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

Marc Friedrich

Interview Date :9th April 2020

Marc Friedrich (All Interviews)

Lockdown Crisis in Germany Now

The situation in Germany is very bad right now, we have a lockdown in Germany just like America, France, Italy, China, Austria and the other countries. The Coronavirus is giving the economy a hard time. I think we are seeing the biggest recession and crash of all times right now. The Biggest crash of All Times is also the title of my last best selling book. This Economic crash is what I am expecting and which is truly happening now. I think this virus will hurt the economy globally. This is not going to be something affecting individual countries where the government of a country can clean up, but globally, this is the end for globalization in my opinion. What we are experiencing right now, is history. One day this will be in books, and people will read about the changing point of everything; when we started going shopping, traveling, everything differently. We may have a pandemic situation, but it is also the best time to be alive.

The biggest crash 2023

I believe that the biggest economic crash of all time will happen latest 2023. It’s starting earlier than I expected. It is about the sick policy of the central banks worldwide, and the problem of our monetary system. You’ve got the fiat monetary systems, every bank and every central bank is creating money out of thin air. This is not sustainable, and now we are at the end game of this monetary system. Since the big financial crises in 2008, the central banks had only one solution for every problem; it was printing money and lowering the rates. Now we have the lowest rates in the history of mankind, and we have never had this much printed money and debts before in the system. 

Now, once again they are putting the bazooka in operation again to print even more money in this crisis. This is because they are totally desperate. The central banks know that if a second hard recession occurs, the system will not survive. They are totally out of ideas and solutions. Now for the third or fourth time, they have one solution; lowering the rates to 0 or below and also printing more money. In other words, this is hyperinflation that is happening all over again, and they were never able to solve the problem of 2008 either. They just put money over it which brought an expensive time for all of us, the people. This is why we have the highest death and crimes rates and the longest growing expansion growth in history which is not sustainable and not healthy. Now we are seeing the big finale, and it’s breathtaking.

Go into a Golden Age after the Corona virus

Remember that the corona virus is just the needle that burst the bubble. It is just a trigger but not the reason behind the financial crisis that we are experiencing now which is going to get much worse in near future. If politicians and central banks say “it’s due to the Corona virus”, it’s not true. It’s because of their incompetence of the sick system we are living in; the fiat currency system, the monetary system and the printing press and such. The politicians and the central banks may, and perhaps they can, save it one more time. Perhaps we will have another round going round for one or two more years with this system, but like I said in my book, latest 2023 this thing is all gone and we will see the biggest crush of all time. Then, we will get into a golden age.

Gold backed Currency will be new Safe Haven

The next monetary system will be digital, that’s for sure. There will be something like a gold standard, and also bitcoin will play a part of it. It will be like gold today in the monetary system that will become a safe haven. I think that the first central banks and governments to start issuing gold backed currency on the blockchain will be the survivor and winner of this crisis. Very soon, people will lose total trust in fiat currencies which are not backed up with anything but the trust of the people, and the people have been treated very badly in the last couple of decades. So people will look for a safe haven for currencies with limited assets like gold.

Euro getting Virtual

The relationship between Euro and Crypto is very sexy right now. On a serious note though, I believe that very soon we will see governments, and central banks of different countries starting to create their own digital currencies. I have been to many book hearings, seminars and fair as a keynote speaker and there have been different people there representing central banks from all over the world. They are already talking about the central bank digital currencies. I think that we will come to realize that this system as a last hope of getting somewhere or to find a solution won’t help. 

There is no solution and it will collapse. Let’s take a look at China who is trying to issue their own digital currency backed with gold I guess, as they have been buying so much gold recently. Nevertheless, I think that cryptocurrencies are the future even though there is a lot of bullshit out there. But I personally am a big fan of bitcoin and only a handful of other cryptocurrencies, the rest is just a scam, it is a ripoff. They have no use-cases, so people who invest in cryptocurrencies should stick to bitcoin and to the inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. The roles of coins may change of course and only time will tell, but so far Bitcoin is the best.

