Bitcoin bear markets are a great time to build, but not with shocking US prices
The week in review
with Jason Deane
Did you miss me? First off, a big thank you to my City PM colleagues for stepping in while I was away on holiday over the last two weeks. Of course, I couldn’t resist keeping an eye on what was going on in the markets and what developments were unfolding, but, on the whole, it was a relaxing, if not hectic, affair.
I hadn’t spent any significant time in California since the early noughties, so revisiting some of my favourite places from that time was eye opening. America has changed. So, for that matter, have I.
There are three things that really struck me about the “new” America:
First, the legalisation of marijuana has had a massive impact. The streets of any urban area, especially Los Angeles, smell constantly (and I really do mean constantly) of the drug, creating an unpleasant environment to stroll through. It is also obvious that some people do not react well to it and locals tell me that dependency issues have become a major issue.
Second, if you’re vegetarian (like my entire family is) you’re out of luck. The US seems aeons behind the rest of the world in this respect.
But it was the obvious change in prices that struck me most. Even four basic, standard sized Macdonald’s meals (“Filet of Fish” being the most “vegetarian” we could go) in small town America cost $46.28 (£40.05) – almost double the UK price. I even kept the receipt, I was so shocked.
Being an economist, I couldn’t help but ask anyone I met what they thought of the current situation and the answers were unanimous; life has gotten very expensive, service levels have dropped and staffing is a serious problem.
The latter point we witnessed first-hand – even the very best hotels have limited pool and restaurant opening times due to “staff shortages”. Not just some of them, all of them.
Of course, inflation is serious in the USA right now, but while I was away, the UK logged a 10.1% rate, a new 40 year high. Worse, the BBC is forecasting a rate of 18% in the next year driven by out-of-control energy prices, although that’s mild compared to Bloomberg’s more terrifying 22% forecast.
Meanwhile, the madness in supply lines continues in Europe due largely to events linked to the invasion of Ukraine. While the price of gas rockets due to constricted supplies, Russia is currently burning off over £8m A DAY that was originally destined for Germany, thereby achieving the dubious triple-honour of destroying lives, economies AND the environment in one fell swoop.
Putin has a lot to answer for, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s only a matter of time before he realises that this gas can be used extremely effectively for Bitcoin mining, a subject I discussed at some length in an interview on the UK Bitcoin Master’s YouTube channel last night.
His recent decisions seem to indicate he’s not the sharpest tool in the box, however, and in this context we should be glad of small mercies.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin trades flat, completely disguising the rate of development and investment that is going on behind the scenes. Bear markets are, of course, the single best time to build and from what I can see happening across the board, the next stage of adoption and growth will be unprecedented.
Have a great weekend!
Want to learn more about what’s going on in our global financial system and how Bitcoin fits in to it? Come to my next free webinar on September 14 at 6pm to find out, ask any questions, and grab some free Bitcoin*. Click here to register.
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Yesterday’s Crypto AM Daily in association with Luno
In the markets
The Bitcoin economy
*Definitions and insights can be found at https://bytetree.com/research
Total crypto market cap
The total capitalisation of the entire cryptocurrency market at time of writing is currently $984.863 billion.
What Bitcoin did yesterday
We closed yesterday, September 1 2022, at a price of $20,127.14. The daily high yesterday was $20,198.39 and the daily low was $19,653.97.
Bitcoin market capitalisation
Bitcoin’s market capitalisation at time of writing is $384.41 billion. To put it into context, the market cap of gold is $11.317 trillion and Tesla is $862.24 billion.
Bitcoin volume
The total spot trading volume reported by all exchanges over the last 24 hours was $28.174 billion. High volumes can indicate that a significant price movement has stronger support and is more likely to be sustained.
Volatility
The price volatility of Bitcoin over the last 30 days is 39.52%.
Fear and Greed Index
Market sentiment today is 25, in Extreme Fear.
Bitcoin’s market dominance
Bitcoin’s market dominance today is 39.90. Its lowest ever recorded dominance was 37.09 on January 1 2018.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The daily RSI is currently 41.77. Values of 70 or above indicate that an asset is becoming overbought and may be primed for a trend reversal or experience a correction in price – an RSI reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold or undervalued condition.
Convince your Nan: Soundbite of the day
“Bitcoin has come much further and much faster than people expected. There was a saying in the early dotcom era about “internet time,” and bitcoin time seems to be moving even faster.”
Adam Back CEO, Blockstream
What they said yesterday
Hard work pays off…
Education is key…
All aboard…
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Crypto AM: Editor’s picks
Crypto.com granted FCA licence to operate in UK
Q&A with Duncan Coutts, Principal Technical Architect at IO Global
Jamie Bartlett – on the trail of the missing ‘Cryptoqueen’
MPs are falling silent over potential of cryptocurrency
Erica’s ‘Crypto Wars’ handed honours in Business Book Awards
‘Let people invest’: Matt Hancock makes case for liberal crypto rules
Explained: Why the Treasury is so sold on stablecoins
Fears crypto is used to avoid sanctions ‘misplaced,’ says Matt Hancock
The cryptocurrency fundraisers behind Ukraine’s military effort
Crypto crazy couple name baby after favourite digital asset
Crypto AM: Features
Crypto AM: Founders Series
Crypto AM: Industry Voices
Crypto AM: Contributors
Crypto AM: In Conversation with James Bowater
Crypto AM: Tomorrow’s Money with Gavin S Brown
Crypto AM: Mixing in the Metaverse with Dr Chris Kacher
Crypto AM: Visions of the Future, Past & Present with Alex Lightman
Crypto AM: Tiptoe through the Crypto with Monty Munford
Crypto AM: Taking a Byte out of Digital Assets with Jonny Fry
Crypto on the catwalk
Crypto AM: Events
For those of you who missed the Crypto AM DeFi & Digital Inclusion online summit 2021 – you can now watch the event in two parts via YouTube
Part One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvqNMNZTIDE
Part Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhX_-Tr5j0
Cautionary Notes
It’s definitely tempting to get swept up in the excitement, but please heed these words of caution: Do your own research, only invest what you can afford, and make good decisions. The indicators contained in this article will hopefully help in this. Remember though, the content of this article is for information purposes only and is not investment advice or any form of recommendation or invitation. City PM, Crypto AM and Luno always advise you to obtain your own independent financial advice before investing or trading in cryptocurrency.
All information is correct as of 08:00 BST