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📖 Book of the Month 📖
This month, I am re-reading The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe. If you have not read or listened to the audiobook (free link below). I cannot recommend it enough. In my opinion, this is one of the most important books of the last 20 years. I know it sounds hyperbolic, but give it a read or listen and judge for yourself!
Listen to The Fourth Turning For Free with Audible. Link
💭✍🏼 Food For Thought 💭 ✍🏼
Treasury Department Says only Licensed Banks (a/ka. "insured depository institutions") Should be Stablecoin Issuers - Link
The issue of the Fed trading during the Pandemic is one of the greatest scandals of the decade in my opinion. The people here literally set the "price of money" and have all sorts of knowledge. But for the easy money policies Crypto and most other assets would not have "mooned" in 2020-2021. Now that the pendulum is swining back the other way--expect some sort of walled garden firewalls that could create unintended consequences. This is chaos theory at work. Link
This is the cover story for this week's Economist. Worth reading ⬇️ Link
Since nothing happens in a vacuum and talk of war (amongst everything else is picking up pace quickly). I think it apropos to revisit Kiplings famous poem from 1895.
📜 📜 The Law of the Jungle by Rudyard Kipling, The Second Jungle Book ⬇️ Link
Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back—
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep.
The jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the Wolf is a hunter—go forth and get food of thine own.
Keep peace with the Lords of the Jungle—the Tiger, the Panther, the Bear;
And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the Boar in his lair.
When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken—it may be fair words shall prevail.
When ye fight with a Wolf of the Pack, ye must fight him alone and afar,
Lest others take part in the quarrel, and the Pack be diminished by war.
The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, and where he has made him his home,
Not even the Head Wolf may enter, not even the Council may come.
The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain,
The Council shall send him a message, and so he shall change it again.
If ye kill before midnight, be silent, and wake not the woods with your bay,
Lest ye frighten the deer from the crops, and the brothers go empty away.
Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can;
But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man.
If ye plunder his Kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride;
Pack-Right is the right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide.
The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies;
And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies.
The Kill of the Wolf is the meat of the Wolf. He may do what he will,
But, till he has given permission, the Pack may not eat of that Kill.
Cub-Right is the right of the Yearling. From all of his Pack he may claim
Full-gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same.
Lair-Right is the right of the Mother. From all of her year she may claim
One haunch of each kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same.
Cave-Right is the right of the Father—to hunt by himself for his own.
He is freed of all calls to the Pack; he is judged by the Council alone.
Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw,
In all that the Law leaveth open, the word of the Head Wolf is Law.
Now these are the Laws of the Jungle, and many and mighty are they;
But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is—Obey!
💸 Companies and Deals I am Watching Closely 💸
1. Alchemy, a node infrastructure company, raised $200 million in a Series C1 from Lightspeed Ventures and Silver Lake. - Link
2. Aleo, a privacy focused smart contract platform, raised $200 million in a Series B from SoftBank, Kora Management, a16z and Tiger among others. - Link
3. Sardine, a compliance platform, raised $19.5 million in a Series A from a16z, NYCA and Experian Ventures - Link
📖 Quote of the Week 📖:
“None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are.” ― Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat
📰 This Weeks Most Interesting Digital Asset News 📰:
- Saudi Arabi Invests $6.4 Billion Into the Metaverse - Link
2. In Fair Wheather Friend's News GameStop Sells IMX Tokens - Link
3. Senator Pat Toomey Is Concerned About the Chinese CBDC - Link
4. Brantly Millegan, the public facing Ethereum Naming Service team lead, was "cancelled" for 2016s - Link
📈 Top 10 Market Movements by Market Cap over the last 7 days 📉:
Bitcoin: Price OHLC
I have updated this chart again this week but purposefully highlighted OHLC from last Sunday. As you can see the price has round tripped after hitting a temporary high in the $45,000 range. I am sticking with my view that the on-chain data is going to remain subject to the broader macro economic and increasingly geo political backdrop for the near term. To re-iterate, I am not a perma bear or a bull or any of those labels. I think that the long term prospects of BTC ending up as a monetary reserve asset as actually high and I have a few videos on this topic (stay tuned for that). I simply prefer to hold more cash on hand at the moment versus remaining in Crypto. Finally, if you are reading this thank you--you have discovered an Easter Egg which is that I purposefully include more nuanced thoughts in these sections of the newsletter. As I have been saying for weeks, I think this generation's Millennial + Gen Z are potentially starting at a re-incarnation of the Dot com era bust. I am a millennial, I just read a lot of economic history and happen to have been old enough and directly engaged on the the tech side of the tech boom of 1999-2000 to remember it better than my non nerd young adult compatriots.
Bitcoin: Exchange Net Transfer Volume from/to Exchanges - All Exchanges
Updated for this week, we can see that Bitcoin still continues to leave exchanges but as noted above---on chain data is not "driving the bus" at this time.
Ethereum: Net Transfer Volume from/to Exchanges - All Exchanges
Ethereum remains in a range and as noted for Bitcoin, the on-chain data is not driving the bus for Ethereum either. Arguably what is driving things are layer 2 scaling solutions such as Polygon and Immutable X. Be on the look out for more on those protocols.
Total Value Locked (USD) in DeFI
DeFI TVL basically flat from last week as well. In short, what all these on chain metrics confirm, in my opinion, is that human activity on chain in flat or more accurately in a more cautious mood versus all out YOLO level risk taking we have seen the last two years.
Separately, the "building" that is happening on various protocls is happening in earnest silently. I expect (as has been the case in prior cycles) the true believers keep building once the fair weather friends move on and at some point the cycle turns again and the fair weather friends return. Keep Calm and Keep Building.
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Green Tea Tidbits:
The scientific name for green tea is Camellia Sinensis.
Disclaimer:
This Newsletter does not provide, and no portion of this content purports to be, individualized or specific investment advice and I do not provide investment advice. All information provided herein is general in nature and is made without regard to individual levels of sophistication or investment experience, investment preferences, objectives or risk parameters and without regard to the suitability of the content for individuals or entities who may access it.
No information provided herein, should be construed as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or investment vehicle, nor should it be construed as tailored or specific to you, or any reader or consumer thereof. You understand and agree that the content does not constitute specific recommendations of any particular investment, security, portfolio, transaction or strategy, nor does it recommend any specific course of action is suitable for any specific person or entity or group of persons or entities.
The content herein is based upon information from sources believed to be reliable and I am not responsible for errors, inaccuracies or omissions of information; nor is it responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of the information upon which I rely. For informational purposes only. Do your own research.
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