Bitcoin Is the Schmuck Insurance You Should Keep Under Your Mattress (Chamath Palihapitiya)

You would find it beneficial if you had a hedge against the destruction of value caused by the government

Photo By Christopher Michel on Wiki Commons

Chamath grew up in a dysfunctional household.

It had a profound impact on his character.

He has publicly discussed the emotional and physical mistreatment he suffered as a child inflicted by his father.

His mother was a stabilising force in his life and helped him navigate the challenges of childhood.

As a kid, there was a tree outside the apartment where Chamath lived growing up, and his father would make him go outside and collect a branch he would hit him with.

Chamath’s father would send him back to find another tree branch if the one he collected was too small.

It led to his hypervigilance. And always on edge, estimating his father’s anger and calculating the strength of the branches he would be hit with.

In a microcosm of his troubled upbringing, any moment not filled with fear and violence was an experience that left a lasting impression in his memory. Like when a teacher took him and two other kids to Dairy Queen in grade five or six, and he tasted his first hamburger, fries, and coconut blizzard.

Chamath’s experience growing up in a state of high alert and moments of kindness from others deeply impacted his sense of value and worth.

The constant psychological abuse made him feel worthless, and as he grew older, he sought external validation through academic achievements and professional success.

Today he has an estimated net worth of $1.2 Billion.

You may recognise Chamath Palihapitiya as an early employee at Facebook who played a critical role in helping the company grow.

He created Facebook’s viral growth strategy, which helped to increase the social media giant’s user base from 50 million to over 700 million during his tenure.

Chamath later challenged Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership and questioned the company’s moral compass. He believed Facebook was more interested in making money than connecting people and improving the world.

The early-stage Bitcoin investor, venture capitalist and founder says he still struggles with perfectionism, which he attributes to his traumatic childhood, but he has learned to embrace it.

And his view is people should look to embrace Bitcoin because it’s your only hedge against the failing banking system and an untrustworthy government.