Stocks Grind Slightly Higher; Bitcoin, Gold, Silver on a Break; Crypto vs. MSM; Collectibles FTW?

It appears that the incredible rise of Bitcoin over the past two months is leveling off and there could be further downside, but, as is the case with just about any investment these days, downside risk is a clear and present danger whether it be stocks, fixed income, precious metals, commodities, or baseball cards. Bitcoin offers significant upside in relation to fiat currencies, so this recent stalling and roughly 28% drop is likley nothing to cause worry. Six months from now, this is likely to appear as nothing more than a blip on the longer-term radar screen.

Nothing in the current environment serves as a safe haven because there continues to exist extreme political pressure and lack of price discovery in many asset classes. Probably the most free from manipulation are cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherium, collectibles - which have their own immunity system built in from years of data and avid traders - and commodities, while on the other end are stocks (which only seem to go up) and precious metals (which only seem to go down).

Putting money to work in these times, where political, social, and financial events are being compressed into a tight-knit control regime, is challenging and possibly detrimental to longer-term goals. While it's difficult to focus beyond the horizon, it's what is keeping most sane investors from tearing out hair and running wildly down the street screaming "I can't take it any more."

Short-term, markets are very messy. In particular, the NASDAQ, guided, as it is by tech oligopolies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft (the FAAMGs) has seen days and weeks of erratic activity and recently has been whipsawed in the wake of the ongoing censorship purge.

At this moment, what's probably the best space for safety purposes is in collectibles. Coins, stamps, comic books, trading cards, art, antiques, and especially things that could actually have real life usefulness like depression-era glassware, sterling silver flatware, old tools, and so forth. Nobody knows, but in the case of a total global meltdown, those items that have useful applications could contribute as life-sustaining elements in addition to being prized possessions.

Outside of complete capitulation of the US dollar, collectibles maintain a unique posture among tradable assets. They're ultimately divisible - think baseball card collections - retain value well and, unlike many other assets mentioned here, have well-developed price discovery mechanisms.

So, instead of scouring stock boards, crypto messages, and coin shops, perhaps the best investments can be found at garage sales and flea markets. Aks anyone who collects anything tangible and they're sure to have a story about a great deal found at a thrift store, yard sale, or other off-the-beaten-path venue.

It pays to be diversified into several asset classes instead of the old 60-40 (stocks-fixed income) rule that many investment advisors are still employing for their clients. That's eventually going to fail. The new breed of investor is into all manner of asset diversification, with varied percentages of real estate, stocks, bonds, physical commodities, collectibles and art, crypto, and even sustainability items like solar panels (best ever hedge), canned goods, energy and water supplies.

This is a new world whether the deep state "Great Reset" comes to fruition or not. While the Klaus Schwaub adherents (download "COVID-19: The Great Reset" here [PDF] instead of paying for it on Amazon) feel comfortable in their castles in the sky above the rabble (us), there continues to be unrest among the populations being subjected to censorship, lockdowns, restricted movement, pushed to take unproven "poisonous" vaccines, and other nasty, harmful measures. The plebes are eventually revolt against the elite and that's not going to be pretty. It always happens. The ruling class overreaches and people just want to be left alone, so they're forced into rebellion. The natives, as they say, are restless.

In conclusion to today's mini-treatise on the human condition and implications for investors, keep thinking with a clear mind, don't let the mainstream media guide you because they are propagandists and liars, and be free to do your own things.

Here's a video from Altcoin Daily, focused on the relationship of mainstream media - specifically, CNBC's Jim Cramer - to Bitcoin. This is the first inclusion of a video from this source. Being that it's excellent, expect more in the future.

Just a note on the Cramer part of the video above: the mainstream, like the central banks (Fed, ECB, BOJ, etc.) have lost control of many elements of the financial system, such as interest rates. Bitcoin and crypto in general they have no control over, so all they can do is "jawbone." it's a sure sign of desperation that when things aren't going as they planned, they start to come out of hiding and into the light, making recommendations with faulty analyses, making spurious claims that cannot be supported by facts. It's best to fade them and stay ahead of the game.

At the Close, Tuesday, January 12, 2021:
Dow: 31,068.69, +59.99 (+0.19%)
NASDAQ: 13,072.43, +36.03 (+0.28%)
S&P 500: 3,801.19, +1.58 (+0.04%)
NYSE: 15,010.29, +72.29 (+0.48%)