Buying a Lamborghini for 45 Bitcoin #19

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Today’s Meditations:

1. Peter Saddington: Buying a Lamborghini for 45 Bitcoin

2. Dune Analytics Raises $2 Million in Seed Funding

3. Stablecoins Hit $20b Milestone, a Nearly 300% Year-to-Date Surge

4. Bitgo Is Bringing Defi-Friendly Wrapped Bitcoin to the Tron Blockchain

5. Sterling Erases Gains on Sub-Zero Rates Fears

6. Wall Street’s Risk-Off Sentiment

7. Investors Anticipate Joe Biden Election Win

8. William Hill Gets Takeover Approaches from Apollo and Caesars

9. Motivation is Personal

#9 Peter Saddington: Buying a Lamborghini for 45 Bitcoin

Readers we have a truly special treat for you today. Don’t be fooled by the clickbaity title, yes Peter did gain international fame by buying the world’s first Lamborghini Hurracan in bitcoin but he is so much more than that.

Peter Saddington is one of the first people who I looked up to in the crypto space. He helped shaped my crypto journey entirely for free. Peter even told me about ICX in 2017 made me more money than I care to ever mention…

He’s a 3x founder, holds 3 masters degrees, he’s an angel investor, a father, an author, certified scrum trainer… I could go on for a while.

But these are just labels, Peter truly shines in his ability to communicate. I’ve rarely seen such a clear and passionate speaker, he’s able to truly captivate an audience, inspire and teach.

Listen to the first 5 minutes of this podcast and you won’t be able to stop.

If you want to learn more about Peter and his incredible Agile Community make sure to head on over to vchunting.com

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• Dune Analytics Raises $2 Million in Seed Funding. Dune Analytics, the Ethereum-centric analytics platform, has raised $2 million in a seed round led by Dragonfly Capital. The platform provides data tools for the Ethereum network and allows anyone to create, share and explore Ethereum analytics for free. Some of the most respected names in DeFi joined the round, including Multipcoin Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research and Digital Currency Group. In their announcement on Twitter, Dune thanked the community and wrote that already 18,000 analyses had been created by thousands of community members. Read more.

• Stablecoins Hit $20b Milestone, a Nearly 300% Year-to-Date Surge. The total value of all stablecoins continues to rise and has now surpassed 20 billion, indicating a rise in demand of investors and traders looking to protect themselves from the volatility in the market and the increased ability to earn yield on their stablecoins. The number was reached on Thursday, only a little more than four months after total stablecoin value surpassed $10 billion. The recent market sell-off and the rising uncertainty in the market due to US elections in November might have also positively impacted the spectacular growth in value over the last few weeks.  Read more.

• Bitgo Is Bringing Defi-Friendly Wrapped Bitcoin to the Tron Blockchain. Justin Sun, founder of the Tron Blockchain, is making another move in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Tron has joined a strategic partnership with BitGo to bring the platform’s wrapped bitcoin (WBTC), which has been a key driver for DeFi growth on Ethereum, into the Tron ecosystem. A wrapped version Ethereum will also be created to help fuel the nascent DeFi ecosystem on Tron. Justin Sun commented that the move will help sidestep surging transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain. Read more.

Sterling Erases Gains on Sub-Zero Rates Fears

Sterling erased gains in a choppy session on Friday as investors hoped Britain’s new scaled-back job support scheme will be followed by other fiscal measures, but feared talks about a move to sub zero rates could also intensify. 

Against the euro, sterling flattened at 91.59 pence by 1030 GMT, after hitting a one week high of 91.13. It was down 0.2% at $1.2718 against a strong dollar, which is on course for its best week in 6 months (see ‘risk off’ story below). Sterling hit a 2 month low on Wednesday.

This despite best efforts from Finance Minister Rishi Sunak who announced a new scheme to support jobs as COVID-19 cases surged again, but warned that the government will support only ‘viable’ employment. On the point around data with regards to an increase in COVID-19 cases, there has been a lot of debate recently around the validity of the data. That is, it is not necessarily clear whether there has been an increase in positive results because of an increase in infection rates or due to an increase in the number of people (including healthy people) getting tested. Cynics of the data may also bolster their claims by drawing attention to the fact that mortality rates have not increased. 

Sunak could not do enough to shake off analysts’ expectations of a coronavirus-battered British economy, with sterling’s future depending much on whether sub zero rates will be implemented. 

The fear around negative interest rates intensified on Thursday when Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said that the BoE is seeking answers on the suitability of sub-zero rates. He indicated that negative rates are within the monetary policy toolbox and will be explored as a possible avenue. Indeed, sub-zero rates have now been priced into long dated sterling interest rate futures. 

And the cherry on top: the looming risk of a no deal Brexit to weigh down the currency. Increasingly, it is unclear whether the European Union and Britain will read a trade agreement by the end of a transition period in December. 

• Wall Street’s Risk-Off Sentiment. Wall Street’s risk-off sentiment fueled the third worst weekly outflow on record from U.S.equities, with tech shares falling out of favor. Stock funds bled $25.8 billion in the week through Sept. 23, BofA and EPFR Global data show, in a reversal from the previous week’s biggest inflow in more than 2 years. Investors pulled the most money out of tech funds since June 2018. In a flight to haven assets, investors are pulling out of equities as well as cash to put their money into debt and gold. The S&P 500 Index is on course for its fourth straight weekly drop, its longest losing streak in more than a year. That’s fueling U.S. equity underperformance versus Asia and Europe in September. Read more.

• Investors Anticipate Joe Biden Election Win. In what was at one point a stalemate, the majority of investors now think Joe Biden will win the US presidency over incumbent Donald Trump (according to a new survey of money managers in charge of $3 trillion of US assets). This against a background of increasing nervousness amongst investors that the results of the vote may not immediately be clear. In yet another move that seems contrary to democracy, President Trump this week refused to hand over power if he were to lose (a bit like a stroppy child), potentially setting the scene for a lengthy period of market volatility. In the event of a clear result, a Trump victory coupled with Republicans retaining the Senate and winning the House would present a large market shock that could spark an equity rally. In a so-called clean sweep where the Democrats win the presidency and both chambers of commerce, 60% said it would be bearish for the US stock market outlook overall. A continuation of the current balance (Mr Trump as president, a Republican Senate and Democratic House) would be more supportive for markets, the survey found. Read more.

• William Hill Gets Takeover Approaches from Apollo and Caesars. Apollo Global Management Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Inc. have approached U.K. gambling group William Hill Plc about a potential takeover, the latest consolidation move in the betting industry. Founded in 1934, William Hill is one of the world’s largest sports betting companies with offices in 10 countries. William Hill has received separate cash proposals from the two groups. Talks are ongoing and there is no certainty that a formal offer will be made. Shares of the bookmaker surged as much as 41% in London trading on Friday, an intraday record. The company now has a market value of about £3.2 billion. William Hill’s market value has been eclipsed by European peers also shifting aggressively toward the U.S. and online gambling. Read more.

Motivation is Personal

Disclaimer: The content in this newsletter is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial advice. I am not a financial advisor. Every investment and trading move involves risk. Do your own research when making a decision.