Muse 007: Paying homage to “the name’s Bond… James Bond”
Origin Story
In Greek and Roman mythology, a muse referred to each of nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus (god of sky and thunder) and Mnemosyne (goddess of memory), who preside over the arts and sciences. The above is, of course, the definition of a muse as a noun but it can also be used as a verb. That can be defined as “ to be absorbed in thought” or “say to oneself in a thoughtful manner”. I like all of this as it relates to what I intend these writings will to be for both myself, as well as, anyone who finds value in them.
Paying homage to “the name’s Bond… James Bond”
I am a huge fan of the fictional British spy that goes by the name James Bond or 007. Of all the men that have portrayed him on the big screen, Daniel Craig may have done it best. *Spoiler Alert*
In the 2021 film, he dies. This was tragic because who knows what happens to the franchise now. This sense of uncertainty, even if trivial, is causing consternation in the iconic character’s fanbase. As with all things, let’s tie this back to bitcoin and financial markets. Bonds, in my opinion, died in 2021 as well. Can you imagine being contractually obligated to lose money? With inflation running at more than 9 percent, that’s what you have on your hands. Now, will inflation come back down? Maybe. But the elephant in the room is that governments need inflation running hotter than the coupon on their debt to “inflate” it away. Japan is currently trying to do this but due to demographics and the massive headwinds of those demographics, they cannot produce inflation. The Bank of Japan now owns more than half of all Japanese sovereign debt and has a stated policy of holding the JGB yield under 25 basis points (0.25%) by creating (i.e., printing) as many yen as needed. That’s why, in the last 12 months, the yen is down more than 26% against the dollar, an absolutely shocking performance for a G7 currency. I suspect, in due time that we will see some version of this in the US, and, in that environment, you are going to want to limit exposure to bonds and you’re going to want to own bitcoin. Could I be wrong? Maybe. But if I’m right, I am going to be really right. And make sure you control the keys.
