Traditionally, banks handle fiat, exchanges dabble in digital assets, custodians keep vaults, and liquidity providers learn the art of currency swapping. Now, Ripple is basically saying, “Hold our drinks. We’re tearing down the walls.”
Whilst the fashionable houses of finance this moment reeld in mirth, the cryptocurrency realm has produced an astonishing episode worthy of the most rapturous chronicles.
The stablecoin market, that old fox, has slinked back into view, with USDC leading the charge like a drunken general. Bitcoin, ever the dramatic, has mounted a rally so grand it makes a peacock’s tail seem modest.
Tech went from being the hero to…well, the guy who brought potato salad to the picnic and then ate half of it himself. It’s been lagging, and you know what that means? Diversification, apparently. A concept my Aunt Mildred has been lecturing me about since 1987. The traditional S&P 500 is underperforming, but the equal-weight version, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP +0.28%), is doing…fine. It’s gained almost 6% this year (as of March 3), while the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO +0.87%) is just…there. Flat. Like a lukewarm glass of water.
You’re probably wondering if you should run screaming into the hills if you own a few ETFs. Don’t bother. It’s mostly noise. Just noise, really.
On-chain data, that digital version of foot traffic, suggests the ecosystem isn’t entirely dead. With roughly 120,000 daily active addresses, Jupiter isn’t exactly the life of the party, but it’s not hiding in the bathroom either. If buyers keep trickling back like they’re at a buffet, maybe JUP can stage a comeback. Or maybe it’s just the ghost of bullish optimism haunting the charts.
The current plan involves exporting these lightning-powered contraptions to various corners of the world. A perfectly sensible strategy. The trick, of course, is getting the factories built before the local weather patterns decide to have a disagreement with your logistical timelines. But let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that doesn’t happen. In this optimistic scenario, those overseas factories start humming along nicely, producing vehicles at a rate that would make even the most industrious dwarves blush. Europe, it seems, is developing a fondness for electric carriages. Southeast Asia is proving to be a surprisingly enthusiastic customer. And even Latin America, with its penchant for flamboyant transportation, is showing interest.1
But here’s the thing. It’s often the things nobody wants that turn out to be… well, not entirely worthless. Rumours of Bitcoin’s demise, as they say, are greatly exaggerated. And I’ve been thinking, if I’m going to allocate a grand – a whole thousand pounds! – into crypto right now, it probably should be Bitcoin. Mostly because I’m terrified of making the wrong decision and then having to explain it to my mother.
Cameron and Tyler, those ever-determined heirs of Facebook settlement gold, built Gemini, a home for Bitcoin traders, after scooping up BTC when the rest of the world thought it was only good for nerdy dreams and late-night forum posts.
Brazil remains the engine, humming along with a predictable, almost reassuring monotony. It was there the company perfected its art of lending, built a brand that, if not exactly beloved, is at least tolerated, and achieved a scale that allows it to ignore the occasional disgruntled customer. But to remain merely Brazilian is to invite stagnation. To be a true banking behemoth, one must expand, conquer, and, of course, collect the appropriate fees.