SELL TSLA

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

if you want to maintain a 0% exposure to bitcoin!

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html

As I pointed out last week, literally thousands of entities attended a virtual conference on bitcoin for corporate balance sheets: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/resources/events/world-2021/bitcoin-summit?CID=7014W0000014yhJQAQ

It is becoming increasingly difficult for bitcoin bears to maintain a 0% exposure.

 

[mstateglfr]

Thanks for the heads up, Kudlow.

 

[HotMop]

BUY DOGE

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Why would you want that?

 

[GloryDawg]

Buy forever stamps and put them away for 20 years. Also buy certain Lego sets. The sailing ship ones increase dramatically once they are discontinued.

 

[PBRME]

That explains Bitcoin doubling in price.

 

[GloryDawg]

Would it have been legal if he had text out what he was going to do a day or two before he did? Are Bitcoin regulated?

 

[JungRebel]

I dont think so because I dont think BTC is thought of as a security, but I'm not sure that question has ever been definitively answered.

I think this is more like buying a bunch of Brazillian Real and telling your millions of followers that it will rebound relative to the dollar if certain things happen.

 

[Crazy Cotton]

Would have cost himself a lot of money if he did. No idea if that would be considered illegally pumping a stock.

 

[Nicephorus]

Would have cost himself a lot of money if he did. No idea if that would be considered illegally pumping a stock.

Elon been promoting Doge this entire time while Tesla accumulating bitcoin to throw off retail investors trying to frontrun him. He's no idiot.

As far is "illegally pumping", bitcoin hasn't been labeled a security by the SEC so is not subject to those rules. Believe it is considered "sufficiently decentralized" as not to qualify as a security per the Howey test although I'm no lawyer and this can get quite technical. Basically, there's no CEO, owners, board of directors, or other central governance running bitcoin.

 

[johnson86-1]

Would it have been legal if he had text out what he was going to do a day or two before he did? Are Bitcoin regulated?

If he had texted out what Tesla was going to do a day or two before, it possibly would have been a breach of his fiduciary duties to TESLA and its shareholders. Don't think it would be criminal.

The more interesting case would be if he helped make the decision for TESLA to park money in bitcoins, and went out and personally invested in them before TESLA did and then announced that TESLA was putting money there. Front running TESLA's purchases I guess would technically be a problem although probably not really significant. If he bought after TESLA but before it was announced, I don't think he'd have a problem under US law b/c our insider trading laws are based on fiduciary duties, and he's not hurting TESLA at all by that. I gather that European insider trading laws are actually what people in the US think the US laws are, in that it's a matter of fairness and not unfairly profiting from being an insider.

 

[Nicephorus]

Difference is crypto provides 4-digit % returns or more depending on your risk tolerance in less than a year if you time it right and buy the right stuff. We're in probably a once in 5 year crypto bubble. When it will end, no one knows. Difference from this one compared to 2017, is institutional buyers and alt coins that actually do stuff rather than the ICO mania of 2017 where retail was buying empty promises on a white paper.

From the federal reserve just a few days ago.

https://research.stlouisfed.org/pub...in-and-smart-contract-based-financial-markets


Amusing take on it all:

https://twitter.com/dgntec/status/1358883055289700363?s=20

 

[idog]

what are the advantages/disadvantages of using an exchange vs a wallet to purchase crypto? forgive my ignorance but i've never really looked inot buying imaginary money before. has anyone here actually purchased crypto and succesfully cashed out?

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

If he had texted out what Tesla was going to do a day or two before, it possibly would have been a breach of his fiduciary duties to TESLA and its shareholders. Don't think it would be criminal.

The more interesting case would be if he helped make the decision for TESLA to park money in bitcoins, and went out and personally invested in them before TESLA did and then announced that TESLA was putting money there. Front running TESLA's purchases I guess would technically be a problem although probably not really significant. If he bought after TESLA but before it was announced, I don't think he'd have a problem under US law b/c our insider trading laws are based on fiduciary duties, and he's not hurting TESLA at all by that. I gather that European insider trading laws are actually what people in the US think the US laws are, in that it's a matter of fairness and not unfairly profiting from being an insider.

my 401k increased by 15% during trading hours and another 15% AH - thanks elon

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

if you want to maintain a 0% exposure to bitcoin!

