The Wolf Of All Streets — "Grant Cardone’s $22 Billion Mistake & How He’s Fixing It With Bitcoin"

Host: Scott Melker
Guest: Grant Cardone
Date: August 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Scott Melker sits down with real estate titan Grant Cardone to discuss Cardone’s transition from real estate domination to integrating Bitcoin into massive real estate deals. Cardone candidly reveals his $22 billion “mistake” of not going all-in on Bitcoin sooner, detailing his new hybrid investment model that combines trophy properties and digital assets. The conversation deep-dives into why Cardone views diversification as a trap for the young, what makes his Bitcoin-real estate funds unique, where the real estate market really stands, and how mainstream investors can ride both hard asset waves. The dialogue is both practical and philosophical, filled with Cardone’s trademark bluntness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Grant’s Introduction to Bitcoin & Missed Opportunity

• Early Encounter: Grant was introduced to Bitcoin in 2012/2013 as speaking gig payment in BTC, which he initially considered flipping (“I said, I'll just flip it and get my cash. And I didn't. I never. I never sold it.” – Cardone, [04:29]).
• Ownership First, Education Later: Cardone’s onboarding to Bitcoin was through passive ownership, not “orange-pilling” or technical education (“I've always believed you earn and then you learn, you know, once you earn something...you become more curious about how to win again.” – Cardone, [05:13]).
• The $22 Billion Calculation: If Cardone had converted the $143 million he's distributed to himself from real estate into Bitcoin since 2013, it would be worth $22 billion today (“This is the chart that changed me.” – Cardone, [29:45]).

2. Real Estate Meets Bitcoin — The New Model

• Merging Assets: Cardone now converts positive cash flow from real estate into Bitcoin on a regular basis.
• Unique Fund Structure: His funds combine trophy real estate with significant Bitcoin allocations (“This most recent one is the largest real estate bitcoin deal ever done on planet Earth. It's $235 million...and we added $100 million of Bitcoin to it.” – Cardone, [00:49], [09:53]; further details at [10:57]).
• True to BTC Ethos: Cardone eschews financial engineering, simply allocating passive income from real estate into BTC (“You're just converting income that you're making...into bitcoin, which is a hedge against the losses of that very income over time.” – Melker, [08:12]).

3. Intricacies of the Deals

• Deal Mechanics: Details on structuring bankruptcy deals, using “stalking horse” bids, and adding BTC to LLCs ([10:57]).
• Multiple Exit Strategies: Cardone lists four possible exits: flip to another developer, condo conversion, improve NOI & refinance, or take the entity public ([14:53]).
• Investor Profile: 80% of new investors in these deals had never invested with Cardone before and owned no Bitcoin—suggesting the BTC hook attracts new, non-crypto-native people ([25:08]).

4. Barriers to Copying the Model

• Why REITs Can’t Compete: “The REITs can never do this. Their organizational limitations, their rules. There are bylaws. They cannot keep bitcoin or cash on their balance sheet, number one.” – Cardone, [16:38]
• Relationship & Access Moats: Trophy real estate opportunities are only possible through deep, decades-long industry relationships ([19:30]).

5. Real Estate & Bitcoin: Hedge and Growth

• Cash Flow vs. ‘Never Sell’ BTC: Real estate provides ongoing income and depreciation benefits, while Bitcoin provides outsized (but volatile) price appreciation ([11:51], [29:11]).
• Easy On-ramp Product: Many new investors are drawn simply because they trust Cardone’s real estate expertise and the possibility of upside from Bitcoin, not because they are true believers ([27:09]).

6. Advice for Young & New Investors

• Invest In Yourself First: Cardone urges young people not to diversify but to “go all in on one thing”—primarily themselves first ([31:09], [33:03]).
• Steady, Patient Approach: Cites Mark Yusko’s observation that the best-performing investment accounts are those of dead people—because they don’t sell in a panic ([29:11]).
• Don’t Go Full BTC Initially: “...the bitcoin community is going to hate me for this, but I don't believe the first thing should be bitcoin. For those kids. I think it should be something that provides cash flow. And they convert the cash flow to bitcoin...” ([35:00]).

