The Biggest Chance of All Times : Interview with Marc Friedrich (All Interviews)

We are back with Marc Friedrich and his new Book The Biggest Chance of All Times. Friedrich gives us insight of how damaging the Corona pandemic has been for the economy and how it has exposed the governments even more than before. However, every crisis is a chance for the average person to get through it and come out even stronger with a much brighter future.

Interview Date : 22th March 2021

Contents

Marc Friedrich (All Interviews)

Marc Friedrich (All Interviews)

What is your newest book about?

The last book was called The Biggest Crash of All Times, but the new book is called The Biggest Chance of All Times because every crisis is also a chance. I wanted to give people some perspective and positive things for the future to look forward to. I started thinking about the positive things in this COVID-19 crisis, like what people can achieve, and where the possibilities and opportunities lie in this crisis. I think it is the biggest chance in our lifetime to invest during this crisis because our current monetary system is wholly disordered, and our political system is completely broken. Politicians don’t seem to have any other decisions than to put people in lockdowns. Everything has become corrupt and our system is not human anymore.

What kind of assets should people invest in?

In my book, I show how to invest and what the possibilities for a new system are, not only in terms of the monetary system but politically and socially as well. Investing in Bitcoin right now is one of those opportunities because our whole monetary system will eventually collapse. Trust in institutions and politicians everywhere will shatter and disappear, and we will see a paradigm shift happening that no one can’t stop. It will not be stopped by the printing press from central banks, lockdowns, etc., and during this time you have to make new decisions with your money and investments. If you make the right decisions, it will change everything. I think bitcoin will inhale everything as it is so much more powerful and superior than our fiat monetary system.

Isn’t the government there for the people?

Japan included, there is no empathy from politicians for the people anymore. People are being kept restrained and forced to be the hamster on the wheel. The system is making people work until they die with now fruit of their work or pension for retirement to be seen. What and where is the goal with our current system? Where are politicians headed with this? What has the meaning of life become today? People just work constantly until their deathbed, but there should be more to life than just working and consuming energy to work even more. There’s more to life than this slave cycle.

You want to look back on your life and say “I achieved something” or “I made something great out of my life” when you die. Now, during this crisis, we have a chance to acquire that freedom again by taking our biggest chance to get out of this damaged system.

What needs to change from a political perspective?

From a political perspective, we need direct democracy where the people can vote for everything. For example, whether there will be a kindergarten, a bridge or if a new political program should be executed. Also, the power given to politicians should be limited, and elected politicians should have some type of qualification before they get the job. People should be able to directly vote them in and out. Lastly, if they make a big mistake, they should have to pay for it from their pockets.

Right now, when politicians make mistakes, they act as if it is not a big deal wasting millions of dollars. For example, the Berlin Airport (BER) in the Brandenburg fiasco is one of those mistakes. They created the airport envisioning that the BER would become an international hub that was supposed to open in 2011. However, its infrastructure cost the nation so much and it was so badly planned that complaints from citizens and institutions, including the Deutsche Bahn and other international airports, were received. Today, the airport is almost always empty of travelers. Despite this disaster, no one was punished or charged with anything. That has to change. Just like every private person and a private company has to pay for their mistakes, so should authorities.

What is missing in our political system?

We’re missing intelligence in politics and our system, and I think we need artificial intelligence to support our politicians because through math and programming, mathematically valid outcomes that are positive for society can be calculated. The people should vote for what AI is able to support things like long-term stability for the economy, education, be environmentally friendly measures with no or less adverse effects, etc.

Currently, most politicians act and plan things for the short-term in order to appeal to the public and be elected. AI doesn’t come with such greed. The goal would be to have AI in power for us to help us to get a mathematically better system because the weakest link in the political system is mankind – We are corrupt.

From a social level, you can see the distortion by looking outside your window. We have destroyed our environment while fighting against each other. I don’t know about any other species that are fighting amongst each other as we humans do – creating wars and terror.

Why is Bitcoin the biggest chance to get through the pandemic?

Bitcoin is separate from governments and central banks as it is deflationary and scarce. It’s a great opportunity to save your purchasing power, and it is a punk rock against this fiat system and politicians. If people would invest in Bitcoin, precious metals, mining stocks, etc., they would have a chance in preserving their purchasing power. And, the people who invest smartly today, will be on the top of the wealth pyramid tomorrow. The wealth pyramid we have today will just turn over in favor of the lower and middle class.

