Lost Faith

"They say, see the good in strangers believe your neighbor no one questions why? Never trust in people's words because...all humans lie." 

Let me start off by offering apologies to all readers for the situation with Celsius. I've been using their services since they started in 2018. Full disclosure, I am part of their ambassador program and have funds locked on the platform. Also I invested a large amount of capital in their fund raising round on bnktothefuture. To put it bluntly I have allot of money staked into Celsius and it suxxs that I have zero access to it. We're deep in the bear market and they've halted all swaps and withdrawals on their platform. 

That means nobody can touch their money. I'm not going to speculate on if we're going to get our money back or not. Nor will I address the torrent of rumors that this bank run is a targeted attack against the owner Alex Mashinsky. Hypothesizing is a guessing game. I only deal in facts. What I can say factually is that I did get the interest payment Monday on my crypto like usual. If they're still paying out interest I can't call them a scam. I'm hoping Celsius recovers and makes it through this public maelstrom of bad press. 

Why did I use Celsius and recommended them to my network? The pattern is to sell some crypto at the market peak for profit then save the rest for later. By staking on Celsius I could borrow cash and not sell my crypto. It was that simple. Now that my money is trapped and inaccessible I've permanently lost faith in CeFi platforms. If you're unfamiliar with the term CeFi (Centralized Finance) means a centralized entity maintains custody of your assets. DeFi (Decentralized Finance) means u maintain complete ownership and self sovereignty of your assets. This situation epitomizes the classic euphemism. "Not your keys, not your crypto." To insure u don't lose all your crypto its always good to keep some on DeFi wallets like metamask and coinbase wallet (not connected to the coinbase platform) or cold storage wallets like Trezor and Ledger. 

For me there are no safe centralized platforms. Just to give perspective Binance one of the biggest exchanges in the world halted bitcoin withdrawals. It was only supposed to be for a half an hour but took much longer. If Binance is having problems no place is safe. The effect it had on the already panicked market was like throwing gasoline on a blazing inferno. Trust is low and fear is high. Not just high like a skyscraper or smoking to much weed high. I'm talking about fear at a cosmic level. The best thing to do in these uncertain times is to take control of your assets by moving them off centralized platforms. (not financial advice) 

That way if we have another Terra Luna debacle or Celsius asset freeze the money is already in your hands. I'm taking everything that's not staked and stashing it away until the relief rally, then I'm going to sell everything faster than a lightening strike. Believe it! I can buy it back later. There's time to accumulate in a bear market.   

I wish u all, health wealth and success

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only  

Shared Resources

"Although time holds the promise of change...problems around the globe remain the same."

The year is coming to a close and it has been interesting. It's the holidays. The most social time of the year and we're back in lockdown. All the bars, gyms, and stores close early. Movie theaters, nightclubs, and concert events are cancelled. People have been restricted to having only four guests in their homes. I'm hearing the word omicron so much in the news its starting to sound like a catch phrase. The only places that stay open after 8pm are grocery stores and coffeeshops. I'm grateful for those little things. According to the last update, if the problem improves the lockdown will end sometime in January.  I've been through this situation before and hoped not to go through it again. The fear is strong. Most citizens who can afford it travel across the border to Belgium for shopping and freedom.

This fear driven environment isn't limited to the social sector. The ripple effect like throwing a stone in calm water, has crushed all traditional markets. If you're into crypto I'm sure you've felt the pain of watching the prices drop like a plane with no pilot. The way people are panicking u would think it was the end of the world. It's not. I made a lot of money, lost a lot of money, and even though the market is crashing I'll earn it back. Since I get asked this question a lot, "What's my investment strategy?" I'll share some resources with you. This is not in investment advice. This is my method to get massive gains with minimum starting capital. 

First, use online resources to find new projects. One of the resources I've used since its inception is tokenmetrics.com. (Full disclosure, I am an investor in their platform. That's not why they're being recommended.) Token Metrics provides A.I. learning technology with skilled analysts to find the best up and coming projects before they're launched. There are also indices with buy and sell signals to help plan an exit strategy. At least seventy percent of the coins in my portfolio were chosen from their platform. If you're interested in trying their services u can use this referral link for a discount. Others places like airdropalert.com and airdrop.io have lists of new projects which are free, but may require u to complete certain tasks. Be careful with airdrop platforms because some less trustworthy places sell your data to third parties. Do your own research before giving up your information.

Some crypto influencers like Bitboy Crypto and MMCrypto also provide daily information on projects and what's occurring in the space. One thing to remember with all these crypto influencers, is they can only offer u their opinions. Just like I'm doing right now. The only way you're going to make money is if u take time to research the project yourself. If it looks good to u then take the risk. If not don't do it. Never invest in a project just because a face on social media says it's going to 100x. There's a possibility that u get burned, especially with meme coins.  

Second, join projects early with a use case that innovates or solves a problem in crypto. This can earn u six figures just off airdrops if they release a token down the line. Don't join hoping for an airdrop, join the project because it has good fundamentals and technology. The most notable airdrops released this year were 1inch, dydx, paraswap, instadapp, and opensea, on the Ethereum blockchain. There were numerous airdrops on other blockchains like Binance Chain, Solana, and Avalanche that were also profitable. 