7. Skepticism Toward BTC-Only Treasury Companies

• Avoiding The “Gold Rush”: Cardone is wary of companies liquidating all real estate to become Bitcoin treasuries, predicting a washout among those chasing Saylor without real business fundamentals ([35:36], [36:08]).
• Risks in Financial Engineering: “...bitcoin treasury company number 79...Those premiums are going to be arbed away right back to the price of bitcoin and so anyone who's in between there is going to get wrecked.” – Melker, [36:08]

8. Real Estate Market Insights (2025)

• Single-Family Weakness: Cardone does not recommend buying single-family homes, describes that market as “destroyed,” and says the best deals in America are in multifamily, high-quality properties ([21:15]).
• Multifamily Market Opportunities: Asserts this is the best buyer’s market he’s seen in his career, especially for those who can buy in bulk at below-replacement cost ([40:36], [41:02]).
• Rents to Double: Projects that rents for high-quality properties will double over the next decade due to scarcity and lack of affordable new builds ([41:26]).

9. Exploring New BTC-Real Estate Products

• Bitcoin-Powered Mortgages: Explores ideas like using Bitcoin as PMI (private mortgage insurance) and envisions new mortgage products blending BTC and real estate ([45:54]).
• Banks & Mainstream Finance: Notes the lag in institutional product innovation, and forecasts huge business opportunities if alternative lenders can figure out Bitcoin-backed mortgage insurance ([47:56]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Missing Out:
  "This is what I've paid myself since 2013 in real estate. I paid myself...it's $143 million that would be worth $22 billion today had I just converted it to bitcoin. This is the chart that changed me."
  — Grant Cardone, [29:45]

• On Copycats:
  "The REITs can never do this...They cannot keep bitcoin or cash on their balance sheet, number one."
  — Cardone, [16:38]

• On Real-World Utility:
  “Bitcoin cannot solve every problem on the planet...All I'm saying to you is like, if we could merge these two together...”
  — Cardone, [17:58]

• On Customer Demographics:
  "The quality of our investor went up, the age went up. Okay? 80% of them owned no bitcoin, and 80% had never invested with me. The moment I added the bitcoin...it was like, 'there's 15 million bucks.'"
  — Cardone, [25:08]

• On Risk and Commitment:
  "If people could just...the real estate's the...the thing about real estate is you can't, you can't sell it easily. And I personally like that. Right. And, and the, I also like it about bitcoin because if I can't find my keys, I can't sell my real estate today. So it takes the emotion out of the process..."
  — Cardone, [28:05]

• Investment Philosophy:
  “You got to find a vehicle to invest in, not 10 vehicles. Young people should not be diversifying. They should be going all in on one thing.”
  — Cardone, [35:00]

• On the RE Market Opportunity:
  “In 2010, you'd steal one condo. In 2025, you can steal 300 units.”
  — Cardone, [41:02]

Important Timestamps

• The $22 Billion Missed Opportunity Revealed: [29:45]
• Real Estate & Bitcoin Fund Structure Explained: [10:57]
• Multiple Exits for Mega-Deals: [14:53]
• Why REITs Can’t Compete: [16:38]
• Major Investor Insights: [25:08]
• Advice to Young Investors: [31:09], [35:00]
• Bitcoin as Mortgages/PMI Discussion: [45:54]

Summary Flow & Takeaways

Grant Cardone opens the episode reflecting on his earliest Bitcoin experience, realizing only recently the magnitude of missing out on simply allocating his real estate profits into Bitcoin. This epiphany leads him to engineer a hybrid fund model, blending high-quality, cash-flowing real estate with large Bitcoin positions—arguably more conservatively and efficiently than most Bitcoin treasury plays in the market today.

Cardone’s approach is methodical: prioritize what you do best, compound it, and only invest in what you understand. He expresses skepticism toward most forms of financial engineering, advocating simplicity—convert passive real estate income to Bitcoin. Unlike many Bitcoin die-hards, Cardone is not evangelical about Bitcoin replacing everything; rather, he views it as a turbocharger for an already robust real asset portfolio.

For younger investors, the core message is to invest in themselves and build a business or career before seeking the “big score” in Bitcoin or anything else. Diversification is, in his world, a distraction for those without capital or cash flow.

The episode provides unique transparency into large-scale investment strategy at the juncture of two of the world’s hottest asset classes, real estate and Bitcoin, from someone who’s learned from missing the “easy” play—and is now determined not to repeat old mistakes.

For more details or to invest, Cardone’s signature style makes his pitch clear:
“Cardonecapital.com man. Let's go, baby.” — Cardone, [44:58]

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of property and digital finance, or looking for a candid, no-BS take on building serious wealth.