Airdrop #11: USA Loves Bitcoin Mining and $BTFD ??

Arry's Airdrop #11: USA Loves Bitcoin Mining and $BTFD 🇺🇸
​The news in "Uptober" continues on and we're just getting past the halfway point this month. All eyes are of course on $BTFD (The new Bitcoin Futures ETF that was just approved by the SEC) - which is literally launching Tuesday, October 19th (the day you're reading this newsletter). Also, note, the ETF stock ticker symbol being "BTFD" cannot be anymore (hilariously) on point with the culture of the crypto-excited world. 

Expect all kinds of hype, positive energy, volatility (up and down) and more of this "Uptober" momentum to continue on. I'm bracing myself already. This is exciting and all - but let's take a big step back and look at reality.

This evening, I had the privilege of being a guest speaker to Professor William Covington's Technology Law and Public Policy Clinic (University of Washington). At the end, Professor asked me what message I wanted to leave the students with as we wrapped up the class. I'd like to share the same messages with all of you that have joined me on this journey along the way - whether it was in one of the various meetup groups, the podcast, working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Cascadia Blockchain Council, or in one of my courses I teach:

• The time is now to educate and invest in yourself. Build up your financial literacy about investing, our fiscal and monetary policies. Engage in civil discourse with friends and colleagues. One great thing about the blockchain/crypto community is actually all of the public discourse (not always "civil") - the fact that it happens at all is a blessing that we should not take for granted. 
• Activate and get to know your policy makers who represent YOU. We cannot afford to be complacent any more. Make sure the policy makers really represent YOU. Shoot them an email. Leave them a voicemail. Get attuned to our legislative processes. Get involved.  
  • Did you know the average age of a US Senator is ~64.3 years old? It's the oldest U.S. Senate in American history.
  • Did you know the average age of a U.S. Representative is ~57. Democratic leaders in the House are actually on average two decades older than Republican counterparts.
  • Did you know the two eldest members of Congress are 87 years old? ... 
• Raise the bar. Just looking at the age concerns, it's no wonder that there are serious generational concerns looking at the lawmakers across the country. Many of our policy makers are not tech-savvy (not even close), yet our future requires folks be. Ask that our policy makers and their staff put in the right kind of work and actively seek the appropriate education from technologists to get up-to-speed, ASAFP. All of our futures depends on this. We cannot afford to have more folks in power representing us saying ignorant blanket statements like crypto is only for "shadowy super coders" and money laundering. That kind of ignorance is unacceptable, now, more than ever.

Thank you to everyone for reading and engaging. I know we're all so busy and have so many other (maybe more fun) things vying for your attention. Hope you have an awesome rest-of-the-week.

US Leads In Bitcoin Mining Since China’s Latest Crack Down
China’s latest crackdown on bitcoin mining has resulted in virtually all of the bitcoin mining there to leave the country. 

Mining rig manufacturers have since turned their attention to new markets in North America and Asia to recover their losses. 
​
The US now runs the lion’s share of the global hash rate at 35.4%. Read more to learn how emerging global players are responding to this shift in light of upcoming climate talks in Glasgow. 

Why this matters:
While a lot of folks and the media have looked at China's crack down on bitcoin and mining as negative, in the name of decentralization and watching the state of geo-political affairs globally, this has been positive for folks in the pro-Capitalist and pro-free markets world. We'll have to wait and see if the US is able to maintain its lead going forward. This is where policies, regulations, and clarity will matter.

---

McDonald's China To Give Away 188 NFTs
Despite the China crypto ban, McDonald’s China will give away 188 NFTs to celebrate its 31st anniversary.

The “Big Mac Rubik’s Cube” NFTs were created in partnership with Cocafe (a digital asset creation agency) and are built on the Confluux public blockchain.

CITIC Group (a state-owned investment company of the People’s Republic of China) owns the majority of McDonald’s China’s stake. 

Why this matters:
Interestingly, McDonald’s decision to introduce NFTs seems to contradict the Chinese authority’s intent to completely ban all crypto operations in the country.

---

Bitcoin Trading Volume Outperforms Top Stocks… By A LotRecent data shows Bitcoin’s average daily trading volume is nearly 4x higher(on average) than the top stocks Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) between October 1st and 11th.
The higher trading activity could indicate that more investors want to get involved in order to profit from the ongoing rally Bitcoin has been seeing in October, or eh hem, "Uptober".
Investors may now be encouraged after BTC’s red September (aka "Rekt-ember") and are now looking to rotate funds into Bitcoin in light of its 20%+ gains so far this month.

Why this matters:
Folks are on the edge of their seats wondering if we'll hit new ATH (All Time Highs) on the price of Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies with the continued "Uptober" up-trend. Plus, remember, we also have $BTFD (newly highly anticipated Bitcoin Futures ETF) launching tomorrow.

DeFi Guides Your Grandparents Can Follow 👵🏻
​DeFi (decentralized finance) is an exciting new investment category for adventurous blockchain bulls, but it's not without its complexity and nuance. 
If you want a comprehensive source for all things DeFi -  broken down in plain English, then Let’s Do DeFi is one resource you’ll want to bookmark. It is updated regularly and includes:

• DeFi Need-To-Know Topic Summaries
• Crypto Terms Explained In 3 Sentences:
• Tutorials - Start Using DeFi
• DeFi Resources & People To Follow
• And more...

---

Retire On The Blockchain with A Diverse Portfolio
​This is not investment advice. BUT... holding retirement funds in a traditional bank (in an IRA or 410(k)) for any significant period of time, leaves you exposed to mercurial monetary policy and government agendas. Thankfully, blockchain and crypto are providing a safe haven for savvy investors looking to preserve their wealth over time.
​
By allocating a portion of your retirement funds into stablecoins held on the blockchain, you can earn up to 8.8% APY interest compared to less than 1% on your IRA accounts. 

 COMING UP:

• AMA with Jesse Proudman of Makara on October 22nd, 12-1pm PST
• More coming up --- stay tuned! 

In case you didn't know, all AMAs with guests are recorded and posted on our podcast and YouTube show, Windshield Time. Here are some recent AMA videos:

• Hong Fang, CEO of Okcoin
• Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius
• NFTs with Maggie Xu, CEO of MetaSpace
• Crypto Taxes with Patrick Larsen (ZenLedger)
• [NEW!] Jerry David Chan (OG Bitcoiner) 

Coming soon... AMA recordings with the TaxBit team, Nick Soman (Decentralized Healthcare), and Neil Bergquist (CEO of Coinme).
Join my weekly AMA , every Friday, 12-1pm PSTBlockchain is a game changer as a powerful alternative technology to what most businesses use today. Cryptocurrencies and other kinds of digital tokens are fascinating. This meetup is all about focusing our time on global impactful topics, not just crypto-fluffery.

Join us if you want to get into real authentic discussions about what really matters in the blockchain space and have some actual FUN while we're at it, via the Blockchain Underground.

See you next week!
– Arry (@ArryinSeattle)