Bye Bye, Summer. The end is near. The last two weeks of August are famous for being extremely dull in financial markets and so it is again. So, with a dearth of news (and general malaise of interest) in the financial and fintech markets, here are some follow ups and updates from some “hot” pieces that made headlines the past couple of months.
- Last week I seem to have unleashed a swarm of “murder hornets” (a/k/a gold bugs) when I suggested gold had lost its luster and should RIP (rest in peace). Never said it was totally dead. Actual title; “Gold No Longer Golden. RIP!” I suggested that, for the first time in history, gold now has an alternative as a store of value and safe haven. Woo Boy! Gold aficionados sure have some strong thoughts on that. Probably should have framed that with “Gold Has a Cancer“ in the form of Bitcoin. Meaning, a long term dying trend and NOT just dead by last Friday.
(NOTE! Interesting, with receiving hundreds and hundreds of comments only ONE (1) was from a female. Thoughts?)
- Moving on. Remember last month when we wrote that Amazon was hiring a blockchain and cryptocurrency expert with the eye looking to accept Bitcoin (and others) for payments? We said it would not take others long to follow. Well today (Monday, 8/17) Walmart announced it was seeking a crypto product lead to develop and implement a digital currency strategy. Again, it’s another step to accepting Bitcoin for payments. If you are interested just remember you will need to move to Bentonville, Arkansas. Hmmmm, THAT might be a major plus.
- While you may have been vacationing (or trying to), dominoes are beginning to fall in Latin America. Remember, about a month ago, when the Central American country of El Salvador announced that Bitcoin would be legal tender? Almost immediately several other countries including Panama, Paraguay, Brazil floated similar initiatives. But now Argentina (a really big deal) is looking at doing the same. Argentina’s President has given tacit approval to explore adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. Exactly;
“I don’t want to go too far out on a limb … but there is no reason to say ‘no.’ Perhaps that is a good path to take.” Further, reasoning, that “the inflationary effect is largely nullified” because of the asset’s (Bitcoin) maximum supply of 21 million coins ever to exist.
So, the road to all of Latin America adopting Bitcoin seems to be getting shorter.
- One more “tidbit.” Fifty years ago President Richard Nixon took the US off the gold standard. The dollar was no longer backed by gold. Another forgotten fact; he also mandated wage and price controls to curb inflation. NOT a good idea. It didn’t quite work as planned. Just saying. Ya know, history has a way of repeating itself.
Only two weeks left of summer 2021.
