BITCOIN IS OUTPERFORMING TECH STOCKS -- FIND OUT WHY!
WELCOME TO THE DAILY FORKAST —FEBRUARY 15TH, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY TWO.
I’M ANGIE LAU, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF FORKAST COVERING ALL THINGS BLOCKCHAIN
SOME SAY BITCOIN IS BECOMING “JUST ANOTHER TECH STOCK”
BUT ITS RECENT MARKET PERFORMANCE MIGHT JUST HAVE INVESTORS THINKING MAYBE NOT SO FAST…
WE’LL TAKE A LOOK AT THAT STORY AND A WHOLE LOT MORE, COMING UP
LET’S GET YOU UP TO SPEED FROM ASIA TO THE WORLD.
LET’S KICK OFF WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND ASIA::
FIRST UP - IN HONG KONG, ITS INTERNET SECURITY WATCHDOG SAYS N-F-T’S AND THE METAVERSE ARE A
“MUST WATCH” SECURITY THREAT THIS YEAR. SOUND FAMILIAR CHINA?
THE GOVERNMENT-RUN COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM COORDINATION CENTER SAYS
INFORMATION SECURITY FOR N-F-T AND METAVERSE RELATED NETWORKS IS A KEY
RISK - DUE TO THE HUGE VOLUME OF TRANSACTIONS AND DATA EXCHANGED.
ITS REPORT GOES ON TO WARN THAT CRIMINALS MAY TRY
STEALING SENSITIVE USER INFORMATION AS THE VALUE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES GROWS,
THE AGENCY’S CONCERNS WERE RAISED AS HONG KONG EXPERIENCES A BOOM
IN BOTH THE N-F-T AND METAVERSE INDUSTRIES - WITH TRADITIONAL AUCTION HOUSE
PHILLIPS LAUNCHING A VALENTINE’S N-F-T SALE JUST THIS WEEK. BUT IT ALSO TOWS
THE CHINA PARTY LINE ON N-F-TS. MAKES ONE WONDER WHEN THOSE POLICIES WILL CONVERGE.
MEANWHILE, OVER IN SINGAPORE, D-B-S, THE LARGEST BANK IN SOUTHEAST ASIA,
WANTS TO LAUNCH A RETAIL DIGITAL ASSETS TRADING DESK BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
THE MOVE, ANNOUNCED BY C-E-O PIYUSH GUPTA, FOLLOWS THE BANK’S CURRENT D-B-S DIGITAL EXCHANGE,
OR D-D-EX, THAT BROUGHT IN ALMOST 600 MILLION U-S DOLLARS IN TRADING VALUE IN THE LAST QUARTER.
D-D-EX IS CURRENTLY A MEMBERS-ONLY EXCHANGE SERVING
CORPORATE, INSTITUTIONAL AND ACCREDITED INVESTORS AS WELL AS FAMILY OFFICES.
THE BANK SAYS IT PLANS TO OPEN UP ITS BUSINESS TO A LARGER POOL OF CUSTOMERS -- HELLO WELCOME RETAIL
INVESTORS? HOWEVER, JUST LAST MONTH SINGAPORE’S CENTRAL BANK ISSUED GUIDELINES OVER PROMOTING
CRYPTOCURRENCIES, SAYING THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGED TO INVEST IN THEM!
STILL A TENSION BETWEEN WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE
MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR THE GANDER…
YOU CAN FIND THOSE STORIES AND MORE AT FORKAST.NEWS.
OVER TO THE MARKETS NOW!
WHEN IT COMES TO TECH STOCKS, COULD BITCOIN RULE THEM ALL? ACCORDING TO DATA FROM FINBOLD,
IT’S LOOKING THAT WAY. BITCOIN HAS OUTPERFORMED THE TOP 6 TECH
STOCKS OVER THE LAST 30 DAYS BY AN AVERAGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF OVER 15 PERCENT.
SO DOES THAT THROW COLD WATER ON THE THINKING THAT THERE IS
A GROWING CORRELATION BETWEEN THE PRICE OF BITCOIN AND THE LEADING TECH STOCKS?
FORKAST’S LACHLAN KELLER REPORTS:
WITH INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS MOVING INTO THE SPACE, IT HAD APPEARED AS
THOUGH BITCOIN’S PRICE WAS BECOMING MORE CORRELATED TO TRADITIONAL MARKETS.
HOWEVER, RECENT MOVES SUGGEST TECH STOCK PRICES MAY NOT BE THAT CLOSELY LINKED.