Are crises important?　

Crises are important because they complete cycles. When the next biggest crisis of all times hits, we will come to a new level of awareness. It doesn’t matter if you are black or white, Asian or European, female or male, if you go to a church or mosque, etc., it is about whether you are “arrogant and self-absorbed” or “ a good person.” I judge people based on their virtues and their behavior, and it doesn’t matter to me what and from where you are. We have to get past the ridiculous superstitions of our cultures like, “that person is Jewish so he can’t be hateful” or “he is white, so he must be a good guy.”

Why do we have the highest number of people fleeing their countries in such an exciting time for technology?

Because mankind is stupid. Let’s take a look at all the countries with conflict and wars; the ideas of the “religious” leaders spread propaganda to echo in people’s ears creating hate and segregation. Even though the younger generation is looking at education as a key for their future but it is not implemented on a mass scale adequately.

I believe these “leaders” in authority don’t want people to become educated to get their way of things in an outdated conservatism. Another issue in those countries is daylight corruption and greed.

It is really interesting to me that in all pure forms of religions, people would think about the importance of life, and what would be and not be allowed to spend a virtuous life. All religions talk about the 7 deadly sins of pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth, but the interpreters are twisting it by adding words in their favor.

Nevertheless, there have been common laws and norms all over the world amongst mankind to live in peace just like the 7 deadly sins. We have to look back on that as it sets the foundation for living together as humans in peace. I would like to take it a step further and say we don’t need borders. We can achieve more together than separated. For example, China is vast and quite diverse with a population of nearly 1.4 billion – the economic growth achieved is amazing. Now, imagine if we could do that as humans without borders.

Who does corruption hit the hardest?

Corrupt systems always hit the weakest the hardest. Our monetary system is broken, and we have to increase its debt every year just to keep it in one piece for as long as possible. We need a new monetary system that is fair, democratic, and human. The current monetary system in the west is not at war or conflict, but it’s a modern form of slavery.

In my book, I show all kinds of cycles of systems in history, and when you understand the cycles, you can predict the future. For example, in the Roman Empire, hyperinflation ended the cycle for that empire as their monetary system collapsed. They had a sound monetary system with gold and silver called aureus and solidus, but the further they expanded the empire, it started to shatter and get more corrupt. Back then, 20% of the Roman Empire was dependent on the social welfare “bread and circuses”. Even though it was very expensive, the empire knew that if people wouldn’t be given bread and circuses, a revolution would break out. So, the empire had no choice but to give it to the people until it couldn’t anymore, and ultimately broke apart.

This is exactly what is happening to our monetary system today. Politicians are talking about universal income and cheap Netflix & chill to keep us entertained in the quiet dark. Now they have the pandemic as the next excuse to lock us down, print and tax us even more. They are also talking about an extension of the period for the lockdown to keep the system running. It is stupid but they don’t know any better.

However, we cannot forget that money printing did start much earlier before the COVID-19 crisis. This monetary system, in which money is created out of thin air, leads from one speculation to another. Now, I think we are in the last phase of this bubble speculation, and when this bubble bursts, it will be game over.

Will Germany default?

Germany will default because we print like never before. Right now, Germany might look strong, but this is just another cycle. I see a very dark future for Germany because we have wasted all our potential. After all, incompetent politicians wasted all our wealth on stupid projects. They didn’t invest in social and economic infrastructure; we still don’t have a good internet infrastructure let alone the physical facilities needed – it is outdated and second-rate. We need streets, bridges, schools, kindergartens, better internet, etc. For example, bridges for railways and the train infrastructure are 100 years old on average.

Is only Germany at stake?

I think we have some very dark years ahead of us for northern Europe and G20 countries. You can recognize that by looking at our demographics. Germany, Japan, and most of the countries in Europe are experiencing a change in their demographics; we produce fewer children, people are living longer lives, and we can’t afford to pay back our senior citizens for their service to the country.

During this crisis, we have already created more money than all other last 3 crises together. COVID-19 showed us how fragile and incompetent our politicians are, and what kind of a death spiral of credit debt we are in. Even though the dollar is the most used and trusted currency today, I expect it to collapse as well.

