Lightning is not a third party intermediary like Visa or Mastercard. The settlement is instant. The use case is small size transactions that don’t have to be recorded on the blockchain, which has higher fees and settlement takes between 10 and 60 minutes.
Add:
I believe John is referring to the Free Banking movement (both the history and philosophy) in which each bank issues their own currency or IOU to their customers. Some banks could choose to be full reserve (no fractions) in this world of Free Banking.
I think the answer is between 47 and 100 percent. Mitt Romney was correct when he said almost half the country are entitled Obama supporters.
Milton Friedman gave an example using himself as a receipient of federal assistance. He was an employee at U of Chicago which receives funding from the federal government so part of his salary was federally subsidized.
I would say the largest beneficiaries are those who don’t pay any income tax which means any increase in government spending (the real tax) is ‘free’.
My guess is 25 percent of voters. This question should be given to immigrants as part of a screening process.
Not that I know anything about Solana but my impression is that it supports high speed low cost transactions – so that may be competitive with Lightning. Privacy systems associated with it haven’t had legs so that’s not a real advantage over BTC.
$TRUMP might have legs for two reasons:
The Trump “endorsement”.
Whatever the initial “drop” was, it favored Trump supporters over TDS.
Compared to BTC with Lightning:
BTC has the strongest community hence an inherent “endorsement”.
The BTC “drop” favored a wider population of the kind of folks that ostensibly would be favored by $TRUMP.
In terms of fundamentals, it is always best to look at that portion of the cash flow due to non-exchange transactions since by the net present value formula that tells you what the property money backing is.
Unfortunately, no one appears interested in measuring that for any of the crypto currencies and fiat isn’t much better in this regard.
Has anyone set up a crypto fund with portfolio distribution between cryptos by their market cap?
I had to dissuade a family member from it who is concerned about the USD’s potential demise combined with the talk among the Trump Pirate Ship of buying BTC as part of the nation’s portfolio and, of course, DOGE.
That’s why I focus on fundamentals to the extent I can. BTC has the strongest fundamentals AFAIK.
Do you think there is a transition? I bet all exchanges using crypto amount to less than 1% of the exchanges made in US dollars. All the talk about it being like the internet doesn’t seem to match the fact that the internet was being used by 50% of the households within 10 years and crypto less than 1%.
If it is not displacing the dollar in exchanges, is the idea that the dollar will blow up and people will then start to use crypto or is it that the governments will get together and say BTC is the backing of a new means of exchange?
I am having trouble even trying to think hypothetically how BTC will become a basis for money.
I think the best use case for bitcoin is what happened to WikiLeaks in 2011.
Visa, Mastercard and PayPal blocked them. They had no vehicle for collecting donations until they discovered bitcoin.
How does that play out? It doesn’t lead to BTC displacing the USD.
There are only two ways a transition can happen. It can be orderly. BTC wins in the marketplace. It can be decreed similar to fiat.
I don’t think there is any sign of an orderly transition. I don’t see BTC having much market share as a means of exchange.
For an orderly transition or market transition, BTC needs to be stable. A house should cost the same in BTC this year as last year. The instability is the catch 22 with regard to taking market share in transactions.
If BTC is rapidly appreciating vs the dollar because the dollar demise is imminent, then BTC will not remain stable in dollar terms. If you won’t exchange for BTC today, you won’t when the dollar starts to collapse. If it is speculation, it is inherently not stable.
My point is that I think a transition out of the US dollar isn’t going to be orderly.
Out of this chaos anything is possible and there are no guarantees. It isn’t going to be like the transition from horse to automobile or like the adoption of the internet.
What is considered an asset and what is considered ownership will likely change when the SHTF.
If there is any transition where a vast majority of the people’s standard of living changes dramatically, it will not be orderly and it will not be pleasant and no asset ownership will be safe. I don’t think the mob will say hey let’s make BTC, which none of us owns, be the basis of our new monetary system.
“Fix the money” is like fix Congress. The money and Congress are what they are because of the people. In a free society or free market there will be unequal outcomes. A small percentage of the population will do significantly better than a large percentage of the population. This large percentage will force change regardless. If need be, they will cut off their nose to smite their face.
As long as we have a Federal Reserve which can define currency stability as 2% annual inflation, we do not live in a free society. That little figure means we lose half the buying power of the dollars we earn every 36 years. Add to that the income tax, local property tax, and all the other hidden taxes we pay (including the corporate tax and taxes on “unearned income” and it’s amazing anyone has any disposable income at all. We are truly subjects, who rent. We own nothing and already exist at sufferance of the sovereign in DC. Instead of “the rich”, the slogan ought to be: Eat the state!
More Trump nonsense. I couldn’t paste the link so I took a screen clipping.
Trump is willing to spend his political capital on a crypto pump. Sad. Someone took a multi-million dollar position leveraged 50 to 1 prior to the announcement.
On a side note. Eric is so full of shit. You have to be a fool to think that Wall Street sleeps on the weekend. Has he ever heard of after hours trading? I don’t get to after hours trade and Wall Street is asleep so who exactly is doing the after hours trade? You think the big financial outfits don’t have offices around the world. This type of weak deception in order to cover for pumping. The Trumps may need to go to jail.
here is an example of selling MSTR covered calls, courtesy of chatgpt:
As of April 5, 2025, MicroStrategy (MSTR) is trading at approximately $293.61 per share.
Let’s walk through a live example of implementing a covered call strategy with MSTR, incorporating current market data.
Scenario:
Current Position: You own 100 shares of MSTR at $293.61 each.
Market Outlook: You anticipate MSTR will remain stable or experience modest gains over the next month.
Action:
Sell a Call Option:
Strike Price: $320 (approximately 9% above the current price)
Expiration Date: May 16, 2025 (approximately 6 weeks out)
Premium Received: Let’s assume the premium for this option is $15 per share, totaling $1,500 for the contract (since each option contract covers 100 shares).
Potential Outcomes:
MSTR Closes Below $320 on Expiration:
The call option expires worthless.
You retain your 100 MSTR shares.
You keep the $1,500 premium as profit.
MSTR Closes Above $320 on Expiration:
The call option is exercised, and you sell your 100 shares at $320 each.
You realize a capital gain of $26.39 per share ($320 - $293.61), totaling $2,639.
Including the $1,500 premium, your total profit is $4,139.
However, if MSTR’s price exceeds $320, you forgo any additional gains above this price.
Considerations:
Income Generation: The $1,500 premium provides immediate income, offering a buffer against potential declines in MSTR’s stock price.
Limited Upside: Your profit is capped at the strike price plus the premium received. If MSTR’s stock surges significantly, your gains are limited to the strike price.
Downside Risk: While the premium offers some protection, if MSTR’s stock price drops substantially, you could incur losses on your stock holdings, offset only partially by the premium received.
Implementing a covered call strategy can be an effective way to generate additional income from your stock holdings, especially in a neutral to slightly bullish market environment. However, it’s essential to be aware of the trade-offs, particularly the limitation on potential upside gains and the risks if the stock price declines.
Before proceeding, consider consulting with a financial advisor to ensure this strategy aligns with your investment objectives and risk tolerance.