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html

As I pointed out last week, literally thousands of entities attended a virtual conference on bitcoin for corporate balance sheets: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/resources/events/world-2021/bitcoin-summit?CID=7014W0000014yhJQAQ

It is becoming increasingly difficult for bitcoin bears to maintain a 0% exposure.

maybe your last chance to retire early - aapl is the next big buyer

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

what are the advantages/disadvantages of using an exchange vs a wallet to purchase crypto? forgive my ignorance but i've never really looked inot buying imaginary money before. has anyone here actually purchased crypto and succesfully cashed out?

Most people buy on an exchange and then move it to a wallet they control. You can leave it on an exchange, but that carries third-party risk. Of course it's easier to leave it on an exchange rather than self-custody. I definitely wouldn't leave a significant amount of money on an exchange, but there's nothing wrong with getting started on an exchange and worrying about self-custody after you have saved a significant amount of money (however you define that). But don't wait too long. As a rule of thumb, approach your bitcoin security as if your balance is 10x what it is, because some day it may be.

I recommend Swan Bitcoin for automated DCA. If you want to manually buy on an exchange, my favorite is Gemini.

Once you start buying, I recommend depositing some (not all) of your bitcoin with BlockFi. They pay 6% APY (current rate) on your bitcoin, paid in bitcoin monthly. You can even set up automatic withdrawals from Swan to BlockFi. So your setup can be completely automated: bank >> Swan >> BlockFi. It's a much better way to save than the <1% rate you get at the bank.

That being said, if you are already thinking about cashing out, you probably shouldn't buy bitcoin. Bitcoin is a long term play. You will probably lose money buying and selling bitcoin in the short term. You should only buy bitcoin if you are prepared to hold it for at least four years. The worst 4-year performance in its history is 6x. If you bought after December 16, 2014 (most of us did), the worst 4-year performance is 10x.

 

[KeyserSoze1999]

Buy Tomatoes!*** A mere 2 pounds of Tomatoes is worth a whopping $5 Million Bolivars down in Venezuela right now. A glowing example of long term money printing and adding digits to screens.

View attachment 19426View attachment 19427

 

[GloryDawg]

Difference is crypto provides 4-digit % returns or more depending on your risk tolerance in less than a year if you time it right and buy the right stuff. We're in probably a once in 5 year crypto bubble. When it will end, no one knows. Difference from this one compared to 2017, is institutional buyers and alt coins that actually do stuff rather than the ICO mania of 2017 where retail was buying empty promises on a white paper.

From the federal reserve just a few days ago.

https://research.stlouisfed.org/pub...in-and-smart-contract-based-financial-markets


Amusing take on it all:

https://twitter.com/dgntec/status/1358883055289700363?s=20

I agree that Stamps are not a fast return on money but if you had bought the first Forever Stamps in 2007 for .41 those would be worth .55 today. You would have had to buy a bunch to make a lot of money. As far as Lego goes I bought my son the Black Pearl sailing ship in 2006 for 99.00. Those things sell between 400.00 to 800.00 today. The original sailing ship they produce sell for 2000.00 on some sites. Castle sets do the same thing.

 

[idog]

well explained

Most people buy on an exchange and then move it to a wallet they control. You can leave it on an exchange, but that carries third-party risk. Of course it's easier to leave it on an exchange rather than self-custody. I definitely wouldn't leave a significant amount of money on an exchange, but there's nothing wrong with getting started on an exchange and worrying about self-custody after you have saved a significant amount of money (however you define that). But don't wait too long. As a rule of thumb, approach your bitcoin security as if your balance is 10x what it is, because some day it may be.

I recommend Swan Bitcoin for automated DCA. If you want to manually buy on an exchange, my favorite is Gemini.

