Crypto portfolio update

Invested in: Avalanche (AVAX), Jewel (?), Ethereum (ETH), Harmony (ONE)

Net return: 38.1%

Comments: ETH has gone nowhere over the past 2 weeks, and I've rotated most of my funds out of it into higher beta (higher risk/reward) plays.

I've been eyeing AVAX for some weeks now, and have allocated a substantial portion of my funds into it. You can follow my journey with AVAX in my DeFi YouTube playlist.

More recently, I've been delving into a new DeFi project called DeFi Kingdoms... I'll talk more about it below.

Admin update

• I've been adding YouTube videos on my channel. Check it out if you haven't already!
• If you missed last week's newsletter, you can get it here.

 Crypto gaming

• For a long time, government regulation has prevented gamers from making money via in-game transactions. With crypto, these regulations can be bypassed and, for better or worse, people will start making a full-time income from blockchain-enabled games.
• We're already seeing this happen in the Philippines, where players of the game Axie Infinity are making a living wage from it.
• When I first checked out Axie Infinity 4 months ago, its token (AXS) was trading at $6. Here's where it is today:

• With crypto (blockchain) technology, gaming can finally become a legitimate profession. Just like how YouTubers went from not being taken seriously, to becoming multi-millionaires, so too will we see an incoming generation of wealthy gamers who will make you question your career choices.
• This is a mega trend that I believe will accelerate in the coming years. 'Play to earn' is a term that has yet to dominate the news headlines, and I think we'll see it pop up more often over the next 12 months.
• In line with this theme, I've been checking out a blockchain game called DeFi Kingdoms. It's a role-playing game that - very interestingly - incorporates a fully functioning decentralized exchange. This is a novel idea that, if executed well, has the potential overtake Axie Infinity on multiple dimensions. I have thus invested in its native token, Jewel.
• DeFi Kingdoms runs on the Harmony blockchain, so I've also invested in its gas token, ONE. The basic idea is that if/when the game becomes popular, both tokens should rise in value.
• The game is still in its very early stages, and so far you can only use it to swap and stake tokens; The gameplay aspect hasn't even been added yet! I will be observing the rollout of the gameplay elements (in the coming months) and will adjust my capital allocation accordingly. So far, everything looks great and I'm cautiously optimistic about the future prospects of the game.
• To learn more, check out my DeFi Kingdoms videos.

₿ Crypto news

• A couple of pension funds in Virginia are looking to invest their funds in crypto.
  • Crypto is increasingly creeping into traditional finance. Eventually, it will take over almost all of it.
• Ukraine legalizes crypto, while Laos legalizes crypto mining and trading
  • As expected, more countries are getting on the crypto bandwagon. Those that don't, will lose relevance in the rapidly shifting world economy.
• With art NFTs now worth millions of dollars, the first case of NFT insider trading has been reported.
  • Such behavior is, of course, not limited to the crypto industry. Conflicts of interest exist nearly everywhere, even and especially in TradFi.
  • For example, if you think the people in charge of the economy don't cheat for personal gain, think again. The only difference is they can get away with it without any real punishment.
  • TradFi is rigged in favour of the rich. In crypto, at least the playing field is even.
  • No prizes for guessing why TradFi wants to take down the crypto industry in the name of "protecting" citizens. The truth is that they're restricting the sources of wealth that they have little advantage in.

Other news

• China's second largest property developer Evergrande is facing a massive $310b debt default.
  • That's almost as large as the annual GDP of Hong Kong.
  • The fallout will cause big problems in the global economy and across global markets.
  • The most likely solution to this problem is the same one that's been used over and over again since 2008: a bailout. The government will conjure money out of thin air and use it to bail out the rich.
  • Meanwhile, the purchasing power of the average person plummets even faster.
  • If you're keeping most of your money in fiat, you're essentially footing the bill.

 Quote of the week

The most overlooked and underappreciated growth strategy is patience.

- James Clear

 Something cool

I wish I was as awesome as this guy.

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend.

Cheers,
Slowmad

P.S. If you have any questions or feedback, let me know at: chris[at]digitalslowmad[dot]com