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To investors,
Culture is a hard thing to describe. Most people know it when they see it though. Culture influences what we think and how we act. Some aspects are derived from hundreds of years of history, while other aspects are created by athletes, celebrities, musicians, or the media. Culture surrounds us and is the invisible hand guiding much of our lives.
One of the most surprising evolutions of culture in recent years is the renewed interest in money and finance. The world was obsessed with Wall Street, the stock market, and the pursuit of riches more than two decades ago. As that interest waned, culture moved on to other topics. The catastrophic events of the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis brought attention back to Wall Street, but it was the type of negativity that gave rise to Occupy Wall Street and other anti-capitalism movements.
After a few years of intense hatred, culture appeared to move on to other things again. The 2017 bull market in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies set off another cycle of cultural obsession with money and finance though. This initial interest was almost exclusively rooted in capitalistic pursuits of profit.
Just as the cyclical interest was scheduled to expire, including a multi-year bear market in crypto assets, the pandemic struck and governments around the world intervened in markets with immense amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus.
These actions created volatility in asset prices, pushed inflation to 40 year highs, and renewed the cultural obsession with money and finance. It is hard to ignore how pervasive these conversations and ideas have become across various aspects of society.
For example, there is a viral video of UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell that has been circulating recently. He shares an unfiltered perspective on the Federal Reserve and the perceived negative impact the organization has on the average American.
Mitchell isn’t the only UFC fighter who has been voicing his opinion on these types of topics. UFC fighter Matt Brown recently started talking about bitcoin in an interview, including his views on why a decentralized, digital currency is important in the fight for personal freedom.
But this renewed interest in money and finance across culture is not just within the UFC. We have seen numerous NFL players ask to be paid in bitcoin, including Aaron Rodgers, Russell Okung, Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr, and many others. These announcements of bitcoin payment have almost always been accompanied by some sort of bitcoin giveaway as well.
There are dedicated Twitter accounts that have been created to highlight the absurdities that are playing out across economics and politics. The most notable one is called “Clown World,” which has amassed 150,000+ followers in a short period of time.
Athletes and social media aren’t the only place where we are seeing the cultural obsession. Soulja Boy, one of the top hip hop artists, created an entire song called “Bitcoin” that included these opening lyrics:
Man this going crazy the crypto currency man
Man, aye
I made 100 racks off of bitcoin (bit)
You can catch me trapping with the bitcoin (bit)
You can catch me running up the bitcoin (yeah)
I spent 6,000 on the bitcoin
Bitcoin, bitcoin, I got big coins, big coins (yeah)
Big coins, I got big coins
I spent 6,000 on a bitcoin (on a bitcoin)
I made 100 racks off of bitcoin
I got on a computer and bought a bitcoin (bit)
I be so fresh when I pull up new foreigns (yeah)
Baby girl left her boyfriend he too boring (woah)
Stacking up bitcoins I got money pouring (oou)
I'm doing shows [?] feeling me (oou)
I'm running up the bands, on crypto currency
Send it through the paypal, or the cash app (yeah)
Send it through the bitcoin watch my bands stack (yeah)
Not exactly a subtle reference to the digital currency.
I could show example after example. It is hard to ignore the realities that majority of Americans are facing in the current economic environment. Gas prices continue to hit all-time highs. Inflation is the highest it has been in decades. Wage growth isn’t keeping up with what is necessary for people to avoid falling behind.
Add in the fact that more information is available than ever before and you get a recipe for an educated population who wants to have their voice heard. Culture is the ultimate memetic engine. When the suits and bankers are talking about money, finance, inflation, and asset prices, no one really cares. But the second that athletes, musicians, and celebrities start talking about it, a big portion of people begin to care.
Culture is accelerating the adoption of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. This doesn’t even account for the rise in NFTs and other aspects of the industry. The technology revolution is underway and those that drive culture will continue to bring awareness and interest. This is when escape velocity is reached, we transition from early adopters to the mainstream population, and there is no putting the genie back in the bottle.
The game is changing. Culture has embraced the new world. Now we just have to sit back and allow time to pass. Momentum will take care of the rest. Hope each of you has a great end to your week. I’ll talk to everyone on Monday.
-Pomp
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Culture Is Fueling Interest In Money And Finance