₦airaland Forum

Still Here to Stay

In short…

If you’ve been in crypto long enough, you’ve survived flash crashes, exploits, explosions, implosions, hackers, phishers, worms, bugs, bank runs, and the like.

Crypto is one of the most incredible industries for accelerated evolution and experimentation. But it also means that failures and explosions will happen. And more quickly, too.

By pushing risk to the edges, DeFi aims to solve many of the systemic risks of traditional finance, which is perpetually one bank run away from collapse.

And though there’s no shortage of talking heads dancing on its grave today…

Crypto’s still here to stay.” – Chris C.

Geoeconomics – great power competition using economics as a goal and a weapon – is an excellent tool for analyzing the two critical hotspots in the world today. These are Russia’s role in Ukraine and China’s threat to Taiwan.

The Western narrative that Putin is the bad guy bent on conquering Ukraine is false. Putin had warned the West about not pushing its advantage in Ukraine for over 20 years. While Putin was amenable to NATO expansion, he always drew the line at Lithuania, Ukraine and Georgia. In 2004, NATO crossed Russia’s red line by admitting Lithuania to membership, but there was little Putin could do to stop it.

The 2008 nomination of Ukraine to NATO was an unforced error. Putin had been content to leave Ukraine as a neutral buffer state. The West was not and pushed Putin too hard. Now Putin has pushed back.

Why is Ukraine so important to Russia?

A quick glance at a map shows that Ukraine in NATO or even a pro-Western Ukraine is an existential threat to Moscow. The line from Estonia in the north to Ukraine in the south forms the letter “C” that encircles Moscow from the north, west and south.

Parts of Ukraine actually lie east of Moscow, opening that region to attack from the west, something that has not happened since the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan in the 13th century. If Ukraine will not become neutral, then Putin must control it, at least the eastern half, by force if necessary.

This has obviously happened.

But conquering Ukraine was not and is not Putin’s main goal. What he wanted the whole time was a Ukraine that would not join NATO, neutrality in the Ukrainian government and full operation of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea (too bad the U.S. blew it up!).

If Putin could have gotten all or most of that through negotiations, there was no reason to invade Ukraine. The threat to do so will have served its purpose.

That outcome would have been a perfect illustration of Luttwak’s geoeconomics definition. The goals were commercial (dependence of Western Europe on Russian natural gas), and the tools were commercial (pipelines) even though the players were sovereign states (Russia and the U.S.).

The U.S. has imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine. But these sanctions have had little impact on Russia, as I predicted before the war. Sanctions were imposed on Russia after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and have had no material impact on Russian behavior.

Before the war, Russia already moved over 20% of its reserves into physical gold bullion stored in Moscow. This gold is worth about $140 billion at current market prices. Because the gold is physical, not digital, it cannot be hacked, frozen or seized.

Importantly, U.S. sanctions have not affected exports of Russian oil or natural gas. Russia provides about 10% of all the oil produced in the world. It’s simply impossible to sanction Russian oil sales.

We still hope that Russia and the U.S. avoid direct armed conflict in Ukraine, although they keep climbing the escalation ladder.. Energy prices will probably go higher, which helps Russia. The losers are Ukraine and global energy users.

The second critical hotspot today is the potential for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Will it happen? The case against such a war is basically in the scenarios described above.

Events would likely escalate and spin out of control, resulting in a large-scale conflict. Gains are possible for China, especially if the U.S. does not come to the aid of Taiwan. Still, the risks are too high, and the costs are too great. Instead of an invasion, China could continue its rhetoric and its military readiness, but otherwise bide its time.

This is where Luttwak’s definition of geoeconomics casts a new light. In a pre-globalized world, China might well attack. In the post-globalized world, China might refrain militarily while continuing its progress in technology, natural resources and value-added manufacturing. This path requires cooperation, not confrontation, with the U.S. and Western Europe.

My estimate is that China will refrain from an invasion consistent with the geoeconomic thesis. At the same time, Xi Jinping will continue threats and economic confrontation with the West.

Investors should expect the following from this unstable confrontation: The U.S. and China will continue to decouple economically. Supply chain disruptions will grow worse before they get better. A new supply chain configuration will emerge involving more onshoring and shorter transportation lanes.

China’s growth will lag and it will be unable to make the technological leaps it needs to escape the middle-income trap and become a high-income developed economy. Over time, excessive debt and adverse demographics will overtake China’s ambitions and leave it an aging and low-productivity shell.

China’s economic problems will sustain its demand for energy and put a floor under energy prices. Manufacturing costs will rise as China’s labor pool evaporates. Investors should not rule out a financial crisis in China that would spread to a global collapse in capital markets, probably worse than those of 2008 and 2020.

But geopolitical tensions will disrupt global supply chains, which will result in higher input prices and transportation costs. That’s a receipt for sustained inflation, and higher interest rates. And any form of uncertainty is a plus for the one safe-haven investment that never fails — gold.

