Problem
Brad first bought bitcoin in late 2020 after a business partner recommended he read The Bitcoin Standard. What started as a small position grew to roughly 40% of his portfolio and he had no intention of selling it.
The problem? Brad and Susan were 2 years from their target retirement date, and they had serious questions no one could answer:
"Can we actually retire without ever touching our bitcoin?"
Their current financial advisor at a large wirehouse didn't understand bitcoin at all. He kept recommending they "take profits" and move into bonds, advice that made Brad cringe every time he heard it. Meanwhile, their bitcoin sat on a Ledger in a fireproof safe, with no documented plan for Susan or their three adult children to access it if something happened to Brad.
Susan was supportive, but admittedly nervous. She understood why Brad believed in bitcoin, but she also wanted peace of mind that their retirement wasn't riding on a single asset. Their non-bitcoin investments, mostly index funds and some individual stocks, felt "fine" but they weren’t confident it would provide the growth and protection they desired if Brad’s thesis on where things were headed played out. Brad knew bonds would get crushed by inflation and did not want to regret listening to a traditional advisor with their retirement.
On top of everything, their estate plan was a basic will from 2015 that was written prior to their bitcoin purchases and left them fully exposed to probate.
They felt stuck between two worlds: the traditional financial system that didn't understand them, and the bitcoin community that told them to go 100% bitcoin (which didn't feel right either).
The Approach
Brad found Strong Wealth through a podcast interview and immediately resonated with our philosophy: we don't ask clients to choose between bitcoin and sound financial planning, we integrate both.After our discovery call, it was clear Brad and Susan needed three things:
A retirement plan that incorporated bitcoin without requiring them to sell it—including modeling various bitcoin price scenarios and withdrawal strategies from their traditional assets.
An estate plan overhaul with a proper trust structure, fresh bitcoin custody setup, and a bitcoin inheritance protocol so Susan and their kids would know exactly how to access the cold storage bitcoin if needed.
A sophisticated approach to their non-bitcoin assets that aligned with their worldview about the financial system while providing growth and downside protection.
We walked them through our proprietary Fluvius strategy for their non-bitcoin assets—a trend and momentum approach that Brad, an analytical business owner, immediately appreciated. He had actually tried to build something similar himself but couldn't figure out how to make it work.
Solutions
Brad and Susan now have complete clarity on their path to retirement:
Detailed projections showing they can retire comfortably in 2 years while keeping their bitcoin intact
A clear withdrawal strategy from their traditional accounts, including Roth conversion analysis
Multiple scenario plans accounting for different bitcoin price trajectories
A comprehensive trust that protects their assets from probate and minimizes estate taxes
A documented bitcoin inheritance protocol with step-by-step instructions for Susan and their children
Proper titling of all accounts and assets
$1.8M of their non-bitcoin assets now managed under our Fluvius strategy
Their bitcoin remains in cold storage, exactly where they want it
A diversified approach that doesn't rely on bonds or blindly holding index funds
The Peace of Mind
As Brad told us after our first review: "For the first time, I feel like I have advisors who actually get it. You're not trying to talk me out of bitcoin, and you're not telling me to put everything into it either. You're helping me build a plan that makes sense for my family."
Susan added: "I can finally sleep at night knowing that if something happens to Brad, I won't be scrambling to figure out how to access our bitcoin. It's all documented, and I've even practiced the process."