Friday Feedback: The “I Gotta Peaceful … Crypto Feeling” Edition
C’mon, Great Stuff. It’s been a long week and I hate the freakin’ Eagles.
Hey now, take it easy…
I know it’s been quite some time since we’ve driven in the crypto fast lane (or any fast lane, really) but that’s about to change, Great Ones — and soon.
Some of y’all might be thinking the crypto thrill is gone — you’re not quite lovers and you’re not quite friends, if you catch my drift. But in the long run, oh buddy, crypto’s just getting its second wind.
There’s a new kid in town … Ethereum 2.0. And before you go: “Hey, Johnny Come Lately, that’s the same as the old kid in town!” Oh nay, nay!
As long as we don’t have to watch you whip and nay-nay.
You said it. I didn’t…
Anyway, our resident crypto connoisseur, Ian King, has been counting down the days to September 15 … like, for the past few years. It’s such a big deal — how big is it?! — that today’s featured email spot goes to, well, Ian.
You can click here to see Ian’s write-up on the Ethereum upgrade or keep on keeping on below for the CliffsNotes version.
Now, September 15 is when Ethereum essentially comes out of its “beta testing” phase, and the whole Ethereum system gets turned up to 11. You may think you know Ethereum as bitcoin’s second fiddle, but its next big upgrade is more than a mere upgrade. According to Ian King, it’s a full-blown revolution.
Oh, boy. Here come the crypto hype and buzzwords.
Where have you been lately? Let’s run through the great stuff coming Ethereum’s way and then you be the judge on if the hype is all hot air or not.
Ethereum 2.0 is going the distance — it’s going for speed. Bitcoin can only perform five transactions per second, whereas the next stage of Ethereum can support 100,000 transactions per second.
For comparison, Visa can only process about 1,700 transactions per second. Why do you think the credit card companies have been dying to get a foothold in crypto?
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s because this Ethereum upgrade threatens Visa’s very existence.
OK, cool, now we can buy more useless junk online even easier. What’s the big deal with that?
Two words: Energy. Efficiency.
If you want some more words, here you go: Bitcoin mining uses more power each year than the entire country of Norway. That’s 0.55% of the world’s power supply — just for bitcoin. And we all know how cheap energy is right now…
Ethereum’s current energy consumption is about on par with bitcoin’s, but after September 15? That power draw is set to drop 99.95%. How’s that for energy efficiency? All the while, bitcoin’s still going to be hogging up massive amounts of juice.
When it comes to scaling up the Ethereum network — as in, you know, making it the de facto backbone of our global financial system — energy efficiency is a primary concern, and Ethereum 2.0 solves it.
Bitcoin can’t scale that way. 18 countries have already banned bitcoin mining because of its energy inefficiency, and it sure can’t power as many transactions as quickly as Ethereum 2.0.
Now, that’s all great, Great Stuff, but I still don’t care about crypto. I don’t want to buy things online. I don’t want to live a digital life. Why should I care?
I’m glad you asked!
Because Ethereum 2.0 offers something that many investors are dying to find right now: yield.
Riddle me this: Why do bitcoin miners mine? To earn bitcoin that they can then sell, simply enough. This relies on a “proof-of-work” protocol. If you can show you mined some bitcoin on the blockchain, then you get some bitcoin as a reward.
Ethereum currently works that way too … but not for long. Next week, Ethereum will start using a “proof-of-stake” (PoS) protocol instead. Ian King explains it best:
Instead of validating transactions with supercomputers and complex cryptography, PoS relies on consensus between stakeholders to maintain the blockchain…
With Ethereum’s new PoS Beacon Chain, anyone who stakes the minimum 32 ETH can participate. If you qualify, the system will randomly select you to validate transactions. The process is completely automatic, allowing stakeholders to collect passive income just for holding one of the world’s hottest cryptocurrencies.
Hold on a second there … passive income? In this market?!
It’s more likely than you think: Ethereum stakes will basically be the money market account of the crypto world, yielding 10% to 15% before rates eventually settle down. That’s more yield than you’ll get with some blue-chip stocks … all from crypto. Huzzah!
With all that said, I’d like to thank Ian King for alerting us to the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade-a-thon that’s coming next week.
If you’d like to see more of Ian King’s research on Ethereum — or if you’re wondering which cryptocurrencies are the best to buy in 2022 — then go here now.
Alright, Great Ones, let’s give it up one more time for Ian “The Crypto” King. I may be in the know on crypto, but Ian’s got his craft down. Ya know what I’m saying?
Anywho, y’all know what time it is…
Time to make bubbles with our spit?
No, Wakko. That comes later. Right now, it’s time for Friday Feedback!
I know, I know. It’s been a while since we reached out to y’all. But I promise, we read every email you send in to GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. Every. Email. Y’all are pretty twisted sometimes … and I can’t say I don’t like it. I mean, have you read Great Stuff?
So here’s the deal: You write in with your burning stock market and investing questions (or, you know, whatever you want to rant about), and I’ll do my best to reply and answer those questions … in my own, um … Great Stuff style.
What are you waiting for? You’re already too late for this week’s edition of Friday Feedback! Write in now: GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com!
And now, on with the show, this is it:
The Immigration Two-Step
Hey, Mr. Great Stuff,
It’s been a while since I’ve written in; it’s not because I haven’t been keeping up with your Great Stuff. I have, I swear. I just haven’t been feeling like I’ve had anything monumental enough to contribute until I read your Friday newsletter today.