While Americans are preoccupied with balloons and other stories that are mostly for show, more serious thinkers are applying themselves to oil, natural gas, gold, the dollar, technology and other geoeconomic benchmarks.

Regards,

Jim Rickards

NB: In the 5-part articles in this series, we would explain the strategies used to trade Forex, stocks, indices, crypto pairs, and other cryptocurrencies, for our VIP followers, because they are interested in making profits with us.

Seun A. is one of our signals strategists in the VIP Group. His strategy is described below.

Seun A’s Strategy:
As a day trader, I trade mainly the short-term swings of the market either to the up or down as the price presents itself during the New York A.M. session.

I trade indices so I intentionally allow any high-impact news at 1:30 pm Nigerian time for the day if there is any to play out and wait it out till the New York exchange opens equities at 2:30 pm Nigerian time.

As soon as the 2:30 PM time strikes, I compare the London session high and low of the day in order to make a decision on which short-term high or low I should ride with the price to tag.

However, I base my decision on what the daily candle is showing me to likely expand to judging from whatever the previous daily has done.

If the current daily candle shows a willingness to move up, then I enter a buy position during a temporary retracement down at 61.8% retracement level on the Fibonacci tool and target the London session high as the short-term swing high.

At this point, if the price is climbing up with more momentum, then I'll target the previous day high if it has not been tagged yet during the London session of the same day. And vice versa for a Sell setup.

My risk control is dependent on the short-term retracement on the Fibonacci tool when my entry decision has been made. I usually put my Stop Loss at the price level which tallies with the 0% level of the Fibonacci tool.

Hello Traders:

Every year we choose a few people among our customers to become our NETELLER VIPs. They are among the customers that have bought the highest quantities of Neteller from us and/or sold highest quantities to us. Some of them did not buy or sell highest quantities, but they were so consistent in their transactions and also persistent, that they eventually qualify.

Our NETELLER VIP status is a permanent status.

Our latest Neteller VIPs
ONE
Olufemi Omoare Olusola: Olufemi came to our office in the year 2016 to make sure that we were not a group of 419 scammers, before he started doing transactions with us. He came to our office after then, and also sent people. He has been doing transactions with us online since then (Neteller only). He buys and sells Neteller.

TWO
Alex Abalaka Edwin.: He sent his brother to our office, about 6 years ago, to verify us, before he sold Neteller to us in the presence of his brother. We connected via Skype video, and he sent Neteller as his brother was with us, witnessing the transaction. He doesn’t buy Neteller – he only sells. He is a huge quantity seller.

THREE
Soile Adekunle Oladipo: Our Ibadan-based customer. He does not only do Neteller, but he also does other e-currencies like Perfect Money, etc. He is someone that likes to remind us of his rights as a customer. And he is correct; customers are always right. We are happy to announce him as our VIP, owing to his consistency.

The U.S. occupies a special place in the global economy. We hold the world’s reserve currency. The dollar dominates because the dollar denominates.

Everybody accepts U.S. dollars; everyone wants U.S. dollars. This gives the U.S. many advantages like lowered exchange rate risk and increased buying power, but this won’t last forever.

Historically, one country has held the dominant reserve currency for about 100 years (give or take 20 years). Although the U.S. was formally declared the reserve currency after World War II, it was informally used as the reserve currency since the 1920s after World War I.

That’s 100 years...

Again, these things don’t happen overnight. It’s a slow-moving transition that’s obvious only after a few decades have passed, but I think the days of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency are coming to an end.

This shouldn't be cause for fear or alarm as we're resilient. We'll tiptoe through these troubled times, and we'll emerge stronger as a result.

What’s more, I think we can do better.

The positive aspect of holding the world reserve currency is that the U.S. has been able to help provide stability and confidence in the financial system.

The negative aspect is that it concentrates power and influence in the U.S., sometimes at the expense of smaller and weaker nations.

Moreover, when the U.S. financial system looks shaky (as it has the past few days), it causes reverberations throughout the world.

I believe we’ll look back on the days of reserve currencies as a kind of “financial colonialism,” where one country had outsized power to exercise its will on smaller, weaker nations. I suspect we'll be ashamed of this period of U.S. history. We may even try to make reparations, but that day is likely far into the future.

Of one thing we can be sure... The days of the U.S. dollar's dominance will eventually come to an end. History shows us it's not a question of if, but when.

When the U.S. dollar is dethroned, what will replace it?” - John Hargrave

Crypto Tax Principles
“While crypto taxes can be complicated, the key principles are not. Fix these ideas in your head:

These are taxable events:
Selling crypto.
Trading crypto.
Buying stuff with crypto.
Receiving crypto from airdrops, hard forks, staking rewards, and the like.

These are not taxable events:
Buying crypto.
Donating crypto to a tax-exempt organization.
Gifting cryptocurrency (though large gifts may trigger a gift tax)
Transferring crypto from one account to another.” - John Hargrave

The Five-Year Crypto Plan

It goes without saying that understanding blockchain is incredibly complicated. As comedian John Oliver put it, “Cryptocurrency combines everything you don’t understand about money, with everything you don’t understand about computers.”

