Sunday Essentials 🪥 by JAD (8/4/24)
Your bi-weekly reminder to brush and floss every day - and more!
Gm gm everyone~
Lots of market updates over the past two weeks - down, up, then back down again.
Recession fears have recently come back, with geopolitical tension causing some strain over the past 48 hours.
We really are on a rollercoaster ride 🎢
Let’s dive in below ⤵️
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The ETH ETFs had ~$1B in volume on the first day of trading 🎉
Comparatively, that’s around 23% of what the BTC ETFs had on the first day.
Since then, however, there have been steady net outflows from the ETH ETFs.
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Speaking of BTC ETFs…the bitcoin2024 conference took place last weekend, with a lot of promising news.
Some key takeaways:
BlackRock reported nearly 6 months of inflows for the BTC ETF, with only one day of outflows
RFK Jr. announced his plan if elected President: for the US Treasury to buy 550 BTC each day until a total of 4M BTC is held, while also making crypto transactions tax-free
Edward Snowden lauded BTC as a shield against corruption, while also urging voters to take precautions over politicians championing crypto
Senator Cynthia Lummis proposed a bill for for the US Government to buy 5% of the total BTC supply (~1.05M BTC) and to hold it for at least 20 years in a bid to end nationwide debt
Michael Saylor shared his price predictions for BTC by the year 2050
Either way….BULLISH Trump announced his intent for the US Government to acquire 1M BTC, to ban any proposal for a US CBDC, and encouraged growth and potential of BTC and crypto within the US
These are merely vague takeaways from the overall conference.
Before getting too excited, it’s best to remember that these are merely predictions and promises.
Either way, stay humble and stack sats*.
↳ *Sats = Satoshis, the smallest unit of a Bitcoin
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All this to say, we’re seeing a tumultuous time in the market right now.
In particular, the stock market saw ~$1.1T wiped out on Wednesday the 24th, showcasing a very red market. Yes, that’s a T for trillion.
What goes down, must come back up. Right…? 🤔
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To me, it’s always interesting when you see finance influencers on YouTube talking more about crypto.
I used to watch Andrei Jikh a lot when I started my financial journey, so it was fun seeing this video come out last week.
Definitely worth a listen/watch if you’re mildly convinced of the importance that Bitcoin will play in the years to come.
And in the words of Ian Rogers…
“You're looking at Bitcoin as the best performing asset of the last 10 years. I can't see why you wouldn't have a piece of it in your portfolio. Honestly, that would make zero sense to me why you would have zero exposure. Unless you just have some ideological problem with it. And that's called religion, which is not something I'm interested in.”
Learn about and make the decision for yourself.
Remember what they say…“you buy BTC at the price that you deserve”.
Such a belittling statement 😂
Yet also true 👀
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Oh, and California’s DMV officially digitized and added 42M car titles to the Avalanche (AVAX) blockchain.
This will help in fraud detection, simplification of title transfer process, and reducing the need for in-person DMV visits.
Cool stuff!
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With all that’s happening in the world, it’s never a bad idea to frequently reassess your personal situation and adjust your plan from there.
Enjoy~ ☕️
Telegram is launching a web3-based app store directly in-app 👀
Ferrari has begun accepting BTC and ETH payments in Europe 🏎️
Marathon Digital bought $100M of BTC, bringing its total holdings to 20k BTC 🎉
Proton announced their own self-custody Bitcoin wallet, joining its suite of email, calendar, VOPN, and password protection services 🔒
It was revealed that Tesla has not sold any of its 11.5k BTC that it’s held over the years 💯
Latin American crypto exchange, Bitso, has partnered with Lightspark to bring Lightning payments to 8M users ⚡️
OneMedNet, a US public company, has disclosed purchasing ~$1.8M in BTC ✅
Ledger unveiled their latest product, Ledger Flex 🔒
🇺🇸 US national debt has crossed $35T for the first time
🇺🇸 The University of Wyoming is launching a Bitcoin Research Institute
🇺🇸 The state of Michigan revealed that they have added ~$6.6M of BTC ETFs
🇺🇸 Jersey City has added BTC to its city pension fund
🇨🇳 China cut rates by 0.25% in an attempt to boost its economy
🇬🇷 Greece will be introducing a crypto tax framework for 2025
🇭🇰 Hong Kong lawmakers are proposing a Bitcoin strategic reserve
🏴 The Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.25%
🇷🇺 Russia has legalized crypto mining and is now allowing cross-border payments with crypto
My Thoughts On…
Memecoins are fun / Memecoins are scary
In what universe does a +100% gain in one day seem normal? Only in memecoins/crypto. And it’s crazy that this can be normal.
Services like Photon on Solana make trading memecoins very easy. Perhaps too easy.
A click of a button —> transaction completes (hopefully) —> sit back and watch.
What I have learned about trading memecoins is that it is full of infinite regret.
Don’t get caught up with the hype and the noise. Choose your targets and execute when the time is right. I’ve been burned by not doing so before 🥲
Either way, it’s not something I engage with regularly - merely me having fun in my virtual casino.
Having a pulse on culture is important in timing memecoins; but who can really time memecoins perfectly?
Certainly not I.
Only play with what you’re willing to lose 💯
What I’m Reading / Re-Reading
Essentially…Resy meets American Express meets blockchain.
In his latest post, Packy McCormick uncovers the inner workings of Blackbird, the dining app that rewards loyalty.
This is a prime example of how blockchain can be used to provide incentives for all, while also promoting ownership in what we do.
I won’t even attempt to summarize Packy’s piece, so read it here ⤵️
This particular comparison caught my eye 👀
What I will say….I’m patiently waiting for Blackbird’s services to expand to California 🍽️
What I’m Watching
God Bless Bitcoin by Swan Bitcoin
This 90-minute documentary is a fantastic introduction to the use cases of Bitcoin.
This is a must-watch for those interested in learning more (even with the religious references peppered in).
Who knows, you may just learn something about your relationship with money.
What I’m Considering Buying
One of my guilty pleasures when going on vacation is taking extra long showers - especially if there is a rainfall shower head.
Imagine my surprise when walking through the store, seeing that anyone could have a nice rainfall shower head of their own.
Not sure why I never thought about changing my shower head before…
Clearly I’ve never done home renovations before.
Either way, what I did notice is that Waterpik seemed to be one of the best shower head in the market, touting FDA-registered wellness benefits.
Admittedly, I did not know that Waterpik was involved in “the shower head game”. I thought their only product was the dental product they have.
I’ll do a bit more research before taking the plunge with this one.
Stoic Passage
Everyone (And Everything) Is Like A River
“No man steps in the same river twice.”
In part because the river is always changing; and so is the man.
Quality of Life Improvement
Digital De-Cluttering —> Zen Art/File Organization
I’ve always been a pretty organized person.
That said, I’ve noticed my desktop becoming increasingly busy with screenshots, charts, and “to do” reminders over the past several weeks.
It’s time to get back to my roots.
This post that I found archived in a Reddit thread was helpful - albeit a bit outdated.
I find joy in listening to a podcast/instrumental music while going through my entire computer and deleting/reorganizing all my files.
Very therapeutic.
Quote I’m Pondering
“When you pay high for the priceless…you’re getting it cheap.”
Photo of the Week
Stay safe out there and be happy~
Best,
Philip
Disclaimer:
All thoughts and opinions are my own; please DYOR (do your own research) and remember that this is NFA (not financial advice). After all, I’m just another dentist.