Crypto, Gold, and the Macro Setup with James Foord

Two Goldbugs who also like Bitcoin walk into a bar...

This month for the BCR podcast I spoke with James Foord. He's the founder and analyst operating the Digital Trend. While James is theoretically running a competing service, it was very fun getting to pick the brain of another crypto-focused analyst during this brutal bear market. In the convo, we discussed his background, The Digital Trend service, some of the alts that James likes, and the broad macro setup that all risk assets have to grapple with.

You can listen to the episode on Spotify.

Time codes below are approximate.

01:00 - Background, introduction to finance and Bitcoin.

03:00 - I spent too much time talking about me

07:00 - Understanding the miners.

08:00 - James' thoughts on a possible Bitcoin bottom. Looking at realized cap figures possibly puts the bottom at $13.5k in BTC.

09:30 - Different macro setup

11:00 - Ethereum future and weighting to the asset. James has mixed feelings on the shift to PoS.

13:00 - Thoughts on Ripple, seems to see it as more of a tool for the banks.

16:00 - The importance of Bitcoin remaining Proof of Work rather than Proof of Stake. Why PoS works for other chains.

17:00 - Concerns about Binance

18:30 - What to like about Cardano

20:30 - Views on fundamentals and technical analysis in crypto. Understanding the technology behind any chain is important. Tokenomics are key as well.

23:00 - Thoughts on DeFi and liquidity providing

24:00 - The value of ThorChain, thinking like the consumer

27:00 - The convenience problem with self-custody

31:00 - James' thoughts on the broad macro setup

35:00 - I asked James if US treasuries are getting interesting yet

38:00 - Bottoming catalysts to look for?

40:00 - Which coin is one that might not make it? James names one with a top 20 market cap.

I enjoyed the conversation quite a bit and I hope to chat with James again in the future. If you're not already subscribing to his service, you can check it out here.

Of course, you should also subscribe to my Seeking Alpha research product BlockChain Reaction for the full version of this episode as well as the complete episode archive, Top Toke Ideas, and access to my crypto portfolio.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the following podcast are those of myself and my guest. None of this is investment advice or a solicitation for you to buy any financial instrument. I am not a licensed investment advisor. This content is for information purposes only. This episode was recorded on December 12th 2022.