The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 318



Only Krnovel

318. At the end of the wait (2)

Trust meant stability.

In order to increase the trustworthiness of Bitcoin, there was a need to make customers feel safe.

However, Dimon misunderstood Bitcoin itself.

When I brought up the topic of trust, I questioned the identity of Bitcoin.

“Isn’t Bitcoin itself built on trustlessness? Since nothing can be trusted, I think Bitcoin, which was created with a perfect encryption system, is valuable.”

“Non-trust means being trustworthy to the point where trust is not necessary. It does not mean denying trust itself.”

Bitcoin could be seen as a type of currency.

It was not for nothing that a highly reliable currency became a reserve currency.

“So how do you plan to increase the trustworthiness of Bitcoin?”

“First of all, we need to lock up more than 50% of the Bitcoin we hold. Wouldn’t the value of Bitcoin rise further if we eliminate the fear of it suddenly being released into the market?”

“You are saying that we should bury Bitcoin like gold in a safe.”

“The Bitcoin we have will serve as a centerpiece. That will give us confidence that we will never fall.”

This was one of the reasons why the price of Bitcoin was high even before the regression.

In this life, Taewoo Group, cryptographer, and Cheon Min-jeong created Bitcoin, but in a previous life, a person named Satoshi created Bitcoin.

Satoshi’s wallet.

Close to 1 million Bitcoins were sleeping in an account owned by Bitcoin developer Satoshi.

The price of Bitcoin was able to rise high because there was confidence that the 1 million Bitcoins in Satoshi’s wallet would never be released into the market.

“Can our customers completely trust us even if we maintain the center? Isn’t the reason the dollar is worth so much because the United States has the power to protect it?”

“Our strength alone is not enough. So we plan to create a community.”

“When you say community, do you mean to create an economic community similar to a consortium?”

We have already acquired GM in the form of a consortium.

Because Taewoo, Fintech Bank, and Berkshire Hathaway, which had good financial liquidity, came together, they were able to acquire GM without any major problems.

“We will create a larger community than when we acquired GM. To the extent of instilling the perception that Bitcoin is safe as a key currency.”

“For that to happen, Taewo Group, fintech banks, and famous IT companies must participate in large numbers.”

“Wouldn’t it be enough for Amazon, Google, and even Facebook to all share a portion of Bitcoin?”

“These are all companies where the chairman is the largest shareholder, so it won’t be too difficult.”

How difficult would it be to change my company’s cash into Bitcoin?

Of course, from the perspective of minority shareholders, they could criticize him for doing something strange, but such comments would have been included even if the price of Bitcoin was twice as high as it is now.

“Dimon, go around to IT companies and convince them. If you need to, you can sell my name.”

“It’s not a task to convince them. But how do you plan to divide the shares?”

“Taewoo Group and Fintech Bank will each share 15%, and the three IT companies will share 10% each.”

“Then we will hold a total of 60%.”

“With that amount, we can suppress price volatility as much as possible. And we plan to control extreme price fluctuations by transferring about 5% to a paper company.”

The moment Bitcoin becomes money.

It was clear that the hyenas were going to play a trick.

I planned to intervene minimally only in that case.

“But isn’t Bitcoin continuing to be mined? Then the share of Bitcoin we have is decreasing.”

“The total quantity is set at 20 million anyway. Now that the price is low, we only need to secure 12 million.”

“We will secure Bitcoin so that it does not stand out as a fintech bank.”

“This matter is much more important than Dimon thought. So far, there have been two inflection points while running Taewo Group: the IMF and the Lehman crisis. And the next inflection point will be Bitcoin.”

The foundation of Taewoo Group was created with the IMF.

Taewoo Group expanded through the Lehman incident.

And through Bitcoin, Taewo Group can be made eternal.

“Is it comparable to the IMF and Lehman crisis?”

“Even in just 10 years, Bitcoin’s market capitalization will be hundreds of billions of dollars. That’s enough to buy a country. Of course, we have no intention of buying a country, and we have no intention of making profits with the Bitcoin we own. Just owning more than half of it gives you great power.”

Dimon still had a blank expression.

Although he represented the world’s largest financial company, he still had no confidence in Bitcoin.

“The companies that will benefit the most will be fintech banks. If you run a Bitcoin exchange, you will never run out of money in the future. You will be able to generate more than a billion dollars a quarter in transaction fees alone.”

“If that day comes, I might run around naked in the middle of New York!”

“I don’t necessarily want to see it, but if Dimon wants to do it, go ahead and do it. Even if you take off your clothes, make sure to wear a mask or a mask. If you come out to the media for no reason, you’ll get in trouble.”

I said this because I thought that day would never come.

However, within 10 years, there will be a Bitcoin craze.

When that time comes, I will definitely remind Dimon of the promise I made today.

You might be able to see the CEO of the world’s largest financial company dancing naked in the middle of New York.

* * *

After talking with Dimon, I returned to the hotel.