Once you start buying, I recommend depositing some (not all) of your bitcoin with BlockFi. They pay 6% APY (current rate) on your bitcoin, paid in bitcoin monthly. You can even set up automatic withdrawals from Swan to BlockFi. So your setup can be completely automated: bank >> Swan >> BlockFi. It's a much better way to save than the <1% rate you get at the bank.

That being said, if you are already thinking about cashing out, you probably shouldn't buy bitcoin. Bitcoin is a long term play. You will probably lose money buying and selling bitcoin in the short term. You should only buy bitcoin if you are prepared to hold it for at least four years. The worst 4-year performance in its history is 6x. If you bought after December 16, 2014 (most of us did), the worst 4-year performance is 10x.

thank you! anyone have a crystal ball and can tell me which crypto is going to be the next bitcoin or is the future bleak for all other crypto after bitcoin has moved so far ahead?

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

thank you! anyone have a crystal ball and can tell me which crypto is going to be the next bitcoin or is the future bleak for all other crypto after bitcoin has moved so far ahead?

There is no other Bitcoin. Just DCA and don’t waste your money on others. This thing started on the fringes, then investors, then institutional, now corps, govts are not far behind. Long term predictions from 250k to 1mm+ per coin. I’m ecstatic at 45 - life altering at 100 - early retirement at 160 - lottery ticket at 250

 

[Mobile Bay]

There is no other Bitcoin. Just DCA and don’t waste your money on others. This thing started on the fringes, then investors, then institutional, now corps, govts are not far behind. Long term predictions from 250k to 1mm+ per coin. I’m ecstatic at 45 - life altering at 100 - early retirement at 160 - lottery ticket at 250

Homeless when the NSA shuts it down.

 

[Nicephorus]

thank you! anyone have a crystal ball and can tell me which crypto is going to be the next bitcoin or is the future bleak for all other crypto after bitcoin has moved so far ahead?

Traditionally the “pump cycle” goes bitcoin then ethereum and other alt coins. Whether this holds true here is up for debate. So far the last year or so “decentralized finance” sector alt coins have seen the most growth.

I personally stick to btc, eth, and stuff on this list (excluding algo coins):

https://twitter.com/ceterispar1bus/status/1355851292879556608?s=21

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

thank you! anyone have a crystal ball and can tell me which crypto is going to be the next bitcoin or is the future bleak for all other crypto after bitcoin has moved so far ahead?

I'm bitcoin only. I started with bitcoin. Dabbled with altcoins. Now I'm back to bitcoin only. This is a very common journey. I try to tell people who are just starting out to avoid altcoins altogether. There just isn't an altcoin I want to trade my bitcoin for.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

Homeless when the NSA shuts it down.

Fortune 500 companies hold bitcoin.
Financial institutions hold bitcoin.
Hedge funds hold bitcoin.
Billionaires hold bitcoin.
Politicians hold bitcoin.
The mayor of Miami is trying to make it the first major city to hold bitcoin.

You need to prepare yourself for the possibility that the United States is not going to ban bitcoin.

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

Homeless when the NSA shuts it down.

FUD no good.

rumors are the treasury is exploring alternatives - possibly stockpiling - if that happens it will hit 1mm.

think of this point in history when you heard about the nerd kids down the street playing pong on a green and white screen - here's your chance to buy stock in a startup called Nintendo

 

[JungRebel]

Why the exclusion of algo if I may ask? I like both it and XLM as far as projects go. As far as the question you were answering, if you're looking long term I just go with the projects you actually like and think have upside.

 

[JungRebel]

Do you forsee an everyday use case for BTC? I just cant imagine that mining is a part of the future of currency. PoS seems better but I havent heard the case against it.

ETH is also a problem to me. What can be done to reduce the transaction fees? Will PoS solve that? If so, will they get it together before another chain does and gets adopted?