Do you think the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon?

No, it is not going to end soon. The politicians find it very charming to govern without parliament and without asking the people, and they have gotten away with many things through the pandemic excuse. It’s a very dangerous charming privilege for them. During this pandemic, there have been several cases where decisions have been made unconstitutionally.

For example, in Italy, the former ECB chief Mario Draghi was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister without any elections. He was just put in the position with no elections – this communism and fascism. Now, even in Germany, they have made some political decisions without the parliament.

How is the EU working?

Before the European Union was founded, there was a treaty called the Maastricht Treaty. One of the things agreed upon was creating a single currency, the Euro, and it is the backbone of the foundation of the European Union. However, even this treaty was broken in the shadows of COVID-19 when Italy’s former prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, called out for economic help saying it is an “economic and social emergency”. A “corona bond” was agreed for 500 billion euros of an emergency loan. Northern European countries felt betrayed by the EU as they do not trust the hard-pressed southern ones to spend the money wisely and pay back their debts. Even though debts have never been paid back, the ECB is printing even more money to even pay for those loans promised to the south.

This is a war on our democracy and we have a socialism problem. It’s a very dangerous path we are on. Politicians feel like they don’t have to ask the parliament or anybody to do what they want; there are no elections, they can print more money, raise taxes, etc., and say “it is because of COVID-19”.

Is the election of the CP Von der Leyen also against EU’s democracy?

The Commission President of the EU, Von der Leyen, the most powerful woman in the EU today. She is a German politician who is not suited and incompetent for the job as the CP of the EU, and at all people have cried out on TV and in the news about the issue of how she was elected for the role; she never got elected to be the CP of the EU.

There were elections for the CP role of the EU, and we had two candidates; Manfred Weber and Von der Leyen. Weber won the elections through fair means, but France commented that “they don’t want him,” so they just put Von der Leyen in the position without considering any election. This is communism and anti-democratic just like how the new prime minister of Italy was chosen.

How has the family paradigm shifted?

In the 80s, in a nuclear family with 2 kids only one person, usually the father, would go out to work to provide for the family. He could provide for his family, buy property like a house, and even take his family on vacation 2~3 times a year. After all that, they were still able to save some money for retirement. That was living a good life 40 years ago.
Today, both parents have to work, and they still have to discuss if they can even afford to have children. That is why we have a demographic problem because inflation is restricting a healthy demographic growth. It is hard to believe that educated adults with jobs say “ children are too expensive.” Even if you don’t have children, you still have to work around the clock to have a decent life.

Let’s imagine a family with 2 children who want to buy an apartment in a suburb of a big city in the western world, where both the parents are working. That purchase would be the end game for them. They will rarely be able to go on vacation. Furthermore, as the currency continues to debase and we have 0-interest policies coupled with increase in inflation, there will be no room to save anything for their retirement either. The monetary system will ultimately create poverty parabolically, and that is why people have to invest in something like Bitcoin to be free because the system is in favor of the super-rich.

What kind of a family did you grow up in?

My father was a handyman building and making houses. He earned around 1000 euro a month, but throughout his life my father was able to provide for us, buy a flat, take us to different destinations on vacation with that money he made back then. It is mind-blowing. today, even if you earn 5000 euro a month, it doesn’t really mean you are super-rich anymore. You have to think about your high rent, food, and services, etc., and the money will be gone. Let’s not forget that you have to pay income tax as well, and income tax is up to 40% in Germany with some of the highest tax rates in the world.

Does it matter if our governments are right-winged or left-winged?

I’m looking forward to a change in the political system because it’s hard to bear the present system, and that is why I have so much gray hair. I know it will be a challenge and collateral damages coming with the change, but I hope it will end well.

It doesn’t matter if we have a right-wing or a left-wing political system as long as we can have a government for the people. We need a new political system. I always believe in evolution in the monetary and political system. The current democratic parliament doesn’t work; it’s too slow and corrupt. Right now, we do have the liberal-conservative political party CDU, Christian Democratic Union of Germany, with Angela Merkel as the Chancellor of Germany who will step down in 2021 from her position after 16 years in power. For a very long time, everything has been at a standstill in Germany, so I think we need a completely fresh party different from the Opposition party, Green party, and all the others that exist today.