For most people, it's good enough to understand things at a high level.

Of course, there’s lots of money to be made from understanding all of the tiny details and the opportunities they create.

But unless you’re a software developer working on blockchain full-time, chances are slim that you’ll get to this level of complexity.

Fortunately, blockchain is so intimidating and complex, that most people don’t understand it even at a high level. This creates an opportunity to make money that 99% of people aren’t even aware of.

One of the biggest opportunities coming in the next 5 years will be staking.” –

“Safe and Simple Strategy.

Here’s the harsh truth.

When most people calculate their returns after a year of trading…

They discover they would’ve done much better just to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum and do nothing.

The wisest strategy for most people is to just allocate:

50% to Bitcoin

50% to Ethereum.” – James A.

How does a hen lay eggs without mating?

You understand (I hope) that human women ovulate once (at least) every month, whether they are having sex or not, right? And that ovulation means ‘releasing an egg’ (which in humans is a tiny single cell)? A human egg cell is shed out along with the uterine lining, in a process called ‘menstruation’. UNLESS it is fertilized by ‘mating’, in which case it stays inside the woman’s uterus, and begins to replicate (or divide and grow).

Well chickens ovulate about every DAY, and they just drop that egg on the ground, or in a nest wherever they are. It is a big egg with a shell - but it is still just an unfertilized egg being released from a chicken’s ovaries, but chickens don’t HAVE a uterus, instead, they produce eggs out into the world, and if they have never met a rooster, those eggs are not fertilized, and will never become a chick.

If the hen mates with a rooster, however, her eggs may be fertilized, in which case she STILL drops that egg on the ground or in a nest, where she can sit on it for a month or so (I should look that up) while the yolk inside the shell - being fertlized - divides and grows into a chick, which eventually hatches.

Source: Quora

By age 30, you should be smart enough to never do this in your life:

1. Don't share everything
It's important to maintain some privacy, even with close friends and family.

2. Don't rely solely on your 9-5
Having multiple streams of income is a smart financial strategy. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

3. Don't neglect your health
Take care of your body by eating well, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. Remember, you only have one body.

4. Don't do what your friends do
If your friends' activities (such as using drugs or drinking excessively) don't align with your values, it's okay to choose different activities.

5. Don't just blame your parents
It's important to take responsibility for your own life and not blame your parents for everything.

6. Don't wait for the "right time"
The right time to take action is now. Don't let your ambitions remain a dream.

7. Don't take criticism personally
Try not to get too caught up in what others think of you. Remember to prioritize your mental health.

8. Don't take advice from everyone
Be selective about who you take advice from. Look for guidance from people who have achieved what you want to achieve.

9. Don't blindly follow books
Books can be helpful, but it's important to think for yourself and not blindly follow their advice.

10. Don't try to impress others
Focus on impressing yourself and let the right people be drawn to you. Don't go broke trying to impress others.

11. Don't depend on others
It's important to be self-sufficient and capable of tackling your own problems.

12. Don't lie to yourself
It's important to be honest with yourself. People may believe your excuses, but you won't be able to fool yourself.

13. Don't wait for opportunities
Create your own opportunities. Don't wait for them to come to you.

14. Don't argue with people
Don't waste your time trying to win arguments or prove a point to those who are unwilling to listen.

15. Don't fear rejection
Rejection is a normal part of life. Remember that "no" is just the start of a constructive conversation.

Author: Sheikh Irfan, Quora

I’m not a financial adviser, so I can’t tell you what to do. I can only tell you what I do in the form of these ten guidelines:

1. Keep working the day job.

2. Auto-invest money each month.

3. Stay focused on simple strategies.

4. Set it and forget it (avoid fees and taxes).

5. Look for opportunities in times of crisis.

6. Say “no” to most investments and “yes” to a few big ones.

7. Talk with smart people to improve your ideas (preferably in person).

8. Be confident, but humble (have the strength of your convictions while staying open to being wrong).

9. Educate yourself to Read and Grow Rich.

10. Give back both in money and in what you’ve learned.

This is the middle way: not too conservative and not too cuckoo. It’s a path we can all follow.” – BMJ

Telecoms services that used CDMA technology didn’t last, or eventually failed, in Nigeria.

E.g., Starcomms, Reitel, Multilinks and Visafone.

Why is it so?

Whereas telecoms companies that use GSM technology survive and thrive to this day.

E.g., MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile

Why did CDMA technology/services fail in Nigeria while GSM technology/services survive/thrive?

The Greatest Risk of Nuclear Confrontation Since the Cuban Missile Crisis…

Depending on how events unfold, the world is potentially facing the greatest risk of nuclear confrontation since the Cuban Missile Crisis. A limited nuclear war is a real possibility in the not-distant future…

Putin Doesn’t Bluff
It’s difficult to know what comes next. It could be that Russia uses a tactical nuclear weapon. Russia might detonate a dirty bomb and blame Ukraine. The U.S. may use a tactical nuclear weapon if it suspects Russia is about to do so, an example of a first-strike advantage. The U.S. may detonate a dirty bomb and blame Russia in a classic false flag operation.

