Back

News

Feb 9, 2024

Putin Roasts The Dollar 💸📈🐵

Valko

Putin Roasts The Dollar 💸📈🐵 Valko

Top News

Specs’ Insights

Vladimir Putin says the US Government is killing the dollar with their own hands

Many countries including major oil producers, are accepting payments for oil in Chinese yuan

⌐◪-◪ → Vladimir Putin and Tucker Carlson just sat down for a 2-hour interview — it sound like the beginning of a joke, but it's not.

They discussed a number of topics, including the US Dollar, which Putin praised as the “cornerstone of the US's power” due to its impressively low inflation rate.

However, he then heavily criticized the US for utilizing the dollar as a “tool of foreign policy struggle., which has led global superpowers to reduce their US Dollar reserves in favor of the Chinese Yuan.

While this may not seem immediately relevant to cryptocurrency, it is, as there are only a few ways to protect oneself against the weakening dollar: land, gold, and bitcoin.

For those interested in a deeper analysis of the weakening dollar, check out this post by Anthony Pompliano. It highlights US Debt, US Debt as a % of GDP, and Interest Payments vs. Defense Spending.

All three metrics have reached unprecedented levels and are spiraling out of control. Unfortunately, the only solution seems to be continuous money printing, which further aggravates the problem. The global need for crypto has never been stronger.

Let me know in Specs Chat!

BlackRock and Fidelity #Bitcoin ETFs are the most successful ETF launches in 30 years with more than $3b in assets each

⌐◪-◪ → Now that we’ve gotten the “$USD bad” news out of the way, how about some positive crypto news?

I think a lot of people underestimate how different this upcoming cycle will be, and how much closer we are to mainstream adoption thanks to the recent spot Bitcoin ETFs.

BlackRock and Fidelity both hold over $3B in Bitcoin each, making them the most successful ETF launches in the last 30 years. Talk about making a splash on Wall Street.

Together these two ETFs hold 148,877 BTC worth $6.9B USD (hehe). Zooming out, the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively hold 192,255 BTC, which is 2,000 more than MicroStrategy, the largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin.

It’s pretty crazy to think that 15% of all BTC is owned by less than 100 addresses, but it’s also pretty emblematic of the existing global economy, controlled by a few.

💬 Join Specs Chat


@franklinisbored
DECLARES “END OF AN ERA” - AS HE SELLS HIS ICONIC GOLDEN @BoredApeYC PFP FOR ~$670K

⌐◪-◪ → Legendary NFT whale, Franklin, just declared the “end of an era” in a post on X after selling his iconic Golden BAYC for 275 ETH ($670k).

Franklin purchased the Ape in May 2021 for 4 ETH, making this a casual 6,800% return in less than 3 years. While $670k is surely an attention-grabbing number, Franklin’s departure in many ways is far more significant.

Franklin was a very active trader and market maker, known for his creative high-conviction bets, and his departure sort of feels like a funeral.

While we may never know the real reason behind his departure, to me, it highlights how draining this space can be. In many ways, the NFT space is like the wild west of the digital frontier. It’s a market that never sleeps, operating 24/7/365, as traders battle it out like gold prospectors during the Great Gold Rush.

The lesson here — in my opinion — is two-fold:

  1. take profits when life-changing money is on the table

  2. this is a marathon, not a sprint. those who endure will win

I realize these are a bit contradictory, but the truth is they must be balanced, and only you can manage that decision.

💬 Join Specs Chat

Everything Else

⛓️ Crypto & DeFi

  • Black Mirror launches dystopian 'Smile-to-Earn' web3 experience

  • Optimism to pause ETH withdrawals for 1hr next week for test

  • Binance co-founder offers $10k bounty on employees who report leaks

  • DeFi platform Pendle nears $1B in total value locked

  • CoinDesk’s new owner Bullish replaces CEO in restructuring

  • StarkWare plans ‘Cairo Verifier’ to bridge the layer-3 scalability gap

  • Polygon releases 'Type 1 Prover', claiming milestone set by Vitalik

  • Satscrap launches AI-powered Bitcoin auctions for selling sats

  • ETH devs target March 14th for 'Dencun' upgrade on mainnet

  • ETH burn rate at 0.25%, driven by ERC-404 traffic

  • EigenLayer hits $6B TVL as its uncapped deposits window closes

🏦 Wallstreet & VC

  • JPMorgan says over 50% of institutional traders don’t want crypto

  • Bitcoin ETFs now hold more BTC than MicroStrategy

  • M^0 Protocol will let institutions issue treasury-backed stablecoins

🏛️ Legal & Regulatory

  • US Senators criticize SEC for unethical handling of DEBT Box case

🌎 Rest of the World

  • UK’s stablecoin rules need reworking says industry experts

  • Kraken obtains license to serve customers in the Netherlands

  • Ramp rolls out ID free onboarding in Brazil

  • Montenegro court revokes Do Kwon’s extradition to Korea or US

🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse

Join The Conversation!

Unlock Specs’ full potential by joining Specs Chat, where members chat with Valko, add context to the daily crypto news, and share a diverse set of perspectives.

Specs Chat is more than just a group chat, it’s a community designed to help you become a better crypto investor and operator.

💬 Join Specs Chat

Valko

Share this post