AS THE U-S INFLATION RATE REACHED A FORTY YEAR HIGH OF 7.5 PERCENT TECH STOCKS WOBBLED,
WITH INVESTORS CONCERNED ABOUT THE OUTLOOK FOR GROWTH AS FED RATE HIKES LOOM.
MEANWHILE META’S SHARES SANK 25 PERCENT IN ONE DAY EARLIER
THIS MONTH AFTER IT REVEALED ITS FIRST EVER QUARTERLY DECLINE IN USER NUMBERS, WITH ONE
EXPERT TELLING FORKAST THAT RAISED QUESTIONS OVER THE BUSINESS’S LONG TERM VIABILITY,
ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF ADVERTISING REVENUE.
ANDREW SULLIVAN SAYS THAT IN COMPARISON TO TECH STOCKS THE UNDERLYING FACTORS FOR BITCOIN HAVE
NOT CHANGED AND THAT ITS PRICE PULLBACK AT THE END OF JANUARY ACTUALLY PUT IT ON MORE PEOPLE’S RADAR:
“WHENEVER YOU SELL SOMETHING OFF, YOU KNOW THESE GUYS ARE GOING TO
BE LOOKING TO PUT THEIR MONEY INTO SOMETHING ELSE,
WE SAW SOME OF THAT MONEY OBVIOUSLY GOING INTO TREASURIES, BUT I AM SURE A LOT OF THAT MONEY
WAS LOOKING FOR OTHER ALTERNATIVES AND BITCOIN PROBABLY BEING ATTRACTIVE AT THAT STAGE.”
GOING FORWARD, SULLIVAN SAYS HE’S KEEPING WATCH ON WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FED MAKES ITS FIRST MOVE:
“ IT WOULD BE INTERESTING THEN TO SEE HOW BITCOIN AND SOME OF THE OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES REACT,
BECAUSE IT WILL BE THE FIRST TIME WE’VE REALLY SEEN THEM REACT TO RISING INTEREST
RATES BECAUSE IT’S NOT BEEN A PHENOMENON WE’VE KNOWN WHILE BITCOIN HAS BEEN AROUND.”
HOWEVER, SULLIVAN SAYS WITH MORE INSTITUTIONAL MONEY GETTING INVOLVED,
BITCOIN’S PRICE VOLATILITY WILL DAMPEN LONGER TERM.
FOR FORKAST, I’M LACHLAN KELLER
DAO’S ARE ALL THE RAGE THESE DAYS - THE DECENTRALIZED AUTONOMOUS ORGANIZATIONS
THAT ARE MANAGED USING SMART CONTRACTS RATHER THAN A TRADITIONAL HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE..
THAT MEANS YOU JOIN WHEN YOU BUY THE TOKENS
AND YOU GET TO SAY WHAT YOU WANT, AND HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE..
BUT WHERE ARE THEY HEADED NEXT?
KELVIN LAM, CEO OF LITHIUM FINANCE IS HERE WITH THE DEFI DOWNLOAD!
GOOD TO SEE YOU KELVIN
DAOS ARE YOU A PART OF IT?, DAOS ARE BEING USED TO RAISE MONEY AND IT’S JUST AN INCREDIBLE THING TO
SEE.. SINCE THEY ARE RUN ON CODE, ITS MEMBERS CAN DIRECTLY PARTICIPATE IN THEIR GOVERNANCE. WHY DO
YOU THINK THIS RESONATES WITH MARKETPLACE? THIS IS REALLY, REALLY PICKING UP STEAM…
WELL, DAOS ARE BASICALLY ORGANIZATIONS VERY SIMILAR TO TO COMPANIES IN MANY RESPECTS. THEY'RE
BASICALLY COMPANIES OR ORGANIZATIONS RUNNING ON THE BLOCKCHAIN. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THEY'RE NOT
GOVERNED BY COMPANY ARTICLES OR BY LAWS, BUT SMART CONTRACTS AND COMPUTER CODES LIKE YOU SAID.
IN A IN A COMPANY SHAREHOLDERS WOULD COME TOGETHER ON GENERAL MEETINGS TO VOTE ON MAJOR DECISIONS,
RIGHT? BUT THE DAY TO DAY MANAGEMENT, A LOT OF THINGS ARE DELEGATED TO THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS AND MANAGEMENT. SO SOMETIMES THESE DIRECTIONS, THESE DECISIONS MAY NOT ALWAYS BE
TRANSMITTED AND EXECUTED CORRECTLY AND THAT CREATES AGENCY PROBLEMS. WITH A DAO,
THE ENTIRE CHAIN OF INTERMEDIARIES, BOARD, YOU KNOW, MANAGERS AND EVERYONE
COULD EFFECTIVELY BE ELIMINATED. THE MEMBERS WILL BE MANAGING THE
ORGANIZATION DIRECTLY, LEAVING THE EXECUTION TO THE SMART CONTRACTS AND A CODE
THAT GIVES YOU FULL TRANSPARENCY IN A DECENTRALIZED WORLD
AND HOPEFULLY ELIMINATING ALL THE AGENCY PROBLEMS. SO THAT COULD BE INCREDIBLY EMPOWERING WHEN A DAO
IS IMPLEMENTED IN A IN AN EFFICIENT WAY FOR THE RIGHT USE CASES.
