This editorial is from last week’s edition of the newsletter Week in Review. Subscribe to the newsletter to get this weekly editorial the second it’s finished. The newsletter also includes the biggest stories of the week with a comment on each story.
Powell's Legacy, the Ethics of 'Doxing', and Uptober or Rektober
This article was published more than a year ago. Some information may no longer be current.
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Key Takeaways:
- The week’s biggest macro question was whether the Fed has truly brought inflation under control, or whether easing risks a new wave of reinflation despite official data suggesting price pressures are cooling.
- Crypto discourse was dominated by two controversies: HBO’s widely mocked attempt to identify Satoshi Nakamoto as Peter Todd, and backlash over ZachXBT exposing wallets allegedly tied to memecoin promoter Murad Mahmudov.
- The SEC continued its aggressive stance toward the crypto industry, with Crypto.com suing the agency over alleged regulatory overreach and Cumberland DRW facing charges for operating as an unregistered crypto securities dealer.
Inflation, Memecoin drama, the SEC, and More
The Fed’s easing cycle suggests Powell & co are confident inflation’s under control. Fittingly, we had Truflation co-founder Cameron Lee on Token Narratives, where the BLS’s bizarre inflation adjustment metrics came up. It reminded me of pseudonymous X account Rudy Havenstein’s many posts ridiculing the BLS, including this one showing used car prices were flat for 25 years. Now that’s some financial trickery.
It begs the question, has Powell tamed inflation, or is he the second coming of Arthur Burns? Bob Elliot, CIO of Unlimited Funds, thinks conditions are right for reinflation.
Two stories took up a lot of oxygen on CT this week. HBO released their highly anticipated Satoshi Nakamoto documentary in which they suggested Peter Todd is the crypto industry’s progenitor. By all accounts, this suggestion garnered nothing short of derision from everyone including Todd himself.
Then there was Zachxbt, a blockchain sleuth lauded for exposing countless scammers and nerdowells connected to the crypto space, who revealed a slew of wallets alleged to belong to current crypto darling and memecoin cheerleader Murad Mahmudov. Zach defended his actions, claiming this was to hold Murad publicly accountable for his memecoin shills, since memecoins are highly volatile and it can be easy to dump on followers. Many online accounts bemoaned Zach’s actions, equating this somewhat hyperbolically to “doxing.” I think if you are shilling memecoins, it should be acceptable for people to expose your heavy bags.
Two high-profile news stories this week showcased the SEC’s renewed attack on crypto. First, Crypto.com revealed it received a Well’s Notice in August and has preemptively sued the SEC for overreach. Second, the SEC has charged Cumberland DRW, a Chicago-based firm, for operating as an unregistered dealer of crypto assets deemed securities.
Meanwhile, there was further evidence that crypto’s bad actors get jailed, an outcome I support, while traditional finance gets slaps on the wrist. TD Bank will pay $3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels. Seriously?
Let’s end on a positive note. The graph in this X post from me indicates that every year mainstream or non- crypto interest in Bitcoin bottoms around the end of September and rises through the fourth quarter into the new year. Is this cope, or do the normies not yet know Uptober is here?
-David Sencil
Do you think this is Uptober or Rektober? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