Regardless, it’s not difficult to know that we’re on a path to nuclear war.

We also know that Putin doesn’t bluff. When George W. Bush raised the issue of Ukrainian entry into NATO, Putin invaded Georgia. When Obama staged a coup against a pro-Russian president in Kyiv, Putin annexed Crimea. When Biden green-lighted a Ukrainian assault in Donbas, Putin invaded Ukraine.

Again, Putin doesn’t bluff. It would be a great blunder to believe otherwise. We’re sleepwalking down a road that could potentially lead to Armageddon.

Regards,

Jim Rickards
For Altucher Confidential

“One way to make more money investing is to have good habits. But another is to simply get rid of bad habits…. Bad habits need to turn into Good habits over time in order to become a successful long-term investor.” – James A.

You can see the attached image… The kind of scenario in the Daily chart is no longer a rare occurrence in the markets if you have been in the market for years.

And you can see James Altucher’s quote above.

We often tell professional traders to use stop loss and cut their losses: But they won’t listen.

We always tell pro traders not to use big lot sizes per trade and not to overtrade. Even 0.1 lots are too risky for 1000 USD: But they won’t comply.

We tend to beg trading gurus to test their trading idea for at least 4 months or better, for up to one year or more, so that they can see how their trading idea can withstand all market conditions (including black swan events): But they will never obey. NEVER!

Why would you trade a demo for only one or two weeks and then go live? Why would you use your live accounts as a guinea pig project?

Your strategy will occasionally undergo the baptism of fire and 95% of floored. Can your strategy survive adverse market conditions?

I have seen a trader being moved from one prison to another, because of losing clients' money. After he came from prison, his trading habits show the same thing that led him to jail in the first place.

I have seen traders with many years of experience, still blowing accounts, because they tend to trade the way they did in the past, owing to undisciplined psychology. Give them another chance again? They will blow the accounts again.

Some are heavily in debt because of stubbornness.

Pros who have destroyed numerous accounts over the years would be seen begging people here and there, for funds to manage money. And if you ever give them any chance again, they will blow the new funds.

Most experienced traders have mental problems.

Why would you keep on doing what is putting you into problems? And plunging into deeper debts.

Your trading results show that something is wrong with your brain, and you need to find solutions before it is too late. The markets can ruin one’s life if one proves too stubborn.

As for me, I am a trading idiot.

I am a certified, pathetic, and intercontinental idiot.

This is the reason why I don’t risk too much per trade… My position sizing is very conservative and that has worked well for me. I don’t blow accounts.

Because of my stupidity, I tend to test a new strategy for at least one year, and I have seen how my super strategy can withstand all market conditions and I am happy.

I don’t argue with the markets or rely on hope. I know the market is opaque and the next movement cannot be predicted.

Since I am a compound fool, a universal fool, I use optimal stop loss always and I even cut some losses before the stop is hit. I let my profits run.

My foolishness has enabled me to reach financial freedom because I have a strategy that can withstand all market conditions (developed from over 15 years of experience). It can make money in all market conditions. The strategy is the simplest strategy I have ever seen because even a slowpoke like me can trade it (and a monkey can trade it). It suffers minimal drawdowns in adverse markets and bounces back quickly.

I not only survive the kind of market condition in the image above, but I also jump back quickly and make money within a short time, owing to my stupidity.

And on the other hand, wise, intelligent, and sensible traders are blowing accounts.

Doing the right things pays (cut your loss and risk very small), and permanent success is possible.

Make money in bull markets, bear markets, sideways markets, and during unusual, unexpected events.

I am a living witness.

Kind regards.

Hello Traders:

Why is USDT so popular?

It is the most popular stablecoin and the largest-cap stablecoin in existence. 68,977,092,527 USDT is currently in circulation.

There are certain types of USDT, but the most popular and the most widely used is TRC20, followed by ERC20.

At least, 90% of online trading brokers now accept USDT for deposits and withdrawals, and the adoption rate is projected to increase further. So, you can use it to fund your trading account and trade for profits.

You can use it to pay people or receive payment.

You can use it as a bulwark against crazy fluctuations in the markets. If BTC or ETH or TRX crashes, USDT will not.

Having USDT is like having US Dollar because they have the same value and USDT is pegged to USD.

You can use it as a store of value.

You can convert it to any cryptocurrency offered by your exchange, and you can convert any available cryptocurrency to it. So, if you need any crypto, buy USDT and convert it to that crypto. If you want to withdraw any coins, covert them to USDT and sell for money!

You can trade it versus many other popular currencies, as pairs. You can use any trading styles you want.

You can also trade it versus other popular coins. We have ETHUSDT, BTCUSDT, TRXUSDT, BNBUSDT, ADAUSDT, DOGEUSDT, SOLUSDT, etc.

The uses for Tether – USDT – are so versatile that it is now more popular than Perfect Money, Neteller, Webmoney, Skrill and PayPal (who imposes obnoxious restrictions on people).