WE’VE SEEN SEEN DAOS THAT RAISED MONEY TO BOLSTER JULIAN ASSANGE’S LEGAL DEFENSE, ANOTHER THAT CAME
TOGETHER TO BID FOR A RARE COPY OF THE US CONSTITUTION. IT’S ALMOST LIKE GOING IN WITH
AN INVESTING SYNDICATE WITH YOUR FACEBOOK GROUP, WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS HERE?
WELL, INDEED, LIKE LIKE THE EXAMPLES YOU MENTIONED, I THINK IF THERE IS
EXAMPLE, IT'S A VERY SIMILAR TO HOW PEOPLE INCORPORATE ENTITIES IN THE REAL WORLD TO
UNDERTAKE INVESTMENTS OR ENGAGE IN LOBBYING. AND IN FACT, SINCE THE INTENTION OF JOINT STOCK
COMPANIES, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN USING THESE PLATFORMS FOR ALL SORTS OF ECONOMIC AND OTHER INTERESTS.
AND JUST LAST YEAR, THE STATE OF WYOMING PASSED A LAW
TO LEGALLY RECOGNIZE DAO COULD BE A SEPARATE LEGAL ENTITY FOR WHATEVER PURPOSES.
AND IN THE LEGISLATION, THE STATE THINKS OF A DAO JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW,
ANY OTHER LLC OR BUSINESS ENTITY, BUT THAT THEY USE SMART CONTRACTS TO MANAGE AND OPERATE
THEMSELVES. SO IT'S I THINK IT'S REALLY A NATURAL
DEVELOPMENT THAT THESE DAOS ARE BRING PEOPLE AND ECONOMIC POWER TOGETHER.
THOSE ARE THE PROS BUT THERE ARE ALSO THE CONS, INCREASINGLY WE ARE SEEING VOTER APATHY,
AND THE RECENT CONSTITUTION DAO’S FAILED BID ALSO HIGHLIGHTED THE
PROBLEM OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE FUNDS AND HOW TO ACTUALLY RETURN THEM TO THE MEMBERS
WHEN THE ORIGINAL REASON FOR THE DAO FAILED. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HERE?
I ACTUALLY FEEL THAT THE CONSTITUTION DAO IS DOING EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE SET OUT TO DO.
THEIR SMART CONTRACT WAS SET UP IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE DAO,
OF THE CONSTITUTION DAO WOULD BE ABLE TO SURRENDER THE TOKENS AND TO OBTAIN A REFUND
IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, AND IT'S ACTUALLY WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING.
THEIR MEMBERS ARE BEING OFFERED THE CHOICE OF GETTING A REFUND NET OF THE GAS TRANSACTION FEE,
OF COURSE, OR RETAINING THE TOKEN IN THE DAO. AND FOR THOSE WHO PREFER TO
JUST STAY WITH THE ORGANIZATION, THESE SAME MEMBERS WILL VOTE AND DECIDE
WHAT THE DAO IS GOING TO DO WITH THE FUNDS.
SO IN THAT, IN THAT RESPECT, I THINK THE CONSTITUTION DOW HAS BEEN A SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION. I FEEL THAT THE REAL PROBLEM, PERHAPS IS WITH THE GAS TRANSACTION FEES INVOLVED,
WHICH COULD BE AT THIS TIME DISPROPORTIONATELY OR PROHIBITIVELY HIGH FOR, ESPECIALLY FOR
MEMBERS WHO CONTRIBUTED A SMALLER AMOUNT BUT LOOKING TO OBTAIN A REFUND. BUT THAT, HOWEVER,
IS NOT THE PROBLEM WITH THE DAO. ITSELF, BUT THE ETHEREUM BLOCKCHAIN AT THE MOMENT, I THINK.
LOTS TO CONSIDER AS WE MOVE INTO THIS BRAVE NEW WORLD OF DEFIS AND DAOS AND ALL THE REST.
THAT’S THE DEFI DOWNLOAD FOR YOU THIS WEEK! KELVIN, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS!