Friday, June 9, 2023

Things to worry about

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” – H. L. Mencken  || 

Helloooo everyone, and happy Friday!! Finally!!

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WHAT I’M WATCHING

• Things to worry about. Our news feeds are typically full of doom and gloom because fear triggers attention – and, after all, it is the job of analysts and strategists to worry, right? Below I list some of the things I’m worrying about. I’m told it’s a healthy exercise. 😊

• More hats in the ring. The developers of Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) – both named in the SEC suit against Coinbase and Binance as being unregistered securities – have pushed back with public statements rejecting the SEC’s claims. The two large suits could turn into several smaller counter-suits in which the issuers demand to exercise their right to defend their case.

• Turkish lira. The eye-watering plunge of the value of the currency of one of the world’s largest economies against the dollar signals a reset in both monetary policy and daily life for Turkey’s inhabitants. It also represents the widening disconnect between economics and ideology, and hints at a shift in key allegiances in a pivotal region. Meanwhile, BTC in TRY is now at its highest level since April of last year (before the Terra implosion) and is up 98% year-to-date. Talk about a store of value.

(chart via TradingView)

NFT trading. Crypto exchange Kraken has officially launched its NFT marketplace after several months in beta, supporting collections on the Ethereum, Solana and Polygon blockchains. This is not likely to materially change the NFT landscape for now, but I find it particularly interesting given the upcoming reshaping of crypto capital market infrastructure. It’s a glimpse of a world where you have digital art trading alongside commodities which trade alongside securities.

MARKETS

Let’s worry

If any of you are worriers out there (and also warriors, of course), you’ll know that it’s a good idea to write down all the things you’re worried about – it condenses them from swirling clouds of doom to small, tidy bullet points. I’m not one to worry, generally, but I love lists and can, given the mood, certainly get into some cathartic gloom every now and then.