This newsletter is sponsored by PHEMEX, the only exchange that I use to trade crypto with leverage. Sign up with the link above and get some free Bitcoin. I really encourage you to check them out - you know that I never endorse a product that I do not use!If the biggest story of last week was the Coinbase listing, then the story of the weekend was the outrageous fake news being perpetuated about early Coinbase investors and executives dumping nearly all of their shares on the market. It did not happen. It could not have happened, and even the most superficial understanding of a direct listing by the people spreading the news could have prevented it. Over the past few weeks, I attempted to clarify the difference between a direct listing and IPO, making videos, writing newsletter and sharing tweets. Yet this weekend, a random twitter account shared a screenshot of a spreadsheet showing the percentage of shares "dumped" on the market by Coinbase insiders. Once again, in a direct listing no new shares are created. Literally the only way for the listing to occur is for existing shareholders to register a percentage of their holdings to sell. There is not market without their shares. But this spreadsheet (which has not even been vetted) showed the percentage of shares sold of those that WERE REGISTERED. NOT OF THE ENTIRE HOLDINGS. So while twitter screamed that Coinbase execs had sold up to 100% of their holdings, these were the real numbers.CFO Alesia Haas sold ~15% of total holdingsCPO Surojit Chatterjee sold ~8% COO Emilie Choi sold ~24%CEO Brian Armstrong sold less than 2%Worse, people were angry that the COO sold 100% of "HIS" shares - and "he" is a woman!This news was tweeted and retweeted thousands of times, even days after it was already proven false. Peter Schiff shared it. Nassim Taleb shared it! These guys obviously should know better.What's worse - after being proven wrong, they all LEFT THE TWEETS UP! They did not even offer clarification in most cases!? Crazy, crazy, crazy. And infuriating.Even if they did sell their shares, who cares? They built a company worth billions of dollars with 10 years of sleepless nights and grinding - who are we to tell them that they should not profit from their efforts? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING. PERIOD. I would have absolutely sold a percentage of my holdings, if I worked my ass off for a decade to build something. Nobody should be able to tell someone when or how they can take profit in a free market.The bottom line? Coinbase executed a flawless direct listing, which was their intention and arguably better for the company and the market. Everything else is fake news. More importantly, regardless of your thoughts on Coinbase as a company, success should be celebrated and cheered - if they do well, we all do well. I am live streaming today with Peng Zhong, CEO of Tendermint, who is largely behind most of what is being built at Cosmos. You guys can ask questions, it's an AMA, so come through and hang out!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdIb6xImS5QIn This Issue:Coinbase FUDBitcoin Thoughts And AnalysisAltcoin ChartsLegacy MarketsDoes Hash Rate Follow Price Or Does Price Follow Hash Rate?Willy Woo Reveals His Bitcoin Price PredictionCBDCs Still A Work In ProgressMy Recommended Platforms And Tools
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The Wolf Den #223 - Coinbase Fake News
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This newsletter is sponsored by PHEMEX, the only exchange that I use to trade crypto with leverage. Sign up with the link above and get some free Bitcoin. I really encourage you to check them out - you know that I never endorse a product that I do not use!If the biggest story of last week was the Coinbase listing, then the story of the weekend was the outrageous fake news being perpetuated about early Coinbase investors and executives dumping nearly all of their shares on the market. It did not happen. It could not have happened, and even the most superficial understanding of a direct listing by the people spreading the news could have prevented it. Over the past few weeks, I attempted to clarify the difference between a direct listing and IPO, making videos, writing newsletter and sharing tweets. Yet this weekend, a random twitter account shared a screenshot of a spreadsheet showing the percentage of shares "dumped" on the market by Coinbase insiders. Once again, in a direct listing no new shares are created. Literally the only way for the listing to occur is for existing shareholders to register a percentage of their holdings to sell. There is not market without their shares. But this spreadsheet (which has not even been vetted) showed the percentage of shares sold of those that WERE REGISTERED. NOT OF THE ENTIRE HOLDINGS. So while twitter screamed that Coinbase execs had sold up to 100% of their holdings, these were the real numbers.CFO Alesia Haas sold ~15% of total holdingsCPO Surojit Chatterjee sold ~8% COO Emilie Choi sold ~24%CEO Brian Armstrong sold less than 2%Worse, people were angry that the COO sold 100% of "HIS" shares - and "he" is a woman!This news was tweeted and retweeted thousands of times, even days after it was already proven false. Peter Schiff shared it. Nassim Taleb shared it! These guys obviously should know better.What's worse - after being proven wrong, they all LEFT THE TWEETS UP! They did not even offer clarification in most cases!? Crazy, crazy, crazy. And infuriating.Even if they did sell their shares, who cares? They built a company worth billions of dollars with 10 years of sleepless nights and grinding - who are we to tell them that they should not profit from their efforts? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING. PERIOD. I would have absolutely sold a percentage of my holdings, if I worked my ass off for a decade to build something. Nobody should be able to tell someone when or how they can take profit in a free market.The bottom line? Coinbase executed a flawless direct listing, which was their intention and arguably better for the company and the market. Everything else is fake news. More importantly, regardless of your thoughts on Coinbase as a company, success should be celebrated and cheered - if they do well, we all do well. I am live streaming today with Peng Zhong, CEO of Tendermint, who is largely behind most of what is being built at Cosmos. You guys can ask questions, it's an AMA, so come through and hang out!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdIb6xImS5QIn This Issue:Coinbase FUDBitcoin Thoughts And AnalysisAltcoin ChartsLegacy MarketsDoes Hash Rate Follow Price Or Does Price Follow Hash Rate?Willy Woo Reveals His Bitcoin Price PredictionCBDCs Still A Work In ProgressMy Recommended Platforms And Tools