I’ll introduce 10 ideas for a portfolio, balanced among short or intermediate term swings and longer term ideas, over the course of my first several posts.
Guns blazing from the start, ‘cuz no one’s gonna read my substack to learn about Berkshire, bullion or bonds.
For the crypto / NFT sector my “one and done” is ApeCoin put into its official staking pool via https://www.apestake.io … wait… have I lost everyone already?
Too bad, ‘cuz with NO LOCKUP it offers 120% per year yield - or “rewards” if you prefer - paid hourly. Did I mention no lockup of any kind?
Nothing to do with AMC “meme stonk Apes” either. None so vile.
Withdraw some or all of it at any time if you wish to convert it to audited assigned physical gold via PAXG tokens, or a “stable” coin (yes I know all about Tether thus the quotes on “stable”).
If being your own bank is too trying, or if digital entries in a probably insolvent crypto exchange isn’t your thing, back out into good’ ol’ real-as-rain BigBro Bucks (USD) digital entries in a probably insolvent bank.
Do yer thing without penalty or a catch.
Done the math
You're thinkin' when this is all over We'll all sit back and laugh Well I don't think so friend 'cause I done the math And I ain't lookin' to gain any honor No, no not among you thieves I'll be right beside you though In judgement on my knees - Clogger, 16 Horsepower
Judge not ye no-coiners, and to that tune’s cleansing onslaught of groove and righteousness add the fantastic upside only found in cryptos. Factor current super-bearish sentiment, plus several upcoming catalysts and association with Bored Ape Yacht Club - the premiere brand and IP in Web3 / NFT - and it’s a no-brainer for those who know.
OK, go ahead and get the “no brains at all and you don’t know shit” snark out of your system. Rest fully assured this is written with every awareness of the voices in your head. “Impossible”, “too good to be true”, “Ponzi!”, etc.
I’ve heard them too. I was raised by fiscally conservative parents who fled poverty, frauds and corruption (and we can too - more on that soon), have a past life as a comptroller at a major international bank, cut my teeth on dot-bombs, and read Charles Mackay’s indispensable classic “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” semi-annually.
I’ve also been there, done that and done the math. Done seen it all, and shorted most of it.
My first email to a business partner about Bitcoin was when it was priced 11c, then another at 17c, and at $1 and so on. Before that we were looking into founding a stock exchange in Second Life. Most Fortnite players probably weren’t born yet.
More recently my first NFT art commission referenced tulip mania, back before most could even spell “NFT” and there was no such thing as getting rich in that scene much less doing so quickly.
After that I aped a few of Dr. Michael Burry’s buys - an icon to any prudent bear - after accidentally stumbling upon his account on first-mover NFT marketplace OpenSea. Early 2021, this was.
I’ve seen plenty of people legally and ethically turn hundred$ into million$ the past couple years and change their lives forever via NFT’s in general and the Bored Apes project in particular. I mean millions in U.S. Fedcoin backed by irrational belief in the scam currency of fraudster-charlatans not millions in FTX tokens backed by irrational belief in the scam currency of fraudster-charlatans, to be clear.
No appeals to authority here though. Time will tell. Res ipsa loquitur.
I’ll write more about cryptos and NFTs soon, with experience and from a pragmatic view with a sanguine tone. If a complete lack of polarity manifesting as sheer outrage and disgust vs. laser-eyed Cathie-Elon worship isn’t fresh enough, I’ll bet 100000000:1 I’ll at least offer takes on the sector, its value, purpose and potential, you’ve not seen or heard before… some probably thought-provoking.
Meanwhile if that’s all a bridge too far try Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) - https://ir.marathondh.com - as a “one and done” for the sector.
Everything’s closely correlated for now anyway, from Etherium to the S&P500, and has been for quite some time.
I’ve spent late December and early January buying ApeCoin and staking it, avg. $3.80, and bought MARA this past week coincidentally at $3.80
ApeCoin trades as I write at $4.30 while MARA closed the week at $4.09
Why?
Crypto’s been around about a decade. In any given December had you bought and “hodl” you’d have seen fantastic and unforgettable gains on the table weeks or months later.
Except 2014 which was essentially flat ‘til December 2015 when one of history’s greatest parabolic advances in any “asset” class ever kicked-off in cryptos.
December 2021 through April 2022 a 1000% gain per week in NFTs was practically de rigueur from Cryptomories to Alien Frens [sic] and Moonbirds.
A year later we have this news:
NFT Collective PROOF Signs with United Talent Agency
United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed PROOF, the company behind the popular non-fungible token (NFT) collection Moonbirds, CEO Kevin Rose announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Friday.
UTA, one of the big three Hollywood talent agencies, will help PROOF expand its reach through various partnerships.
"We’ll be focused on partnerships that extend Moonbirds far beyond our existing Web3 audience, transforming Moonbirds into a global brand," Rose said in a tweet.
Had it in my calendar all year to prepare for another Christmas miracle in “scam” currency alternatives to real scam currencies and digital art “scam” alternatives to physical art scams.
Call it diversification.
Charts show decent setups too
I’ll stop out of both below their respective December low.
Until then APE on in. The water’s fine and the Kool-Aid delicious.