Macro Perspective
In recent years, we have witnessed a shift away from the US dollar as the dominant currency in international trade, with several nations turning towards alternative currencies or local currencies for their financial settlements.
📟 Disclaimer
I am not a financial advisor, and nothing I say in this substack is financial advice.
This is all educational content you can use as a starting off point for your own research initiatives. I’m just another random individual who started a substack ‘cause I think I have something to share with you all’. 🤷
That said, if you’d like to know a bit about me and are wondering why you should listen to me, read this intro post I wrote 🙌
👛 Wallet Summary
This wallet review is a recurring post. The aim is to post an official update every Monday and see how far I can grow this little stash by week 52.
As of April 3rd, 09:00 UTC this tiny stash of mine sits at a modest value of $3808 USD, dubbed week 28 closing balance & week 29 opening balance.
Week Zero(0) Opening Balance Was: $450
Before I dive further, I want to apologize for my absence in the last two weeks. Things have been busy for me, and I have only now found the time to breathe and write this weekly review. But fear not, as I have returned and am excited to share my recent activity and thoughts on where I see the markets going in the coming weeks and months.
Macro Perspective
In recent years, we have witnessed a shift away from the US dollar as the dominant currency in international trade, with several nations turning towards alternative currencies or local currencies for their financial settlements.
Let's take a look at the timeline of events:
Saudi Arabia enters a trade alliance with China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian nations to reduce their reliance on the US dollar.
China and France complete the first LNG gas trade using Chinese Yuan, marking a significant milestone in ending reliance on the US dollar for energy trades.
China and Brazil agree to settle trades in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar, while the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) begin developing a new currency.
Saudi Arabia partners with China to build a Chinese oil refinery for 83.7 billion yuan ($12.2 billion), while Kenya signs a deal with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to buy oil with Kenyan shillings instead of US dollars.
The President of Kenya urges citizens to get rid of US dollars, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations considers dropping the US dollar, euro, yen, and British pound for local currency financial settlements. Meanwhile, India plans to settle trade in Indian rupees with certain countries instead of US dollars.
The Chinese yuan surpasses the euro to become Brazil's second-largest currency in foreign reserves.
As we can see, there is a clear trend towards diversifying away from the US dollar in global trade, with several nations opting for alternative currencies or local currencies for their financial settlements.
This shift could have significant implications for the global financial system, as the dominance of the US dollar is gradually eroded.
In the world of crypto, this trend towards alternative currencies could be seen as a positive development, as it could lead to greater acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a viable alternative to traditional fiat currencies.
However, it remains to be seen how this shift away from the US dollar will play out in the long term, and whether it will lead to greater instability in the global financial system.
👛 Wallet/Portfolio Review
The past few weeks have been a rollercoaster ride in the world of crypto and finance, and I can't wait to share my experiences and insights with you.
First things first, let's talk about the most exciting event that happened to me recently – the Arbitrum Airdrop. I was lucky enough to receive 1875 ARB tokens, which were worth around $3321.74 USD at the time.
On the day of the release, the token soared as high as $9.00 per ARB token, which meant that if I had sold them then, I would have made approximately $10,000 USD.
That's a whole lot of money, and it's hard to believe that I started this wallet review with just $450-$500 USD. To be at $11,000+ within 28 weeks would’ve been an incredible achievement.
Even Warren Buffet hasn't given those kinds of returns! Nonetheless, we'll settle for our current value of $3,800, which is still up approximately 800% from where we all started.
Looking back, it's hard to believe that my first ever post on this channel was about the Arbitrum Airdrop back in October.
If you've followed my journey since then, you've probably also grown your portfolio at least eightfold, and some of you might have even outperformed me. I'm truly proud of you all and wish you nothing but the best gains this market has to offer.
That said, I'd like to urge you to share your knowledge and introduce your friends and family to DeFi primitives. Teach them the path to becoming their own financial advisors, and help them secure their financial futures.
Now, let's talk about what I did with my ARB tokens. I sold around 75 ARB tokens and cashed out immediately. I then sent those tokens to my Wealthsimple cash card so that I could have some money for Ramen and Rice (you gotta treat yourself, right?).
After that, I swapped some tokens for ETH and opened up Liquidity Pools on Camelot's Dex, a new DEX that is aiming to become an Arbitrum native DEX.
I primarily opened up these pools and locked up some tokens because I anticipate a whole lot of activity in ETH & ARB pools. High-volume leads to high fees, so naturally, I want in on the action.
Plus, I trust a liquidity pool's ability to buy and sell and gain me some fees over me trying to watch the market day in and day out to find the ideal top and bottom for the ARB TOKEN PRICE.
Lastly I staked 150 ARB tokens on PlutusDAO to take advantage of the Approx. 25% ROI.
At the end of the day, the goal is to put in similar amounts of effort to managing your personal traditional finance accounts and beat that benchmark by an obscene amount to show how archaic the current financial rails are and how easy it can be to plan personal finance and discipline.
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this review and found it insightful. Don't forget to stay tuned for more updates on the crypto and finance world, and as always, stay curious and stay hungry for knowledge.
🪤 Outro
Of course, it goes without saying but bears repeating that nothing I say or share here is financial advice. I’m just another random individual starting a substack ‘cause I think I have something to share with you all’. 🤷
Also, like many individuals who are doing this for a living I also am a humble penniless fool. So, if you are a kind, bountiful, and gifted individual who has benefited from this S#!t Postery and wish to buy this S#!t Poster of yours a coffee, Some drip money would definitely be appreciated and will help to keep my fingers going on this mechanical keyboard of mine.
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