But there was a truly unexpected person secretly waiting for me at the hotel.

“Muhammad! What are you doing here?”

“I have been put in charge of the US electric vehicle charging station project. I have not been officially appointed yet, but I will be appointed as the person in charge within this week.”

“Are you already moving on your own? You’re really all grown up now.”

“It’s thanks to my brother. There won’t be many days left before I will be able to call him ‘hyung.’ When I become in charge and meet my brother, I will have to call him chairman.”

“You can keep calling me brother when we’re alone. There’s no need to be stiff between us.”

“Is that so?”

It was Bin Salman who still had a youthful appearance.

He only showed this side of himself in front of me, with whom he had interacted a lot since childhood.

“But how much are you trying to increase the scale to the point where you are in charge of the business yourself?”

“We plan to completely build electric vehicle infrastructure around the top 10 cities in the U.S. There may be more charging stations for electric vehicles than there are electric vehicles.”

It didn’t sound like a joke.

If Aramco’s capital was invested, electric vehicle charging facilities could increase exponentially.

No matter how popular the Apple Car is, there is a possibility that sales will not explode from the first year.

“Have you had any conversations with the U.S. government?”

“I only received a few hints. A politician on our side of the line told me that there might be a small subsidy for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations.”

Taewo Group had contacts with several American politicians.

Of course, Aramco also sponsors many American politicians, so it was not difficult to obtain information.

“Even if we receive subsidies, it will cost a considerable amount of money.”

“Is there a safer investment than the business that my brother was confident in? And starting with the United States, we will install electric vehicle charging facilities in major cities in Europe and Korea. Once the Saudi royal family spends money, they spend it generously.”

No one knew exactly the size of the Saudi royal family’s wealth.

It is said that the Saudi royal family possessed such enormous wealth that some say it exceeded $2 trillion.

“Investment in electric vehicle infrastructure may result in a loss right now, but in the long run, it can serve as a good cash cow.”

“We have no intention of making a profit right now. The royal family is very interested in finding future food sources. And my father is curious about when Riyadh’s electric vehicle infrastructure construction will begin.”

“At the latest, specialized personnel will be sent to Saudi Arabia within this month.”

“The scale of the construction may be bigger than you think. Since my father is the governor, the construction will be carried out on a very large scale.”

The third-ranking Saudi Arabian son was bin Salman’s father.

And he was also the person who would soon become the second-highest-ranking crown prince.

Since such a person said he was starting infrastructure construction on a large scale, I could guess that the scale of the project was beyond imagination.

“In the case of electric vehicle chargers, battery manufacturers are making them in large quantities, so all you have to do is install them. Taewoo Engineering & Construction only needs to do a little bit of construction, so it won’t take long.”

“I’m sure your brother will take care of it. And Saudi Arabia may soon request collaboration with Taewoo Securities.”

Not another affiliate, but Taewoo Securities?

This meant that they would work with us in the financial sector, not in the manufacturing business.

“Is this something to do with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund?”

“How did you know? As expected, you know the point right away with just one word. I am looking for a new investment in Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. And there is a very high possibility that I will choose Taewoo Securities as one of the companies I will join hands with.”

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund was not yet very large.

After bin Salman became crown prince, it was known that Aramco’s assets were transferred to a sovereign wealth fund and increased in size.

But the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is already trying to move.

It was a different development from the history I knew, and I thought it was probably a change that came about because I became close to the Saudi royal family.

“Is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund investing aggressively now?”

“I wouldn’t call it aggressive. To be honest, if I were running a sovereign wealth fund, I would have raised more money and invested aggressively. But now I’m being too passive.”

Bin Salman was already showing interest in Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Bin Salman knew me well for a long time, so he knew what I was doing on Wall Street, and he also knew that financial investments were profitable.

“Collaborating with Taewoo Securities does not necessarily mean good profits.”

“At least you won’t suffer any losses. And isn’t there an investment company on Wall Street that has a higher rate of return than your brother? I heard that SAVE Investment Company is one of the legends of Wall Street.”

“That’s a thing of the past. I don’t know what will happen in the future. If you’re just trusting me for no reason, it’s better not to do that.”

The human psychology was truly fascinating.

If someone forces me to buy something, I don’t want to buy it, but if I tell them it’s not for sale, I feel the urge to buy it.

That’s why I expressed my refusal to collaborate.

“Don’t worry too much. This is just a collaboration for now. The amount of investment will not be large.”

“If the Saudi royal family asks for a favor, of course I will accept it, but what kind of business can we do through collaboration?”

“I think I will leave it entirely to my brother. The sovereign wealth fund will just invest money, and you can invest that money where you want.”

It wasn’t a bad offer.

If we can get the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to side with Taewoo Group, the amount of money that can be moved will increase several times.

And considering the time when bin Salman becomes crown prince, it would have been a waste to miss this opportunity.

This is an opportunity to make the sovereign wealth fund, which holds over hundreds of trillions of won, an ally of Taewoo Group.