 

[Nicephorus]

There is no other Bitcoin. Just DCA and don’t waste your money on others. This thing started on the fringes, then investors, then institutional, now corps, govts are not far behind. Long term predictions from 250k to 1mm+ per coin. I’m ecstatic at 45 - life altering at 100 - early retirement at 160 - lottery ticket at 250

I had a similar mindset after getting burned on alt coins 2018. I was a "bitcoin maxi" from then till early 2020 when I started dabbling in decentralized finance. This opened my eyes to how far ethereum is ahead of bitcoin in the world of decentralized apps (apps) and DeFi. Lightning network has never gained enough traction to be usable and at this point is basically obsolete compared to ethereum dapps. This is no more evident than looking at the current fee climate. Space on the ethereum blockchain is the most demanded block space in the world by a huge margin and the fees people are paying to have transactions included on the ethereum chain play this out (for people who don't know, with crypto the higher fee you pay, the faster your transaction gets picked up and added to the blockchain by miners). This has snowballed in the last 2 months and is not even close anymore. Bitcoin which is #2 in transaction fee revenue is currently generating about 1/5 the daily transaction fees compared to ethereum (~27 million USD/day on eth vs 5 million USD/day on btc).

https://cryptofees.info

I still hold a large btc position and remain bullish on it long term, but at this point I see it as simply a store of value (gold with more upside). This is best exemplified by the usage of tokenized BTC (bitcoin locked in a wallet and ported to ethereum as a token (wbtc, renbtc, etc)) is most useful as collateral on lending platforms/dapps on ethereum allowing people to borrow stable coins in seconds that can be converted to real cash without need of accounts, background checks, or other hassles. Basically, you could borrow against your bitcoin paying ~4% APY, buy a house or car, and keep the bitcoin exposure if it continues to rise in price (your collateral would be worth more giving you increased borrowing power or liquidate a portion to pay off your existing debt). If it tanks, it would be automatically sold with a ~10-15% added fee to pay off your debt. See aave.com, makerDAO, and compound.finance. Currently over 8 billion USD in bitcoin resides on ethereum: https://defipulse.com/btc

While I don't know if ethereum will remain the dominant chain in DeFi, its current lead is huge and don't see any "DeFi on bitcoin" product ever closing that gap. At this point, bitcoin seems like "e-mail" while ethereum is more like the "internet". Both revolutionary products, one just has lots more potential upside. I encourage you to skim this research paper put out by the Federal Reserve regarding DeFi to get a better grasp of what that term means. It's actually pretty well written.

https://research.stlouisfed.org/pub...in-and-smart-contract-based-financial-markets

I would agree though for more risk averse buyers, bitcoin offers the safest risk/reward ratio amongst crypto. R/R increases as you climb to the "risk ladder" to ethereum then DeFi tokens I posted earlier.

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

Do you forsee an everyday use case for BTC? I just cant imagine that mining is a part of the future of currency. PoS seems better but I havent heard the case against it.

ETH is also a problem to me. What can be done to reduce the transaction fees? Will PoS solve that? If so, will they get it together before another chain does and gets adopted?

more rumors - but some of the thinkers in the space say apple will step in to solve all the transaction issues for any coin. maybe that is what is needed to address all the regulatory FUD

 

[Nicephorus]

Was referring to algorithmic stable coins category which are coins that inflate or deflate their supply in an attempt to obtain some target value (usually $1). Virtually all of them have failed with the exception of FRAX which is actually partially collateralized with USDC and other stable coins.

I don't have a strong opinion on ALGO or other level 1 "ethereum alternative" chains as I see this as a crowded field and haven't researched them enough to have a good feel for the favorites. Now would be a good time for one to emerge as a more dominant player I would think given high ethereum transaction fees and lack of widespread availability ethereum L2 (level 2 side chains running on top of ethereum main chain to increase efficiency of transactions) at this time. Lot of people waiting to see what next version of Uniswap, V3, will do with the L2 Optimistic Ethereum solution. If it greatly reduces fees and integrates well with Ethereum, would probably be bad news for other L1 chains as people would be less inclined to switch. Uniswap is currently the most popular decentralized exchange (DEX) and does about 1 billion USD volume daily.