Europeans love cash as Japanese do

We have a different history than many other countries, because we have already lost money a couple of times in the last century, so we love cash here in Germany and many other places in Europe. Right now, cash is looked at as “the only thing” and “cash is the best” so people love their bills and coins. The millennial are all over the place with apps like apple pay or google pay etc., but it’s still a hard and long way to go to an e-money only society. You cannot just take away cash from people in Europe. Of course, people do use credit cards and pay-pal and similar apps, some also bitcoins as well for purchases and payments, but it is not common as of yet. There are powers that want to abolish cash money for different reasons. Some say because cash has germs on it, it is dirty, it is easy for criminals to launder money with it, and other nonsense, but so far I think we are far away from getting completely rid of cash. How is it in Japan?

Bafin Regulations in Germany Allowing Crypto into Banks

Bafin is an abbreviation for The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority that brings together the supervision of banks and financial services providers, insurance undertakings and securities trading under one roof. It is like the national committee who is responsible for the laws over banking, financial instruments. They pass the laws that shall be guidelines which now allows banks to store cryptocurrencies as well as trade with it. It means that every bank in Germany is allowed to store and trade with cryptocurrencies if they want to. Moreover, we have very strong regional banks, so I think that if they store, trade and also sell cryptocurrency to their customers, they will have a new flow of income. So this is a big step for cryptocurrencies in Germany. I think that the first banks will start soon, due to their other businesses slowly breaking down. This is survival of the fittest, so the first banks who embrace this solution and trades with bitcoin, and even encourage their customers to buy and store bitcoin safely will win this race, and will survive the next burst of banking companies.

There is so much pressure on the banks and the government. They know that something has to change as people are getting more and more in touch with digital coins. They even know that the euro will collapse and so will other banks too not only in Germany but in China, Asia, the US. So, if they would not have created these regulations for cryptocurrency, they would fall behind in the international economy market, and we in Germany would lose the competition. So that’s why they did it.

Lack of income streams in Banks

Many banks said that we need new income streams. They are losing income streams because they have negative income rates, so we have to pay the European Central Bank (ECB). People go to online banks and everything is cheaper there, so the regional banks and the big banks need new income streams. I believe that’s how they came about it thinking that perhaps this “cryptocurrency thing” is something where we could earn money, where they would store the customer’s cryptocurrencies for a fee and even insurance them. If they stored cryptocurrency of their customers would get lost or hacked, or if there would be some bank robbery, there is room to create an insurance company that will insure it, and this can be another income stream. Everybody would go to the banks, and they would not need any lessons or lectures for how to deal with online wallets and scammers. Banks that people can actually go to, that are not virtual wallets only and are much safer. Thus the first bank that will offer a service like this will be in the forefront.

Strong Germany Exchange Role-Model

There is a very famous crypto exchange in Germany that has become the center for the people trading in Germany called Bitcoin.de. They have been active since 2011-12, so very long in the game. There are a few smaller ones but Bitcoin.de is like the bitcoin domain in Germany. On this market place, you can sell and buy bitcoin and other coins, and you can also store your bitcoin on their platform. 98% percent of the customer coins in this company is in cold storage, so only 2% is in hot wallets. Thus, even if they would get hacked, which they have never been, the hackers would only get 2 % of the hot wallet. Like in every other industry else, there are hackers out there that are trying everyday, but this company has never gotten hacked, but the hackers have been caught. Let’s suppose that they would get hacked, that 2% that hackers possibly could launder is insured with a big company, so nobody would lose anything. This is a very good example of how exchanges can be safe and active in the marketplace. So, as there are only a few exchanges here, there’s a lot of space for exchanges to be established in Germany.

Youtubers and Podcasts are doing a Great Job!

Youtubers have a lot of influence on people and on the crypto market. Many people get their information daily from youtube. I make youtube videos about crypto on my channel that are really successful and people like it. Others get their information from Telegram and other websites. Be aware that there is a lot of nonsense on youtube of course. Scammers launder people’s coins and assets. However, there is very good content as well. If you google Andreas Antonopoulos, Tuur Demeester or Bitgenstein’s Table, you will find great podcasts that are out there. Podcasts are amazing, and reflect the market and crypto in great easy language and detail.

Also, I am in the middle of writing my next book that is about bitcoin. I am the master of, not of disaster, but of translating complicated theories into normal languages, so everybody can understand. For example, how money in the monetary system works, and telling them that it is not you who owns the money in your bank account; it is actually the bank. That’s what I am putting out there so people can defend themselves, their money and their wealth. There is so much great content out there but all very nerdy, so I want to translate that nerdy content for people like you, me, the elderly and the 16 years who is probably a student who needs to understand what bitcoin is. This is also to get more mass adoption into this ecosystem, and I think that people really need to know more about cryptocurrency’s potential in general.

It’s funny-money, isn’t it?

How I got to know about bitcoin is a funny story which I actually wrote about in my last best-selling book. The first time I heard about bitcoin was in 2011 from a customer. As I am a financial consultant, I create mass customized plans for people, but that certain customer mentioned bitcoin. He asked “what do you think about bitcoin to diversify my portfolio”. I said “what is this internet money?” I told him that it is not going to work, it’s funny-money, and probably a scam so don’t invest in it. Back then, it was around 5 cents or so for 1 bitcoin, so thinking bank now it was maybe a bit cold advice from me then.

In 2013 when I was researching for my second book, I was looking for alternatives for the monetary system. Again, I crossed upon bitcoin. That’s when I thought I had to think again. I was wondering “how can this thing still be around after 2 years? perhaps there is something more to it”. So I printed out Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper. I started reading it but not really. a while later, one day I came back from a big presentation I had before 1000 people, so the whole day I was feeling the rush of adrenaline and couldn’t even fall asleep that day. On my bed table, there was the white paper again, and at that moment I was too lazy to go and get something else to read. So I picked it up and started reading it, this time I really read through it. That white paper just changed my life and opened my eyes. Right there I woke up my wife and told her “this bitcoin thing is really great, this is amazing” So, the next day I started investing in bitcoin, and I read as much I could find about it back then, both in German and English. Since then, I have had bitcoin-fever.

Bitcoin is through the Lindy Effect

I went out in public about Bitcoin at the end of 2016. I wrote a long article for a big German magazine. This is a magazine where I always give a prediction about the economy for the following year. So, at the end of 2016, I predicted the following year would be the year of Bitcoin, and you all have to invest! That was the first time I said it to the public. This was not to our customers, because we already introduced Bitcoin to our customers and invested in it since 2013.

However, in 2016 I think Bitcoin was through. What I mean by that can be explained through the Lindy effect; if a new technology arrives and survives a certain period, then it will not disappear and it will stay permanently. It will not go away, and this was established in 2016. I talked to a lot of Bitcoin people and insiders, and they told me we are through and now this technology and invention is here to stay. My prediction at the end of 2016 was that the value of Bitcoin would double. In 2016, the value of Bitcoin was around 600 euros. Do you know what happened in 2017? its value was around 1500 euros, meaning 20000 USD. Since then I have been named the guru here.

However, this sharp increase in price was also of course not normal or healthy, and not sustainable for Bitcoin. I never had doubts about it, even when we experienced great dips now and then. I love to invest through nature and mathematically limited assets, and Bitcoin is the first limited asset. If you invest only 1%, 5%, or 7 %, that’s enough. With that, even if it would go sour, it won’t kill you. You won’t have to sit on the street or something. You made a bet as you do with any investment, but I think it is the most potential bet as of now in our lifetime. Everybody should take a lottery or any other kind of card and try it. Just try investing 100 bucks and just wait 5 or 10 years.

Everybody will see and realize that this monetary system with fiat currency will collapse, and we need something that is limiting in nature or through the math to keep it up and functioning. So hey who do you trust more? The central banks that print like crazy as if they are out of their minds, or do you trust algorithms and math more? I have made my decision and you have to make yours.

You cannot just abolish virtual currencies

If one-day currency would become an official asset that people could use for purchases, to pay for things with, and for trade like we do with cash today, there needs to be regulations and they are already building it around. However, too much regulation can also kill the spirit and the nerds in this industry. So this is a very difficult path. I think Bitcoin did just fine without regulation and it survived for 11 years, and it will stay around for the next 150 years.

But there is a problem, because some countries do regulation and some countries don’t, and they will always fight. If one country for example would abolish or ban Bitcoin or the trade of Bitcoin, you would just go to another country. Look at China; they banned it and people just bordered over to South Korea or Japan. It is digital and decentralized, so you cannot just abolish it. That’s what they are realizing now and try to do something about it.

