Misinformation Mondays: What Social Media Has Wrong
It would be difficult to produce more irresponsible content on finance
We launched Misinformation Mondays last week, and the response on X was solid–some reactions were civil, others…less so.
Now, it’s time for our second award …
🎉 Congratulations to Rajat Soni, aka “The Bitcoin Guy,” for earning this week’s Misinformation Award—for this gem:
Why is this misinformation? Where do we begin?
Soni seems to misunderstand what investing actually means. There’s no shame in being a speculator–just own it! Bitcoin is speculation, always, at any price. If you want to be an investor, that means prioritizing capital preservation and that’s a legitimate and respectable choice.
Index funds aren’t a “distraction.” They’re a foundational tool for long-term wealth building. For Soni, a CFA no less, to dismiss them is frankly irresponsible. Index funds offer passive, low-cost exposure to market performance. If you lack the time or expertise for detailed stock analysis and still believe in the U.S. market strength, this is your path. Warren Buffet thinks so too.
Rental properties? Also not a “distraction.” Yes, there are taxes and insurance. That’s called the cost of doing business. Run the numbers. If the return doesn’t work out for you, move on–but don’t mislead others by oversimplifying the model. Spend a little time on Biggerpockets.com and you’ll soon realize there are potential real estate investments that can be had in all corners of the nation.
As for crypto: ETH and XRP might be valid speculative plays. Bitcoin maxis love to harp on the price of every other coin while ignoring that everything speculative can pump. If you care about returns, be consistent. (Full disclosure: I hold a small amount of XRP–not as an investment, but purely a speculative play. My thesis is that it might better serve as a medium of exchange than Bitcoin. I could also be wrong.)
The sad part? Soni has 125k+ followers. And he’s spreading these half-baked ideas with conviction as a CFA. This isn’t a “reasonable disagreement.” It’s financial misinformation with a credentialed seal of approval. He is completely disconnected from finance.
As we flagged a couple weeks ago: The CFA Institute has a code of conduct–but until it holds members accountable for spreading misinformation, that code is simply window dressing and they risk sliding into irrelevance.
