Why I Sold Every Stock and Went 100% Bitcoin

Last January (2024), I did something most financial advisors would call insane. I sold every single stock and ETF in my retirement account and put 100% into Bitcoin. One year later? I'm up 150%. But here's the real story – including the massive fight with my wife.

Like most of you reading this, when I first bought Bitcoin, I played it safe. One percent allocation. Just enough to say I had skin in the game, but not enough to actually matter if I was wrong.

Those early days were brutal. The wild swings had me glued to my phone, panic-selling at tops, trying to time bottoms like some trading genius. Classic rookie mistakes that cost me money and sleep.

But something shifted as I kept studying Bitcoin over months and years. I started seeing past the price volatility to something much bigger. This wasn't just another investment—it was a completely different monetary system.

My allocation crept up like a slow addiction. 1% became 5%. Then 10%. Then 50%.

In my retirement accounts, I stopped buying traditional stocks entirely. Every new dollar went into Bitcoin through Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (we didn't have ETFs yet). Then, methodically, I started selling my "diversified" portfolio. SPY, QQQ, those broad market ETFs everyone says you need.

Gone. All of it.

The Panic Move That Changed Everything

Then January 2024 happened. The Bitcoin ETFs got approved—and I panicked.

Picture this: I'm on a family vacation, supposed to be relaxing, and I'm frantically trying to move my entire 401k to a new provider for access to the IBIT ETF. I'm filling out forms on my phone, checking Bitcoin prices, terrified I'd miss the big move.

Looking back, it seems silly. Bitcoin has so much more upside than downside. But in that moment? Pure FOMO consumed me.

Then came the dinner conversation that nearly ended everything.

We're at this nice restaurant, and I casually mention to my wife that I've moved our entire retirement into Bitcoin. Everything. 100%.

The look on her face... I'll never forget it.

What followed was one of the biggest fights we've ever had. And she was absolutely right to be furious. I hadn't told her about the move. I saw the ETF approval, panicked, and took action first, asked permission later.

This tends to be my MO—I like taking fast action. But this time, ouch!

The next few months were terrifying. Having everything in one asset violated every piece of conventional wisdom we'd ever heard. When Bitcoin would drop, my wife would look at me with those eyes that said, "Should we sell? Did you just lose our retirement?"

As a trader, I know that doing the right thing often feels uncomfortable. But this was next-level uncomfortable. This was betting our entire financial future on my conviction about digital money that most people still think is fake.

What kept me sane was education. Michael Saylor's writings, podcasts, interviews. He didn't just explain Bitcoin—he explained why everything else is broken.

There's this one podcast in particular—his masterclass on the "What is Money?" show. Three hours of pure education on the history of money, human technology, and why Bitcoin is inevitable.

I made my wife listen to it. We'd discuss it over dinner. Slowly, she started understanding what I was seeing.

When $100K Bitcoin Hit

Then Q4 2024 happened. Bitcoin hit $100,000.

Suddenly, my wife and I were feeling pretty good about that "crazy" decision. We're up 150% in just under a year. But more importantly, we both finally understood what we were holding.

While everyone debates asset allocation percentages, they're missing the forest for the trees. We're not choosing between different investments. We're choosing between two completely different monetary systems.

One inflates away your purchasing power every single day. The other is the hardest money ever created by humanity.

Today as I write this, we’re up 191% as you can see in our performance graph below. I do realize we’re in a bull market for Bitcoin and a bear market could just be around the corner. But that’s part of the deal of any market. I like to think I’m ready for it.

The Real Victory

Being up 191% feels great. But the real victory? My wife and I are now aligned on our financial future. We understand we're not just holding an investment—we're holding sovereignty over our money.

While our old 401k would have given us maybe 8% returns in a good year, Bitcoin has given us something more valuable: freedom from a system designed to slowly steal our purchasing power.

Think about it: The classic 60/40 stock-bond portfolio that your financial advisor loves? During the 1970s inflation surge, when 10-year inflation hit 9%, it delivered a real return of -3.5%. Investors lost purchasing power despite nominal gains.

Even today, with inflation projected at 3.4% in 2025, a hypothetical $10,000 investment earning 8% nominal returns only delivers $10,485 in real purchasing power. That $315 gap? Pure inflation theft.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has averaged over 50% annually for the past decade, despite multiple 80% drawdowns.

