Editor's note: Just because the underlying conditions are beginning to resemble preludes to past adverse market events doesn't mean the same or a similar event is imminent. In fact it may not mean anything at all. But whatever it does or doesn't mean, in the short-intermediate and long term, it can't help but strengthen the need for an "untouchable" store of value. That is the real subject of this weekend's update. On Friday I sent our a cautionary update that addressed the drop of the DJIA on the heels of a volatile news cycle toward the end of the week. It had reminded me of the Friday before Black Monday. Then things took a turn for the worse. After the market closed Robinhood announced that going forward customers would be limited to as little as one share of a list of 50 stocks, also severely curtailing the number of options that can be bought on those same stocks. It feels as though something bad is about to go down at Robinhood, a capital crisis of sorts that could ripple through to a larger financial stage. It's no longer Black Monday that has me worried, its a repeat of the 2000 dot.com crash and/or the 2007-2008 subprime mortgage crisis that led to the fall of Lehman Brothers and collapse of Bear Sterns. Both time periods saw equity markets decline by about 50%, but also in both cases the ultimate market lows created buying opportunities of a lifetime. Nonetheless, first came the pain. The good news is that if a crisis of that magnitude were to hit our financial system, Bitcoin, GBTC and MSTR should all go through the roof. Except there is no roof over Bitcoin. It's digital, it's finite, and it is invisible; it can't be confiscated by third party financial institutions, unscrupulous clearing houses, or an insolvent central bank. Even if it were to somehow be regulated, that would only work to "legitimize" it in the purview of global financial institutions and create mind-boggling demand across all sectors of society. Even if nothing comes of this weekend scenario the case for Bitcoin can only be strengthened, a phenomenon unfolding as the dominant investment theme of 2021...and beyond.