Why do crises happen?

Every crisis for mankind was a way to evolve and make progress. After the Second World War, Germany was ruined. Almost all of the buildings were bombarded, and everything had to be renovated. Back then, nobody saw a future for Germany. Millions of people died and the majority of the men died because of a senseless war. However, after that was overcome, Germany had the most prosperous time and has become one of the richest countries in the world. No one would predict or believe that Germany could prosper like that 70~75 years ago by looking at all the demolished cities and buildings. However, we are at the end of our prosperous time again and we are on the verge of a catastrophe with our monetary system. Japan and many other countries are in the same boat as Germany today.

Everybody thinks the official inflation rate is around 1% and the central banks fight desperately to create inflation because it’s so low. We have deflation, but if we allow deflation to happen, we will end up with a great depression and that is why central banks are printing so much. When writing the book, I calculated the real inflation for the western world, and I was shocked. I knew it was higher than what the official numbers tell us, but it was just mind-blowing. The real inflation for last year alone in Germany was a surprising 14%. Just as Michael Saylor said “the capital costs inflation rate is 15~20%.” The real inflation rate for the US was even higher than in Germany because their economic growth was poorer.　

What kind of relationship is there between the monetary system and politicians?

There is an unhealthy dependence between the monetary system and the politicians. Politicians make promises in order to get elected, and they have to finance it somehow. Since taxes aren’t enough to pay for it, they have to make more debts to pay for the promises they make. Now, when the banking system cannot give out more debts, they will go to the government to get bailed out. If the government doesn’t do that, the monetary system will collapse and “bribe” the government, thus the financial system has the upper hand of the government.

How does the ECB feel about Bitcoin?

The ECB is scared of Bitcoin because they see how dominant and powerful it has become. As Gandhi once said: “First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” They ignored it in the early days, then they laughed at it, and I believe we are at stage three now where they are fighting us. For me, that’s a symbolic sign that we are going to win. It is overwhelming for governments because it is more powerful than people thought, and it cannot be abolished or banned. So, their last measure was to regulate, put it on the black-list and spread propaganda about it so people refrain from dealing with it.

Why do you get criticism for writing about Bitcoin?

I remember a prediction I made in an article I wrote for Focus, a big German news magazine in autumn 2020. I wrote that there will be an incredible parabolic Bitcoin bull market in the coming months, and it happened. Some people reacted positively and even invested in it. However, there was negative criticism because people are scared. In the article, I questioned the whole system we are living in and people don’t like that. It is more comfortable not to ask questions, stay in one’s bubble and not get out of it.

However, this path we are on right now will take us to a clip and die, so we cannot but change our way of living that we have accepted to be our “normal”. But people don’t like this as it sounds confrontational, and so try to stigmatize me.

What do you consider to be real assets?

Real assets are limited through nature or algorithms, like gold, silver, diamond, and even some stocks, real estate, land, forests, and art. Real assets are something you need to have that will act as a life insurance for your purchasing power. Bitcoin, for example, is limited through code. Now, Bitcoin has one advantage over all other assets because we know the exact finite number of how many Bitcoins there are, but we cannot know how much gold, silver or other such assets will exist.

Many Bitcoiners reject gold, but what about you?

Gold has over 5000 years of history, and I am quite sure all central banks have gold in their accounts. Even Japan owns gold, and China is buying gold like never before. Russia and Turkey are buying and own gold as well. Throughout its history, people have accepted it as a store of value to backup their wealth.

We don’t know what ultimately will happen to Bitcoin either, it is still an experiment. If Bitcoin succeeds tomorrow, then that is a positive gain for me, however, if it doesn’t, I would like to have something else to go to. To put everything on one card seems too reckless to me, soI think you have to own a little of everything and diversify your portfolio.

I created a series on YouTube called “Invest during the Pandemic” where I talked about cycles, our economies and governments, etc., with different intellectual people. I enjoyed talking to all of my guests, like Grant William, Preston Pysh, and Richard Werner.

Interviewer , Editor : Lina Kamada

【Disclaimer】

The Article published on this our Homepage are only for the purpose of providing information. This is not intended as a solicitation for cryptocurrency trading. Also, this article is the author’s personal opinions, and this does not represent opinion for the Company BTCBOX co.,Ltd.