 

[JungRebel]

Have an opinion on Nexo? I'm holding XLM there and getting 6% APY. They make me less nervous than other crypto banks. Their coin has been a pleasant surprise and added bonus but what alt hasnt lately. I'm curious though about the idea that mining will continue to be a thing once adoption starts. Staking seems like a much more effective and eco friendly solution.

As far as the guys looking to get into crypto and finding BTC too pricey... well it probably is for now. I'm optimistic but I see a bear market as inevitable, not as bad as 2018 and when it comes who knows, but there are pros and cons to the current regulatory state of the crypto world. Something like Tether could throw a massive short term wrench into the system, and while it doesnt deter me from putting a portion of my portfolio into crypto, it isnt just FUD to say that no reasonable person should now have a lack of questions regarding USDT. Almost every day a coin on a user friendly site like Coinbase Pro spikes 20 to 40%. Crypto is a casino right now. More than half of these projects will one day cease to exist IMO. Dont forget to take profit or to pay your taxes.

Regarding algo and xlm, I'm encouraged by their scope and, in the case of algo, the creative forces behind them. I think there will be plenty of room in the world for multiple chains and platforms running DEFI systems and, while ETH got their first, I am bearish on it because the fees are terrible, it is PoW, and the advancements they want to make have been gotten to by others already. They are first but I dont think they remain the only, and yes the same can be said for BTC but it has some adoption going and has the store of value argument going for it too.

The way the world banks is currently up for grabs, it is a very exciting time, but again for those looking at crypto for the first time: Dont invest what you arent willing to light on fire, beware of scams as they are plenty, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, I eat crayons and you shouldnt trust me, etc etc.

 

[Mobile Bay]

FUD no good.

rumors are the treasury is exploring alternatives - possibly stockpiling - if that happens it will hit 1mm.

think of this point in history when you heard about the nerd kids down the street playing pong on a green and white screen - here's your chance to buy stock in a startup called Nintendo

Or that brand new fancy car company, DeLorean.

 

[Nicephorus]

Have an opinion on Nexo? I'm holding XLM there and getting 6% APY. They make me less nervous than other crypto banks. Their coin has been a pleasant surprise and added bonus but what alt hasnt lately. I'm curious though about the idea that mining will continue to be a thing once adoption starts. Staking seems like a much more effective and eco friendly solution.

As far as the guys looking to get into crypto and finding BTC too pricey... well it probably is for now. I'm optimistic but I see a bear market as inevitable, not as bad as 2018 and when it comes who knows, but there are pros and cons to the current regulatory state of the crypto world. Something like Tether could throw a massive short term wrench into the system, and while it doesnt deter me from putting a portion of my portfolio into crypto, it isnt just FUD to say that no reasonable person should now have a lack of questions regarding USDT. Almost every day a coin on a user friendly site like Coinbase Pro spikes 20 to 40%. Crypto is a casino right now. More than half of these projects will one day cease to exist IMO. Dont forget to take profit or to pay your taxes.

Regarding algo and xlm, I'm encouraged by their scope and, in the case of algo, the creative forces behind them. I think there will be plenty of room in the world for multiple chains and platforms running DEFI systems and, while ETH got their first, I am bearish on it because the fees are terrible, it is PoW, and the advancements they want to make have been gotten to by others already. They are first but I dont think they remain the only, and yes the same can be said for BTC but it has some adoption going and has the store of value argument going for it too.

The way the world banks is currently up for grabs, it is a very exciting time, but again for those looking at crypto for the first time: Dont invest what you arent willing to light on fire, beware of scams as they are plenty, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, I eat crayons and you shouldnt trust me, etc etc.