The math isn't even close.

What I'd Tell My Past Self

Look, I'm not saying everyone should do what I did. Going 100% into anything requires conviction that most people aren't ready for yet. And definitely don't do the whole "ask forgiveness, not permission" approach—that nearly cost me my marriage.

But if you're sitting there with 1% or 5% in Bitcoin, asking yourself "Is this enough?"—you're asking the wrong question.

The right question is: "How much of my wealth am I comfortable losing to inflation while I wait for the 'perfect' allocation?"

Your financial advisor will tell you to diversify. They'll show you charts about correlation and modern portfolio theory. They'll scare you with Bitcoin's volatility.

But they won't tell you that during both World Wars and the 1970s, their beloved 60/40 portfolios consistently generated negative real returns over rolling 10-year periods. They won't mention that in 2022, stocks and bonds fell together, breaking their supposed "negative correlation" just when investors needed diversification most.

And they definitely won't tell you that their entire business model depends on you staying in the traditional system. They can't charge management fees on your self-custodied Bitcoin.

Addressing the Obvious Objections

Let me guess what your spouse (or your inner skeptic) is thinking right now:

"It's too volatile!" → Compared to losing 3.5% annually to inflation? That's guaranteed volatility downward. Volatility is the cover charge to make 50% or 100% returns in a single year. I'll take Bitcoin's volatility any day.

"It's not backed by anything!" → Neither has the dollar since 1971. But Bitcoin is backed by something more powerful than government promises: the most secure, cyber-resistant technology ever created. After 15 years and billions in attempted hacks, the Bitcoin network has never been breached. Try saying that about your bank account.

"What if it goes to zero?" → What if the dollar continues losing 96% of its purchasing power like it has since 1913? That's not a "what if"—that's historical fact happening in slow motion.

The 10-Year Reality Check

Here's what really kept me up at night—and what finally convinced my wife.

Picture us in 2035. Let's say we started with a $500K portfolio. If we'd stayed in traditional portfolios "keeping up with inflation" at 7-8% returns:

• Our $500K retirement account becomes maybe $1M nominally

• But with real inflation, that buys what $600K buys today

• We're looking at modest travel, delayed retirement, watching every expense

• Living in the same house, driving the same cars, constrained by a system designed to keep us working

Now picture the Bitcoin timeline:

• Even with conservative 30% annual average

• That same $500K becomes $3.1M in purchasing power terms

• We're talking about real freedom

• Our kids inherit actual wealth, not inflated paper

That's not get-rich-quick thinking. That's generational wealth thinking.

The painful truth? Every month we delay is a month we can't get back. Every dollar sitting in bonds earning 4% while losing 6% to real inflation is a dollar that will never compound at Bitcoin's rate.

What This Means for You (Even If You're Not Ready for 100%)

Look, not everyone needs to go as extreme as I did. Your risk tolerance might be different. But here's how to think about allocation based on your conviction level:

Just Getting Started (5-10% allocation):

• Dip your toe in with an amount that won't stress you out

• Use this time to educate yourself and build conviction

• Perfect for couples where one person is still skeptical

Bitcoin-Curious (25-50% allocation):

• You understand the monetary thesis but want some "traditional" safety

• Good middle ground while you learn self-custody and dollar-cost average

• Allows you to benefit significantly from Bitcoin's growth without extreme concentration

Full Conviction (75-100% allocation):

• You've done the research and understand we're choosing between monetary systems

• You see traditional portfolios as the actual risk

• You're optimizing for maximum long-term purchasing power

The key is matching your allocation to your understanding. As your knowledge grows, your allocation can grow with it.

The Choice Is Yours

We're at an inflection point in monetary history. You can keep playing by the old rules—contributing to your 401k, buying index funds, hoping 7% returns beat real inflation.

Or you can recognize what's happening: the greatest wealth transfer in human history, from holders of depreciating assets to Bitcoin holders.

While traditional portfolios struggle with real returns (bonds especially get crushed when inflation exceeds their fixed rates), Bitcoin operates outside this broken system entirely. It's not just an inflation hedge—it's an escape hatch from monetary debasement.

The window is still open, but it's closing. Every corporation, every government, every institution that figures this out first gets the best seats on the lifeboat.

The question isn't whether Bitcoin will go up—it's whether you'll have the conviction to act on what you already know is true.