🧠Quote(s) of the week:
"What people consider money changes over time as innovation alters the incentives of holding one form vs. another. Choose the hardest money or get demonetized."
- Anilsaidso
"This is a paradigm shift at the base layer of money. You need to take the time to understand Bitcoin, the biggest asymmetric bet in history, a CDS on the failure of sovereign currencies, as Greg Foss points out. A technological innovation that will rival the printing press. - In my opinion, one of the most important inventions ever. A monetary fire alarm that works." - Lawrence Lepard
🧡Bitcoin news:
➡️BlackRock's CEO, Larry Fink, expects Bitcoin to transcend every international currency due to broad-based worldwide demand! He turned 180 degrees on his past opinions on Bitcoin.
➡️Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton "Companies whose reputation in the market matters think the protections around the Bitcoin market are sufficient that they're willing to put their name on it. This is an incredible development. Not one that I expected, but it's pretty remarkable".
➡️$7.3 Trillion asset manager Vanguard bought $640 million in bitcoin mining stocks (Riot and Marathon). Vanguard is the second biggest fund manager in the world, after BlackRock.
Last week I shared a tweet by "British Hodl", see also weekly recap stories. His explanation of this topic is spot on!
➡️$4.5 trillion Fidelity filed a second amendment to their spot Bitcoin ETF application.
Gradually, then suddenly. I love how game theory works.
Bullish momentum in Bitcoin is quietly building up.
✔️Institutional support
✔️Media narrative shifting
✔️Price +100% off bear-market lows
➡️Roughly 30% of the Bitcoin supply is now held with holders 5 years or longer. >10Y = 14.8%
7Y-10Y = 5.6%
5Y - 7Y = 8.7%
➡️Over the last 8 years, Bitcoin mining has become 5,814% more efficient.
➡️Bitcoin hash rate reaches a new all-time high of 395 EH/s
➡️Bitcoin approaching a new all-time high in Egypt. In recent months we have seen an all-time high in Lebanon, Turkey, and for example Argentina. Bitcoin is fiat debasement insurance! The West will experience this sooner than later.
➡️Mashinsky Former CEO of bankrupt lending firm Celsius has been arrested in NY.
I will use Steve Lubka's post:
"A look at some of the highlights from the Celsius court filings: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1) Celsius used customer Bitcoin to make purchases of CEL resulting in hundreds of millions of dollar hole Another example of illegal rehypothecation of BTC in 2021
2) Celsius engaged in directional trades on shitcoins using *customer assets*
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3) Celsius literally shorted BTC outright in 2019 using subaccounts called 'Directional1' and 'Directional2'
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4) CEL tokens on the balance sheet were the only thing that made Celsius able to cover withdrawals in theory, which it could not
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5) CEL purchasing to prop up the price was done with customer assets
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6) Mashinsky literally sent out an email saying 'Our job is to protect CEL'
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7) Even from the start, the CEL scheme was flagrant. Loans were issued against 117 CEL Mashinsky never bought, and he was then permitted to sell the CEL which was the very collateral for the loan itself, *to repay the loan* ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
8) Celsius rates were determined based on marketing concerns, not business operations
9) This resulted in them paying out far more in rewards than they ever earned! 120% of revenue was paid out to clients"
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Crypto staking on for example “yields” are no different than Celsius, Gemini Earn, & BlockFi.
That's why I hate to see that big platforms here in the Netherlands are promoting exchanges like Bitvavo.
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Anyway, Alex Mashinsky bailed out for $40 million, and CelsiusNetwork agrees to pay a $4.7 billion settlement. Ask yourself how can a bankrupt company agree to pay a $4.7 billion settlement.
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➡️Europe's first Bitcoin ETF to launch this month - Financial Times
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➡️Balance on Exchanges just reached a 5-year low of 2,250,825.538 BTC.
That means that only 11.5% of the Bitcoin supply is left on exchanges.
"Bitcoin continues to fly off exchanges into self-custody at an unprecedented rate. With 70% of all Bitcoin not moved in a year, despite the longest bear market on record and nearly 60% not moved in 2 years or more, a supply crisis is imminent. Are you prepared?"
➡️Ripple wins the verdict that XRP is not a security, and the judge also rules that institutional sales of XRP by Ripple were securities, per Bloomberg.
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XRP = Not a security. 99% of XRP tokens were sold as securities. That’s the issue dumb ducks.
Years of waiting for the “big day” and even “when it comes” with a major pump it remains at over a 99% loss against Bitcoin. Bitcoin only, don't play fiat / CrYpTo games
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đź’¸Traditional Finance / Macro:
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👉🏽US June CPI inflation falls to 3.0%, below expectations of 3.1%.
Core CPI inflation fell to 4.8%, below expectations of 5.0%. This is the first time Core CPI has come in below 5.0% since Dec 2021.
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Later in the week, PPI came in. PPI inflation fell to 0.1% in June, below expectations of 0.4%. Core PPI inflation fell to 2.4% in June, below expectations of 2.6 the first time%. This is PPI inflation has come in below 1.0% since January 2021.
This is the smallest pace since Aug 2020 and is down from the all-time high of 11.7% YoY from March 2022 in a promising sign for CPI. Yet another sign that inflation is falling quickly. What comes next is deflation.
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🌎Macro/Geopolitics:
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👉🏽In just the first 6 months of 2023, the federal deficit was nearly $1 TRILLION Only 6 months, not even during a recession The deficit is up 607% YoY!
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This is what the United States is entering. At $32T of Federal debt, that means if rates stay at 5% the U.S. will eventually have to pay $1.6T a year in interest alone to service the debt. That doesn’t even include principal payments.
Total 🇺🇸US government tax revenue in June fell by a massive 9.2%, from $461 billion to $418 billion.
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On a TTM basis, tax receipts are down by 7.3%. This is the biggest drop since June 2020 when the US was in a complete lockdown.
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One word: UNSTAINABLE
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"Sum this all together and we have:
1. Rapidly rising US debt levels
2. Rapidly rising interest rates
3. Interest expense that will soon equal ~25% of government revenue
Debt crisis is an understatement.🥴"
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👉🏽Swedish inflation (CPIF) prints at almost 12% annualized.
"Expect European central banks to stay hawkish over the summer, pushing up their currencies until inflation collapses." -Jeroen Blokland
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👉🏽US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says sending billions of dollars to Ukraine is the "single best" way to boost the global economy. Source https://watcher.guru/news/janet-yellen-sending-billions-to-ukraine-single-best-for-global-economy
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I kid you NOT! She really said that! I think she is still on the shrooms. If you have no clue what I am talking about.
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Source:
“Magic mushrooms may have been to blame for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s mortifying bow before a Chinese official last week.
Yellen, 76, gobbled four portions of Jian shou qing, a type of wild mushroom when she dropped in at a casual Beijing restaurant soon after she arrived there on July 6, Chinese state media reported in an effusive story that took care to praise the secretary’s chopstick skills. But the funky fungi are known in their native province of Yunnan for their unpredictable psychedelic effects.” CNN
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I will end this weekly recap the same way as last week with a quote by Ray Dalio:
"Billionaire investor Ray Dalio said last month that U.S. government bonds are becoming risky as the country falls deeper into its debt crisis."
Credit: I have used multiple sources!
My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: nostr:npub1sqzr42dj8vx32yd5jcvvl3ytux45kl0etgf6y2ymjvmd7lqmuwmqk9vk7v is especially suited for beginners or people that want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post & video for more info.
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Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node... be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.
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Matt Odell: "If short-term price movements shake you out of Bitcoin, you never had a chance." - "Stay humble & stack sats"
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