July 31, 2020
The World’s Most Interesting Man
I have a twin brother – who I shot.
For opening lines, that’s right up there with 1984‘s “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” It shocks you, draws you in, creates intrigue, and compels you to learn more.
Not bad for a line in a cover letter… for a position as a cryptocurrency analyst.
The guy who wrote that was one of my best hires ever – certainly not for his marksmanship or fraternal love, but for his crypto expertise… and, more importantly, for having the background and experience to see (to paraphrase hockey great Wayne Gretzky) “where the puck is going, rather than where it’s been.”
Several years ago, the investment research publishing company I’d founded in Singapore in collaboration with Stansberry Research, launched a highly successful cryptocurrency investment advisory. Our first lead crypto editor was credible, smart, and good at explaining complicated concepts in a straightforward and accessible manner.
Then… he quit. There were no hard feelings. But I needed a new crypto analyst who could guide our tens of thousands of subscribers through the crypto jungle… and help make some of them extraordinarily wealthy.
Back then, the cryptocurrency universe was still in the amoebas-and-plankton stage. People who had done nothing more than bought bitcoin called themselves cryptocurrency veterans… And they weren’t totally stretching the truth.
That wasn’t going to work for me or my subscribers. You won’t get far in the jungle with a guide whose machete is a Swiss army knife, or who dabs lemon juice on his wrists to keep the mosquitoes away. I needed a crypto person who’d been finding treasure in the jungle since the days when it was just a choked backyard with ambition.
Mr. Shot-His-Twin (who is it? I’m getting there…) had already by then owned close to two dozen cryptos. He mined cryptos – and built and sold miners. This guy knew the jungle like most people know their driveway.
But there was a lot more to him. From the same cover letter…
Decades ago, I bought the domain name wallstreet.com for $7 and sold it for over $1 million…
I was a Certified Financial Manager at [a major global brokerage house] and Series 3, 6, 7, 63, and 65 licensed dealing with corporations and high net worth individuals…
I’ve stayed married to the most brilliant, most difficult woman I ever met for 25+ years…
I cut my own hair…
I wrote 12 feature movie scripts. Sold one (twice) to Adam Sandler & Jack Giarraputo. Learned everyone likes a good story.
OK, so with this letter, he’s clearly in competition with the Dos Equis guy for the title of “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”
The only thing his cover letter didn’t have was a resume. As he put it: “I don’t have a recent resume… Instead, I have a two-minute read for you and if you want a resume after that I’ll hire someone to write me one. It will be fantastic.”
Indeed, my brilliant crypto hire Eric Wade didn’t need a formal resume. Our conversations that followed and our extensive vetting made it clear that he’s one of the best analysts in the world…
In fact, he’s made more money for his subscribers than any other investment analyst I’ve ever worked with or come across – both in the investment newsletter business and the investment banking business – in any asset class, market, or country. Anyone who gauges success only after he’s made 200% is using a benchmark that regular investors can only dream of.
Today, Eric is the lead analyst and editor of Stansberry Research’s Crypto Capital investment advisory. I’m proud that I hired Eric into the Stansberry Research fold… and that I’m able to call him a friend today.
One of the things that Eric is particularly good at is triangulating the present to see what’s going to matter tomorrow. Of course, all investors are trying to anticipate the future in one form or another. But Eric does it exceptionally well… And in an arena where the return on your investment is potentially enormous.
And just yesterday, Eric sat down with Stansberry Research founder Porter Stansberry and Director of Research Austin Root to talk about what’s coming next in the crypto world.
Part of the jumping-off point for their conversation relates to one of the big reasons why the United States stands to be one of the “winners” of the coronavirus pandemic. As I explained last month…
As the global reserve currency, the U.S. dollar reigns supreme, and COVID-19 can’t touch that. Roughly 80% of all $100 bills in circulation are now held overseas… up from only 30% in 1980. This dramatic increase of large bills outside the U.S. is a testament to the confidence and security the rest of the world recognizes in the dollar.
The currency reserve status endows to the U.S. what then-French Finance Minister (and future president) Valéry Giscard d’Estaing called an “exorbitant privilege.” He was referring to the advantage enjoyed by the U.S., and its exporters, because of the status of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. As a reserve currency, a country has steady demand from investors globally for its currency – which means it can borrow cheaply, indefinitely.
Except it’s not forever. As Foreign Affairs magazine recently explained,
Before the United States, five countries had held reserve currency status: Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. On average, each lasted 94 years in the leading role. Today, the dollar’s run as a reserve currency is 100 years old. One reason it is likely to endure even a pandemic-induced recession is the absence of viable national rivals, but in the void, new contenders are emerging…
And one of those new contenders? You guessed it – cryptos. Yesterday, Porter, Austin, and Eric talked at length about the evolution of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. If you think, earn, save, and invest in U.S. dollars, you – or your kids and grandkids – have a great deal to lose if the 100-year “curse” of the reserve currency holds true.
But Eric has a plan for how you can protect yourself against that… and even make some huge gains in the process. Now you might think that in order to find investment opportunities with enormous upside potential, Eric pushes his subscribers to take on big risk.
That’s not the case, though. And it’s another reason I hired Eric in the first place. Eric promised me (and I’ve seen him implement it, month in and month out)…
I will literally never risk losing all your customers’ money. Sure, I get it that people say “don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose” – that’s bull**it. Smart people know that’s bull**it. That’s gambling. Investing is not gambling. It can be speculative. That’s different.
And that’s from a guy who shot his twin brother. (Spoiler: As I learned during my first conversation with Eric… it was an accident when they were “idiot teenagers.” Today, Eric’s twin is alive and well.)
Yesterday’s presentation was truly eye-opening about what’s going on right now in America. Eric is sharing a replay for just a few days. Click here to listen to Eric, Porter, and Austin to find out what you need to do to protect your wealth in the days to come.
We’ve featured Eric Wade several times in the pages of American Consequences. If you’re interested in reading more, we suggest these stories…
On Being First… Again and Again
Today, there are about 5,000 cryptos out there, according to Wade. He likes “maybe about 30 of them.” He’s recommended a few dozen to his readers – and his top gain this year is a 1,320% closed trade… despite a lackluster market for cryptos in general.
Become a Blockchain Expert in Less Than Four Minutes
A good analogy is to think of the Bitcoin blockchain as a giant Excel spreadsheet that shows the complete transaction history and location of every bitcoin.
Now here are some of the stories we’re reading…
U.S. economy suffers titanic 32.9% plunge in 2nd quarter
The coronavirus triggers steepest recession since World War Two…
Vaccine Protects Monkeys From COVID With Single Shot
Johnson & Johnson’s experimental coronavirus vaccine protected a group of macaques with a single shot in an early study, prompting the U.S. drugmaker to start trials in humans this month.
Mystery Seeds Postmarked From China to Be Tested by U.S. Officials
Packages appear to be part of retail scam intended to drive sales, says USDA, which advises recipients against planting or disposing of seeds.
Democrats are strongly pushing mail voting. But its pitfalls could boost Trump.
The real danger is a perfect catastrophe of administrative overload, postal delays and voter error that could lead to millions of absentee ballots not counting. And this year, unlike the past, those ballots are likely to be overwhelmingly Democratic.
Read our latest issues of American Consequences by clicking here.
And let us know what you’re reading at [email protected].
Regards,
Kim Iskyan
Chaos Chronicles Editor, American Consequences
With P.J. O’Rourke and the Editorial Staff
July 31, 2020
