“25 years and my life is still, trying to get up that great big hill of hope… for a destination…”
It was 25 years ago when the 4-Non-Blondes posed the question: “What’s Up?” (What’s going on?)
Last month we were told that the “big players” were diving into the cryptosphere. Institutions such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, the owners of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Inter Continental Exchange (ICE), Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, and many more players have now dived into crypto markets.
Billion-dollar storehouse Rockefeller has partnered with Coinfund. The famous Rothschild family has invested into a Bitcoin Trust. Even George Soros, the trader famous for breaking the Bank of England and making a billion dollars in a single day; yes, the same man who called Bitcoin a “scam”, is now heavily into crypto markets (tZERO).
Household icon Coinbase is offering new services for institutions, to lure another $10 Billion onto their platform.
With these new players coming in, the general public, faithfully “HODL”-ing their coins, were expecting the prices to go up. Markets did not go up. Not even close. Is this the beginning of the end for crypto? We believe it is just “the end of the beginning”. Markets are maturing and gaining traction, the billionaires are moving into “our” neighbourhood, and sometimes, they do not play nice.
What’s going on?
Ordinary investors held the Belief System that institutional investors would behave “normally”; that is, institutions would buy into the market and the price would go up. Supply & Demand economics tells us that this is what should occur…
But institutional investors are not normal. They are not like ordinary investors, buying and holding, and hoping for more gains.
- Institutional investors are generally smarter than ordinary investors. This is why they run billion-dollar portfolios, instead of running household budgets.
- Institutions know for a fact that crypto is not regulated. The normal rules of stock market trading do not apply. There are no fouls, no speed limits, no time-outs and often, no mercy.
- Institutions can have very deep pockets: they are prepared to lose money whilst waiting for a big gain.
- Institutions generally have a longer time-frame, and can ride out the storms. They can lose money for months (or years!) and then pounce on an opportunity at just the right moment. (Rockefeller’s Venrock crypto partner David Pakman told Fortune magazine he is interested to see “what happens over the next 5-10 years”.)
“It’s just business”
Those old enough to remember the 4-Non-Blondes on stage in 1993, may recall what happened when Domino’s Pizza came to town. Going up against Pizza Hut, Eagle Boys and other competitors, Domino’s launched the $4.95 pizza. Who could resist? It was fresh, hot, and priced only slightly above buying a frozen pizza from the supermarket.
Domino’s many competitors had a hard time matching their “unrealistic” pricing model. Over time, many of the competitors closed down, restructured or left the area. Once they were the dominant pizza supplier, Domino’s put their prices up to double or triple the old price. Domino’s played a long game, lost a lot of money, but gained massive market share and had the last laugh.
Is it possible that several billionaire consortiums could deliberately drive down the price of crypto, to manipulate markets with fear and make themselves richer? How much money could the Rothchilds, Rockefellers and Soros lose in crypto, before having to make it back? Nobody knows for sure, but we could see a “long winter” in crypto markets before the bounceback. If this is a game of “last man standing”, then those who HODL the longest will win.
Considering that the latest drop only takes us back to April 2018 levels, it is not so grim. At June 30th last year, Bitcoin price was US$2500. June 28th 2018 saw US$6 118, a 244% increase. Last year, ETH was US$370. Today it is US$592, up 160%. In crypto, as with football, it is wise to watch the long game, not the short drops.
This month we managed to pick a few winners, even as the broader market retracted.
Binance up 116%
PCX up 114%
BAT up 111%
SnagRide up 102%
#BostonCoin
NAV 47.61006
Price 52.371106
Cryllionaire Crypto Chat
This month we speak to the CEO of HivePower Tech, who are bringing sustainable power to Europe and the world.