Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend! Check out the content below + updated site features:

• Check out what the machine learning model thinks of ANY idea - completely free and private! Simply submit it HERE

“Numbers don’t lie, people do.” - Ernie Lindsey

Translation: Humans love narratives and story-telling - it’s in our nature. But humans are also driven by incentives (greed, fear, etc.), and often those motives don’t align with others. The net of it is, look at the raw data (numbers) and make judgments/interpretations for yourself… humans will likely spin data/stories in a way that is self-serving.

Finance

• The Fraying of the US Global Currency Reserve System [Article]

  • Recap: Lyn lays out the history of our monetary system, where we currently are (~end of petrodollar system), and the most likely path ahead (weaker USD; transition toward new system)

  • Comment: Long article, but a must read. A weaker dollar call is one thing (we’ve had it) - it's pretty consensus now, but certainly has investing implications. A change in the currency system is another - we are at a significant turning point... you need to be ready

Blockchain

• Why Does Bitcoin Have Value? [Article]

  • Recap: ‘Bitcoin’s value obtains from its underlying technology, which is an open-source ledger that keeps track of ownership rights and permits the transfer of these rights. Bitcoin managed to bundle its unit of account with a payment system that lives on the ledger. That’s its innovation and why it obtained a value and that value continues to rise... Bitcoin emerged exactly like every other currency, from salt to gold, did. People found the payment system useful, and the attached accounting was portable, divisible, fungible, durable, and scarce’

  • Comment: A more 'academic' perspective on why Bitcoin has value - the author provides useful analogies and historical context that may help you better understand how Bitcoin fits in. Bitcoin isn't just a 'currency,' but a payment network; Blockchain tech solved the Byzantine's generals' problem.

Technology

• Stripe: Platform of Platforms [Article]

  • Recap: Ben at Stratechery digs into Stripe's new product - Stripe Treasury - the true beginning of banking-as-a-service... a game changer in the industry, as Stripe builds out it's platform capabilities + critical partner integrations (Shopify)

  • Comment: Stripe is one of the simplest, but most innovative and disruptive companies out there. Banks will continue to lose ownership of the customer, and become commoditized/disintermediated over time.. we love what Stripe is doing; fits perfectly into our "democratization" / removal of rent-seeking middlemen theme

CrowdCent Thoughts & Predictions

• Site continues to expand, check out new crypto-asset posts here: ETH, BTC, NMR

• Any suggestions for CC Curation improvement, website, etc. - send an email to info@crowdcent.com

Look forward to more updates soon - the future is here...

Best,

Jason & Ryan

Website: CrowdCent

Twitter: @CrowdCent

Telegram: Link