The One About Cryptos & Sea Shanties
♫There once was an e-zine delivered for free. The name of the ‘zine was Great Stuff(y).
The market blew up, and her humor was low. Oh, blow, Mr. Great Stuff, blow…
Soon may Great Stuff come to bring us answers and gains and rum!
One day when the trading is done, we’ll take our gains and go! ♫
Arrr, Great Ones!
It be Reader Feedback day … and what better way to start things off than with a good ol’ sea shanty?
To be honest, I’m a bit short on rum — I’m more of a bourbon guy — but I do have answers and gains!
Speaking of which, you did buy Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) like I recommended this weekend, right?
Our official entry price was $650.58, that being NVDA’s closing price on Tuesday. That puts your official gain at about 2.5%, with more to come!
But, if you were an industrious and eager Great One and bought NVDA near the open on Tuesday, you could be sitting on gains of about 4.5% in just three days.
It’s no AMC insanity, but it’s honest work. If you’re still on the fence, be sure to check out “What’s The Deal With Nvidia?” before you write NVDA off.
As for answers? Well, y’all were awfully quiet this past week. I hope the market or COVID-19 doesn’t have you down. Or maybe … maybe you’re all back at your day jobs now?
Anyway, in case you forgot … Reader Feedback day is all about you, Great Ones! Your market questions. Your stock rants. Mr. Great Stuff only pawn in game of life.
So, if you wanna join in on the fun, drop us a line at: GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.
Now, for our featured presentation:
Hooked On A Feeling
My personal feeling is that one thing the Fed does not like is competition. They can come along and say all other cryptos are illegal, and then things will get crazy. — James B.
Governments don’t like competing currencies. They’ll try to get rid of them. They have no objection to blockchain, though. You could be right about cash remaining along with centralised finance. — Peter S.
James, meet Peter. Peter, meet James. I think the two of you would get along like two peas in a pod. Thank you both for writing in!
Peter, I know you hit up Opendoor (Nasdaq: OPEN) as well … and we’ll get to that shortly, don’t worry. But first … governments don’t like competition? Ya don’t say!
The first rule of government is that money = power. Remember: He who controls the spice … errr, the money, controls the universe! Considering that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum were all designed to subvert global central banks, it should come as no big surprise that governments hate it.
We’ve already seen governments that love to exert more control over their citizens ban cryptocurrencies completely. Countries like China, Iran, Russia, Vietnam, Bolivia … the list goes on. India was once on that list, and it’s close to rejoining it.
However, opportunistic governments, such as the U.S., Canada, Australia and the European Union have all tentatively embraced cryptocurrencies. Now, James, I don’t think the U.S. will outright ban cryptos like Bitcoin. And, as Peter notes, the Fed has no objection to blockchain technology.
Heck, the U.S. Federal Reserve is even considering making its own crypto to replace the U.S. dollar. But, once the Fed finally decides to make its own digital dollar (crypto or not), you can bet it will find a way to make cryptos harder to use … for governments don’t like competition.
Now, I’m not advocating against investing in crypto. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon in the U.S. What I am saying is that if you’re going to remain a bitcoin bro, a dogecoin dude or an Ethereum e-homie … you’re gonna want some guidance to keep your cash safe!
Because the crypto market is on fire, and it’s only getting hotter.
This new crypto boom is the direct result of the four catalysts Ian King reveals in his presentation. And he wants to show you how each of these catalysts could hand you 12 times your money in the next 12 months.
Welcome, Great Ones, to the one and only Reader Feedback day! Some might even call it the “Greatest Financial Show On Earth!” ™ Or they might not … whatever floats your boat.
It’s too late to make it into this week’s email roundup, that’s for sure. So why not beat everyone to the punch for next week, then? Stop by our inbox right here, right now and make sure your voice is heard above the masses!
Now for the meat of the matter — pitter-patter, let’s get at’er. Oh wait, it’s Peter S. again:
No, The Other “D” Word
To see how decentralised finance is doing, watch U.S. company Opendoor try to rid the U.S. of estate agents. Saves a lot of time and money. For example, the proving of the sellers’ ownership takes less than a minute, instead of weeks of research and charges.
Fascinating stuff. Regards, — Peter S.
Thanks again for writing in, Peter. And congrats on the double feature — only the greatest of Great Ones have attained such an honor. Even unintentionally.
So … decentralized finance, huh? I’m not entirely sure what that has to do with Opendoor.
I mean, Opendoor still needs major banks for lending and transactional purposes, and those banks are beholden to the Fed. Sure, the company is “disruptive” to traditional realtors, but decentralized it ain’t. And no amount of “instant cash offers” is gonna change that.
Opendoor operates pretty much exactly like Zillow’s (Nasdaq: Z) home-buying-and-flipping business.