Third, find good projects where u can stake or mine to earn yield. Staking provides the fastest way to make a passive income. Some projects offer up to one hundred percent yield. One thing to consider when staking. The higher the APY (annual percentage yield)  the higher the risk. One place that is reliable, low risk, with high yield is Celsius. (Full disclosure, I am an investor in their platform. That's not why they're being recommended.) Celsius provides crypto lending services that allow u to borrow money without selling your crypto.  Also they offer great apy when u compare them to the rest of the market. Mining is safer than staking but the income is slower. The best mining hardware for me is Helium....look them up. Also less known but still really profitable is M2 Pro miner. 

Last, sell while the projects going up and when its going down. I start selling once the asset reaches 3x or higher. The amount u sell is irrelevant. What's important is to take profit along the way. Don't be one of those people who hodl through market peaks and let the price fall to market lows to sell. (Like I was in the last bull market) By taking profit along the way it frees up capital to re-invest into new projects. Both my Helium and Luna reached my price targets so I sold them. With the profit I brought some Near, Atlas, Ewt, Netvrk, and land in the metaverse game Embersword. You can never go broke by taking profits. But it's almost a guarantee u will if u don't, because nothing goes up forever. Also, never put all your funds into one project. It's better to split the funds into twenty projects or more. That way if one fails you have back-ups that can still be profitable. 

Check out the shared resources and always do your own research. I wish u health, wealth, and success. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only 

Served Cold

"As the body withers with age and memories grow old...revenge is the dish that's best served cold." 

Yesterday I attended a gathering at a bar in north Amsterdam. The place was a mix of off work professionals, students and locals. I didn't want to be there. An acquaintance asked me to come so he could get some crypto advice. I found this proposal interesting because this same person had told me back in 2019 that crypto was a bubble and a waste of money. He was heavy into the equities market (stocks and bonds) and didn't consider crypto a real asset class. For identity purposes I'll call the acquaintance John. 

When I arrived at the bar John was already there with a group of people I didn't know. After greeting John and getting introduced to a bunch of faces with names I didn't bother to remember, I grabbed a drink at the bar. I asked for a vodka with apple juice and that's what the bartender said he gave me. John appeared at the bar beside me and began talking about his life. I tried to pay attention to his words but since I had no emotional connection to them my mind began to drift. In between Johns' sob story on how the stock market may crash and worries about having to move back to Seattle I caught bits of other conversations. There were several people discussing whether it was acceptable to wear socks with sandals. A man and woman sitting at the bar to my left were chatting about feeding their cat chocolate. People behind John and I were arguing over if Punk was dead or not. 

I finished my vodka apple juice and felt no effect. John finished his story and had a perplexed look on his face. I realized that a response was necessary but I hadn't been listening so was unaware of any question. My mind had been occupied wondering if the bartender had given me apple juice with no vodka. Everyone around me seemed like babbling village idiots. Perhaps my alcohol was defective. John said, "So can u do it?" Instead of asking him what "It" was? I said what I was thinking. "I think my alcohol is defective. This happened to me once when I was in South America. I need to talk to the bartender." John seemed confused then he laughed. I didn't. At that moment three other guys came over and blended into our discussion. Luck was on my side because John filled in the conversation gaps. 

By the way, don't worry if the people I'm writing about will be offended. Let me let u in on two little secrets. One, none of those guys like to read anything they don't have too. "If it's not in video or audio format then it's not worth knowing". That was a quote from one of the guys. I have a higher chance of being hit by a comet, being ridden by a two foot tall, green, Martian, wearing leather chaps and a cowboy hat, before any of them read my blog. Two, these are facts.

John and his friends wanted me to teach them about DeFi. Traditional markets are looking grim and crypto is showing bigger long term gains. Some of his friends had dabbled in crypto but none of them trusted or knew how to interact with smart contracts. They were semi-drunk so some of their questions became long stories about how the pandemic changed their lives. I gave them a brief summary on DeFi and some of my wins and losses in the space. After answering some crypto questions I excuse myself and went to the end of the bar by the entrance to speak to the bartender. Right after I gestured for the bartender to come over John appeared beside me. Alcohol makes people emotional. His eyes were glossy like he was on the verge of tears. He apologized for comments he had made about me losing money in crypto. Then he went on to say he understands if the reason I didn't say yes to his question is because I was still upset. What he was describing is petty revenge. 

Lets take a moment to discuss revenge. For me there are different types of revenge. First, there's the vengeful type of revenge. Second, there's the improve yourself and let your success destroy your enemies ego type of revenge. Last, is petty revenge, or commonly known as a grudge. This type never involves physical confrontation. Petty revenge is where u are in a position to help someone who wronged u in the past. You refuse to do it to get back at the person. For all types of revenge emotional attachment to that moment or experience is the driving force behind your actions. I feel nothing.   

