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Last week a huge portion of the Southeast U.S. found itself out of gas. Why? Because Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline system for refined oil products in the U.S, suffered a ransomware cyberattack that impacted computerized equipment managing the pipeline. Simply put - no money for hackers, no gas for you.

Fintech firms are hitting on all cylinders lately, making a splash in some of the trendiest deals in the capital markets and helping to shape the financial industry of the future. In fact, one of the mega IPOs of the year so far involves a payment technology unicorn that is about to become a household name. Whether it’s real estate opportunities, SPAC deals or digital currencies, financial technology companies ranging from mobile banking startups to payments platforms are setting the pace.

Almost anyone can read that headline and immediately know what it refers to; BITCOIN. That definition of Bitcoin is extremely significant because it comes from the newly appointed Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler. Finally, at long last, there is clarity as to how a US regulatory body views Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies. Significantly, Bitcoin is separated from other cryptos and considered a 'stand alone' asset.

For those of you who haven't gone out to fund-raise to this sector, let me share a little about it with you. You come to an institutional investor with a new strategy - backtested and perhaps even running money currently. They then look at you and ask for a series of greeks on the strategy - deltas, alphas, betas - god knows what else - and then tell you they need you to have a 3 year live track record and at least $200M in AUM before they can continue the discussion.

Feeling sad you missed out on the big money making run up in crypto? Outbid for that digital art NFT? Not invited into that SPAC that just merged with Elon Musk's spaceship? Well, don't despair. There is HUGE money in New Jersey delicatessens.

Try being Janet Yellen. Yes J-Yell, the new U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, certainly has her hands full. She is attempting to convince investors that printing gobs of money is non-inflationary and also convince global nations joining the U.S. in raising taxes is really good for them.

A little over a month ago a blockchain company, called Injective Protocol, bought a valuable piece of Banksy artwork from a New York gallery..............AND BURNED IT.

FTX, a digital assets derivatives exchange, just became the first cryptocurrency exchange to sponsor a professional sports arena in the United States.

A lot of people are beginning to use a Bitcoin ATM and those devices are popping up at more and more locations at very rapid pace.

While crypto art has been around in various forms since 2015, the medium made a huge splash last week at Christie’s in New York as “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” by Beeple sold for $60.25 million at auction, which cost the buyer $69 million when Christie’s buyer’s premium is included. That makes “Everydays” as the most valuable piece of digital art to be sold at auction thus far.