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The Trade War Has Crushed Crypto: 1 Cryptocurrency That Could Still Win | The Motley Fool

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The Trade War Has Crushed Crypto: 1 Cryptocurrency That Could Still Win | The Motley Fool

Crypto prices have collapsed as President Donald Trump’s trade war has expanded. Across the board, crypto prices are down for the year, and many show little sign of recovery anytime soon.

Against a backdrop of escalating tariffs, investors are moving from risky assets to less risky assets, and that makes any cryptocurrency an easy candidate to drop from a portfolio. But there’s one cryptocurrency that could still win, and that’s Bitcoin (BTC -0.19%).

Bitcoin as digital gold

During the past 30 days, Bitcoin is up 14%, primarily due to the revival of the digital gold investment thesis. In the eyes of many investors, Bitcoin is starting to behave just like physical gold, and that makes it extraordinarily valuable. During times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, Bitcoin could be a potential store of value.

While there is still skepticism about this digital gold thesis, there is also a growing body of evidence to suggest that Bitcoin holds up even better than gold during moments of peak economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Last September, BlackRock issued a 10-page report, titled as “Bitcoin As a Unique Diversifier,” that examined six different external shocks to the world economy that occurred between 2020 and 2024, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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In five of six cases, Bitcoin performed better than gold over the long haul. And in half of the cases, Bitcoin performed better than gold over both the short term and long term. So that gives me a lot of confidence that Bitcoin can still be a winner, even if the trade war escalates further. As investors come to grips with the consequences of tariffs, they are likely to turn to Bitcoin as a store of value. That could explain why Bitcoin has started to rally during the past 30 days.

Institutional adoption

The second major factor is a ramp-up in institutional adoption of Bitcoin during the past 18 months, thanks primarily to the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last year. They have now hauled in more than $100 billion from investors looking for an easy way to get exposure to Bitcoin.

Arguably, these Bitcoin ETFs, which started trading back in January 2024, were the most successful new product launch from Wall Street in decades. And they are attracting all sorts of investors. First were the hedge funds. Then came the big Wall Street investment banks. And then came the first wave of big institutional investors, such as pension funds. Next up could be big sovereign wealth funds.

At the same time, another form of institutional adoption is coming from within the U.S. government. Trump campaigned on a pro-crypto platform, and has already taken several steps to advance Bitcoin adoption within the U.S. The centerpiece move was the creation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve back in March, which officially designates Bitcoin as a national strategic asset.

Bitcoin as a new reserve currency?

The current uncertainty around tariffs has a lot of smart people on Wall Street talking about the potential demise of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of the world. The dollar is now trading at three-year lows, U.S. equities are down sharply, and long-term Treasury yields are on the rise. Combined, this starts to paint a picture that investors are getting out of dollar-denominated assets.

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Image source: Getty Images.

The fancy term for this is “de-dollarization,” and it refers to a world in which the U.S. dollar eventually loses its reserve currency status. With that in mind, one currency that is now being talked about as a potential replacement for the U.S. dollar is Bitcoin. It’s global, it’s non-sovereign, and it is not tied to the specific economic fortunes of any country.

Admittedly, this scenario is likely a long way off, but it hints at the long-term staying power of Bitcoin and its growing importance to the global financial system. It also suggests that, even in a worst-case meltdown of the global economy, Bitcoin might still be a winner.

Bitcoin as a portfolio diversification tool

As BlackRock pointed out last year in its report, Bitcoin has a very unique risk-reward profile. In some ways, it acts as a “risk on” asset. And in other ways, it acts as a “risk off” asset.

Right now, given all the economic uncertainty, I’m less focused on Bitcoin’s “risk on” properties, and more focused on its “risk off” properties. The trade war might have crushed crypto, but it won’t be able to crush Bitcoin.

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Jim Rickards Asked Robert Kiyosaki to Read One Manuscript, Then His View of Global Finance Changed

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Jim Rickards Asked Robert Kiyosaki to Read One Manuscript, Then His View of Global Finance Changed

Key Takeaways

Why Did One Manuscript Change Robert Kiyosaki’s View?

