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Let me start with something I never imagined I’d write: at 70 years old, with four decades in finance behind me, I own Bitcoin.
Years ago, if you’d told me I’d be writing about cryptocurrency ownership, I would have laughed. Bitcoin was for tech bros, speculators, and people who didn’t understand real investing. I’d spent my entire career building wealth through stocks and bonds. Why would I need some digital currency that nobody could explain without using ten acronyms?
But here’s the thing about being in this business for 40 years: you learn to recognize when you’re wrong. And I was wrong about Bitcoin.
My Bitcoin journey started where most skepticism begins: with my grandson. Last Christmas, he tried explaining cryptocurrency to me over dinner. I nodded politely while thinking about tulip bulbs and dot com bubbles.
But something nagged at me afterward. In my four decades, I’d witnessed the rise of personal computers, the internet, smartphones, and countless innovations that seemed impossible until they weren’t. I remembered dismissing email in the early 90s.
So I started reading. Not the breathless crypto blogs, but research from institutions I respected. What I found surprised me. This wasn’t just speculative fever anymore. Real money, managed by real professionals, was taking Bitcoin seriously.
The turning point came when I saw who was buying Bitcoin. JPMorgan, the same bank that called Bitcoin a fraud in 2017, now offers crypto services to clients. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America all have crypto trading desks.
MicroStrategy put Bitcoin on their corporate balance sheet. Tesla also bought Bitcoin, though later they sold most of their holdings. El Salvador made it legal tender. When central banks start studying digital currencies and countries begin adopting them, it’s hard to dismiss this as just a fad.
The data started looking less like a bubble and more like early adoption of a new asset class. I’ve seen this pattern before with emerging markets, and other investments that seemed risky until they became mainstream.
The regulatory risk still concerns me. China banned Bitcoin, India threatens restrictions, and unlike gold, Bitcoin can’t be completely hidden from governments that control networks and banking. But that’s exactly why institutional adoption matters. When JPMorgan and BlackRock have billions invested, when pension funds hold Bitcoin ETFs, outright bans become much more complicated.
For years, I couldn’t understand what Bitcoin actually was. The most common explanation I heard was “digital gold,” and I’ll admit there are some similarities. Both are scarce, can’t be debased by governments, and don’t depend on any company’s performance.
But here’s where I part ways with the digital gold crowd: Bitcoin behaves nothing like the gold.
The biggest difference hit me during the March 2020 crash. Gold held steady while everything else fell apart. Bitcoin? It crashed right alongside stocks, dropping 50% in weeks. That’s the opposite of what you want from a safe haven.
Gold rarely moves more than 2% in a day. Bitcoin can swing 20% before lunch. At 70, I don’t need that excitement from my “insurance” holdings. So while Bitcoin shares some characteristics with gold, calling it digital gold is misleading. Understanding this difference is why I keep my Bitcoin allocation small and treat it as speculation, not portfolio insurance.
Here’s a fact that surprised me: Bitcoin is now one of the world’s top 10 most valuable assets by market capitalization. It’s worth more than most major corporations and sits alongside companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google.
The launch of Bitcoin ETFs was another milestone. Suddenly, I could buy Bitcoin exposure through my regular brokerage account, just like buying an S&P 500 fund. No crypto exchanges, no digital wallets, no private keys to lose.
The BlackRock and Fidelity Bitcoin ETFs have attracted billions in assets within months of launching. That’s not day traders; that’s pension funds, endowments, and financial advisors adding Bitcoin exposure to traditional portfolios.
Let me be clear: I’m not betting the farm on Bitcoin. At 70, my risk tolerance isn’t what it was at 40. But complete avoidance of an emerging asset class seemed like a different kind of risk.
I allocated 3% of my portfolio to Bitcoin through an ETF. That’s enough to participate if it continues growing, but not enough to derail my retirement if it goes to zero.
Why 3%? It’s small enough that I can sleep at night if it crashes, but large enough to matter if Bitcoin continues gaining adoption. I have no intention to check the price daily, nor will I try to time the market. I plan to hold it for years until I’m satisfied with the returns.
My peers have legitimate concerns about Bitcoin. The volatility is real. Bitcoin can drop 20% in a day and 50% in a month. But I’ve owned emerging market stocks, small cap growth companies, and plenty of other volatile assets over the years. Volatility isn’t risk if you’re properly positioned.
The energy consumption concerns are valid too, though Bitcoin mining increasingly uses renewable energy.
I’ve seen a lot of new asset classes emerge during my career. Foreign stocks were exotic in the 1980s. REITs were niche until they weren’t. Technology stocks were dismissed as overvalued until they became the market’s driving force.
The pattern is usually the same: initial skepticism, growing institutional adoption, mainstream acceptance, and eventual integration into standard portfolios. Bitcoin seems to be following a similar path.
I remember when international diversification was controversial. “Why would you invest in foreign companies when American companies are perfectly good?” Because diversification reduces risk and creates opportunities.
Bitcoin might be the international diversification of the 2020s. Not essential, but potentially valuable for portfolio construction.
Bitcoin is just one small piece of a well diversified portfolio. The foundation of my wealth remains traditional investments: stocks and bonds. These core holdings fund my retirement and provide stability. In my guide, Investing the Bogle way: A simple guide for the long‑term investor, I outline how to build that foundation using index funds and systematic rebalancing. Bitcoin can fit into this framework as a small alternative allocation, but only after you have the basics right:
msfinance1955.gumroad.com
Years ago, I thought Bitcoin was for speculators and tech enthusiasts. Today, I own some. Not because I’ve become a crypto evangelist, but because the evidence changed my mind.
Institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and the development of traditional investment vehicles have made Bitcoin accessible to conservative investors like me. It’s no longer just for people willing to navigate crypto exchanges.
Will I buy more? Probably not. Will I sell? Not unless something fundamental changes. For now, my small Bitcoin allocation serves as a speculative position and a way to participate in a potentially transformative technology.
At 70, I’m still learning. The day you stop adapting to new information is the day you stop being an effective investor. Bitcoin taught me that lesson again, even at my age.
The future belongs to those who can balance skepticism with open mindedness. I may be 70, but I’m not done learning about markets, money, and the changing world of investing.
Disclaimer: For informational purposes only. Consult a qualified financial professional for personalized advice.
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empowerment through data, knowledge, and expertise. Join DDI community at https://join.datadriveninvestor.com
Retired. Writing about finance and investing for divulgation and enjoyment.
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