Archive: Early Investing

On Tuesday, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler testified before the House about the SEC’s crackdown on crypto. And it wasn’t pretty. Gensler declined to answer some very direct questions about conflicting and confusing regulations.  House Republicans, including House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry, tore into Gensler for the SEC’s unclear and hard line approach. “Regulation by enforcement is not sufficient nor sustainable,” McHenry said. In this episode of…
Crypto Market Musings It feels like the crypto markets are warming up. As I write this, bitcoin is trading above $30,000. Ethereum is trading around $2,000. Even Solana has managed to make big gains. It’s up almost 20% over the last seven days. Most of Ethereum’s…

Startup Insider: Inside the Disappointing TikTok Hearing

By Early Investing on April 12, 2023

TikTok has become a lightning rod for controversy as a growing number of U.S. politicians call for the app to be banned. The Biden administration has threatened to ban the app because of security concerns but hasn’t actually made the move. Other representatives are against the ban, citing…
Crypto Market Musings Bitcoin is having a year. In the midst of a banking crisis and regulatory upheaval, bitcoin quietly posted a 72% gain in the first quarter of this year. That’s bitcoin’s most popular quarter since the first quarter of 2021, when bitcoin’s price went up 102%.

Crypto Insider: Crypto Market Hits Bottom-Ish

By Early Investing on April 5, 2023

The crypto market is in a weird place right now. Bitcoin performed exceedingly well for the first three months of 2023, which is good news. But inflation is not slowing down as quickly as the Federal Reserve (and investors) would like. Wages are going up. And OPEC just…
Crypto Market Musings Bitcoin broke through the $28,000 barrier (and for one brief moment topped $29,000) on Wednesday after spending about a week trading in the $27,000 range. It’s currently trading at $28,460.27. Most cryptos rallied behind bitcoin’s big Wednesday surge (more than 5%). Ethereum jumped…

Startup Insider: How to Evaluate AI Companies

By Early Investing on March 29, 2023

The markets are experiencing an artificial intelligence (AI) gold rush. There are at least 50 AI companies being incubated at Y Combinator. And new AI startups keep cropping up with bigger and bigger valuations. AI company Cohere is reportedly looking to raise money at a $6 billion-plus valuation.

Balaji Srinivasan Bets on Hyperinflation

By Vin Narayanan on March 24, 2023

Crypto Market Musings Bitcoin is soaring. It’s up more than 20% over the last 30 days and up about 5% over the last seven days. It’s trading at $27,928.74 as of this writing. Ethereum is up a more modest 10% over the last 30 days and about 1.5%…

Crypto Insider: Behind the Bank Runs

By Early Investing on March 22, 2023

Banks are having a rough month. First Silvergate Bank collapsed, with the company announcing its liquidation on March 8. Then Silicon Valley Bank collapsed two days later on March 10. And then two days after that, on March 12, Signature Bank was shut down by regulators. …

Where Silvergate, SVB and Signature Went Wrong

By Vin Narayanan on March 17, 2023

For people my age, Han Solo telling Luke Skywalker “Great, kid! Don’t get cocky!” after Luke shot down a ship for the first time is a seminal movie moment. As a kid, I didn’t even know what “cocky” meant! But I…
Warren Buffett is not just a prolific investor. He’s also a great writer. The day he sends his annual letter to shareholders is one of investors’ favorite days on the calendar. The letters are sharp, incisive and even entertaining. The 2022 letter to shareholders, which was…

Crypto Insider: Tune Out Extreme Crypto Predictions

By Early Investing on March 8, 2023

Since its inception, cryptocurrency has been a divisive concept. There have always been believers and critics, and some of them have expressed extreme opinions and predictions. Like Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, a bitcoin bull who said he would get a crypto tattoo once bitcoin hit…

Crypto Investors Are in Uncharted Territory

By Vin Narayanan on March 3, 2023

Crypto Market Musings We’re in uncharted territory. There have been other crypto bear markets. But this is the first time that crypto has navigated an economic down cycle. And we’re discovering that crypto — including bitcoin — can’t escape the gravitational pull of macroeconomic headwinds. The…

Startup Insider: How to Invest in Works of Art

By Early Investing on March 1, 2023

Have you ever looked at a beautiful painting and wondered what it would be like to invest in it? Scott Lynn, founder and CEO of Masterworks, has given that idea a lot of thought. Masterworks is a platform that…

Why CBDCs Aren’t a Threat to Crypto

By Yasmin Sharbaf on February 24, 2023

Crypto Market Musings One of the catalysts for our current crypto bear market was the collapse of Terra in early 2021. As a refresher, the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD failed to maintain its $1 peg. That caused its companion coin Luna to collapse. The twin collapses rocked the crypto…

Crypto Insider: Crypto Taxes 101

By Early Investing on February 22, 2023

With tax day just two months away, many crypto investors are likely combing the internet for guidance on how to do their crypto taxes. Finding straightforward instructions is no easy feat. Crypto is such a new asset class, tax guidelines around it are constantly evolving.  Fortunately,…