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the best-selling personal finance book Rich Dad Poor Dad, said an advance manuscript of “The Entropy Trap” shared by Jim Rickards prompted him to rethink how he views global finance. Rickards is an economist, lawyer, and financial commentator known for writing about currencies, debt, and systemic market risk. Kiyosaki said the early reading changed his perspective on where the financial system may be headed.

The reaction was framed around a warning about financial change. The book, written by Mickey M. Maini, “blew my mind and opened my eyes to what & why global financial change is coming,” Kiyosaki described. His comments focused on what he described as a shift in the rules behind wealth, assets, and trust.

The central claim is that wealth could move away from people relying on traditional financial assumptions. Kiyosaki asserted:

“The informed will be tomorrow’s ULTRA RICH. Todays uniformed operating by the old rules of money… will become the new poor.”

The Warning Behind the Claim

The warning centers on assets that depend on trust, including U.S. bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and mutual funds. Kiyosaki framed those instruments as vulnerable under the financial shift he says is coming, placing commonly held investment products at the center of the risk.

That claim is severe, but he presented it as a warning rather than a proven outcome. He also pointed to large bondholders, including Japan, saying they have already started dumping U.S. bonds. He did not provide supporting data in the statement.

The acclaimed author shared:

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“Message from book… ‘All assets that require trust, assets that most people have… such as U.S. bonds, ETFs, mutual funds will be flushed down toilets, all over the world.’”

The broader conflict is whether traditional financial assets remain reliable under the conditions Kiyosaki described. His framing divides investors between those preparing for a changed financial system and those still operating under assumptions he says may no longer hold.

What Still Needs to Be Proven

A planned August study session could clarify the warning Kiyosaki described. He said his study team would examine the message and that Rickards may join, though the evidence behind the claims has not yet been laid out.

For now, the warning rests on Kiyosaki’s account of a manuscript that changed his view. He urged readers to prepare, writing:

“I want you to be one of the world’s new rich.”

What remains unknown is whether market data, policy moves, or investor behavior will confirm the risk he described.

His recent commentary has focused on what he describes as fragility in the global monetary system, particularly around the U.S. dollar. He has pointed to rising debt, central bank policies, and inflation as risks that could trigger a sharp market downturn.

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Alongside those concerns, he has repeatedly highlighted bitcoin, gold, and silver as alternative stores of value. In his view, those assets may help reduce exposure to traditional financial instruments during periods of currency weakness and market turbulence.

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Strategy Is No Longer Just Going to “Inoculate the Market,” Selling Crypto May Be Much More Common. Here’s What That Could Mean for the Stock | The Motley Fool

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Strategy Is No Longer Just Going to “Inoculate the Market,” Selling Crypto May Be Much More Common. Here’s What That Could Mean for the Stock | The Motley Fool

When Strategy (MSTR 0.69%) sold a modest amount of Bitcoin earlier this year, it was a noteworthy development given that the company’s business has centered around buying up as much of the cryptocurrency as it can, and vowing to never sell. And it often boasts of being the largest corporate holder of the digital currency.

The company brushed off the sale of 32 Bitcoins, with management saying it simply wanted to “inoculate the market.” Well, now it appears that Strategy is doing much more than just that, and there could be more significant cryptocurrency sales in the future.

Image source: Getty Images.

Strategy unveils a Bitcoin monetization program

On June 29, Strategy released a framework going forward that it says will “enhance liquidity, preserve long-term Bitcoin exposure, and support long-term value creation for shareholders.” Among the notable components is its Bitcoin monetization program.

Within that program, the company says it may sell some of its cryptocurrency holdings for multiple reasons, including to fund a USD reserve, fund dividends or interest expense, or to fund repurchases of digital credit securities or common stock.

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While the company says it remains committed to Bitcoin for the long term and it’s the company’s “primary treasury reserve asset,” it’s a significant change of course for Strategy, which was previously heavily against ever selling the digital asset.

