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I used to own the Moon. Well, not the entire thing — just imagine the upkeep costs, not to mention the cosmic HOA dues! Rather, in a misguided birthday present, I was given 10 sercas [1] of the Lighted Lunar Surface in a quadrant I think was a few squares south of the extreme northwest corner of the recognized Lunar chart. It cost $20 in 1980, and you can get your own today for just $34.99.
Source: Lunar Embassy
A man named Dennis Hope has reportedly made more than $20 million selling these novelty certificates, taking advantage of what he said was a loophole in the United Nations Outer Space Treaty. He is, in his own words: “the wealthiest individual on the planet … in theory.” It’s that part after the ellipsis that fascinates me. Does he really think he owns the Moon? Does anybody who bought one of these pieces of paper actually think they own all those lunar sercas? Perhaps. [2] Either way, what’s important is not whether you really own anything up there, but whether you believe you really own something up there. And that, to my huge financial detriment, is how I have always viewed Bitcoin. Because in my mind, you can actually mine tangible dirt and rock on the Moon, whereas “mining” magical, invisible bitcoins seems like a more absurd scam than anything Dennis Hope could come up with. And guess who now really believes in magical, invisible Bitcoin: Jamie Dimon! Here is our Lionel Laurent: “Wall Street powerhouses such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. are converting financial securities into digital tokens; the London Stock Exchange is trying to keep up with crypto rivals by offering nonstop 24-hour trading; and credit-card giant Visa Inc. is part of a large group of financial firms launching a stablecoin, so-called because it’s backed by the dollar. Is blockchain, the tech that underpins all this, back to being the future?”
“It’s not just the usual hype merchants saying this time is different for the grownup use of distributed ledgers, the decentralized digital system that lets people use crypto tokens as a means of exchange,” writes Lionel. “The former head of France’s securities regulator, Robert Ophele, tells me that tokenization is here to stay. The technology is no longer immature, he says, while Donald Trump’s US administration has put its weight behind it and serious financial institutions are throwing non-virtual cash at it.” Well, when you have responsible parties like the French and the US president on the same side of things, what could possibly go wrong? This, for example: “For decades, authorities have fought to make money less anonymous by getting rid of high-value paper cash, cracking down on offshore banking secrecy, and tracking bank transfers,” writes Andy Mukherjee. “However, in crypto, the tide is reversing. Anonymous stablecoin holdings are bypassing US-regulated intermediaries like Coinbase and Kraken. When they do hit centralized exchanges, they’re mostly in jurisdictions outside the reach of the Genius Act, the US stablecoin regulation passed a year ago.”
What’s dangerous for America should be good for its rising rival, right? Um, we’re back to in theory. “In theory, China should welcome this unanticipated diminution of Washington’s authority,” adds Andy. “In reality, Beijing will also be a loser because dollar tokens will undermine its own control over capital flows. While it’s hard to pinpoint the geographical location of privately held crypto keys, many of them are almost certainly in China.” And what’s bad for Beijing and Washington is also a loser for your 401(k). “Investors need to make just one decision right now — whether or not to own semiconductor stocks,” writes Shuli Ren. “Everything else pales by comparison. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is outperforming the S&P 500 by 57 percentage points this year, even after an ugly correction last week. Other previously popular trades — from crypto to hyperscalers and precious metals — have all lost their shine.” Crypto has also lost its shine when it comes to shiny objects. “The global luxury industry, which has been grappling with three years of lackluster sales, may gain some relief as wealth generated by artificial-intelligence companies and their trillions of dollars of initial public offerings finds its way into fancy fripperies,” writes Andrea Felsted. “In many ways, the AI effect is reminiscent of the boom in cryptocurrencies in 2021. That year, Bitcoin’s gains that saw the digital token more than double in value were funneled into watches, particularly those changing hands on the secondary market.”
Years and years ago, a college acquaintance of mine whose financial savvy had put him in the 10-digit club urged everybody to put their retirement savings into magical, invisible Bitcoin. I had visions of living off Social Security and cat food, and scoffed at the idea. Now he’s probably in the 11-digit club and I’m just hoping I don’t have to work until I’m 70. At least I’ll have Mark Gongloff for company. “Ever wonder about the financial implications of your life choices?” Mark writes. “That time Bitcoin fell to $400 and instead of filling your boots with the stuff you wrote a column mocking it? We’ve all been there, right? Such decisions expose us to what economists call ‘opportunity costs.’”
Mark’s real point, however, is that we are costing ourselves not our retirement, but the planet: “The US is in the early stages of a colossal example of opportunity cost because of President Donald Trump’s relentless assault on clean energy. Unlike not buying Bitcoin, the US taxpayer has already borne steep up-front costs for this policy, which mainly serves the fossil-fuel industry. But the real economic pain has just begun.” Well, if you’re worried that the Earth is about to become uninhabitable, I have 10 sercas of prime real estate to sell you. Just look up. Bonus Killing Moon Reading:
- LSE Will Trade 22.83 Hours a Day: Matt Levine
- We Don’t Need 24/7 Oil Trading. It’s Coming Anyway: Javier Blas
- Americans Are Richer Than Ever. Why Are They So Angry?: Allison Schrager
What’s the World Got in Store?
- Fed rate decision, July 29: The Federal Reserve Needs to Tighten Monetary Policy — Bill Dudley
- US PCE, July 30: Kevin Warsh Has Breathing Space, For Now — The Editorial Board
- Apple earnings, July 30: How the Market Broadened and Nobody Noticed — John Authers
I recently read (OK, listened to on Audible) Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey — for obvious reasons — and The Iliad, because as a kid I liked the story better. The former is the obvious choice because it’s the version Christopher Nolan used for his Matt Damon blockbuster. I saw the movie and liked it — it was certainly better than Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy from 2004, starring Brad Pitt’s mullet. [3] But in terms of Greek mythology epics, I’m not sure it measures up to the 1963 version of Jason and the Argonauts, starring the American actor Todd Armstrong, with his voice dubbed by British actor Tim Turner so he fit in with the rest of the predominantly UK-based cast. Nolan’s depiction of Samantha Morton’s Circe turning Odysseus’ men into pigs was pretty great, but in terms of special effects, you really can’t beat this:
Source: YouTube
Predictably, an overhyped controversy about casting didn’t seem to do Scylla, Charybdis or Nolan any harm. “That the film successfully weathered a social media storm is a reminder that visibility and consensus aren’t necessarily the same thing,” writes guest columnist Miles Surrey. “The answer isn’t that studios should ignore audience sentiment altogether. But they should stop treating every online controversy as if each carries equal weight. Hollywood’s challenge isn’t whether to listen to fans — it’s knowing which feedback actually reflects consumer demand.” Adrian Wooldridge says Homer is “hot” in the UK, and it’s hard “to think of a film that has done as much to boost the cause of education” — on both sides of the Atlantic. “The British have bought more than 40,000 copies of Homer’s text since shortly before the opening,” he writes. “The US revival of interest in the classics has largely been driven by the right, for good reasons (despair over the dumbing down of mainstream education) but also questionable ones (worship of power and dominion).” There are plenty of parallels between the travails of Homer’s hero and the current war against Iraq. “The story of Scylla and Charybdis is a cautionary tale against getting yourself unnecessarily into a situation where some negative outcome is unavoidable,” writes John Authers. “It also makes a strong case that discretion is the better part of valor, implying that the US should at this point swallow its pride, take a defeat, and live to fight another day. For all the advances of the last 2,700 years, Trump’s choices don’t look much better than those that confronted Odysseus the Cunning.” Note: Please send feta cheese and feedback to Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net.
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