In short: Asked about the battleground name and its recent short report, he separates the man, the mission and the technology. The man: founder Josh Crumb "is somebody I've known for a long time and I have a very high regard for. He has been effectively a competitor of mine in the gold business… a very formidable competitor who I like." The mission: "we need more competition, technologically driven competition, in the exchange business, and I think what Josh is trying to do with regard to physically settled in a progressive regulatory environment, Singapore, a much less politicized regulatory environment, is a very good thing." Then the refusal, which is the point of the segment: "I need to admit to the questioner that my track record in science and technology is unblemished by success. So, I don't want to comment on Abaxx's technology… I did not take on the short report because I don't have a high regard for my own ability to analyze the technology." He contrasts it with a silver short report he did rebut, "where I had the advantage of understanding a lot more about the silver mining business than I do about exchange technology," and offers instead to interview Crumb so he can answer the charges to "a financially sophisticated, rational observer."
Abaxx is trying to build a commodity exchange in Singapore where contracts settle in the actual physical material rather than in cash — for things like battery metals and liquefied natural gas. It has been the subject of a short report, and the stock has not recovered.
Rule splits the question into three and answers only two. On the founder, Josh Crumb, he is positive: a long-standing and formidable competitor in the gold business whom he likes and respects. On the idea, he is positive too — more technological competition among exchanges is good, and doing it under Singapore's "much less politicized regulatory environment" is sensible.
On the actual investment case he refuses, and the refusal is the most valuable thing in the segment: "my track record in science and technology is unblemished by success." That is a joke with a real edge — he tried to be a technology investor in his thirties and was, in his words, amazed at his lack of success. So he will not judge Abaxx's technology and, notably, he did not defend the company against the short report either, because he cannot evaluate the claims. He contrasts it with a short attack on a silver company that he did take on, where he genuinely knew more than the sellers. The offer he makes instead is to interview Crumb publicly so a competent audience can judge the rebuttal. As the host summarises it: "that's how you get success — knowing what you're not good at."
29:55— Josh Crumb, the person behind it, is somebody I've known for a long time and I have a very high regard for. He has been effectively a competitor of mine in the gold business for a long time and I've watched him and he's a very formidable competitor who I like. I also believe that we need more competition, technologically driven competition, in the exchange business and I think what Josh is trying to do with regard to physically settled in a progressive regulatory environment, Singapore, a much
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