Strategy Stock Quote

Today’s Change

(-0.69%) $-0.69

Current Price

$100.08

The stock is as risky and volatile as ever

Whether or not Strategy buys or sells Bitcoin doesn’t change the fact that this is a highly risky and speculative stock to own. While crypto fans may be disappointed in the company’s change in strategy, selling Bitcoin will likely not be enough to make the business any better or worse as an investment.

In just the past 12 months, the stock has plummeted a whopping 75% as volatility in digital assets has drastically weighed on its earnings, with the company incurring $12.8 billion in losses over the trailing 12 months, on revenue of $490 million.

That’s not likely to change significantly, even if Strategy offloads some of its crypto holdings, because with such a large exposure to Bitcoin, how the cryptocurrency performs will inevitably impact the company’s bottom line in a big way. This year, the leading cryptocurrency is down 28% as investor excitement around it has largely cooled off, which has proven disastrous for Strategy’s stock as well. And at this stage, there’s little reason to anticipate a recovery anytime soon.

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An Easy-to-Miss Radio Traffic Jam Is Behind Many Home WiFi Slowdowns

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An Easy-to-Miss Radio Traffic Jam Is Behind Many Home WiFi Slowdowns

Key Takeaways

Your WiFi can feel rock-solid at midnight and oddly sluggish by breakfast, even when you have not touched a single setting. The culprit is often outside your walls: a crowded slice of public radio spectrum where your router has to negotiate space with every nearby network, plus a grab bag of household gadgets that leak interference. Add peak-hours demand and the signal-blocking quirks of building materials and weather, and “slow internet” starts to look less like a billing issue and more like an invisible traffic problem you are forced to share.

When WiFi slows down without warning

One day your home WiFi feels snappy, the next it drags, even though your router hasn’t moved and your internet plan hasn’t changed. That swing is real, and it’s usually not your imagination or a “bad day” from your ISP. WiFi lives on shared airwaves, and those airwaves get crowded, noisy, and sometimes just plain finicky.

Think of your connection as a conversation in a busy room. Your laptop and router may be talking just fine, but the room itself can fill up fast with other chatter. What looks like a mystery slowdown is often the result of invisible competition and interference that changes hour by hour.

The battle of competing networks

Most homes still rely heavily on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi bands, which are unlicensed spectrum in the US. That “free for everyone” reality is convenient, but it also means your network shares space with your neighbors, their smart TVs, their work laptops, and every nearby router doing the same thing.

Congestion has a rhythm. During common work-from-home and school-from-home windows, especially 8-10 AM, and again in the evening 6-10 PM, more devices are streaming, video calling, syncing, and downloading updates. Even if you pay for fast broadband, your WiFi link can become the bottleneck when the local radio environment gets packed.

Interference inside your home

Your own house can sabotage you. A microwave is the classic culprit because it can leak noise near 2.4 GHz, exactly where many WiFi networks still operate. Older cordless phones, some baby monitors, and even dense clusters of Bluetooth gadgets can add more clutter, especially in smaller apartments where everything sits close together.

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Then there’s physics. Concrete, metal, and even water (think aquariums or thick pipes in walls) absorb and scatter radio signals. A router shoved behind a TV, tucked into a cabinet, or stuck in a far corner forces your devices to “hear” through more obstacles, lowering speeds and making dropouts more likely.

Weather, channels, and what you can do tonight

Environmental changes can matter too. Higher humidity and rain can slightly increase signal loss, and shifting temperatures can change how radio waves propagate around a neighborhood. You might never notice on its own, but paired with congestion it can tip a marginal connection into a frustrating one.

The 2.4 GHz band is also channel-limited. In the US there are 11 channels, but only 1, 6, and 11 don’t overlap. Many routers default to “auto channel,” so nearby networks can hop around trying to escape interference, sometimes creating instability. Practical fixes: prefer 5 GHz (or 6 GHz if you have WiFi 6E/7 gear), place the router centrally and higher up, and use a WiFi analyzer app to pick a less crowded channel instead of leaving it on auto.

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