And this is just the beginning.

Therefore, open a crypto wallet and buy USDT today.

As it is now, anybody who publicly or stylishly shows or drums support for any other presidential candidates apart from Peter Obi, is in trouble, for Peter Obi supporters will curse them, abuse them, threaten them and blackmail them.

Assuming Peter Obi doesn’t win the coming presidential elections, what would happen?

Would Peter Obi supporters burn down Nigeria because of that?

Would the Eastern part of Nigeria secede because of that?

Would there be perennial unrest and anarchy if Peter Ob doesn’t win?

“Illusions are something pleasant. The disadvantage is that they tend to burst like a bubble.” – Wolfgang Kurz

There are many Internet fraudsters and scammers out there whose primary aim is to turn you into a dupe. They will do everything possible to convince you that their claims are genuine. This includes fake websites and/or fake groups, doctored results, phony testimonies from their fellow swindlers who are members of their criminal networks, and dogged persuasion.

What is their ultimate aim? It is to take money from you and never return it and never deliver on the promises they made to you in the first place. And even if possible, they want to take more money from you.
What If I Sent Some Crypto To Scammers?They impersonate people and pretend to be reputable and authentic. You may never know their true color until you fall into their trap. Once you have fallen into their trap, you will then know what they’re up to, but it would be too late then.

In most cases, they will never ask you to send funds via traditional payments systems, because, with traditional payment methods, recipients are easy to trace and possibly arrested. They will usually ask you to send funds via any popular coins/tokens or stablecoins.

Some Ways To Identify Scammers
Unbelievable promises: If something seems unbelievable to you, then it is. Scammers will give you guarantees like:

“We can never lose money”

“Once you send money to us, we give you double or triple it soon.”

We will give you so and so percentage returns every day or every week.” Etc.

Statements like above are a red flag.

Giving guarantees is unethical and it is a very simple way to identify a scammer. Sadly, giving guarantees is a proven method to trick greedy souls, who like to reap where they did not sow.

No-one wakes up in the morning and says, “I want to make so-and-so person rich today.” If they can really double funds every day, they should be able to do so for themselves and their family members. You know that if they can really never lose money, they should be among the richest people on earth and they need not persuade small fries like you. They don’t even need to beg strangers for money if it is true that they have the secret to make money out of nothing.

What If I Sent Some Crypto To Scammers?They direct message you first (DM) or private message you first (PM): The rule here is very straightforward; anybody who DMs or PMs you first is a thief looking for potential victims like you, no matter the kind of impression they are trying to make or what they want you to believe. They appear so friendly, and can even exercise enough patience with you until you fall into their traps.

They offer you free tokens via airdrops: That formula is simple, when online robbers are offering you free coins via airdrops, they will require you to send crypto/money before you can benefit or you need to reveal sensitive details about your crypto wallets before you can benefit.

Learn2.Trade (L2T) impersonators: Don’t join L2T impersonators’ groups. This is a WARNING! Traders, note that we never speak to any of our subscribers via Telegram. Only the official Learn2.trade email is how we deal with communication. If you are speaking to anyone pretending to be from Learn 2 Trade on Telegram it is a scam and do not send them any money!

There are many FAKE TELEGRAM ACCOUNTS pretending to represent Learn2.Trade. It has come to our attention that some persons/organizations are offering profit-based investment schemes, pretending to be our company. They are using our logo to contact subscribers in order to scam them. Please DO NOT invest. You must report this telegram group for wrongful actions immediately.

Please be aware we do not offer any communication or admin support via telegram. We are available via email only at support@learn2.trade. Any supposed L2T employee or admin who communicates with you via a Telegram ID/handle or any other medium apart from the email in this paragraph, is trying to steal your money.
What If I Sent Some Crypto To Scammers?To put it in a simple way, if anyone who claims to come from L2T communicates with you via any other means apart from support@learn2.trade (the only legitimate means), the person is a bandit.

What If I Sent Some Crypto To Scammers?
“Unfortunately, if you’ve sent crypto, it’s likely gone for good, never to be recovered. At this point, because of the worldwide nature of cryptocurrency, there is no central authority that can help you recover your crypto. Make sure that whatever price you paid becomes tuition in the school of crypto life. You’ve learned a hard lesson. Print a certificate or do whatever you need to do to help you move on, but ultimately learn from the experience and move on. Trying to recover what you sent is a battle you will likely waste more time, energy, and maybe money on with NOTHING to show for it in the end.” (Source: Airdrops Blog)

Source: https://learn2.trade/what-if-i-sent-some-crypto-to-scammers?fbclid=IwAR05wSjypyI-oBwLXSfKmzIpIiTzbQZrgNlmnfrpphNiioGIPwks-JLC1m4

Some people know how Ayinla Omowura was killed. Bayewunmi smashed a tumbler on his head.

Ayinla was very popular then and he had a lot of connections.

He was once a thug… Especially before he started his music career.

And after he became a successful musician, he was still known for being, “sometimes, but not always” temperamental, jealous and stubborn.

