How to Invest in the "Core" of AI, Crypto, and Real Estate in 2026 with Dan Daly

February 26, 2026

49 min episode · 2 min read

Dan Daly

Episode

49 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Artificial Intelligence, Crypto & Web3

AI-Generated Summary

Published Feb 27, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓Foundational Asset Framework: Identify the core resource powering each trend rather than the trend itself. When EVs and data centers created chip shortages in 2020, Daly bought semiconductor ETFs, then traced demand further upstream to copper and uranium ETFs — the raw materials semiconductors require. This "core of the onion" approach reduces single-stock risk while capturing structural growth.
✓Crypto Infrastructure Play: Rather than speculating on meme coins, position in blockchain "highways" — Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Hyperliquid, and Aave — that process all on-chain transactions. As governments tokenize treasuries and the broader financial system migrates on-chain, these networks function like toll booths collecting fees on every transaction regardless of which individual coin wins.
✓Home Equity Leverage Strategy: Homeowners with significant equity can extract it tax-free via a home equity loan, since property taxes were already paid throughout ownership. Daly pulled $500,000 tax-free from one paid-down property and used it to purchase three income-producing rentals, each fully tenant-occupied with mortgage costs covered by rental income.
✓Portugal Real Estate Arbitrage: Porto, Portugal offers 3.8% fixed 20-year mortgage rates versus 6.8% in the US, 50% loan-to-value financing, ~$300 annual property taxes, and ~€150 annual insurance. Fully renovated city-center apartments were purchasable for $300,000 in 2022 and have since doubled in value, while generating 98% Airbnb occupancy in a high-tourism, non-seasonal urban location.
✓Portugal Golden Visa Fund Structure: Investing €500,000 into a government-regulated fund grants permanent EU residency for an entire family — including spouse, children, and elderly dependents — under one application after five years. Investors receive an estimated 7% annual yield during the hold period plus an exit return when the fund's boutique hotel portfolio is sold to institutional buyers like major hotel chains.

What It Covers

Investor Dan Daly shares his framework for identifying foundational assets across three sectors: AI infrastructure (nuclear energy, semiconductors), cryptocurrency rails (Ethereum, Solana, XRP), and international real estate. He details how he built a Portugal short-term rental portfolio starting in 2022 and is now launching a $25M private equity fund.

Key Questions Answered

•Foundational Asset Framework: Identify the core resource powering each trend rather than the trend itself. When EVs and data centers created chip shortages in 2020, Daly bought semiconductor ETFs, then traced demand further upstream to copper and uranium ETFs — the raw materials semiconductors require. This "core of the onion" approach reduces single-stock risk while capturing structural growth.
•Crypto Infrastructure Play: Rather than speculating on meme coins, position in blockchain "highways" — Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Hyperliquid, and Aave — that process all on-chain transactions. As governments tokenize treasuries and the broader financial system migrates on-chain, these networks function like toll booths collecting fees on every transaction regardless of which individual coin wins.
•Home Equity Leverage Strategy: Homeowners with significant equity can extract it tax-free via a home equity loan, since property taxes were already paid throughout ownership. Daly pulled $500,000 tax-free from one paid-down property and used it to purchase three income-producing rentals, each fully tenant-occupied with mortgage costs covered by rental income.
•Portugal Real Estate Arbitrage: Porto, Portugal offers 3.8% fixed 20-year mortgage rates versus 6.8% in the US, 50% loan-to-value financing, ~$300 annual property taxes, and ~€150 annual insurance. Fully renovated city-center apartments were purchasable for $300,000 in 2022 and have since doubled in value, while generating 98% Airbnb occupancy in a high-tourism, non-seasonal urban location.
•Portugal Golden Visa Fund Structure: Investing €500,000 into a government-regulated fund grants permanent EU residency for an entire family — including spouse, children, and elderly dependents — under one application after five years. Investors receive an estimated 7% annual yield during the hold period plus an exit return when the fund's boutique hotel portfolio is sold to institutional buyers like major hotel chains.

Notable Moment

Daly described spending three months competing for US multifamily properties, only to repeatedly lose to 300+ competing buyers. Shifting to Porto, Portugal, he received broker callbacks within 20 minutes — illustrating how geographic arbitrage eliminates competition and creates deal access unavailable in saturated domestic markets.

Know someone who'd find this useful?