Fog
Daily Ramble
Some days, the keys on my keyboard don’t want to be clicked. It’s not often, and it’s generally related to other things cooking in my life, but the inspiration doesn’t seem to flow. Call it brain fog. Speaking of brain fog, it’s one of the 100+ symptoms that long-haul COVIDers have complained about. Long haulers are folks who complain of unresolved symptoms far after they test negative for COVID.
The podcast I was listening to, Unexplainable, where I learned about long-haulers, almost begrudgingly admitted that long-haul symptoms are not unique to COVID but occur with any virus. Please re-read this last sentence. The media has done a great job of hyping that COVID can lead to long-term health consequences. But I’ve not heard a media report yet that describes how any virus can lead to chronic symptoms. The researchers in the report did an interesting job of chasing down why this occurs, but the truth is, no one knows why and there are no cures. Call it yet another part of the joy of living.
So, while I may have a lack of inspiration for writing today’s newsletter stemming from brain fog, which may or may not be a long haul symptom of having had COVID last year or any other virus I’ve picked up in my 40 years on the planet, I’d like to recall the Buddha’s first noble truth: suffering is a part of life. From birth to death and all parts in between, there is suffering to be done. ‘Tis the burden of life. How that is borne while one lives is where the concept of grace comes in. Those that suffer tremendously but retain their poise despite it are some of the beings I most admire. They have accepted their lot and carry their baggage quietly and reverently. Sure, they may even ask and receive help in their suffering, but they own their baggage without looking to blame someone for it. Personal responsibility in suffering is key.
Or, if the concept of suffering is just too “negative” for you, consider one of my favorite quotes instead:
Be kind, for everyone you meet if fighting a hard battle. - Ian Maclaren
Favorite Things on the Interwebs Today
I was inspired to find this clip after learning of David Rothenberg’s work on a Radiolab podcast. Wild!
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Yesterday: $61k - $64k
Today: $58k - $63k
Weekend: $55k - $66k
The price of Bitcoin has dropped back to $61k, testing the range it broke out from Tuesday. While this could mean we break into the range again, I believe this is simply a retest for buyers before we continue up. Even a day of breaking back into the range would not concern me too much as the market tries to shake out the weak hands who bought the breakout. That leads me to predict we’ll possibly drop as low as $55k before seeing eager buyers step in to shift the momentum back towards bullish continuation. The good news for bulls is that the pullback from $63k to $61k is resetting many indicators, making continuation much more healthy.
Bitcoin Q & A
Q: How does DeFi relate to Bitcoin?
A: Bitcoin is the likely base money for the DeFi stack.
DeFi is an acronym created in the last year, which means decentralized finance. In the same way that the banking industry has created various finance products like loans, savings, derivatives, insurance, etc... the decentralized world is creating these same things, but without any central actor involved. Access to financial products in a permissionless way is quite revolutionary.
It’s easiest to think of financial products as a stack, with money at the bottom and various financial products built on top. These products can layer on top of each other to compose various other products. An example would be Bitcoin being used as collateral for a loan used to invest in an interest-bearing product. The base layer is Bitcoin, with loan and interest-bearing products stacked on top. The crypto market seems to have settled on Bitcoin being the best money to use at the stack’s base.
Thanks for reading,
Kent
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