Wednesday, Oct 2, 2024

BRICS, Ethereum, newsletter stuff

“Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality.” – George Santayana   ||   

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well!

Below, I attempt to catch up on a couple of topics I’ve been wanting to get to but kept running out of time and space – I seem to have a chronic open tab condition, is there a name for that?

I also introduce a new section where I’ll talk about newsletters in general or in specific – how this one works, what I’m thinking about, whether or not I eventually get better at tab control, that sort of thing. Hopefully it will help those of you thinking of diving into something similar - or at least give a glimpse of someone else’s cluttered metaphorical desk. Of course, skip if that’s not your thing!

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

• BRICS fireworks later this month?

• Ethereum’s application use

• Newsletter stuff

If you’re not a premium subscriber, I hope you’ll consider becoming one! It’s the price of a couple of New York coffees a month, and you get ~daily commentary on how macro moods are influencing crypto markets, and also on how crypto is impacting the macro economy.

WHAT I’M WATCHING:

BRICS fireworks later this month?

Yesterday, I wrote about the escalation of conflict in the Middle East in the context of the geopolitical landscape, and how it is a heart-breaking piece of a larger puzzle that is rapidly changing shape.

This shift will become even more obvious later this month, when Russia hosts the annual BRICS conference, the get-together of the states that form part of the “non-west” trade alliance. The organization was originally formed in 2006 by Russia, China, India and Brazil, with South Africa joining in 2010. Earlier this year, four new members were admitted: Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has chosen to forgo formal membership for now, while participating in all BRICS functions as an invited state.

You can see how this meeting will be significant: the leaders of key players in the military and economic realignment currently under way, many of them large oil producers, are getting together to discuss collective policy that does not include the US or Europe.

Also relevant is the “guest list”, the non-member nations sending representatives. I don’t know who that includes this year, although last month TASS reported that 36 heads of state have been invited. The Taliban has reportedly requested an invitation, even though it is still on Russia’s list of designated terrorist organizations. The plot, as they say, thickens.