| How Crypto Income Evolved, Where It Goes Next, How to Get It |
Wednesday, 28 July 2021 — Albert Park  | | By Ryan Dinse | | For The Rum Rebellion |
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[4 min read] Dear Reader, It was 22 May 2010… Laszlo Hanyecz was feeling a bit peckish, so he decided to buy a pizza. Two pizzas actually. I really hope he enjoyed them because they cost him $461,950,000 (based on today’s prices)! You see, Laszlo made what’s considered the first ever commercial Bitcoin [BTC] transaction. On that day, he paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas. At the time, BTC didn’t really have any value, and Laszlo — an early BTC enthusiast, who even exchanged messages with the mysterious bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto a few times — was just having a bit of fun. He made his request on the infamous Bitcointalk forum. In his own words: ‘I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas…like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a “breakfast platter” at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy! ‘I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc...just standard stuff no weird fish topping or anything like that. I also like regular cheese pizzas which may be cheaper to prepare or otherwise acquire. ‘If you’re interested please let me know and we can work out a deal. ‘Thanks, Laszlo’
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Apparently, someone called ‘Jercos’ purchased the pizzas and delivered them to the pizza-loving Laszlo. They even took a picture for posterity. They do look tasty, though I’m not sure I’d pay half a billion dollars for them. Anyway, 22 May is now known as Bitcoin Pizza Day in honour of Laszlo and his pioneering spirit. But the story also highlights a problem with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin that remains even to this day. The fact is that most crypto projects are thought of as investments, rather than money, at this stage. Not many people are willing to part with their stash like Laszlo did in exchange for current spending. It’d be like an early Facebook investor spending their seed stage shares on day-to-day expenses. And yet many cryptocurrencies — and especially bitcoin — state that they’re fully intended to be used as cash. Clearly, that isn’t the case right now. My own thesis is that bitcoin will go through a two-stage process of price discovery. The first will be to find an equilibrium level where the market cap reaches a point that ‘makes sense’. All the volatility you’ve seen this year is part of that. At that stage, the volatility of the bitcoin price should decrease dramatically, allowing its everyday use as money. Whether that is when bitcoin is equal to the size of the gold market (10 times from here), the bond market (100 times from here) or even the entire world’s money supply (a world of hyper-bitcoinisation) remains to be seen. Only time will tell, and that could take a few more years yet. So what about today then? How can people use the benefits of decentralised blockchain infrastructure — a world without banks — in a way that makes sense now? What are some methods you can use to benefit from cryptos — that are NOT simply betting on price movements? Enter the world of stablecoins… Cryptodollars in the free market for money So, here’s the thing… Cryptocurrency networks — blockchains — are really good for transferring money super-fast, super-cheap, to anyone in the world. But the crucial point is that no one can stop you (censorship resistant), transactions settle in minutes (not days), and you’re in full control of your assets at all times (self-custodied). And yet as I said before, why would you spend an asset that could conceivably increase in value exponentially over time? This is where stablecoins come in. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that attempt to retain a 1:1 peg with the US dollar (or some other fiat currency). The idea is that people can use blockchains today in the form that suits them most (ie: dollars). Think of them as crypto dollars — they are dollars that live on the blockchain. This idea, conceived in 2017, has taken off in a big way over the past year or two. Last month, the stablecoin market hit US$100 billion for the first time. It was less than US$1 billion at the start of 2019. And it’s growing every week. But, as CoinDesk reports: ‘Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that stablecoins are “growing incredibly fast but without appropriate regulation.”’
Japan has also just announced it wants more regulation of stablecoins, and more oversight of decentralised finance. ‘Japan can no longer leave things unattended with global developments over digital currencies moving so rapidly,’ one official said. Clearly, the ‘old gamers’ — and their regulators
— are feeling more threatened by the week But why? And how do YOU turn these crypto dollars to get income? Very soon we’re going to release some research that will show you exactly that. It’s called ‘How to Play the New Game: A 5-Part Guide for Exploiting the Crypto Sell-Off’. What you need to realise is crypto prices jolting up and down are a red herring. The most important point is that, this year, the new game just got mega-verified. But the strategies we’re going to show you later this week are NOT price dependent. For the most part, they are equally effective whether at US$70,000 bitcoin or US$10,000 bitcoin. Whatever strategy you choose, the core idea is the same: becoming an early stakeholder in a new financial system. If you’ve learnt one rock-solid thing in the last few months, it’s that this new system isn’t going anywhere. If you’ve not done it already, it’s time you made your move. If you’re already in the game, it’s time to assess whether you’re doing it in the best way. ‘How to Play the New Game: A 5-Part Guide for Exploiting the Crypto Sell-Off’ will show you how. Make sure you keep reading The Rum Rebellion for the full report. Regards, Ryan Dinse,
For The Rum Rebellion | 
