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| "I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening." - Larry King |
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| Howdy, investors!
- Optimism was a pioneer of the layer-2 ecosystem around Ethereum. It's OP token airdrop in 2022 was also a landmark event. But is the OP token still worth your investment? Read our complete analysis below.
- If you pay off your credit card balance each month AND you want to earn extra crypto, then a bitcoin credit card might make sense. Our analysts have updated our guide to the Best Bitcoin Credit Cards for 2024.
- One of the best ways to build long-term wealth is by investing in technology platform shifts (think Amazon and e-commerce, Google and search, bitcoin and crypto). In today's column, we unpack The Great Platform Shift coming to the global financial system -- and how you can invest in it now.
Read on! |
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| This Week in Bitcoin Market Journal Our latest crypto investing insights and ideas. |
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| Should You Invest in Optimism (OP)? Charts, Stats, Analysis for 2024
Optimism was born out of the Plasma Group, a group of researchers who set out to solve one of Ethereum's greatest challenges: scalability.
Inspired by the brilliant minds of Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, and Joseph Poon, the mastermind behind Bitcoin's Lightning Network, the Plasma Group embarked on a journey to build Plasma chains, a promising solution that held the potential to revolutionize transaction speeds on the Ethereum network.
The team soon discovered that Plasma was a powerful force that wasn’t easy to harness. So they regrouped and set their sights on a new horizon: optimistic rollups.
Switching from a non-profit to a for-profit corporation, and raising a fresh $3.5 million in funding, the rebranded Optimism team was, well, optimistic they could make Ethereum faster and cheaper.
Optimism was positioned to become the pioneer of optimistic rollup protocols, and the crypto community waited in anticipation. But in a surprise twist, a delay in Optimism's release date allowed a competitor, Arbitrum, to steal the spotlight and beat them to market...
Read the full story, and get our complete analysis of the OP token >> |
| Best Bitcoin and Crypto Reward Credit Cards 2024
At Bitcoin Market Journal, we’re all about helping you make smart financial decisions using crypto. This goes double with bitcoin credit cards, which come with their own set of opportunities (and risks).
In our updated guide designed for intelligent crypto investors, we’ll cover: - How Crypto Credit Cards Work
- Why Use Bitcoin Credit Cards
- Our 2024 Ratings
- Tips on Choosing
- Pros and Cons
- How to Choose
- FAQs
TL;DR: if you use credit cards already, and you pay off your balance each month, consider a crypto credit card (after doing your homework using our guide). It's an easy way of "steady drip investing" with your everyday purchases.
Read on and get rewarded >> |
| The Great Platform Shift
In the mid-1990s, Microsoft had a monopoly. At the time, there was really only one operating system, and that was Microsoft Windows. The personal computer revolution was in full swing, and Microsoft had about a 90% market share: if you had a PC, you ran Windows. The launch of Windows 95 was one of the biggest technology events of all time. There was a huge launch event in Redmond, where they hired Jay Leno to do the launch demo: not just a standup set, the entire Windows demo. People stood in line for days to buy the first copies of Windows 95. It was nuts.
But a new threat was arising: the Internet.
At first, Microsoft thought that the Internet was just another feature that could be added to Windows. But Bill Gates, to his credit, eventually saw the writing on the wall. In his famous memo called "The Internet Tidal Wave," Gates declared the Web was the next great platform shift.
Today, a similar platform revolution is taking place, but it’s not operating systems. It’s financial systems. And here's how to invest in it.
Learn how to invest in The Great Platform Shift >> |
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| Premium Power-Ups Level up your crypto investing game. |
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Premium Membership: The Gift That Keeps Giving |
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| In 2023, we launched the BMJ Reward Token, giving our Premium subscribers access to unique member rewards. Here's how it works:
- Become a Member: Join as a Premium Member, and get access to our extensive library of crypto investing content and member exclusives for just $10/month.
- Hook Up MetaMask: Connect your MetaMask digital wallet to our site, and you’ll earn 10 BMJ tokens on the 1st of every month. (Step-by-step instructions here).
- Redeem BMJ: These compliant tokens, minted directly on Ethereum, can be redeemed for real-world rewards such as T-shirts, NFTs, and exclusive swag on our Premium Rewards page.
We're also working on exciting, new rewards for the coming months that might include things like discounts on products or services, new swag, or even unique NFTs. Stay tuned and be sure to keep stacking your BMJ tokens!
Get access to BMJ by going Premium (just $10/mo) >> |
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| Must-Reads This week's most important stories for crypto investors. |
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| (The Defiant) - Since their January launch, there's been increasing investment by major financial institutions in bitcoin ETFs. The reveal of Goldman Sachs as a major player is a positive sign for long-term BTC investors, offering potential price appreciation, increased adoption, and greater market stability. |
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| Could BlackRock Launch an L2? (Token Terminal on X) - BlackRock might follow Coinbase by launching its own layer-2 blockchain, similar to Base. BlackRock could streamline recordkeeping for its $10 trillion in assets under management (AUM) on a single transparent ledger, ultimately improving capital markets through enhanced transparency, and reduced fees. Time to consider buying $BLK stock? |
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| It's Time for a DePIN Update (Messari on Youtube) - This Messari podcast highlights the rapid growth of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) projects, focusing on sectors such as decentralized wireless networks, energy networks, and GPU networks. Key takeaways include real-world problems addressed by DePIN projects, the sector's early-stage nature, and the collaborative environment among DePIN builders. |
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| (Medium) - There's both excitement and challenges in using bitcoin for retail payments. However, merchant adoption remains stubbornly low, with only 0.018% of global retailers accepting bitcoin natively. At the end of the day, if bitcoin can't become a currency, it has to find an alternate narrative (like "digital gold") to continue to build trust. |
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Becoming A Bitcoiner (Seeking Alpha) - Discussing bitcoin and the value of the network is extremely difficult and can get very technical. Here's a general framework for ideating the value of bitcoin, understanding its fundamental security, and making the decision to allocate some of your wealth to bitcoin. Like us, the author believes bitcoin is a Buy at almost any time for long-term investors. |
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Chart of the Week Layer-2 Daily Active Users |
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| Layer-2 solutions are crucial in the blockchain ecosystem because they address a significant hurdle for blockchains: scalability. They provide faster transactions, an improved user experience, and the scalability needed for growth.
Base, the Layer-2 developed by Coinbase in 2023, is one of the newest players in this ecosystem. Base has quickly overtaken most L2 competitors in transaction counts, revenue, and developers (including Optimism, covered above!).
In line with its promise to bring one billion users to the blockchain, it has also closed the gap in active daily users, overtaking Arbitrum in the past month.
Immutable is also worth watching, as it has recently appeared in the top 5 L2s by DAUs and is approaching Arbitrum's user base. This makes for an interesting matchup to see which L2 chain will pull ahead. (See our Investor's Guide to Layer-2s for more.) |
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| | | ICYMI In Case You Missed It |
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In case you've missed our recent newsletters, here are links to the August 5 and August 12 newsletters, as well as the most recent BMJ investor content:
In our updated guide for 2024, we dig into the best staking platforms for your crypto portfolio.
Recently a California judge threw out the long-running SEC case against Ripple, which could spark renewed interest in its token. See our deep dive on XRP.
Here's an incredible chart, showing how the growth of crypto in 2024 looks like the Internet in 2002. Here's why this is great for long-term investors. |
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| Bitcoin Market Journal is a daily newsletter that makes you a better crypto investor. It's created by John Hargrave, Steve Walters, Anatol Antonovici, Matthew Du, Daniel Joel, and Preetam Kaushik.
Both free and Premium subscribers get content to build them into better investors.
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