Headlines offer a taste of the madness and mayhem dominating our global financial system. While the new US tax plan promises to add over a trillion to the national debt and divert more cash flow from the real economy into already surreal financial speculation, consider:
Today Bitcoin (not counting the 700+ other ‘crypto’ coins arriving daily out of thin air) has a notional market cap (# of virtual tokens outstanding x going exchange rate per US dollar) of over $133 billion–larger than many Fortune 500 companies who own land, equipment, systems, patents and collect billions in revenue. Bitcoin is backed by nothing but faith it will go higher. This has no rational connection to the future value or potential of blockchain.
Easy come, easy go, see: $31 million theft of Bitcoin from ‘Tether’ virtual wallet renews concern about the security of digital coins.
Unlike when someone steals money from our bank account or credit card, there is no reimbursement or insurance to cover the physical loss of virtual currencies, never mind a sudden plunge in price or evaporation of buyers should one wish to move funds out of bitcoin and back to whatever currency our living expenses are actually paid in.
Not to worry: High-speed traders in search of new markets jump into Bitcoin.
Having broken most of the other markets already, and with competition making it harder now to steal profits worth taking, high frequency traders (HFT) and hedge funds are raising funds and leverage to pile into virtual currencies.
And these stories barely scratch the surface of the marde passing as normal at the minute. None of this can continue indefinitely or end without great pain. Take extraordinary care.
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