It’s my passion for teaching people about Money

I think there is an urge for teaching people about money and value that I feel inside. I think because I lost money when I was in Argentina during the state bankruptcy in 2001 it has become my passion.  I also studied German history and read about how people had lost money during the great depression, hyperinflation, and also about the economy during the Weimar Republic period in 1919-1933. Ever since I was a small boy, I always wanted to make the world a better place. This was just a thought that I was thinking to myself about. My mother or other people around me never talked about it to me or anything. I guess, I feel like it is my duty and it is my sense of life. Everybody is here on the planet with a purpose planned for them and I guess this is mine; to educate people. I always hated it when the weaker ones or the smaller ones get exploited or harmed. So, I have always fought for the weaker ones since I was young.

Credit Card & Plastic cards are Pushing more and more

Before, people would earn money by working and sweating for it. Nowadays, younger generations are using e-money like credit cards, etc, and so have lost the sense of what the value of money is. This is true, and that is why we have so many credit cards and other plastic cards. These companies want people to spend more money to keep the wheel spinning. The system needs to grow, it needs debts, and it needs more money flow. However, by doing so, we as the people lose control over our financial records and our own wealth and money if we don’t think straight. Companies do not want us to think straight, and that’s why we have more and more credits and credit cards, and everything else like PayPal, etc. It is much easier to purchase now than before when we are only one click away from it. People are understanding this problem now, and so are wanting to track where the assets are going, and this is possible with blockchain technology. People are embracing it due to it being so much easier to control and have an overview of.

The limitation factor of Bitcoin is very important. 21 million coins by 2040 and that’s it. There is real value behind every coin because of its scarcity. In contrast, if you print trillions of dollars with no limit, what’s the value when no one is using it? It will have no use-case. Looking at the central banks that are printing like crazy with nothing to back up this issuance, the only thing that they are doing is creating hyperinflation and the biggest monetary system ever. You cannot print wealth, you cannot print against climate change and also not against a pandemic virus either. This will collapse and will just not work anymore. Fortunately, people have started to realize it slowly. The Biggest Crash, which I titled my book, did become a best-seller because what is written is true; there is a collapse coming very soon and we are already in the beginning in this spiral. It is unfortunately true.

Crazy Debt to GDPs !

All the countries that have tried to use this printing press like Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Argentina, Germany have failed. I imagine Japan also collapses soon. Japan’s government debt to GDP ratio sits at around 240% which is just crazy. I just saw the new figures from the Bank of Japan ETF; they print like crazy, and they own around 50 % of the domestic index funds, National Treasuries. I believe it is 5.5 trillion USD that they have on their insane balance sheet. This is by all means not only Japan, but Germany and other countries like this that are in a similar situation, and with America having more than 13 trillion USD in debt is impossible to pay back. They will never pay it back. So, there must be a monetary reset which is coming closer and closer that will be the financial monetary end-game. Unfortunately, someone has to pay, and that will be us the people, the citizens. We will be ones who have to clean up and pay for the mess the governments have been creating. Not the politicians or the central banks or government, it will most probably be us to pay for it. In a couple of months or years, the latest 2023, I believe it will collapse and we will have to figure out a new monetary system going on from there. As I mentioned, there is no control or solution within this system right now.

While all this is happening, the value of crypto certainly will increase. There will be volatility, but I’m a long term investor and believer, so in the long term it is going to get more stable and its value will increase. We can expect a different price ranges. You have to make your research. One day you may look back in the mirror and think “it was so incredibly cheap in 2020” Right now it may be a lifetime opportunity, but perhaps I am wrong. So we don’t know until after the monetary crash happens.

Profile

　　

Marc Friedrich is a Best-selling author, Financial expert and Adviser, Economist and a Keynote Speaker at big scale seminars, book hearings and fairs. Together with Matthias Weik, he has been   one of the most famous lateral thinkers and a financial expert. As a team, they have written 5 books so far, and every time they bring focus on what the state of our present economy is. He has a youtube channel as well where he is engaging with huge his audience on a daily basis.

　　　　　

Marc Friedrich

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.