As he had gone to Bayewunmi and a fight ensued, what if he was the one that “accidentally” killed Bayewunmi?

Would he have been sent to jail? Would he have been acquitted or just fined? Would the matter have been buried?

Just because Ayinla was popular and he had money?

My friend’s enemy = My enemy

My friend’s friend = My friend

My enemy’s friend = My enemy

My enemy’s enemy = My friend

When Reality Wins, the West Will Suffer

The Ukrainian money-laundering racket continues.

Last week Joe Biden pledged another $3 billion in aid to Ukraine. The aid includes weapon systems that will allow Ukraine to defend itself over the “long term.”

Just how long is the long term? How long does the administration plan on watching Ukraine be destroyed simply because they want to weaken Russia?

By now, it’s a familiar script. Ukraine says, "Give us more money and we'll counterattack." Then they skim the money, wait a week or two and make the same demand. Biden gives them your tax money. Wash, rinse and repeat.

But support for Ukraine’s money-laundering racket is resulting in the impoverishment of Europe. Germans are buying firewood. Poles are lined up for days to buy coal. They just want to keep warm in winter, but globalist elites don't care. Regular people are just pawns in the service of the globalist agenda.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We are living through the end of abundance.” Well, that’s true if elites manage to shut down the oil and gas industries while forcing everyone to use costly and inefficient “green” energy.

Let’s unpack this…

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
The green energy crowd talks about sustainability and saving the planet, which sounds nice. After all, who doesn’t want a clean environment and to save the planet? That sounds like a policy we should all applaud.

Unfortunately, the reality is quite different. The movement is controlled by corporate and government globalist elites aligned with the World Economic Forum.

The environmental target is part of the climate alarmist effort to use phony climate change claims as a Trojan Horse to destroy the oil and natural gas industries, shut down internal-combustion engines and force countries to use wind turbines and solar modules that are intermittent and nonscalable.

They’re also trying to take over global finance and central banks (through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, or GFANZ), to prevent new loans to oil and natural gas firms and to force loans to subsidize electric vehicles (EVs) and battery manufacturers.

Never mind that CO2 is not poisonous (it’s plant food and humans exhale it all day) and that batteries are poisonous. Never mind that there is no climate change emergency. There simply is no existential climate crisis as the alarmists claim.

There may have been very slight warming from 1995⁠–⁠2005 (which is perfectly normal) but there is no evidence either that CO2 is the principal cause or that human activity is a material factor.

Here, I discuss U.S. and Chinese CO2 emissions and the folly of the Paris Climate Accord, which Biden recommitted to after Trump wisely pulled the U.S. out of it.

Real Climate Change
Climate change itself happens all the time and had happened long before the invention of the automobile. The Medieval Warm Period from about AD 950–1250 featured unusually warm temperatures in the North Atlantic region. This was the period when the Vikings roamed as far as Canada and farms were thriving in Greenland in areas now covered in ice.

The Little Ice Age, which reached an intense phase from 1650–1725, featured frozen canals in Holland — one reason the Dutch are such competitive speed skaters today. In London, you could cross the frozen River Thames on ice and winter carnivals were held on the frozen river.

Both of these episodes occurred centuries before the invention of the automobile. You get the point.

But the elites just want you under their thumb using expensive technologies that they themselves control. If that means you must suffer from greatly diminished living standards, so be it. It’s also why Germans are stocking up on firewood and Poles are lining up for days to buy coal in the 21st century. It's more like the 18th century.

We need to consider the role of sanctions in all this.

I Hate to Gloat, But…
As soon as the first economic and financial sanctions were imposed on Russia by the U.S. and EU at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, I wrote and said that the sanctions would fail to deter Russia.

I went further and said that the sanctions would do more harm to the U.S. than Russia and that sanctions would actually help Russia by reducing the power of the oligarchs (Putin’s rivals) and increasing the price of energy (Russia’s main source of hard currency).

All of those forecasts proved to be correct. I’m not trying to toot my own horn. I just want to illustrate how clueless our so-called elites and policymakers are. They’re simply incapable of thinking even one move ahead.

Instead of sanctions hurting Russia, it’s making over $21 billion per month from its energy exports. That’s far more than they made before the war, and the Russian ruble is stronger than it was before the war. In fact, the head of the Central Bank of Russia recently cut interest rates because the ruble was too strong.

Of course, all the “experts” said that sanctions would cripple the ruble.

Meanwhile the U.S. is in a recession, inflation is at 40-year highs, interest rates are rising and gas and food prices have doubled in the past year. In Europe it’s worse with energy and food shortages looming in the months ahead.

Could the situation get any worse? Actually, yes.

A New OPEC Based on Natural Gas?
By weaponizing the U.S. dollar, freezing Russia’s assets and ejecting Russia from the global payments systems, the U.S. has forced Russia to consider alternative payment currencies, alternative payment channels and possibly a new global reserve currency including new digital currencies backed by a basket of commodities including gold.

