What a small group of America’s centimillionaires believe about bitcoin and its political future

When Charlie Garcia founded R360, an organization that fosters a community of people whose net wealth is above $100 million, many of the group’s members had not yet accepted bitcoin as an investable asset, especially among its older cohort.

Starting last year, however, many of the group’s 134 members, who boast an average net worth just over $500 million, began to change their tune, Garcia told B-17.

Now, many of them see bitcoin’s potential to mimic the characteristics of real estate: a rare asset that could one day make good collateral for loans. Some well-placed members are also doing what it takes to protect their investments, including meeting with Donald Trump in hopes of helping to set the future US President’s bitcoin agenda.

The prospect of a crypto-friendly White House has sent the value of bitcoin soaring: Since Election Day, the digital asset’s price has rallied by almost 50%. Still, many people remain skeptical of the volatile digital asset founded as a form of currency, especially as its initial purpose remains largely out of reach.

Here is how one group of initially skeptical centimillionaires got over their doubts, how they are now thinking about bitcoin, and how they invest in it.

The bitcoin tilt

R360 was initially created to help members achieve what it refers to as six forms of capital, including financial, intellectual, social, human, emotional, and spiritual, with the premise that wealth is more than just money. Areas that are believed important to master success and be a good steward of wealth, said Barbara Goodstein, a managing partner at the organization.

The group’s members, which make up a diverse bunch, range from 30 to 87 years old with the average being 45 to 55. Garcia estimates that about 80% are first-time entrepreneurs, while 20% are second or third-generation inheritors or received their wealth through a divorce. The fees to join are hefty, at $70,000 yearly or $180,000 for three years. And the vetting process includes an interview and multiple references from peers.

Garcia, who had been an avid supporter of bitcoin, launched the group in 2020 and officially started having meetings in 2021. At the first meeting, everybody got a bitcoin wallet with the organization’s logo on it. They were given a task to receive and transact in bitcoin.

“So they left with literally a bank,” Garcia said.

However, many members still thought it was a scam or in a bubble. The digital asset’s reputation was muddled with the thousands of altcoins and memecoins that crashed from 2021’s crypto bull market.

It took multiple presentations, with one in particular led by a hedge fund manager in October 2023, to finally convince those who were still been on the fence to invest in the asset, which is considered scarce because it is capped at a fixed amount of 21 million.

“One of our members is the top hedge fund manager in the world, five-year track record. And he came to present his best idea when bitcoin was around $25,000 at the time,” Garcia said.

The speaker reiterated a conversation he had with businessman and bitcoin enthusiast Michael Saylor about bitcoin’s growing value pegged against real estate. He noted, for example, that when bitcoin was at $10,000, it took 39 bitcoins to buy the average US home at $391,900, and by May 2024, when its value was at $28,000, it took less than 15 bitcoins, or a 2.6 times gain in purchasing power.

Since many were real estate investors, that framing spoke to them, Garcia said. To date, based on information collected from the group’s yearly financial capital meeting, among 134 members, Garcia estimates that the average portfolio’s allocation to bitcoin is now at about 2.5% to 3%, with around 25 members who may have over 10% allocation.

But bitcoin’s future price prospect isn’t the only draw for R360 members. With strong incoming support for it in Washington, they anticipate it will have a bigger part to play in traditional banking.

“We believe that in one year, banks are going to be allowed to hold your bitcoin, and you’ll be able to borrow against it and also earn interest in dollars or bitcoin that they will pay you for you to custody those assets,” Garcia said.

If banks begin custodying bitcoin, then it follows that they may allow loans or lines of credit against it, Garcia added. This perception isn’t new or unique to R360 members. For years, many bitcoin enthusiasts have held on to the belief that bitcoin’s scarcity and demand will position it as a solid asset to peg value and currencies against. For this reason, members are advised against selling their positions.

Conversations about the future

Today, R360 members are mostly bitcoin-friendly and regularly discuss progress around the asset in monthly meetings held for those who manage their own money, typically because they come from the financial services industry, Garcia noted.

A handful of them are activists working to ensure that the incoming administration will benefit the asset, including helping vet individuals selected to join President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

“Two of our members, in particular, were the ones that sat down with Trump and turned his views around as to why he should be supporting bitcoin and why it was good for the United States. And, our member owns the Bitcoin Conference and Bitcoin Magazine. Another member’s spouse, who’s also very big into bitcoin, drafted Bobby Kennedy’s speech at that convention,” Garcia said.

“So they are insiders who are meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Whenever this White House crypto group is announced, they’re there. They’re vetting candidates. They’re making their voice heard, ‘this candidate, yes, because they’re supportive of bitcoin, and this candidate, no, because they’re not.’ So they are having an impact on what is happening, who’s being appointed, and these laws that are being drafted.”

One of those members Garcia is referring to is David Bailey, the CEO of BTC Inc and the organizer of the Bitcoin Conference, who invited the Presidential candidates to the event in Nashville in July, where Trump and Bobby Kennedy showed up. Garcia added that Bailey was instrumental in shifting Trump’s negative stance on Bitcoin.

How members are advised to buy and hold bitcoin

The organization mainly advises its members to self custody their bitcoin and provides tutorials on how to transfer and maintain it in a cold storage wallet. Those not wanting to take on the task are advised to use an institutional custodian. Garcia noted that the latter option is more appropriate for those with a large sum of bitcoin who are patriarchs or matriarchs to enable a smoother transfer to heirs. The third option is using a fund of funds to manage their exposure.

The organization doesn’t advise buying bitcoin ETFs because there’s no direct ownership of the asset. Additionally, if Trump carries out a campaign promise of making bitcoin an untaxable asset, the ETF may not reap the same tax benefit, Garcia noted.

Finally, they advise against keeping bitcoin on an exchange or in a hot wallet due to a lack of security.