Real Vision is directed by Raoul Pal, who strives to deliver unrivaled access to the best financial insights and analyses from the world’s smartest minds. He is a business cycle economist, investment strategist, and economic historian who takes pride in his work. While it is unclear whether the sum published is an exaggeration or a true statement of his holdings, one thing is certain: the information was disclosed through Raoul Pal’s official Twitter account, and the words were quite straightforward “This is why I only have Brexit Millionaire in my possession. Inclusion has been lost in the community.”
Here’s the backstory: Raoul Pal bought his first Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013. He had half of his wallet invested in Bitcoin. At the time, he was very optimistic about the future of Bitcoin, projecting that it could reach $1 million within 5 years. Along the line, something changed his heart and he became tuned towards another crypto, Ethereum 9 In a post dated April 7, 2021, he noted that Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin by 250%. He also hinted that Ethereum and other tokens, dubbed “The Flip” by crypto aficionados, could eventually outperform Bitcoin. Pal liquidated all of his bitcoin holdings (save a single unit) for a 10x profit during the 2017 “fork wars,” missing out on an even higher profit later that year. He confirmed in May 2021 that he possessed more ETH than BTC.
We learned Raoul only had 1 BTC after a heated Twitter conversation about various trading strategies and more or less correct forecasts offered by both sides. Raoul’s stance toward inflation and the use of bonds as a trading instrument caused a rift. According to Foss, Raoul’s trading strategy should not be advocated to anyone who does not completely understand how it works. Raoul, on the other hand, argued that his bond views are “a transaction, not a philosophy,” as he put it. Despite this, Raoul claimed that he had no bonds in a future reply on the same topic.
Later, according to a tweet, “If I’m correct, bonds can rise 20% in a year (just look at TLT), outpacing balance sheet growth, resulting in a net increase in purchasing power. You will lose money if you wait until your bonds mature…” The post prompted a chain reaction of debates, which spurred other debates, eventually leading to the Bitcoin debate and the big reveal. He was disputing with Greg Foss, executive director of Validus Power Corp, a Canadian Bitcoin mining company, who is a Bitcoin fan. He went on to say that the reason for their feud is the same reason he abandoned Bitcoin years ago and now owns only one Bitcoin.
He went on to say that the Bitcoin foundation had lost sight of inclusion, decreasing the network effect by excluding people who disagreed with them. As expected, his statement drew the attention of the Bitcoin community. Some were offended, saying that his emotions were damaging his career prospects. Bitcoin is the future, and the fact that he switched to Ethereum outraged a community that had regarded him as a Bitcoin bull until January 20th. Isn’t cryptocurrency supposed to be the future of finance? Is that large break only applicable to Bitcoin? Raoul, I believe, is enraged by this attitude.
The consequences stemmed from the fact that cryptocurrency is speculative, and all investors’ speculation should be respected. Raoul’s decision to acquire 1 BTC based on the community’s makeup rather than the potential profit, according to Marc van der Chijs, founder of Synaptic Ventures, goes against what he preaches on RealVision. Raoul, on the other hand, has been praising Ethereum since 2018, so there’s no hypocrisy here because his interest in the cryptocurrency has exploded.
Despite the rift and the Bitcoiner community’s hostility, some defended Raoul, citing his stellar track record and reminding followers that he is a trader, not a HODLer. Raoul’s diversified opinions and clever thinking are appreciated, according to the founder of Crypto My Way. The bottom line is that Raoul Pal prefers Ethereum to Bitcoin, to the point that his wallet has more Ethereum than Bitcoin.
