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Author: 0o-de-lally

knowledge_base/an-investment-strategy.md

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+# Motivating the Case for a Perpetual Investment DAO
+
+## 1. The Problem
+
+Everyone wants to participate in the future — but most people can’t.
+Long-term, transformative investments are locked behind closed doors: venture capital firms, elite networks, and private funds. Public markets are largely a museum of the old world.
+
+Blockchain once promised to change that. It was simple: an asset available to anyone that bottled up the future because blockchain would touch everything. But spend enough time in the space and you see the cracks:
+
+* **Access isn’t equal** — private sales and VC deals have dominated credible opportunities since around 2017 (see block.one).
+* **The technology story has faded** — blockchain now competes with every other fintech and automation technology yet to emerge.
+
+The demand remains: *participate in the future*. But most blockchains have failed to deliver.
+
+## 2. Why Blockchain Missed
+
+Crypto evangelists made two key mistakes:
+
+1. Assuming the technology itself would always be relevant and drive value.
+2. Building ecosystems where entrepreneurs must:
+
+   * Build software solutions
+   * On specialized compute (smart contracts)
+   * In your specific programming language
+   * On your blockchain, and
+   * Expect it to interoperate globally
+
+This filters out nearly every reasonable entrepreneur in the world. It’s an impossible funnel.
+
+The result: most blockchains will never convert their depreciating, inflationary assets into compounding assets. Culture, inertia, and coordination costs keep them locked in tech evangelism mode.
+
+## 3. The Real Prize
+
+Markets may reward hype in the short term — a beauty contest between all tradable global assets. But over time, the only thing that matters is **compounding**.
+Whether slow or fast, compounding is what makes assets perpetual.
+
+If a crypto asset doesn’t fail like company equity or government debt, then the rent it produces decades into the future has real present value. Smart contracts can lock in guarantees between changing parties over time. This — and only this — is where blockchain’s technology still matters.
+
+## 4. OL’s Approach
+
+We’re taking a direct shot: no side quests. As blockchain narratives fade, there’s a blue ocean of investment opportunities that haven’t yet been tested.
+
+We’ll take the good parts of decentralized assets and improve the bad. OL’s design rests on three principles:
+
+1. **Perpetual structure** — infrastructure designed for an asset that can last.
+2. **Minimal overhead** — lean operations for maximum capital efficiency.
+3. **Programmable trust** — long-term agreements between anonymous parties via smart contracts.
+
+## 5. The Strategy — Building a Perpetual Endowment
+
+Our long-term vision is to operate with the discipline and scope of a **philanthropic endowment** or **sovereign wealth fund** — capital managed for the benefit of its stakeholders in perpetuity. That requires balancing near-term opportunities with long-term compounding assets, and structuring our portfolio for resilience in all conditions.
+
+We will **bootstrap** by leveraging what we know best: blockchain. This is our starting ground, but we are clear-eyed about the market’s trajectory. The credible opportunities are few, the time window is closing, and overpaying for blockchain exposure is a mistake. When we pursue blockchain ventures, we will do so strategically, often as **in-house developments** where we control cost, execution, and capital efficiency.
+
+**Short-term, liquid opportunities** — in public markets — will serve as ballast for the portfolio. These include U.S. Treasuries, blue-chip equities, broad market ETFs, options strategies, and insurance trades (such as shorts on overvalued assets like Bitcoin or high-flying tech). While these markets are open to anyone, an **endowment structure** offers distinct advantages:
+
+1. **Perpetual time horizon** — allowing us to buy quality assets and let compounding work without forced liquidation.
+2. **Capital allocation discipline** — no quarterly earnings pressure; investment decisions made for long-term benefit.
+3. **Liquidity management** — ability to meet obligations without fire sales during downturns.
+4. **Tax efficiency** — structuring and jurisdictional advantages that reduce leakage over decades.
+5. **Cultural alignment** — a shared mission around growth, stability, and intergenerational benefit.
+
+These short-term and liquid positions are not designed to maximize yield but to **insure in all weather conditions**. U.S. Treasuries anchor safety. Berkshire Hathaway offers a proven compounder with diversified exposure. Tactical shorts — in assets like Nvidia or Bitcoin — can hedge frothy conditions and provide dry powder when valuations reset.
+
+The real growth engine lies in **major inflection points** — AI, robotics, bioscience, and other transformative technologies. These opportunities are **needles in haystacks**. Access often requires participation in private company equity rounds, which in turn demands **talented managers** and network reach. Over time, we will build this capability. Until then, we can explore creating **new investable instruments** that give us targeted exposure:
+
+* **Synthetic assets** that track novel datasets or market events.
+* **Futures and options** on emerging technologies or intellectual property.
+* **Tokenized structures** for early-stage innovation pools.
+
+In all cases, the test is the same: does the asset, position, or venture contribute to **compounding value** over decades without introducing unsustainable risk? Our investment mix will be designed not to chase hype cycles, but to build a base of perpetual capital that can adapt, grow, and survive technological shifts.
+
+## 6. Roadmap for Bootstrapping and Growth
+
+### Phase 0: Foundation & Governance (0–3 months)
+
+* Define governance structure and DAO roles
+* Establish legal scaffolding and compliance
+* Audit and allocate LBR treasury between liquidity, strategic investments, and operations
+* Align community with mission and expectations
+
+### Phase 1: Bootstrapping with Liquid Markets (3–12 months)
+
+* Allocate portion of treasury to Treasuries, equities, ETFs, and tactical hedges
+* Develop investment infrastructure and transparent reporting
+* Set benchmarks for portfolio performance
+
+### Phase 2: Strategic Blockchain Ventures (6–18 months)
+
+* Identify high-conviction blockchain projects
+* Develop in-house ventures with controlled risk
+* Guardrails on treasury exposure to speculative investments
+
+### Phase 3: Private Market Access & Manager Development (12–36 months)
+
+* Recruit managers for private equity and transformative technologies
+* Pilot private equity positions in AI, robotics, bioscience
+* Explore synthetic instruments, futures, and options on novel cases
+
+### Phase 4: Perpetual Endowment Scaling (36–60 months)
+
+* Diversify portfolio across liquid assets, private investments, in-house ventures, and derivatives
+* Formalize DAO culture around compounding and long-term incentives
+* Expand innovation capabilities and partnerships
+* Evolve governance for scale and transparency
+
+### Key Principles Throughout
+
+* Conservatism in allocation: start small, scale confidently
+* Strategic flexibility to pivot into high-impact opportunities
+* Align governance, incentives, and decisions toward compounding value
+* Maintain transparency to build community trust and attract talent
+
+## 7. Conclusion
+
+Open Libra exists to solve the problem most blockchains cannot: participation in the future for those outside elite networks. Our model combines the **durable traits of decentralized assets**, the **discipline of an endowment**, and the **flexibility to explore transformative opportunities**.
+
+We are committed to building a **perpetual investment DAO**, where capital compounds over generations, technology enables durable agreements, and enlightened participants labor together to turn opportunity into long-term value.