Everything Is Awesome In Crypto Today!
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China finally banned cryptocurrency!* The Dow Jones is crashing! The SEC is talking about blockchain! Banks are preventing credit card holders from buying Bitcoin! Facebook banned crypto ads! And everything is awesome in crypto today because…?
Because all of this had to happen. All of it. And to happen in one week, rather than having to endure Punxsutawney Phil’s six more weeks of crypto winter? This perfect storm has to be the best thing to happen to the crypto community so far in 2018. Whether it was a concerted effort at FUD by an unholy alliance of governments and private companies, or a simple series of coincidences, it’s time to count ourselves lucky.
China Finally Banned Cryptocurrency!*
We do not know this. We don’t know a thing about China’s intentions, actually. What we do know, is that (as is often the case) Coin Telegraph reported something as fact when their sources were abysmally weak. The outlet, which adores these crypto clickbait tactics, quoted the South China Morning Post as the source for this headline – which in turn quoted a tertiary source (to which it did not link) called the ‘Financial News’, and which that source claimed was affiliated with the People’s Bank of China.
In other words, this is possibly true – or possibly complete and utter bullshit. Another South Korea, another India, another – well, China. There are so many opportunities for misinterpretation, mistranslation, and just plain misinformation here that we can’t imagine why they would publish it.
Coin Telegraph consistently uses unreliable sources and its lazy, inept journalism has only increased market volatility for months, at the expense of the very people it claims to serve. When a serious news outlet reports an actual Chinese government official using these words, then we’ll take notice. In the meantime, Coin Telegraph needs to be called out for the FUD-meister it is.
The Dow Jones Is Crashing!
Don’t panic. This was a necessary and healthy realignment of investor expectations following a 25% year-on-year gain; and the first serious drop in over two years, during a full-on bull market.
It was both predictable and predicted, and serves as nothing more than a reminder that the spectre of inflation is the Ghost of Old Man Perkins to the Dow Jones’ Scooby Doo.
And incidentally, the wealth wiped out by this mild correction is around three times the market cap of the top 100 cryptocurrencies combined.
The SEC Is Talking About Blockchain!
And it’s a good thing. Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton used a lot of positive language in the testimony he handed to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during Senate proceedings today:
“To be clear, I am very optimistic that developments in financial technology will help facilitate capital formation, providing promising investment opportunities for institutional and Main Street investors alike.”
While Clayton sounded a cautionary note on ICOs and their status as possible securities, he was much warmer to the theme of blockchain adoption than many had expected. His testimony seemed both prudent and reasonable, given the fact that regulation of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the USA was seen by most informed participants as inevitable. In fact, it could be inferred from his comments that Clayton was very much aware of how blockchain will both facilitate and create financial markets, and that he doesn’t want to see the U.S. left behind in this emerging field:
“Said simply, we should embrace the pursuit of technological advancement, as well as new and innovative techniques for capital raising, but not at the expense of the principles undermining our well-founded and proven approach to protecting investors and markets.”
For anyone worried about the U.S. response to crypto, these words should be soothing rather than alarming – although, of course, the politicians have yet to sink their fangs into the subject.
Banks Won’t Let Us Use Credit Cards For Crypto!
And nor should they. What you do with YOUR money, is YOUR business. What you do with THEIR money, is partly theirs.
You, the discerning consumer, want a credit card because you wish to procure stuff without having to go through the onerous process of deferring gratification (saving up for it). In return, the banks will set usurious terms by which you must abide, for the privilege of paying more for that stuff than it’s worth.
But in so doing, the banks determine who is most likely to abide by those terms – and what you can buy with your new-found financial servitude. Drugs? No. Crypto? No. The bank doesn’t think it can recover the money you spent on drugs or the money you wasted on The DAO. And in both cases, it’s right.
Truth is, it’s just plain bad practice to give someone the means to go gamble with your money unless you have the actual Mafia, and not just Jamie Dimon’s biting comments, to back you up.
Facebook Banned Crypto Ads!
So what? The company has a history of running to the government with a sad puppy-face (looking at you, Zuckerberg) every time it screws up. Oh, we took a ton of money from Russian trolls to influence the 2016 Presidential election? We’re sooooorrrry! We had no idea!
(This is the company that can make friend suggestions based on the facial recognition technology it has, coupled with the dust patterns on your camera. But they had no idea that Russians were buying ad space for fake news stories. How they get away with this beggars belief.)
So yes, Facebook banned crypto ads – and who cares anyway? They banned marijuana ads too, and people are still smoking a lot of weed.
Although Facebook itself wasn’t mentioned, Clayton even sent a slightly-simpering love note to Marky-Mark: “I do want to recognize that recently social media platforms have restricted the ability of users to promote ICOs and cryptocurrencies on their platforms. I appreciate the responsible step.”
Everything Is Awesome In Crypto Today!
Even if China makes the big decision outlined above… and even if the Dow loses more tomorrow… and even if… etc. Yes, some late entrants and weak hands will be left holding an empty bag. But informed participants will ride this out, and will eventually be grateful that Black January and Slightly Blacker February ironed out some of the more irrational exuberance in the market.
So yes, everything is awesome.
We will still have our tokens. We still have our Bitcoin. We still have our market. And maybe it’s just a touch more mature, a touch less volatile, and has a nice, long, ride back up to the top again.
We’ll see you there.
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