Crypto blues?

plus, questioning the Fed’s relevance, and a poll on audio

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives,
not the most intelligent that survives.
It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” ― Charles Darwin ||

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! Happy Darwin Day to those who observe – he would have been 216 today. It’s astonishing to realize that broad consensus around “natural selection” was only achieved around 80 years ago. Resistance to new ideas is an integral part of the story of humanity – but, as Darwin himself often said, adaptation leads to progress while stubbornness withers. (In that vein, VP Vance’s speech on AI yesterday is worth a listen.)

Today, I look at Chair Powell’s testimony yesterday, and how the relevance of his words seems to be changing.

I also zoom out to comment on where we are in the crypto cycle, and why everyone seems to be so miserable.

And, a poll on my audio! I’ve been struggling to get these out (no audio today, again 😔), but I have some ideas and would appreciate your input.

Programming note: this newsletter has to skip publication tomorrow due to a schedule conflict, back on Friday!

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

• Questioning the Fed’s relevance

• Crypto blues

• A poll on audio

If you’re not a premium subscriber, I hope you’ll consider becoming one! You get ~daily commentary on markets, tokenization, regulation and other signs that crypto IS impacting the macro landscape. As well as audio, relevant links and music recommendations ‘cos why not.

WHAT I’M WATCHING:

Questioning the Fed’s relevance

Spare a thought for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is halfway through a gruelling two-day testimony before Congress. He is being grilled on just about everything you could think of, from bank regulation to unfair censorship, from inflation mistakes to the likelihood of a pause. I wouldn’t want to be him this week, not for all the prestige in the world.

It’s quite remarkable how much of a show these hearings have become. On the one hand, transparency is good and voters should have many opportunities to see what their elected representatives choose to focus on. On the other hand, the public nature of these hearings means that much time is wasted in political grandstanding for the cameras. Entertaining, yes, but not productive.

But I digress…

I thought Powell did well, staying unfussed and unbothered throughout, and managing to not laugh at certain statements, which is more than I could have done. While there were no market-moving surprises in what he said, there were some confirmations worth repeating: