I spoke with @AviFelman about: - why he sold all of his bitcoin - the AI trade - memory stock boom - financialization of everyday life - current biote...
Anthony Pompliano interviewed investor Avi Felman about his decision to sell all of his bitcoin and crypto holdings, the AI trade, the memory stock boom, biotech and defense tech positions, rare earth minerals, and the psychology of trading volatile markets. Felman also discussed what would make him buy bitcoin again, the Hyperliquid thesis, and why index fund returns may be lower going forward.
Background
A tweet from Anthony Pompliano ("Pomp"), a prominent Bitcoin bull and host of The Pomp Podcast, teasing an interview with Avi Felman — a well-known crypto hedge fund manager who co-founded the crypto fund BlockTower Capital before leaving it in 2023. This conversation is notable because Felman publicly sold all his Bitcoin, a contrarian move for someone deeply embedded in the crypto world, to pivot into AI, biotech, defense, and rare-earth mineral plays. The post is aimed at Pomp's audience of retail investors, crypto enthusiasts, and followers of macro finance. The "memory stock boom" refers to the 2023-2024 surge in semiconductor memory companies (like SK Hynix, Micron, Samsung) driven by AI demand. "Financialization of everyday life" is a critique of how everything from sneakers to collectibles is being turned into tradable financial assets. Felman's shift reflects a broader rotation among sophisticated investors: moving from pure crypto bets toward AI infrastructure and tangible supply-chain plays (rare earths, defense) that benefit from geopolitical tensions and the AI buildout.