I personally don't use any of the centralized "crypto banks". Celsius.network is the one I hear people talk about most. Pretty sure Celsius is yield farming with your assets on ethereum in order to cover those interest rates and generate additional profit. Wouldn't surprise me if Nexo does too. This supposedly is the Celsius Ethereum wallet address:

https://etherscan.io/address/0xb1adceddb2941033a090dd166a462fe1c2029484

How are they able to afford those APYs? They are yield farming everything under the sun and pulling in double and triple digit APYs with assets that are on ethereum. Plug it in one of the DeFi frontends like zapper.fi that parses the transaction and shows you where the money is, you can see all the stuff they are farming:

https://zapper.fi/dashboard?address=0xb1adceddb2941033a090dd166a462fe1c2029484

For comparison to what these crypto banks pay, currently on ethereum you can get 105% APY on tokenized bitcoin (bitcoin locked and converted to an ethereum token like wbtc) on badger.finance right now which is basically auto farming curve.fi rewards and adding badger tokens on top of it. You have to periodically sell and reinvest these tokens to realize those APYs though which isn't as easy with current gas prices. My rule for yield farming and DeFi in general though is never go all in on 1 platform. Spread it out so if something gets hacked or exploited, you don't lose it all.

Regarding high ethereum fees right now, it's sorta a circular argument:
1. Ethereum fees are too high, no one will use it.
2. Ethereum fees are high because too many people are using it.

Ultimately, I do think some of the volume is going to migrate to either other L1 "eth killer" chains and L2 solutions on top of ethereum. How this split goes will determine the success of the competing L1 chains. Success of L2 solutions will not bode well for them. I think Eth will remain the leader regardless as it is the most proven and most decentralized platform. These other chains are unproven and haven't been the target of very sophisticated hackers/exploiters as there is not enough assets on them to merit that effort. I imagine a lot of the large transactions will remain on L1 ethereum as fees are less of a concern compared to security or slippage if trading. Many of the smaller transactions will move to other chains. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has exploded in last few weeks. It's basically a clone of ethereum (exact same smart contract programming language) except using the BNB token. It offers a cheaper alternative to ethereum as the mining is centralized and controlled by Binance which helps it control transaction fees (believe all miners have to be "whitelisted" by Binance). This is great for smaller retail users. I do not see large institutions entrusting multi-millions or billions of assets to a chain controlled by an Asian crypto exchange. They'll pay the fees on ethereum.

May be a little different with Polkadot or Algo or other chains that I believe have "features" that allow for easier regulation compliance though. If proven secure, they may be a market for this amongst larger institutions.

 

[JungRebel]

Do you think, long term, that PoW is going to beat out PoS in whatever gets adopted?

I have tried to read up on Defi but I can never find the answers I want. There appears to be a pretty high ante to make it even worth starting into with the current gas fees, but I'm still not sure what it would be. Havent found a UI that I feel comfortable with, but I assume it is out there or is coming.

Regarding BTC, the store of value argument is still weak to me, and first isnt always the winner. Crypto space is still in its infancy. I am longed in the alt positions I have because I think faster and cheaper tx fees are the future.

I'm looking on some concise reading re L1 and L2 if you have some links.

I have no issue letting Nexo take a small amount for a ride if they can continue paying 6% APY on assets that will over time appreciate and perhaps greatly. With the current gas fees I dont see how anyone with less than several thousand dollars is making use of the current defi landscape.

 

[Nicephorus]

Do you think, long term, that PoW is going to beat out PoS in whatever gets adopted?

I have tried to read up on Defi but I can never find the answers I want. There appears to be a pretty high ante to make it even worth starting into with the current gas fees, but I'm still not sure what it would be. Havent found a UI that I feel comfortable with, but I assume it is out there or is coming.

Regarding BTC, the store of value argument is still weak to me, and first isnt always the winner. Crypto space is still in its infancy. I am longed in the alt positions I have because I think faster and cheaper tx fees are the future.

I'm looking on some concise reading re L1 and L2 if you have some links.

I have no issue letting Nexo take a small amount for a ride if they can continue paying 6% APY on assets that will over time appreciate and perhaps greatly. With the current gas fees I dont see how anyone with less than several thousand dollars is making use of the current defi landscape.

