I was walking outside my office the other day and I came across this little guy making his (or her) way across the sidewalk. It was strange to me because Michigan has been in a bit of a cold spell. By this time I would have expected most bees to be hibernating or whatever it is they do in the Winter, but here this little one was out and about.
It got me thinking about the fact that while physical Winter is approaching for many of us in the US, we are finally starting to see crypto Winter recede a bit. It's great to see busy bees at work doing their best to prepare for what is coming next. Whatever that may be.
It is time again for another Finance Friday/Friday Finance. This is a series I started where I talk about random bits of financial stuff that I have seen, gathered, or experienced during the week. I hope as a reader you find it informational, entertaining, or both. I also hope it can generate some good discussion and edify the Leo community.
You'd have to be living under a rock not to notice that BTC has been on a bit of a tear lately. I agree with many others about the fact that these Spot ETF's that will likely be approved soon are driving a lot of this.
Just as we saw the whole Terra and FTX debacles deliver a bear market beyond our wildest dreams, the loosening by the SEC and the coming flood of institutional money into crypto might give us a bull market that we can't even fathom.
There are outside factors now at play which are changing the landscape of what we have come to expect from the four year cycle.
Delistings
I saw an article the other day where they were talking about how many exchanges are delisting tokens at a record pace this year. We all knew that the hundreds if not thousands of tokens out there were likely to survive, but it seems we might finally be entering that phase where the flock is being weeded out.
It's estimated close to 3500 tokens have been delisted or are close to being delisted in the near future. I don't feel this is necessarily a bad thing for crypto. I think we need tokens with real use cases and there is plenty of room to support thousands of tokens that provide that.
Creating a token just to say you have a token is in my opinion foolish and detrimental to the overall space. Seeing those tokens fold is a really good thing in my book.
Why does tech hate crypto
It still continues to baffle me the amount of disdain that the tech world seems to have for crypto. I'm currently sitting in a hotel room at a tech conference and I've made it not secret my love and commitment to cryptocurrency. Some people seem to be interested in it and ask me if I have any current info on it, but others seem disinterested or openly dismissive about it.
I was in a session today where they were talking about how a vendor is going to start using blockchain to verify authenticity and security of certain software solutions. In my many years attending this conference, this is the first time I have heard blockchain being brought up in a public setting without me being the one to do it. In a favorable light as well!
Try that in any other tech forum and you likely won't get the same results. As tech nerds we are supposed to be on the bleeding edge of the new and exciting. If you know anything about the Internet, you have to see the parallels and realize that if you remain skeptical, you are likely on the losing side of history.
The Puzzle Master
I've been reading a book lately called "The Puzzle Master" by Danielle Trussoni. It's been a pretty good read so far. I am only about halfway through it, but one of the things I love about it is the fact that I believe it is a stand alone novel. It seems like many times these days books are part of a series and in a stroke of genius Amazon gives you the first one free to get you hooked, but then you end up spending a small fortune to get the rest of the story.
That shouldn't be the case here.
I mention this book because first of all I have found it rather enjoyable. Second, it has some sections in it that address cryptocurrency, blockchain, and cryptography. It does this in a way that isn't negative and I think it lends to the story really well. I actually think 
The style feels really similar to some of the stuff I have read by him and I really dig it! I think you should check it out if you get the chance. Like I said, I am only halfway through, so if it ends up sucking, don't get too mad at me!
I have a feeling we have some wild twists and turns ahead of us. If these spot ETF's fall in line with the lunar new year, who knows what might happen. It's about to get a little cray cray I think!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or 