The finacial crisis of 2008 set in motion an epic transformation of money and investing.

Two posts worth reading really bring this home for me.

First is this post from Charlie Bilello titled ‘The Evolution of Money‘:

But evolution is not something you can turn on and off. It may take longer, but technology and digital currencies will continue to move forward, regardless of government efforts to stop them. So long as the U.S. Dollar remains relatively stable, there is little in the way of real competition from cryptocurrencies. But with government debt and the supply of dollars continuing to rise unabated, it is only a matter of time before an increasing number of people seek an alternative.

This is not so much a prediction as an economic reality. If your currency is being debased, you will find an alternative or stand to lose everything. Venezuela is perhaps the best example today. With the highest inflation rate in the world (estimated at 525% last year), the number of Venezuelans using Bitcoin has gone from 450 in August 2014 to over 85,000 in November 2016. In Nigeria, a country facing similar issues, we are seeing a similar trend.

I don’t pretend to know what the future for money looks like. I just know it will look different than today. Whether that future includes Bitcoin will ultimately be decided by the market, as it should be, and not some centrally-planned government.

Craig and Morgan at The Collaborative Fund use the $100 billion Softbank fund to dive into the rapidly evolving world of investing in public and private markets in the last ten years. The size of the fund is staggering.

• SoftBank’s Vision Fund is larger than all U.S. IPO proceeds in the
year 2000, or from 2010-2012.
• It is, on its own, larger than the aggregate assets under management
of roughly the bottom 80% of private VC and private equity funds,
and more than the combined value of every venture fund raised in
the last two years.
• It is more than twice the size of the combined value of the next five
largest tech funds in history.

Take the time and read the report.

It is fun to be in the middle of the evolution and revolution as an investor and entrepreneur.