In 1593 a Dutch botanist named Carolus Clusius planted several tulip bulbs in his botanical garden and over time he proved their ability to grow in the harsh conditions of the Low Countries. Tulips were new to Europe and they looked nothing like plants the Dutch had seen. Furthermore, a virus specific to the Tulips (the mosaic virus) made them even more extraordinary. These particular tulips took years, often over a decade, to cultivate and would bloom with colors that appeared flame-like. It was a site to see. The novelty and scarcity of these tulips turned them into status symbols for a growing Dutch middle class that was seeing increased prosperity after their new found independence from the Spanish. Of course this created increased demand and, as a result, the price of tulips. Soon, the price of tulips became clearly excessive. At the peak of tulip mania, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10-15x the salary of the average craftsman—more than the price of the typical Dutch home. People were "flipping" tulips because of the appreciating market and there was even a futures market for tulips that drove prices even higher! Then one day in February of 1637, a tulip auction failed to attract buyers. It isn't clear why although some speculate that the bubonic plague kept most people home. At any rate, the merchants with tulips were thrown into a panic that resulted in a massive sell-off. In short order, the flowers became worthless. Now, every time you hear about a wild, speculative market that seems irrational, people bring up tulip-mania. So, is cryptocurrency the new tulip? A lot of people seem to think so including really smart people like Jim Rickards. Teeka Tiwari doesn't think so. He is a former hedge fund guy who has become one of the most vocal proponents of cryptocurrency in the mainstream. He is my guest on Wealth Formula Podcast this week. Whatever you conclude, this is a conversation that you simply cannot afford to miss. I believe that distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrency will fundamentally change the world. This is the rise of the internet in the mid-90s. How, if at all, are you going to get involved? Buck

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