● The New Rules of Investing: Essential Wealth Strategies for Turbulent Times
Mark Haefele and Richard C. Morais
Excerpt via Barron’s
The notion that the global financial order could one day suffer or collapse under the weight of its debt has understandably given rise to a survivalist impulse to do whatever it takes to escape the financial system we have, and perhaps create a new system in the process. That impulse, for good or bad, stands behind the rise of cryptocurrency, but I am highly doubtful that cryptocurrencies will save us.
Cryptocurrencies are perceived by officials to be both a threat to the existing financial system and a facilitator of money laundering, which explains why, when Bitcoin fell 50 percent in short order, government officials went out of their way to say, “We told you so.” The U.S. secretary of the treasury pointedly warned Americans against “extremely risky” cryptocurrencies lacking “appropriate supervision and regulation.”