Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (May 1, 2021)
Bitcoin BTC hit a new record high of USD $64,979.17 on April 14, 2021. The highest asking price for one collectible Bitcoin BTC on E-Bay stands at USD $499,999.50. Bitcoin BTC domain name asking prices on E-Bay are as high as USD $10,834.200.00 (May 1, 2021) and as low as USD $4,000.00…………..lower prices are for “Bitcoin related” names. None of this should be surprising. Remember that when Bitcoin began trading upon exchanges for the general public in 2016, one Bitcoin BTC cost just USD $427.00. We are talking about the future here – about high technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, about the Blockchain and about Artificial Intelligence (AI) – notably about eventual Artificial General Intelligence and Artificial Super Intelligence. As the value of government fiat currency entirely disappears, the value of privately launched cryptocurrencies will soar into the universe.
Change is happening rapidly – and it even seems to be accelerating as we move forward in time. Fiat currencies all over the world are quickly losing their purchasing power, because governments everywhere have lost all responsible fiscal control. Governments and central banks are “printing” (i.e. creating) new units of money to infinity with no end in sight. The inevitable switch to encrypted digital electronic currency (“cryptocurrency”) is actually hastening this alarming trend. The global pandemic has forced too many people to stay physically isolated, it has forced too many small family-owned businesses out of business entirely (small business will always be the bedrock of the global economy) and the political “answer” to this disaster is to create even more money out of thin air and to pay it to people and industries (more likely big business as opposed to small business) on a regular basis. This is the reason why Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will never be equal to or better than privately-launched cryptocurrencies, and why the value gap between fiat currencies and non-governmental cryptocurrencies will continue to widen. Governments are inefficient by their very nature. Governments are the largest entities on earth, followed by non-profit organizations and by big businesses. All large organizations are challenged by inertia. They tend to reach decisions by means of consensus, which takes too much time. Small businesses have always been the bedrock of the global economy and the source of innovation, because they must be far more efficient in order to survive, grow and thrive.
Cryptocurrencies are already in the process of replacing both fiat currencies and commercial banks. Stock brokerage houses will follow shortly. If one looks at current “staking rewards” paid by cryptocurrencies (these are annual yields) they already far surpass bank interest rates, which are near zero. In some countries (especially in Europe) bank interest rates are already negative. In other words, the hapless customer must pay the bank to keep their money on deposit. Some money center banks in Europe and the USA have already stopped taking on new depository customers.
There are more than 9,700 currencies in the entire world. The biggest currency in the world today is the Chinese Yuan, with the US Dollar at an already distant second: https://coinmarketcap.com/fiat-currencies/. Bitcoin BTC is the 14th largest currency in the world. There are a minimum of 179 independent countries and territories in the world today, and a maximum of perhaps 285 depending upon how they are recognized by other countries. The number of cryptocurrencies is 9,522 (as of May 1, 2021).
Commercial and investment banks are in the process of disappearing. Their market value is rapidly shrinking, and for the first time ever their assets (loans) equal merely half of their liabilities (customer deposits owned by people like us). The fact that the global banking industry is shrinking, and the fact that sovereign governments are “printing” money like there is no tomorrow is rock solid proof that the global economy is on the verge of collapse / implosion. Governments are desperately trying to make consumers spend money when they refuse to do so – demand has died and the world now faces the dual specter of hyperinflation followed by deflationary collapse. If Bitcoin BTC were a commercial bank, it would already be the biggest bank in the entire world by a big margin over number two JP Morgan Chase: https://companiesmarketcap.com/banks/largest-banks-by-market-cap/.
The largest companies on earth (ranked in terms of market capitalization) are in the field of high technology: https://coinmarketcap.com/largest-companies/. Bitcoin BTC is the 6th largest company in the world.
Another subject I’ve discussed at length in previous monthly blogs is that of autonomous driving for the BEV (battery electric vehicles) of the near future. Both public policy groups and major automotive manufacturers have confirmed that after cars and trucks become fully autonomous (no more human drivers, AI Artificial Intelligence technology where vehicles will perpetually communicate with each other to prevent accidents and to coordinate the flow of traffic), there will be far fewer privately owned vehicles. Especially in large cities and metropolitan areas, cars will be called up by consumers / riders much like Uber and Lyft are used today. Every major automotive manufacturer is now investing capital in their own ride sharing service similar to Uber and Lyft. Something very similar will happen to air travel in the future. Due to the much higher cost of cleaner fuels (such as hydrogen, ethanol, sugar cane alcohol, kerosene and electricity) commercial flying will once again become much more expensive for the flying public – as it used to be before airline deregulation came into effect in the late 1970s. In short, far fewer people will own a private vehicle, and far fewer people will be able to afford to fly on commercial airlines.