Ethereum will supposedly shift to POS with eth v2. This is actually already happening with launch of "beacon chain" late last year. Currently people staking on it making around 10-20% APY I think but this is running parallel to ethereum main chain at this time and not processing any transactions. Sounds like at least 2022 before POS replaces POW if everything stays on schedule: https://ethereum.org/en/eth2/

Issue with ethereum is they have to be very cautious rolling this out given there is over 50 billion USD in assets on ethereum not counting eth itself.
https://defillama.com/
So don't expect this to move fast. In a more short term time frame, when/if EIP-1559 is activated on ethereum, this will help some with the fees also. You can read about it here:
https://medium.com/@eric.conner/fixing-the-ethereum-fee-market-eip-1559-9109f1c1814b
I think nearly all the blockchains people actually end up using will move to POS over time in order to stay relevant with the exception of maybe bitcoin.

Regarding DeFi, unfortunately the fee environment has completely priced out smaller investors for now. Probably best to stick to centralized options if you're investing anything less than 5 figures. When I started dabbling this summer, the cheapest, most basic transaction you do, a "token approval", which basically allows a contract to accept a deposit of a specific token, cost less than $0.50. Now that runs more than $10 if gas is high. More complex smart contract interactions can be well over $100 in gas fees right now although this is highly variable. I use gasnow.org to monitor gas. For most interactions such as deposits which aren't time sensitive, you can "low-ball" it and let it sit for hours until it gets picked up. Higher gas fees are necessary for trades or swaps though to ensure they execute efficiently. If price changes too much while waiting to process, the transaction will fail but still cost you fees.

Here's a basic L1 vs L2 video from an Ethereum viewpoint. These people have a lot of basic DeFi tutorial videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ulxd3R97E&list=PLaDcID4s1KronHMKojfjwiHL0DdQEPDcq&index=10

Unfortunately, not a ton of centralized information sources out there about DeFi outside of some YouTube video playlists. Most of my understanding came from reading about various projects and trying out things, mainly last summer when gas was cheap, and I had a lot of free time due to lock down.

 

[Charlie Varney]

Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal sells $25M in Tesla stock

Brother agreed with you...

https://nypost.com/2021/02/11/elon-musks-brother-kimbal-musk-sells-25m-in-tesla-stock/

 

[JungRebel]

Thanks for the info as usual. I'm looking into privacy coins as well because I think they will have a good use case going forward. Do you have a preference between XMR and ZEC? Or is there something better out there?

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

Brother agreed with you...

https://nypost.com/2021/02/11/elon-musks-brother-kimbal-musk-sells-25m-in-tesla-stock/

I just hope he has fun staying poor.

 

[Nicephorus]

Thanks for the info as usual. I'm looking into privacy coins as well because I think they will have a good use case going forward. Do you have a preference between XMR and ZEC? Or is there something better out there?

Don't personally hold any as I don't want to draw any extra scrutiny to my holdings come tax time so don't have a strong opinion about any of them.

Something else to keep an eye on on that front. Tornado cash just released their governance token (TORN). Tornado cash is basically a means to anonymize your ethereum transfers. They released the token by giving a lot of tokens to wallet addresses who have used their product in the past (myself excluded). It shot up in price as soon as they allowed transfers/sales. Basically a lot of people ended up getting the equivalent of a new car because they used tornado cash at some point. It's not available on any centralized exchanges with significant liquidity at this point. Only decentralized ones: 1inch.exchange or Uniswap

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tornado-cash

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Wagstaff...

I think we all owe you a debt of gratitude. Since you posted this and Tesla announced it bought $1.5 bn of Bitcoin, TSLA stock is down 36% and has lost $290 billion in market cap.

Your advice to sell TSLA saved me big time!!! Let me know when TSLA sells the Bitcoin so I can jump back in..

View attachment 19672

Please note the market cap of TSLA on February 8th and where it is now..

View attachment 19673

I guess investors decided management was acting a little reckless.***