Good afternoon,
Hey Mike, you busy? Please come on over and sit with us, we want some free advice.
Said a couple of friends whilst I was consuming a webinar at Churchills Cigar Bistro on a recent afternoon.
Sure, thanks! Happy to chat, but remember you get what you pay for….
Turns out that they wanted to talk about crypto currencies, which as readers will know, has been a WMR area of interest for a while and is gaining much more attention these days. Disclaimer – no specific investment advice was given then, or now, with regard to crypto. Just a general discussion of the concept, what it is, how it’s supposed to work, etc. So I enjoyed a Monte Cristo White as we chatted about bitcoin, Ethereum and some others. Are any, or all, of them going to survive? Are they a new currency? Are they a new asset class, like commodities? Are they purely speculative? Where do you get them? How do you store them? Are they a giant pyramid or Ponzi scheme? And so forth. We kind of decided that crypto currency is definitely a thing and probably isn’t going away but we’re not sure of it’s actual value and how to best participate in it. I’ll continue my research so watch for more crypto commentary in future WMRs. And if you’d like to learn more on your own, check out some recent podcasts from Tim Ferriss, Lex Fridman, Naval Ravikant, Jordan Harbinger and others.
And right on schedule, in super unsurprising news, Elon Musk says that you can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/24/elon-musk-says-people-can-now-buy-a-tesla-with-bitcoin.html
Which isn’t exactly true, because you’ll have to pay some US dollar amount of bitcoin if you want a car. You’re not exactly sending Tesla your own satoshis. Coming on the heels of Tesla announcing that it purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin for its own balance sheet late last year, it does give some credibility and cache to the crypto currency.
There is an NFL player who says he wants to get paid in bitcoin, https://www.coindesk.com/panthers-russell-okung-becomes-first-nfl-player-to-be-paid-in-bitcoin
Which isn’t exactly true either. Technically, he gets paid in dollars and then converts that to bitcoin. Which is his personal investment choice. Wonder if he’s buying NFTs too….
And of course, I had to point out that you can’t have crypto without blockchain, but you can have blockchain for many other purposes. IMO, blockchain is going to be a big big deal. It’s the next big thing in technology and it’s going to disrupt lots of industries if they don’t adapt, and adapt soon. Real estate industry for example. With all property data on a blockchain, title insurance companies will become unnecessary. Other possible blockchain applications: healthcare, all your data in one place; used car industry, know everything that was ever done to that pre owned vehicle; and more.
Not blockchain, but blocked. The Suez Canal is blocked. It seems that a big cargo ship got sideways and is now stuck. Hmmm, that’s a problem. They say that it’s costing $400 million per HOUR in lost revenue and it may take weeks to free the ship. Crazy. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html Stuff has to move around the globe in order for the economies of the world to keep humming. I’ve mentioned more than once to my kids when we see a truck on the highway that the world would stop, and stop in a hurry, if they stopped driving for any length of time. Same goes for cargo ships and cargo planes.
This is from the “well, duh…” category
This poll says that Arnold Schwarzenegger should be put in charge in the event of an alien invasion.
Of course he should. Duh…
From the “is this really necessary?” department, which is never at a loss for new material, here is a Star Wars themed watch for $150k. Watch enthusiasts abound, but this one is for a special collector.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/this-star-wars-death-star-wristwatch-costs-150k
The subtitle to the article says “behold, a Lucasfilm authorized watch with enough firepower to destroy an entire bank account.” Indeed.
Spring break next week for the offspring, so they’ll be spending it in sunny south Florida while dad holds down the fort in dreary SE Michigan. Be careful down there, some negative spring break stories making the news from Florida. In more college news, a friend’s college student daughter happened to mention that she was in search of an internship for this coming summer. I mentioned that to another friend who is an exec at a big health care company. “Have her apply for our program, use my name.” He generously offered. A few days later, the rising junior texted me that she looked at the opportunity and wasn’t sure her skillset was appropriate for the position. Hmmm, ok. It’s up to you, but remember that this is only a summer internship, and it’s virtual anyway, so I’m pretty sure you’re going to learn more from them than they expect to learn from you. You’re in business school and they’re a business. Seems like a fit to me.
This week’s chuckle is the official trailer for “Animal House.” One of the funniest college movies ever made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWjtI6n5xWM
This trailer is safe for work, but the film itself is definitely not.
LF27 – “What is the point of being on this Earth if you are going to be like everyone else?” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Have a great week and stay healthy.
The opinions expressed are those of Michael Acho and not necessarily those of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. CRN-3509703-032521
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Michael J. Acho, MBA, CFP®
Private Wealth Advisor
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