Bitcoin’s recent gains are about as relevant as Liz Truss. But banks, earnings, inflation, rates and investment remain critical. Now shadow banking investment is under threat – which isn’t going to help.
Crypto has fallen 30% through May. The headlines about scams, illegality, and outright theft obscure the key facts; its overly complex, vulnerable and doesn’t actually do anything we can’t already do better. It’s terribly clever, but a pointless, busted bubble.
Some investment banks are picking up cheap Russian assets – which negates the purpose and aims of sanctions, and will simply fuel Putin’s propaganda machine. Meanwhile, Blain’s stupidity index is only down 38% - which shows there are still greater fools out there…
The immediate financial market outlook is risk-off driven by Ukraine, followed by rising fears and concerns about inflation policy mistakes, wondering when to pick the bottom in the tech cycle to buy great ideas, why Boeing should be in jail, and longer-term concerns about where we are going in terms of transition.
If there is common theme to some of the market’s speculative bubbles its their thin supporting veneers of fake credibility and plausible deniability. Trump’s Social Media empire, Bitcoin and Evergrande – all share a core of fundamental emptiness.
Yesterday’s events across Tech served to remind us it’s a fluid sector where what we believe one day may be false the next, but deep down there is bedrock. Crypto currencies saw a last-chance bubble pop, while Tesla genuinely surprised me by producing solid results – which don’t for one moment change my perspective its fatally overvalued. Meanwhile, the latest China clampdown on listed stocks shocked markets, but reminds us we need to think differently about the wakening Dragon.
The successful mass pushback on the European Super League may seem a minor issue contained in the sports arena, but it highlights growing voter dissatisfaction with politics, wealth inequality, questions who will pay for funding recovery, and just how much longer the speculative bubbles can continue as the world changes.
Today is Earth Day and the world’s leaders will be considering the theme of Restoring Our Earth. I have a very simple and modest proposal to make.
Ban Bitcoin!
Coinbase’s direct listing was a muted success. It looks likely to trade in line with volatile bitcoin and other cryptos. On the back of the claims of increased “adoption” of Crypto by the Street, the exchange has first mover status meeting the need for the facilitation of safe crypto investment while expanding services for holders – but what does it fundamentally mean about the long-term future of the “crypto-ecosystem”?
It’s not what you know about value – it’s what the market believes that matters when it comes to price. Will Call My Agent win the streaming wars? And will widespread adoption fuel a massive boom in Socks… just the shills say has happened in Bitcoin?
