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Bitcoin: When a Store of Value Is Manipulated

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By Marko Aliaksandr @ Shutterstock.com

What happens when a store of value is manipulated? It no longer becomes a store of value. You know how this story will end.

Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free.

From Andy Kessler in The Wall Street Journal:

Meanwhile, lo and behold, around the same time as that letter, Tether temporarily stopped creating any more currency. That might explain bitcoin’s quick mid-January price drop from $42,000 to under $30,000. If fraud is uncovered, look out below.

Normally I wouldn’t care. Bitcoin is nothing, it’s vapor, a concept of an idea. Transactions using bitcoin are few and far between. It’s not a store of value—anything that drops 30% in a week can’t play that role. But we get Bloomberg Wealth stories saying: “Newbie Bitcoin investors tell us what inspired them to buy at record prices.” A lot of folks who can’t afford it may get hurt badly. Robinhood curbed some crypto purchases on Friday.

So all crypto eyes are on mid-February. The power of the subpoena is strong. I have no insight into what New York’s attorney general will find. She might close the investigation and go on her merry way because there’s no crime, or uncover a fraud that could make Bernie Madoff look like he was stealing from a lemonade stand. We know what happens to bubbles when the hot air runs out.

Action Line: Read more about what happens next with bitcoin, Google, and the cryptocosm here. Make sure if you want a store of value you own something that reflects your wants.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
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