while advocating anarchist ideologies such as the idea that “tax is theft.”

But, as with most comedies, there is some truth behind the banter. And in these oppressive and economically uncertain times, Frisby believes awareness of these issues will mitigate what lies ahead.

Gold was Frisby’s gateway to anti-fiat thinking

Frisby not only blames the government for social decay, but teasing in a pod, he also attributes a significant amount of blame to the banks, specifically the fiat banking system.

In a blog post on fiat money, now over ten years old today, Frisby explained that co-conspirators exert their influence by creating fiat money.

He described a top-down distribution system, pointing out that those at the bottom reap the least benefits under this system.

“This fiat system, in which governments and banks have the power to create money, benefits those closest to the issuance of money – those who get it first – at the expense of those furthest away – those who get it last.”

And with that, the divide between rich and poor will widen as long as everyone trades in funny money.

The Bitcoin vs Gold debate is divisive, with respective supporters clashing in emotional discussions. But Frisby considers both equally important to the extent that both are “anti-fiat”.

He revealed to CryptoSlate that gold investing opened his eyes to fiat scams. But that’s not to say that Bitcoin doesn’t offer similar insights, just that it hadn’t been invented at the time of these realizations.

“I started investing in gold and then I started reading things about gold. This was in the noughties. And when you go down that rabbit hole, people talk about the rabbit hole with Bitcoin, but to me it was gold because it was before Bitcoin was invented.”

Drilling down further, Frisby described his enlightenment about fiat money and the societal damage it inflicts as a road of no return.

Although he sold some gold a few years back, he still maintains that his investment strategy is heavily geared towards “anti-fiats”, composed of gold, silver and Bitcoin, with a bias towards gold.

Frisby shared his introspections that gold is “the most analog asset there is,” and admitted that in a digital world it might be a miscalculation on his part to go heavy on gold.

“The problem with gold is that it’s the most analog resource out there… So, in that world, do you really want to have the burden of gold when all the wealth is digital? And I question that.”

Return of gold-backed money

When it comes to storing wealth, the prevailing narrative in recent times is that tech-savvy millennials prefer Bitcoin to gold.

Nigel Green, CEO and founder of the deVere Group said, based on the fact that as millennials continue to rise in the ranks of the workforce over time, he expects BTC to become “increasingly influential.”

“As the world continues to shift towards technology and as millennials become a more dominant part of the world economy, we should expect Bitcoin to also take on an increasingly influential role in the financial markets, especially considering being a ‘recession-proof’ asset.”

But in the here and now, Frisby argued that gold, with its thousands of years of history, provides a more recognized and universally accepted form of trust among nation-states, especially in precarious geopolitical times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a BRICS business forum in late June, revealed active work on a new basket-based reserve currency made up of member countries’ national currencies.

The move was seen as a direct challenge to the US/dollar hegemony and a consequence of sanctions against Russia following the outbreak of war in February.

Frisby speculates on the matter, imagining behind the scenes that BRICS nations are discussing backing this new currency with gold, which he believes will restore confidence among the bloc’s members.

“No one trusts anyone [in BRICS]and if they all have to start settling their payments in something backed by gold, they can start trusting each other.”

As much as he is hostile to governments, Frisby said it is ironic that the only thing that can save gold is governments.

What about Bitcoin?

While a Bitcoin-backed currency seems unlikely, perhaps due to BTC’s lack of universal acceptance as a store of value, would such an offer be so far-fetched?

Since the imposition of sanctions, Russia has gradually warmed to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Especially by reversing the proposal to ban the use of digital assets as means of payment in the country.

Since then, local media have continuously reported on pro-crypto moves from Moscow. The latest such report, from the state-owned TASS news agency, announced the green light for cryptocurrencies to be used in the settlement of international transactions “for all industries without exception,” according to the Ministry of Finance.

At least for the old guard, the real kicker would be if Moscow went all out with a Bitcoin-backed reserve currency. Although it seems highly unlikely from today’s sensibilities, anything can happen, especially when it comes down to it