Crypto portfolio update

Invested in: USDC, BTC, NFTs

Net return: 589.0%

Comments: Sentiment in crypto continues to worsen as expected.

Thankfully, my portfolio was positioned to avoid much of the recent sell-offs.

This said, I did not escape unscathed from recent events.

Shortly after the recent UST de-pegging, some FUD emerged regarding the peg integrity of USDT.

I had a bunch of USDT in Kucoin, and woke up one morning to see the USDC-USDT exchange rate trading well above 1.1, a big deviation from the norm.

To me, it wouldn't have made sense for USDT to fail the same way UST did. After all, it operates differently and is collateralized with near-cash assets. The de-pegging fears were, in my opinion, unfounded.

The thing is, I'd just seen UST fall to zero less than 24 hours ago, and could not dismiss the possibility of something else happening in the background that I was unaware of.

We don't always understand what's going on in the markets, and we don't always have the luxury of time to sit back and study a collapse as it happens.

And so, I was forced to make a decision.

Though I doubted the legitimacy of the USDT FUD, my priority was to cut the potentially catastrophic risk immediately. I wanted to guarantee survival first, and ask questions later. 

Therefore, I swapped my USDT for USDC at the market rate of a 15% premium.

Eventually, the peg was restored and the USDT-USDC rate went back to normal.

Ouch. I paid heavily for the insurance policy.

So, did I make a mistake here?

Well... I don't think so.

If put in the situation again I'd probably do the same thing.

You see, in times of crisis, rationality doesn't always prevail. A panicking market does not care about logic and has the potential to take down your portfolio along with it, if you allow it the chance to.

Besides, the quality of an investment decision should not be judged based on the outcome, but on the information available at the time. Surviving a round of Russian Roulette does not mean it was a good idea to play in the first place.

Such is the nature of market risk taking. Even when making the right decision, it's never perfect and there's always something to lament over.

Sayonara, Azuki

In the previous newsletter I mentioned becoming a proud Azuki holder.

Today, I am both sad and happy to announce that I've sold my Azuki holdings.

I'm sad, obviously, because I like the Azuki brand.

But I'm happy to have sold because I realized a 30% return in less than a week.

It turns out that I had - by coincidence - bought near the local bottom. I had hoped prices would recover, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon!

In any case, Lady Luck graced me with her favour and I took profits while I could.

I'll be looking to possibly buy in again at a later time.

Other NFTs

Right now, the only NFTs I'm holding are:

• Anata
  • Made a video about it here
• Lofi Originals
  • Animated profile picture + music + semi-yearly merch drop
  • High quality production
  • I like the vibe/style
• Mad Frogz
  • New and unverified by OpenSea, high risk
  • No community around it so far
  • Super cheap (perhaps for a reason )

Personally, I'm not counting on these projects to become popular. For the most part, I only bought these NFTs because I like them.

Current portfolio allocation:

Looking ahead

As you can tell from my heavy stablecoin allocation, I don't think the crypto market is anywhere close to the bottom.

I believe the coming weeks and months will provide some good opportunities for me to DCA into the coins/tokens most likely to shine in the coming bull market.

Interest check

I've been thinking about starting a private alpha group.

Would you be interested? (Details here)

 Admin note

• If you missed the previous newsletter, you can read it here.
• New here? Join this newsletter for free.

 Introducing, Ronny Chieng

I love stand up comedy and Ronny Chieng is one of my favourite performers.

Hope this video lifts your mood during these bear market times.

 Quote of the week

In a surprising number of fields, you can find success if you are simply willing to do the reasonable thing longer than most people. Patience is a competitive advantage.

- James Clear

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