Disclaimer / Disclosure
The Clarity Act directs the CFTC and SEC to implement a regulatory framework for bitcoin. I’m virtually always for less regulation and more free markets. However, today we have regulatory ambiguity which can be the worst of both worlds. This bill helps and it will probably get signed into law. The industry supports it; I do too.
Should you buy bitcoin?
Yes. I think your exposure to bitcoin should reflect your level of skepticism in our politicians and central bankers. If you have faith that their fiscal and monetary policy will protect the value of the US dollar, than you can skip this. If you are skeptical, then a logical way to express that skepticism is by holding gold and BTC. I own both. I’ve been stacking gold for this whole century and BTC for the past decade.
So far this year, there is reason to have at least some skepticism. If someone earned an average amount of money (the per capita GDP) and had a million dollars saved in US dollars, he isn’t treading water: he is drowning. Despite working to earn $42k so far in 2025, after the dollar’s year to date 11% exchange-rate depreciation, his wealth in foreign currency terms has declined to $932k net. If instead of the USD savings, he put 15% in bitcoin, 15% in gold, and 70% in USD, then he would be up by a nominal ~8% and would have protected foreign purchasing power with a ~1% gain.
Where should you buy bitcoin?
Lowest to Highest Total Costs:
1️⃣
Kraken
Lowest fees and tight spreads
2️⃣
Gemini
Competitive low fees, very tight spreads on BTC pairs
3️⃣
Crypto.com
Low if using with CRO stake, watch hidden spreads
4️⃣
Coinbase Advanced
Much lower than regular Coinbase, but still above Kraken/Gemini for small volumes
6️⃣
Coinbase
Highest overall costs due to both explicit fees & wide hidden spreads
Kraken wins the (digital) gold medal. It has also outperformed BTC over the is past year:
