The Sunday Crypto Recap - Down the Rabbit Hole 72
Choose not to be harmed — and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed — and you haven’t been.
Toughen up buttercup.
Cryptos Decrypted
Well, that got interesting in a hurry. A week where many records were broken - none of them to the good. The world has finally begun to grasp the magnitude of dealing with a global pandemic but don’t be fooled COVID-19 is ‘a catalyst’, not ‘the cause’. Many years of fiscal irresponsibility are finally coming home. Throw in an epic production tantrum by the Saudi’s, no doubt playing right into Russia’s (much stronger) hand and absurdly inept administration in the world’s largest economy and we’ve got us some fire. Crypto like anything, not cash has been sold off and hard.
Are we done yet? Probably not. As per usual don’t be a lemming and try to leverage trade your way through this. Research, think, reflect and only then act.
Did I buy BTC? You bet I did - though that position has a break-even sell order on it. Did I sell more Alts? - No, I’d already culled the herd (but I urge you, once again, to cast a very stern eye over your alts…).
Strap in - Bitcoin/gold/silver should repay holding but it’s going to take time and perhaps some further sharp drawdowns before the stark comparison between these assets and ever more common fiat gains broader investment.
Picks of the Week
Crypto risk abounds but it’s not evenly distributed. Tough times ahead - may as well take that onboard. Lots to be learned (as per usual) from the Twitter threads in this week’s recap - delve in!
An insightful thread on BTC’s sudden price collapse (highly recommended):
https://twitter.com/JackMallers/status/1238263791613358085
It was never going to be smooth sailing:
https://twitter.com/GordonBuckley3/status/1238309095372800000
An ‘insane theory’ re Bitmex - that’s likely true (recommended):
https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1238306306043162625
Unpopular BTC thoughts that are well worth considering (older thread but nonetheless - highly recommended):
https://twitter.com/nic__carter/status/1139257025026768901
Leverage trading is probably not helping BTC (recommended):
https://twitter.com/bennydoda01/status/1238390429827002369
A nuanced take on the economics of the virus (recommended):
https://twitter.com/R2Rsquared/status/1238461002024472579
Some BTC TA areas of interest:
https://twitter.com/Josh_Rager/status/1237922448928104448
BTC predictability (recommended):
https://twitter.com/parman_the/status/1236550192939204609
There’s opportunity in these streets of blood:
https://twitter.com/krugermacro/status/1236336675204354054
Ari Paul on lessons learned from 2008 (recommended):
https://twitter.com/AriDavidPaul/status/1236969847877185536
There’s a lot more to the current market carnage than COVID-19 (highly recommended):
https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1237154711788085249
Russia’s been here before:
https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1237222028328890368
Articles
Funding Bitcoin developers:
https://medium.com/@TooWumboToFail/proof-of-patronage-42011c571f7b
BTC isn’t as risky as it may seem (recommended - pre-price collapse):
https://www.coindesk.com/stop-treating-bitcoin-as-risky-its-a-safer-asset-than-most
Zoom out - BTC looks like very good value (recommended):
https://medium.com/in-bitcoin-we-trust/some-musings-about-the-awesome-price-bitcoin-can-reach-in-the-future-9eb6de10bbbf
For the node minded - here’s how to do it securely:
https://medium.com/@lukedashjr/how-to-securely-install-bitcoin-9bfeca7d3b2a
Dates to 2018 but neatly captures the bullish case for BTC (highly recommended):
https://medium.com/@vijayboyapati/the-bullish-case-for-bitcoin-6ecc8bdecc1
BTC as a living organism (dates from Aug 2019 but no less interesting for that - highly recommended):
https://medium.com/@dergigi/proof-of-life-fa28fdc002fe
The tale of a tottering DeFi giant (recommended):
https://thedefiant.substack.com/p/ether-plunge-tests-defi-giant-while
The Lifecycle of Greed and Fear (recommended):
https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/the-lifecycle-of-greed-and-fear/
Podcasts
Risk abounds - here’s my 2 cents (published before recent market action but just as relevant imo):
https://anchor.fm/the-two-minute-crypto-podcast/episodes/Two-Minute-Crypto--Accepting-Risk-ebaonq/a-a1pvsb
A general Q&A on BTC drawing on the previous 13 episodes (highly recommended if new to BTC):
Stop fretting and learn something (recommended):
YouTube
Once again on point interview - buckle up folks (highly recommended):
COVID-19 is not ‘the cause’ of the current market chaos but rather a catalyst:
Updated guide to using the Ledger Nano X:
Perhaps invalidated by recent market events?:
Infographics
Twitter crypto heavyweights:
https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD/status/1237132258148048896/photo/1
That went south quickly (Deribit’s insurance fund has since been added to from company funds):
https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1238359460537565186/photo/1
Website / Utility
An excellent BTC slide resource - spread the word!
More to come. Volatility, the unfolding disruption from COVID-19, green zones-red zones - bailouts, QE, negative rates - the whole panoply of investment trauma. For myself, I'm looking to the confluence of a stabilizing virus environment and the BTC halving....
Note on Sources:
Twitter & Reddit (cryptos current meta-brains) / Medium / Trybe / Hackernoon / Whaleshares / TIMM and so on/ YouTube / various podcasts and whatever else I stumble upon. The aim is a useful weekly aggregator of ideas rather than news. Though I try to keep the sources current – I’ll reference these articles and podcasts etc. as I encounter them – they may have been published just a couple of days ago or in some cases quite a bit earlier.