These projects are already underway in the BRICS+ meetings and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, both of which are centered around Russia and China. Now a new effort has begun to form a natural gas cartel with participation by Russia and Iran and eventually other countries.

This new organization could function like OPEC except that the strategic asset would be natural gas rather than oil. Other countries that could join this new cartel include Qatar and Azerbaijan. Russia, Iran and Qatar alone control about 60% of the world’s natural gas reserves.

Such a cartel would be in a position to strike exclusive deals with favored buyers like China, which would leave Europe out in the cold literally and figuratively.

We need to confront the reality that the sanctions were a blunder from the start. But the “hate Russia” crowd was so blinded by their contempt for Putin that they plowed ahead regardless.

Now the unforeseen consequences are emerging and they’re even worse than the critics imagined.

The globalist elites and Western politicians pursue their fantasies of windmills and solar modules while serious countries like Russia and Iran gain a lock on the only energy supplies that will really matter for the foreseeable future — oil and gas.

When ideology and reality collide, reality always wins in the end. That doesn’t bode well for the West.

Author: Jim Rickards (for Altucher Confidential)

When will Saudis revolt against their rulers?

For a revolution to occur, people must go through starvation, injustice, and instability. We have seen such revolutions occur in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Venezuela, but not in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi people have never taken to the streets because living standards are high, justice and equality are ensured, and the crime rate is very low (among the lowest in the world). On top of that, each Saudi is entitled to the following:

Free education from kindergarten through graduate school (including paid scholarships abroad).
Free healthcare for all (including medicine and complex surgeries).

Subsidized gas and water prices.

No income tax and only 15% VAT.

Here in Saudi, there is a strong tie between the government and the people. There is a trust that promises will be delivered, and they do get delivered!


Source: https://www.quora.com/When-will-Saudis-revolt-against-their-rulers

Many Neteller users wonder why it is so expensive.

Neteller is very popular among traders, bettors and investors. Most online brokers offer Neteller for deposits and withdrawals, and that payment system has a lot of flexibility.

However, Neteller is not easy to come by, especially for Nigerians who don’t have many deposit options (unlike their foreign counterparts).

And most people buy Neteller and fewer and fewer people sell. If there were many people selling Neteller, it won’t be scarce.

Many people are not selling Neteller because you need to make profits from the markets before you can sell, and you need to know that, making money from the market is not an easy thing, especially consistent money.

There are some traders who have large quantities of Neteller but they are not ready to sell because they don’t need the money. They want to sell only when they need the money, and they sell according to their needs only. We cannot force such people to sell to us.

Finally, apart from scarcity, Neteller is expensive because the costs of transfers are very high. Imagine paying 3 USD to send only 100 USD worth of Neteller. That is the cost we bear for you.

Neteller fees are no longer capped as it used to be. If you buy 1000 USD worth of Neteleller from us, then we bear close to 30 USD as fees for you, because you need to get the exact amount you pay for. And in the face of this high fees, we need to increase the spreads in order to remain in business.

So the most important thing is that you make profits as a trader or a bettor. Once you make profits consistently, you can always sell Neteller to us to make more and more money and that is our prayers for you.

May you continue to make profits.

To fund and withdraw with Neteller, please visit: www.instantforex.com.ng

Summary: The big upgrade to Ethereum — a.k.a. “The Merge” — is planned to be a once-in-a-lifetime switch from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, making Ethereum more energy-efficient and potentially much more valuable. Three ways to invest now: buy ETH, stake ETH, or invest in the top staking companies.

Windows 95 was a huge deal.

It’s hard to believe now, but the launch of Windows 95 was a global phenomenon.

Journalists from around the world descended on Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters for a massive event, hosted by the comedian Jay Leno.

To celebrate the new Start button in the lower left corner, Microsoft paid millions of dollars to license “Start It Up” by the Rolling Stones.

Sales of the operating system immediately broke records.

Windows 95 was a radical departure for Microsoft.

It was the first Windows to streamline the graphical user interface for the masses: even your grandpa could find the Start button.

It was the first 32-bit operating system, which meant every app needed to be rewritten to take advantage of its new architecture.

It was a huge step forward. And it was a massive success.

At computer stores (most people still bought software in stores), lines stretched down the block. It sold 40 million copies in its first year, quadrupling sales of all previous Windows versions combined.

Microsoft’s stock price soared, quickly doubling in value and starting a magnificent 25-year run:

The Merge as an Inflection Point
Technology often has these “inflection points.” Because Windows was the operating system installed on most computers (Apple was in its death throes at the time, and only weirdos used Macs), Windows 95 radically changed the world.

Ethereum’s upcoming upgrade — “The Merge” — is a similarly huge event, but it won’t be celebrated with traditional marketing campaigns. There will be no big-name comedian at the launch event (there may not even be a launch event).

But The Merge will be every bit as transformative as Windows 95 because The Merge will upgrade the operating system of crypto. Here are 3 ways to invest early.

Investing Opportunity #1: Buy and Hold ETH
There are plenty of Layer 1 blockchain platforms, but Ethereum is the largest by far, holding 2/3 of the overall market:

That huge slice is Ethereum.