I will not argue the points you made about inflation and jobs at the top; I agree with your analysis completely. But what I don’t understand is that there is a reasonably simple solution that no one is talking about (at least not that I’ve heard). The way the U.S. has always grown its workforce is through immigration. Why not loosen immigration restrictions and let more workers in? I believe that many, if not most, of the open jobs that you refer to are on the lower end of the wage scale — restaurants and other services. No?
If we can fill all those low-paying jobs, that should bring down the average overall salary (like building more low-cost housing would bring down average home and rent prices). Yes, I am cynical about how things get measured.
On a related topic, I am also disturbed by the Fed’s goal of 2% inflation. If that were achieved today, prices would still be 10%+ higher than they were a couple of years ago. And they would claim victory. Indeed, the rate of inflation will naturally stabilize when the numbers are compared to 2022 instead of 2021. If they don’t, we’ll be in real trouble.
As always keep being Great and bringing us all of your Great Stuff. It is very much appreciated. — Rich (from the Philippines)
Hey, Rich! Long time no see, but I get it. Times be weird right now.
Weird enough that y’all are writing in asking about immigration as a solution to the U.S.’ jobs problem. I mean, you know the economy and stock market are beyond weird when investors start talking about immigration.
But investors aren’t the only ones talking about immigration reform and employment issues. The nation’s farmers have taken to Washington, D.C., to push for the passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
What this act does is provide a clearer path to citizenship for seasonal agricultural workers while reforming the seasonal farmworker visa program.
Rich … it appears that you are right on the money with this one. And the powers that be are already working on a solution. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act has already passed the House, and President Biden is waiting on the Senate to act so he can sign the bill.
So now we wait on the Senate…
As for your skepticism on the Fed’s 2% target inflation rate … I agree. The Fed waited way too long to act, and now it’s going scorched-earth on interest rate hikes because it has no other option.
This is going to hurt Main Street a lot more than it hurts Wall Street, and both investors and non-investors need to be careful and start planning now. Kinda like Ian King suggested up above. Income investing is the new hotness, after all.
Thanks again for writing in, Rich!
Evil Email
Good morning Great Stuff team!
I just wanted to write and see if there’s anything we can do about this situation. Since early July, I’ve been getting Great Stuff in my inbox only about 3 times a week. I still go to the website and check Stuff out, and it shows you’ve been missing a few times as well, but not as many as I get skipped.
Trouble is, I don’t know when you skip or when it doesn’t get delivered. I click on the links about once a week, I have you white listed, I just haven’t been able to keep up the supply. I gotta get my Great Stuff cuz it’s, well, Great! How do I make sure I’m getting my daily dose in my inbox? Thanks for your help!
— Daniel M.
Daniel, flattery will get you everywhere. I’m glad you’re enjoying Great Stuff!
But I’m definitely not glad that you’re having trouble getting Great Stuff in your inbox.
The odd thing is that it appears that you are doing all the right things: whitelisting Great Stuff’s delivery email address (info@mb.banyanhill.com), clicking links once a week.
Surprisingly, you’re not the only one having these issues, Daniel. I’ve got our customer service team looking into multiple Great Ones who are not getting Great Stuff emails on the regular. So hopefully, we’ll resolve these issues sooner rather than later.
But I have to be honest with you, Daniel … I hate email. No, that is not why y’all are having issues getting Great Stuff. I’m not out here deliberately sabotaging your Gmail accounts just so I can get rid of email. No, sir. I’m not that vindictive, despite what you’ve heard.
The reason I hate email is the exact random issues you’re having with delivery, Daniel. Whether or not you receive Great Stuff on the daily is often determined by how strict Gmail and other email providers’ “spam policies” are that day — they also change rapidly, just so you know.
And let’s be honest … we all delete about 90% of all the email we receive on any given day. And most of that is actual spam that we didn’t want to begin with … let alone deliberately sign up for.
Because of this flood of unwanted email, we often miss email that we really want to read. Great Stuff can get lost in the deluge.
So the best way to read Great Stuff — in my humble opinion — is GreatStuffToday.com. Gmail can’t block that.
To sum things up: We know y’all are having issues, and we are working hard to make sure your email issues are taken care of. But if you really need a reliable source for your daily Great Stuff fix, go to GreatStuffToday.com. You can even keep tabs on us over on TikTok now too.
Thanks again for being a diehard Great One, Daniel!
Who’s On Stage?
Yes!
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band “yeah” !!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Wes J.
Mr. Great Stuff: No, Wes J. Yes isn’t even at this concert. Right now, we’re listening to Who.
Wes. J.: Why are you asking me?
Mr. Great Stuff: I’m not!
Wes. J.: Then who is on stage?
Mr. Great Stuff: Yes.
Wes. J.: Who is?
Mr. Great Stuff: Yes.
Wes. J.: That’s just what I said, Yes is on stage.
Mr. Great Stuff: No, Yes is not here. Who is on stage.
Wes. J.: Whaddya askin’ me for?
And scene!
If y’all haven’t seen one of the greatest moments in cartoon history, you need to check out the Animaniacs’ “Who’s On Stage” episode. It’s brilliant.
Thanks for writing in, Wes! Keep investing against the wind, making those night moves and maybe someday you’ll accompany me with that fire down below … or something like that.
Phrasing? Are we not doing phrasing anymore?
Quiet, you.
That’s all for today. Remember, if you want to get in on all the Friday Feedback fun, email us and let us know: GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.
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Regards,
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff