“Right now these crypto things are kind of a novelty. People think they’re kind of neat. But the bigger they get, the more governments are going to close them down.”
“It’s also important to emphasize that, like any bubble based on the Greater Fool Theory, there’s no logical limit to how far it can rise, so fighting the bubble could be just as foolhardy as investing in it.”
“So is a single Bitcoin worth $500,000, $5,000, $500 or $0? I’m inclined to say $0, especially if Bitcoin’s value depends on it being adopted as a global digital currency to replace dollars. There is no chance whatsoever that Bitcoin can displace the dollar, for the simple reason that it is badly designed.”
As one reader put it earlier today, “is just being open for trading” a good enough reason for stocks to rally?
Ok, I’m feeling like today is a day when I should try and vex as many readers as absolutely possible, and there’s no better way to maximize the hate mail than to deride gold and Bitcoin in the same post.
“Enabled by technological innovations that promise greater efficiency and will likely deepen over time, cryptocurrencies are also a response to the wider phenomenon of dissatisfaction with existing institutions, both public and private — a dynamic that has led not just to disappointments and an erosion of trust, but has also fueled a more general sense of marginalization and alienation for certain segments of society.”
“It’s the millennial’s wild west. Like all generations, they’ve discovered a new frontier, with few rules, seedy saloons, gunfights, corpses. As our earthly unknowns disappear, we find new ones in the ether. “
If the crypto crowd wasn’t already incensed enough after a week that saw Bitcoin collapse as much as 30% on signs that China is deadly serious about Beijing’s ongoing shakedown in the space and after Jamie Dimon delivered a truly scathing critique of what he’s calling a “fraud” that’s destined to “blow up,” they can now add the B.I.S. to their list of adversaries.
All you had to know was that governments will do what governments have always done when faced with an existential threat.
There’s tension in the air.
Generally speaking, this week’s theme (reflation back on in the U.S. as stocks, the dollar, and yields all rise in tandem) held, as there was no news “bigly” enough to change the narrative.
Apparently, some folks at JPMorgan were listening when Jamie Dimon threatened to fire anyone caught trading Bitcoin for “being stupid,” because none other than Gandalf himself is out with a new note on cryptocurrencies and he doesn’t paint a particularly flattering picture.
“I would say at least half of what it is, a third of what it is.”
“Wait until someone gets hurt. They’d close it down. That’s my point.”
You’d probably be wise to do the same.