Both still have to go through the U.S. banking system for loans — their models just make things streamlined on the consumer’s end. It’s disruptive — using fintech and the internet to get rid of old-school business practices. I mean, does anyone like working with realtors? (Convince me otherwise, please. Let me know if you enjoy root canals too.)
I like what you’re pitching there, Peter, trust me! But disruptive does not mean decentralized in this case. It’s like saying buying a car online through Carvana is decentralized, or Ford selling direct to consumers … which we all know the National Automobile Dealers Association will fight tooth and nail to prevent from ever happening.
In short, Opendoor is about as far from “decentralized” as you can get in that market … unless some sea change happened in the housing market that I don’t know about, which I guess is possible, though unlikely.
Anyway, with the housing market falling on its face over the past few weeks, you’re far from the only one talking about the choppy waters therein.
The Other Other “D” Word: Demand.
Thank you for writing in, Susan! How do you keep Mr. Great Stuff in suspense? End your email with a…
I will forever wait with bated breath on what the rest of your message said. Let me know whatcha said, Susan … mmmkay?
Also, what’s with putting an entire email in the subject line? I can only guess that this is some big-brain move I’m not yet privy to. Anywho…
Now … what were we talking about? Oh — housing demand.
I, too, suffered through many an episode of Tiny House Hunters, and I have to tell you: Smaller homes are definitely not a solution to the lumber crisis. By far. Sure, some folks want to move and downsize, but smaller homes are not a fix-all for, let’s say, the vast majority of people looking for houses.
I think homebuilders have a better shot at convincing the average American to pay an extra 40 g-notes for the same fake-stone-façade cookie-cutter mansion … than to save money living on a cramped cot like a POW in a tiny, trailered shack. But that’s just me.
Basically, it’s not the size of the homes that’s the problem. It’s the number of homes. New-home supply is way down. And, through the nifty machinations of supply and demand, when supply is low, and demand is high … prices go up. In this case, waaaaay up.
And therein lies the problem: The number of buyers willing to overpay (and overleverage) for housing is dropping like a rock. Homebuilders would like nothing more than to keep this housing ball rolling.
They aren’t pausing because they want to. They’re “pausing” because there are labor shortages, materials shortages and lingering COVID-19 regulations. All of which are helping to artificially keep home supplies low for the time being.
This will pass, and new home supplies will rise, but what’s left of demand at that point with housing prices through the roof remains to be seen.
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What’s A Shanty Without The Captain?
Hey Elon,
How about an electric-powered self-driving fishing boat with a solar T-Top and laser-guided fish finder to put and keep me right on the fish? I’ll put off spending $50K on new twin Yamaha motors and wait for an announcement. — Capt. Spike
Welcome back, Capt! I presume your combo fishing/powerboat will be decked out in neon racing stripes and flame graphics? This guy Mötley Crües.
Also, sorry if you think I’m Elon … or know Elon. I’m just this guy, you know? You and I are in the same self-driving boat (hehe) with illustrious visions of our ideal fishing boats. You mention a laser-guided fish finder, but why not add in some AI image-processing into the mix and get your techy buzzwords bases covered?
Anyway, until Tesla unveils the Cyberboat … “roboats” are what we’ve got. Amsterdam’s testing out self-driving electric boats, even if they’re just tiny, safe and slow cruisers for now — no blaring Whitesnake while blazing down on the Intercoastal just yet.
The ‘Dam’s narrow canals and LA-style boat traffic make it a good spot to test out self-driving boats. And, knowing Elon, the mere fact that there’s an electric vehicle market he hasn’t memed his way into yet is … probably driving him insane.
Besides, I only want a self-sailing boat if it kicks off the sea shanties for me. Let’s take it from the top! ♫There once was an e-zine delivered for free…
Please. Stop. Singing.
I suggest you run the Prime Day poll again a day or two AFTER Prime Day and see if the results are any different. Right now, all we can do is project and wonder. Then we will know.
Just an idea. — Gordon F.
Oh, Gordon… What if all I ever want to do is project and wonder?!
These are the interwebs … if you can’t complain about something without knowing what you’re complaining about yet, you’re not doing it right.
I should mention: Gordon’s talking about our latest Poll of the Week, where we asked whether or not you think Amazon’s running out of ideas for its Prime Day rummage sale … and if the whole dang thing is one big rip-off compared to the Prime Days of yore.
You should go and answer that poll pronto if you haven’t already — click right here. Thanks in advance!
And if you’ve gone this long without writing in to your friends here at Great Stuff, first off, the shame! We’ve got a ton of catching up to do. Why not share what’s on your mind with me right here in the ol’ inbox?
Whether you’re ready to rant at the market, rave about a recent trade or simply go off the rails, we want to hear it at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. Just remember you’re writing in the actual email box … not the subject line. Cool?
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Until next time, stay Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff