Volkswagen is pushing for closing factories in Germany. which should be read as " we want tonclose plants in Germany and open them somewhere else with cheap labor". Amazing stuff. Management teams allways pursue the laziest solution, therefore, relocating to China seems easy and cheap. But on the other hand the European auto industry faces BYD, and it will likely fall at their feet

Looking at bilateral trade balances is not the answer, never was. Trade must be seen in global aggregate or else you are just having different routing, same outcome for manufacturing base

Decades of fiat money destroyed high quality products, architecture, health and art. I used to wonder what cause the swings in arts in the past. Now, I get it. They just followed the swimgs in money - from sound to unsound

After telegram, they will go after Musk and all the users that dare say anything that offends the elite. Or he gets a way, like a DAO, to make twitter decentralized, or else he risks being the attack surface

A Collection of Investment Thesis for Coinbase $COIN (Aug 2024) The following is a collection of investment thesis for Coinbase $COIN. These are rough thought collections of where the company might be going in the mid-term. The goal of this exercise is to have these ideas tested and later on to be able to go back and compare these theses to what became reality. Hope some of this will be of help. Thesis 1: Coinbase’s Strategic Diversification Will Allow Them To Grow Different Market Branches As Coinbase continues to expand its product offerings into areas like staking, wallet services, and institutional finance, the company is positioning itself to have a foothold in new markets. This diversification strategy, coupled with its proactive engagement in regulatory efforts such as MiCA compliance for USDC and ongoing litigation with the SEC, enables Coinbase to shape the industry and push for a business model design that suits Coinbase and its clients. The company's ability to leverage new revenue streams (e.g., derivatives, wallet fees) and its focus on building strong regulatory foundations give them a head start that might be hard to dislodge later on. Thesis 2: Regulatory Clarity is the Key to Unlocking Institutional Investment in Crypto, with Coinbase Poised to Lead Regulatory uncertainty remains the biggest hurdle for widespread institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. Coinbase’s active involvement in pushing for regulatory clarity through legislative efforts, litigation, and contributions to initiatives like StandWithCrypto are helping them shape the industry and getting a foot in the door. If regulatory clarity is achieved, institutional investors could significantly increase their allocations to crypto, with Coinbase Prime standing to benefit as one of the most trusted platforms for institutions. Furthermore, regulatory developments like MiCA in Europe position Coinbase to be the exchange of choice beyond the U.S. Thesis 3: The Integration of Web3 and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Platforms Will Accelerate Crypto Adoption, with Coinbase as a Critical Enabler Coinbase’s investments in Web3 infrastructure, such as Layer 2 solutions (e.g., Base) and developer platforms, are critical to driving crypto’s utility beyond trading. As Web3 evolves and decentralized applications (dApps) become more mainstream, Coinbase’s role in providing the necessary infrastructure and tools will be key in bringing more users on-chain. By making crypto transactions cheaper, faster, and more user-friendly through innovations like smart wallets, Coinbase unlocks the next wave of crypto adoption and it becomes entrenched in the process. Thesis 4: The Future of Crypto Lies in Global Integration, with Coinbase Pioneering Cross-Border Financial Infrastructure Coinbase’s intention to integrate crypto into every part of the global economy—from banking and payroll to e-commerce and remittances—if executed properly, will allow it to become the backbone of a new, decentralized financial system. The expansion of stablecoins like USDC under regulatory frameworks like MiCA and Coinbase’s partnerships with fintech companies globally are steps toward achieving this vision. As crypto becomes the preferred medium for global transactions due to its speed, cost-efficiency, and permissionless nature, Coinbase is uniquely positioned to drive this transformation and benefit from the growth of international markets. Thesis 5: Coinbase’s Developer-Centric Strategy Will Fuel the Next Generation of Blockchain Innovation With initiatives like the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) and events such as the Base Camp hackathon, Coinbase is creating an ecosystem that encourages developers to build the next wave of decentralized applications. By offering tools similar to AWS for Web3, Coinbase empowers developers to create innovative solutions across industries, from finance to content creation. This developer-centric approach will unlock new business models and use cases, while also driving the broader adoption of blockchain technology. Thesis 6: The Convergence of AI and Blockchain Will Drive the Next Era of Innovation, with Coinbase Positioned to Play a Key Role As AI and blockchain technologies increasingly converge, new possibilities for decentralized AI systems are emerging. Coinbase, with its strong foundation in Web3 and decentralized finance, could play a critical role in this convergence by providing the necessary infrastructure for decentralized AI applications. From automating complex financial strategies in DeFi to powering decentralized content platforms, Coinbase’s continued exploration and experimentation could position it as a leader in this transformative space.

You don't really want salaries being paid in $BTC more than you want the currency that you use pegged to bitcoin. Paying salaries in bitcoin will mean that in 10y you will receive much less bitcoin, while having a salary in a pegged ccy means you are indexed to productivity

Interesting that productivity remained stagnant since the german governments made it a policy to placate salaries. Maybe one needs higher salaries to incentivize productivity

Great points on free speech. At a time EU seems to be run by lunatic tyrants

The US capital markets, including equity markets, have benefitted from the open capital account to accomodate trade imbalances and the symetrical financial flows imbalances. That built a persistent premium in the US eqty market. Solving the trade imbalances will remove it, imho