Dear First Mates,

Hello everyone. Let’s talk digital assets – a topic you know is near and dear to my heart and personal portfolio. 

2022 was an ugly year for digital assets—and boy, do I mean disastrous. It was a perfect storm of project blow-ups, corporate fraud, the market crashing, exchanges going bankrupt, and regulatory scrutiny.

The digital asset ecosystem has much work to do to overcome these unfortunate events. That said, I’m still SUPER BULLISH. I’ll give you 12 reasons why, as found in this excellent piece, which I encourage all of you to read. This piece blew my mind! 

Crypto Use Cases: 12 Real-World Stories of How Millions of People Are Using Crypto Services Today

I’m also optimistic because of growing user and institutional demand, hedging bad government and CBDCs, DeFi’s potential, and, ultimately, how digital assets will improve the world. 

 Maybe that’s why Bitcoin is having an incredible year. 

 To that end, a 1% to 5% allocation to digital assets is wise, and Yale agrees with me. I’ve learned from previous bear markets that now is the time to invest because no one is paying attention when things are bad, and going against the crowd is hard. I’ve found that these rough patches are when the seeds of future innovation are sown.  

 Also, I’m pleased to report that I’ve recently earned the Certificate in Blockchain and Digital Assets created by the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals. I’m committed to providing you with high-quality digital asset advice that’s always in your best interest. 

Resources
Bitwise Investments Insights
Arbor Digital (they help me implement digital assets for clients)

Dave’s Picks
a-ha – Take On Me (Dance Video) @Ghetto.Spider (fun vid’ o’ the month)
JVKE – golden hour (track o’ the month)
Sidewalk Money by Meb Faber (read o’ the month)