Fellow Tronics,
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve won the record-setting 20th anniversary charity lunch hosted by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
I’m a long-term believer (and certainly a big fan) of Buffett and his long-term value investing strategy. As some of you might know, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has said publicly he sees no “unique value” in Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Yet, he has pointed to the potential in blockchain, the underlying technology behind all cryptocurrency.
The long-term value investment strategy and cryptocurrency, in my eyes, are one and the same. We in the community know we have a long road ahead of us to educate the mainstream on blockchain’s value and proper use cases. Rather than trying to get rich quick, we aim to counsel everyone that investment should be about vision and execution.
I look at the upcoming lunch with Buffett as an opportunity to seek mutual understanding and growth. To aid in the conversation and support the overall cryptocurrency and blockchain community, I will invite several industry leaders — with your input — to accompany me to New York City for the lunch.
Our community is extremely transparent and open to dialogue with our critics — especially with someone I hold in high esteem. We have the same alma mater, after all: go Penn!
I want to point out, though, that even one of the most successful investors of all times can sometimes miss a coming wave. Buffett has admitted he overpaid for a big investment food giant Kraft Heinz Co., while failing to realize the potential of the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet, the parent of Google and even Apple.
Don’t get me wrong. Buffett has said repeatedly he looks to invest in businesses in which he thinks there’s a long-term competitive advantage. We in the blockchain industry have a lot to prove in that regard. I’ve always said we can’t just build a platform for decentralized applications, finance and other fields — we have to spend as much time building and nurturing a community to support and embrace the idea of blockchain.
I believe we in the blockchain community are at the beginning of an era of immense technological and financial growth. I also firmly believe that with the right communication and understanding, Buffett will change his overall stance on cryptocurrency and blockchain, allowing this new investment strategy to become integrated into his overall portfolio.
No doubt many of you will point out that Buffett, some 60 years older than me, was investing well before I was born. So who am I to talk to him about making big bets? Remember that he’s said he doesn’t make such bets alone these days. He has a team of young executives who hand him advice and information about areas not in his comfort zone.
Entrepreneurs should use every legitimate tool at our disposal to succeed, and that’s a commonality you’ll find among people young or old.
Even if we fail for now with our effort, I also want to highlight the importance of being part of a global community that attempting to lift others up even as we work to build a new future. We at TRON have worked closely in support of the Binance Charity Foundation to foster better nutrition and education in underdeveloped countries. In February, I donated money to support the ALS Foundation, on the advice of an employee whose sister had been afflicted with the deadly disease.
The Buffett auction is just as worthy a cause. One hundred percent of the proceeds will support the GLIDE Foundation’s 50-year quest to help the homeless and needy in San Francisco. It’s home to BitTorrent and where we held our first developer and community conference, niTROn.
I want to close by noting that this is not only a personal highlight for me or even a great day for TRON and BitTorrent; I see this as a win for the entire blockchain community. I can’t wait for the lunch and the opportunity to learn from a master investor and hope he will take away a few insights from us!
TRON onward!
Justin Sun
