I'm not. With each interview I watch, he either describes a business practice I am familiar with or he mentions something new. If it's new, I research it and try to understand it so the next time it is mentioned, I will have a basic understanding of the concept.

For example, this week I learned about the multiple functions of FTX: crypto exchange, market maker, broker-dealer, lender, and custodian.

In traditional finance, no one firm could offer all those services. The inherent conflicts-of-interest, self-dealing, and investor risks would be too great.

When I started paying attention to crypto last year, I did not understand those functions. Heck, I was a starry-eyed enthusiast who believed crypto, blockchain, decentralized finance, NFTs, and the metaverse were going to change the world and our little real estate corner.

My views have evolved. After watching massive wealth destruction caused by crypto companies led by unsavory characters, I now view crypto as a set of valuable tools that will only gain acceptance once the risks are understood and, where appropriate, properly regulated.

Today, I watched a Senate hearing and was heartened by what many Senators said. They believe in crypto's potential and feel urgency to craft smart legislation. Also, I'm encouraged that in the midst of the latest crypto bankruptcies, the crypto market's volatility has narrowed. Perhaps crypto is transitioning from a highly volatile speculative investment with a $3T market cap to an $855B stable asset positioned for wide adoption and growth.

We'll see. However, there's one thing that I'm sure about. The industry is in its infancy.

Stay Crypto Curious!

- Rich

P.S. Subscribe to stay updated every week for more Crypto News for Realtors!

Continue Reading the Crypto News for Realtors: https://www.richhopen.blog/post/crypto-news-for-realtors-issue-44

Or you can subscribe to my blog on RichHopen.blog to read my weekly newsletter or my YouTube channel if you want to watch & listen!

Follow me:

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkVPyULRFz-G5d2wX2O9lg/videos

Twitter- https://twitter.com/rhopen/

Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardhopen

Referenced in the show:

https://www.richhopen.blog/

I’m Rich Hopen, the creator of Crypto News for Realtors and a real estate broker with Compass in NJ.

Throughout the week, I monitor the crypto news in major news and crypto publications, listen to crypto podcasts, and follow the crypto influencers on social. I sift through it all and write a weekly newsletter with about 1,000 active subscribers and a 73% open rate. I write the Crypto Corner for Inman. I’ve given crypto presentations to real estate offices around the US.

I do this because

1) Crypto is complex, fascinating, and evolving quickly, and I believe crypto is going to change our economy and real estate,

2) It’s early days in crypto and I want to position myself as the crypto leader in MY real estate market, and

3) I want to share what I’m learning so you can be the crypto leader in your market.

If you enjoy Crypto News for Realtors, please give me a RATE/REVIEW and SHARE it with a friend you think would enjoy it too!

Over the past 42 weeks, I’ve documented the rise of crypto, the short-lived excitement of using NFTs to purchase houses, the sudden collapse of several exchanges during the summer that decimated the crypto market, and crypto's transformation from an asset that was a hedge against inflation to one that followed the S&P.

During this volatile time, crypto news found a new face for crypto. Instead of the relatively reclusive founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, the media started profiling 30-year old Sam Bankman-Fried ("SBF").

Bankman-Fried was the CEO of the $32B crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.

He built a personal brand of a nerdy, brilliant, crypto leader whose mission was to bring crypto to the masses and redefine finance. SBF dressed the part – shorts, t-shirts, wild head of curls. He was on the cover of influential magazines, such as Fortune. He shared a stage with Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. He projected an anti-greed capitalist image by embracing the new Effective Altruism philosophy of earning as much money as possible, living modestly, and donating everything else to help others.

When SBF was interviewed, he didn't come across as arrogant or disingenuous. He seemed brilliant, likable, and most-importantly, trustworthy. SBF used his money and fame to gain access to Washington's power brokers. He met with leaders and staff of the SEC and CFTC, US Senators and Representatives. And then.... poof. It was all gone.

In a shockingly short period of time, FTX, Alameda Research, and the 100 plus other entities controlled by Bankman-Fried went into bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried was fired. The impact of FTX's failure on the crypto industry will be profound.

So in this issue of Crypto News for Realtors, I will unpack what happened in detail.

Stay Crypto Curious!
- Rich

P.S. Subscribe to stay updated every week for more Crypto News for Realtors!

Continue Reading the Crypto News for Realtors: https://www.richhopen.blog/post/crypto-news-for-realtors-issue-42

Or you can subscribe to my blog on RichHopen.blog to read my weekly newsletter or my YouTube channel if you want to watch & listen!

Follow me:

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkVPyULRFz-G5d2wX2O9lg/videos

Twitter- https://twitter.com/rhopen/

Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardhopen

Referenced in the show:

https://www.richhopen.blog/

I’m Rich Hopen, the creator of Crypto News for Realtors and a real estate broker with Compass in NJ.

Throughout the week, I monitor the crypto news in major news and crypto publications, listen to crypto podcasts, and follow the crypto influencers on social. I sift through it all and write a weekly newsletter with about 1,000 active subscribers and a 73% open rate. I write the Crypto Corner for Inman. I’ve given crypto presentations to real estate offices around the US.

I do this because

1) Crypto is complex, fascinating, and evolving quickly, and I believe crypto is going to change our economy and real estate,

2) It’s early days in crypto and I want to position myself as the crypto leader in MY real estate market, and

3) I want to share what I’m learning so you can be the crypto leader in your market.

If you enjoy Crypto News for Realtors, please give me a RATE/REVIEW and SHARE it with a friend you think would enjoy it too!

This week is full of crypto news and even though the year is ending, the news is ramping up!

1) Chief Twit Elon Musk Will Remake Twitter
2) SEC Charges Trade Coin Club Founder and Promoters
3) NY Fed Tests Digital Currency Speed

Stay Crypto Curious!
- Rich

P.S. Subscribe to stay updated every week for more Crypto News for Realtors videos!

Continue Reading the Crypto News for Realtors: https://www.richhopen.blog/post/crypto-news-for-realtors-40

Or you can subscribe to my blog on RichHopen.blog to read my weekly newsletter or my YouTube channel if you want to watch & listen!

Follow me:

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkVPyULRFz-G5d2wX2O9lg/videos

Twitter- https://twitter.com/rhopen/

Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardhopen

Referenced in the show:

https://www.richhopen.blog/

I’m Rich Hopen, the creator of Crypto News for Realtors and a real estate broker with Compass in NJ.

Throughout the week, I monitor the crypto news in major news and crypto publications, listen to crypto podcasts, and follow the crypto influencers on social. I sift through it all and write a weekly newsletter with about 1,000 active subscribers and a 73% open rate. I write the Crypto Corner for Inman. I’ve given crypto presentations to real estate offices around the US.

I do this because

1) Crypto is complex, fascinating, and evolving quickly, and I believe crypto is going to change our economy and real estate,

2) It’s early days in crypto and I want to position myself as the crypto leader in MY real estate market, and

3) I want to share what I’m learning so you can be the crypto leader in your market.

If you enjoy Crypto News for Realtors, please give me a RATE/REVIEW and SHARE it with a friend you think would enjoy it too!