Welcome to the Myth of Money 🚀

Good morning and welcome to today’s edition of our weekly newsletter!

Today, we are rebranding. 

I started this letter to bring all of you along on my journey in the financial industry, first as a lawyer, then as a derivatives trader, then as a VC. I realized that so much of the financial world was a mystery (and it shouldn’t be!). With the birth of cryptocurrencies, a newfound enthusiasm for taking control of your financial education was born. 

Over the last few months, I have received so much positive feedback, mostly to say that these newsletters have saved you all hours of time in reading the news each week, or that you enjoyed the analysis of a financial concept that was new to you. I want to keep this going. Please continue sending me suggestions of topics you want to learn more about!

Going forward, the Weekly Rundown will fall under a new umbrella - MythOfMoney.com.

The Myth of Money brand will grow into a larger vision of newsletters, webinars, how-to guides and so much more! Our goal is to bridge the financial education gap for all of us. 

What’s new this week?

This week was all about the heated stimulus discussions in Congress. Extended unemployment benefits and PPP loans are due to run out any minute, yet unemployment remains at 11%, while Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to agree on much. 

Further updates are expected on Monday. So far, it appears that there will be a second stimulus check of $1200 available to all Americans earning under $75,000 per year. 

In Forbes: 7 Reasons To Consider Investing Your Stimulus Check In Bitcoin

While the stock market continues to uncouple from reality, with U.S. stocks valued at over 160% of the American economy, Dave Portnoy sat down to interview Donald Trump 🤯. You can’t make this up.

For those who are not familiar, Dave Portnoy is the president of BarStool Sports, a sports media company. In order to stay in business during COVID-19 when sports got cancelled, the founder decided to create a day trading show for amateur traders (mainly on Robinhood), which garnered a wide following and is credited with some of the recent non-sensical ‘pumps and dumps’ in the markets. 

Trump continued to emphasize that the American economy was great until “China sent us this nasty virus.” I’m kind of imagining a post-interview strategy discussion of how to continue to prop up this irrational stock market. But I digress…

Later on Capitol Hill, Republican Rep. Ted Yoho told Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that she was… and I quote… “a fucking bitch.” This is the adult equivalent of pulling someone’s hair on the playground. We are witnessing a deterioration of American political debate like never before. AOC stood up for herself and re-ignited a gender conversation some of us were waiting to have. If you are interested in learning more about the female-male dynamics of this exchange, check out this great article from the Cut, here. 

Meanwhile, the markets began to absorb this new reality.

This week by the numbers. 

One of the reasons I prefer doing weekly snapshots of the market is that you can see the trends more clearly. The tech sector supported much of the recovery since March and is clearly tapering off now. Even $TSLA (-6.35%) had a downturn this week. The rest of the stock market is slowing down as well, as investors are taking defensive positions in precious metals like Gold and Silver, and Bitcoin. It appears that ‘Crypto Winter’ is over with Bitcoin gaining 5% and some AltCoins gaining in the double digits.

A common question this week was: “How do I invest in Gold?”

Unless you are planning to store gold bricks in your basement, the easiest way is to invest in gold trusts, precious metal producers and ETFs. Here are a few examples. As always, do your own research.

IAU - iShares Gold Trust - Stable investment in gold through a trust. 

GOLD - Barrick Gold - Canadian gold producer. Stable equity play.

NUGT & JNUG - 2x Leveraged ETFs into gold miners. Higher Risk.

SLV - iShares Silver Trust - Stable investment in silver through a trust. 

AGQ - ProShares Ultra Silver - 2x Leverage ETF in Silver. Higher Risk.

These are just a few I have used personally. There are others. Send me your suggestions :)

Top stories. 

China Vows Retaliation After U.S. Shutters Houston Consulate

The U.S. government gave China three days to close its consulate in America’s fourth-most populous city in an “unprecedented escalation.” China planned to “react with firm countermeasures” if the Trump administration didn’t “revoke this erroneous decision.” The State Department said it ordered the consulate shut “to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information,” without giving more details. At least two Chinese citizens have been convicted of stealing energy industry trade secrets in Houston in recent years. The consulate is one of five China maintains in the U.S. along with its embassy in Washington. Read Full Story. 

EU leaders strike 'historic' $2 trillion deal to rebuild Europe's economy

European leaders have agreed to create a €750 billion ($858 billion) recovery fund to rebuild EU economies ravaged by the coronavirus crisis. The European Commission will borrow the money on financial markets and distribute just under half of it — €390 billion euros ($446 billion) — as grants to the hardest hit EU states, with the rest provided as loans. Leaders also agreed a new EU budget of nearly €1.1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) for 2021-2027, creating combined spending power of about €1.8 trillion ($2 trillion). The deal focuses on providing funding across three pillars: helping businesses rebound from the pandemic, rolling out new measures to reform economies over the long haul, and investing to help protect against "future crises." The deal also places significant focus on climate change. Read Full Story. 

Nigeria Dollar Shortage Puts Pressure on Black-Market Rate

Nigeria’s dollar shortage is worsening, with the local currency weakening in the parallel market and banks restricting the ability of customers to spend greenbacks abroad using naira cards. The naira’s black-market rate declined to 472 per dollar on Monday from 465 naira on June 15.  Nigeria’s dollar shortage was exacerbated by the outbreak of Covid-19 and lackluster prices for crude oil, which accounts for more than 90% of the country’s foreign-exchange earnings and more than a half of its revenue. Read Full Story.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is letting all nationally chartered banks in the U.S. provide custody services for cryptocurrencies

Senior Deputy Comptroller and Senior Counsel Jonathan Gould wrote that any national bank can hold onto the unique cryptographic keys for a cryptocurrency wallet, clearing the way for national banks to hold digital assets for their clients. The letter marks a major development for the crypto industry. Previously, custody was the province of specialist firms, such as Coinbase, which typically needed a state license, such as a trust charter, to offer the service to large investors. Now, large, regulated financial companies that already provide similar safekeeping services for stock certificates and the like could enter the fray. Read Full Story. 

Pfizer Vaccine Deal at $20 a Dose Sets Ceiling for Rivals

In signing a $2 billion deal to supply their experimental coronavirus vaccine to the U.S., Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are setting a price ceiling of less than $20 a dose that will impact how much other companies can charge to protect people from Covid-19. Pfizer’s $19.50 price-point takes into account the “public health requirements during the pandemic,” said Sally Beatty, a Pfizer spokeswoman. The companies are pursuing a two-dose regimen of one of its vaccine candidates, and the roughly $40 course, Beatty said, is “almost 30% less than what others charge for a seasonal flu vaccine.” Read Full Story.

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Thank you for reading this week’s edition of the Myth of Money.🚀As always, reach out with feedback and ideas for the next time!

Best,

Tatiana Koffman

If you enjoyed your reading experience, say thanks here:

BTC @ 1MgfRn8NHnc8ZE5kBvNgYbgpTFShJh5mKK 

Disclaimer: This email does not contain financial advice and was created solely for informational purposes.

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