The truth was I hadn't heard his question. My attention was focused on getting to the bottom of the vodka mystery. After his emotional display and my cold response John asked what was up. I seemed really relaxed for a guy who had recently taken a loss. I seemed calmer than normal. I could've told him that by changing my leverage trading strategy to 3x for Alts, plus a generous DyDx airdrop, I recouped everything I've lost over the last two years. Instead I just said, "I got it back." Then he asked if I was still trading? I told him, "I'll never stop trading." While we were talking people kept coming over and interjecting tidbits into the conversation. Another of John's friends had been standing by and said, "If u won everything back u should be celebrating. Why do u look so serious?" I replied, "I lost my emotional attachment to things." They all laughed. I didn't. Some more words were exchanged which disappeared from my brain like smoke in the wind. My concentration was on getting the bartender. 

Once again people had been talking to me but I missed the discussion. One of Johns' now completely inebriated friends said, "My man, it sucks that u lost feelings where do u think u lost them?" To my astonishment and utter disbelief, someone standing adjacent to me actually said, "Good question." In my mind it felt like I had been unwillingly transported to the high council of babbling idiots. I remained expressionless and replied, "I think they fell out my pocket on my way to the bar. I'm going to look for them on the way home. " They all laughed. I didn't. While they were still having bellies full of laughter and liquor, I returned to my quest for the bartender. This time I finally got his attention. The bartender was in front of me, John to my right, and one of his drunk minions to my left. The rest of the group had migrated over to us and were standing behind me making noisy monkey chatter. 

I introduced myself to the bartender. We exchanged pleasantries for a few moments, then I asked if the vodka was defective. They all laughed. I didn't. From the stoic expression on my face the bartender knew I was serious. We talked for a minute about different liquors while John and his friend made random shot suggestions. Since I was only drinking white liquor the bartender recommended I try some Jenever, a Dutch Gin. We drank shots of different Jenever brands. The bartender had taken half shots with us and had become talkative. It was a short time after that he bounced off to change the music. People were dancing by their tables and the mood was quite festive. 

As I sat on the bar stool listening to what was once mindless chatter trying to keep my thoughts from sinking below pristine white waves of liquor. I came to a realization. Either all the conversations around me had suddenly became scintillantly interesting or...I had become one of the babbling village idiots. Regardless of the answer, it was fun. After that I shared some DeFi resources with John. It took some time to convince him that his past words meant nothing to me. The brewed spirits helped insure my statements weren't taken offensively. Later, I conceded to the bartender that the alcohol wasn't defective. They all laughed. I did too. It was a nice night. 

One thing u want to always keep in mind. The people u pass on your ascension to success in the journey of life. Are the same people watching as u descend. If you show love to them along the way. They will often extend a helping hand to stop your fall. Food for thought. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well 

Tha One an Only

Digital World

As blockchain technology becomes more mainstream we stand on the precipice of a digital world. In this world all services, social networks, games, films, music, insurance, banks and everything in between will be found on the blockchain. I'm aware that my prior statement sounds like science fiction, or the conjectures of a madman. Allow me to illuminate your mind to what already exists and what's to come in the near future. 

Back in 2018 I heard of a company building a video game on the blockchain. At that time it was a revolutionary concept because the world was focused on Ethereum based (ERC-20) tokens. The arms race between developers for DApps was in full swing and no one discussed NFT's. The company is named Phantasma. They were creating a racing game using NFT's that could compete with one built for a console. They succeeded. 

Fast forward to 2021. Everyone and their grandmother knows what NFT's are. They have essentially been the entry asset for most new people to crypto. (If u want to check out my NFT collection of music and art go to opensea and type my name in the search box.) Developers expanded their use case beyond video games. Advancements in VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) are being integrated with blockchain to create new digital worlds. In these worlds u have an avatar and can interact with people from any location on the planet. Think of the film Ready Player One. We're not at that point yet but companies like Decentraland, Flow and the Sandbox are working to achieve that goal.  

Currently all banking services are available on the blockchain. The use case for Defi (Decentralized Finance) is rising like inflation. Companies like Compound, Aave, and Maker offer interest on deposits and loans to bankless people around the globe. For decentralized music there's Audius, for videos there's Theta, for insurance there's Armor (Armor Finance). You name the service and there's some company building a decentralized version on the blockchain. There's even a company named Helium building an entirely decentralized internet. 

At this point it would seem like blockchain technology is the wave of the future. If you think that you're not wrong. Although blockchain is new technology that's still growing. In the near future it could become old news. 

DNA digital data storage allows the user to encode and decode binary data from augmented strands of DNA. This is the future. By using these strands of synthetic DNA petabytes of data can be stored in a miniscule amount of space. To give u an idea of how much information can be stored. All sixteen gigabytes of data in the Wikipedia English language version could be stored on a single strand of synthetic DNA. This was reported by scientists back in 2019. The potential use cases in all fields of science and medicine are so vast they can't be easily quantified. 

A digital world is coming. The more u learn about the minds and technologies being used to create that world, the easier it will be to navigate. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only