In blockchain, the principle of “network effects” is enormous: the more people using a tech platform, the more valuable it becomes. Ethereum has network effects galore: more users, more developers, and more apps than any other L1 blockchain.

If Ethereum keeps innovating — as Microsoft did with Windows 95 — they’ll further that lead, creating a significant competitive moat.

The Merge is an enormous innovation because it will cut Ethereum’s energy usage by 99.95%. (You read that right.) All the arguments about crypto using too much electricity will go up in a puff of smoke … except for the energy-hungry bitcoin, which may start looking like a worse investment than Ethereum.

The new Ethereum may also become deflationary. That’s a good thing for investors, as it means that instead of continually enlarging the pie and diluting your ownership stake, the pie may start shrinking – making your stake more valuable.

The easiest investing opportunity is to simply buy and hold ETH. You can already see the correlation between The Merge getting closer and the price of ETH going up as investors start to wake up from their crypto winter hibernation:

ETH price over the last month, as The Merge looks more and more likely

In my view, The Flippening — where Ethereum eventually overtakes bitcoin in total market cap — is likely. Ethereum is innovating at a furious pace; bitcoin is not.

Investing Opportunity #2: Stake ETH

When you stake ETH, you earn rewards, generally in the form of more ETH (like earning interest), and sometimes in another token as well. (See our workshop on How to Stake ETH for more.) There are a few staking options.

Solo staking. If you’re tech-savvy with at least 32 ETH (about $50,000 today), you can run a validator node (instructions here): basically, souped-up PCs running special validator software. These machines “run” the new Proof-of-Stake Ethereum network in the same way that mining machines “run” the bitcoin network.

Staking as a service. If you’ve got the ETH but don’t want to manage your own node, you can deposit it with a staking service, which will run the validators on your behalf, and split the reward. (List of Ethereum staking services here; please DYOR.)

Pooled staking. For most of us, the cheaper and easier option is to stake your Ethereum with services like Lido or Rocket Pool. These let you stake smaller amounts of ETH, which they “pool” together to run their own validators. Users share in the rewards.

Lido is the more user-friendly option by far, allowing you to stake any amount in an easy Web3 interface (try it out here). Lido has grown so popular that a new problem has emerged: the service may end up staking up over 50% of Ethereum, which would give it control over the network. (Mo money, mo problems.)

Rocket Pool offers a similar service, but it also lets you run “minipools” with just 16 ETH, plus additional collateral (instructions here). It’s a cheaper option than running a full node, but it still requires an IT background and a lot of spare time.

Centralized exchange staking. The easiest option is to simply stake your ETH using exchanges like Binance. You won’t get as many rewards, but it’s probably the safest and easiest option, as the big exchanges want to keep their investors safe: they have a lot at stake.

Investing Opportunity #3: Invest in LDO and/or RPL directly

Both Lido and Rocket Pool have their own native tokens (LDO and RPL, respectively), which are used as additional rewards. Our investing thesis is always that buying a token is like buying stock in the underlying “company.”

Rather than staking ETH with Lido and gradually accruing LDO rewards, in other words, you can simply buy LDO now if you believe the value of the Lido “company” will increase over time.

Think about it this way: you see a transformative new technology hitting the market, but it’s still too geeky for the mainstream. A company finds a way to make it more user-friendly, and they rapidly gobble up a third of the entire market, with people worried that it might go even bigger.

This is exactly what is happening with Lido.

But who or what is Lido? It’s a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, which means you can see what’s happening in the “company” in real-time via their message board. For example, here’s a proposed budget that would grow the team to 80+ employees.

Today, however, the team is small: they have just six core devs, located primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe. But they’re backed by a number of big investors, including some OGs in the crypto space.

And they’re growing like a weed.

Rocket Pool, on the other hand, is trying desperately to keep up with Lido. Compared with Lido's smooth Web3 interface, trying to set up a Rocket Pool minipool is like trying to build a quantum computer in your bathtub.

If Rocket Pool wants to beat Lido, they have to focus on one thing: making the product user-friendly. That’s it. Product, product, product.

In my view, both LDO and RPL are high-risk, potentially high-reward investments. The hope is that you’re investing early in the next big thing, and their fortunes will rise with the launch of The Merge.

Mo reward, mo risk
If you want to take advantage of the sweet rewards of The Merge, never invest more than you're willing to lose, because there are still significant risks, such as:

The Merge is not guaranteed to happen. It is looking increasingly likely, but it has been delayed several times already.

If you stake ETH now, you may not be able to get it out until The Merge does happen.

If you invest in LDO or RPL, those services may not stand the stress test of The Merge – or they may be eclipsed by even better staking services.

That said, I think these are some of the most exciting times in crypto — this generation’s equivalent of the Windows 95 launch. This is why we’re issuing our first-ever BUY ALERT for both ETH and LDO.

Start it up.

Source: https://learn2.trade/3-ways-to-invest-in-the-merge