*Nothing finance related here, just a reflection and noting down my emotions for me to visit in time to come.
As I am writing this, it is 25 December 2021, Christmas Day. As with many others, I was expecting a weekend of great company and food. However, on Christmas Eve we were told to prepare for the worst and on Christmas day, it happened. We all knew and expected it to come soon but just not having a deadline in mind, we tend to think it wasn't going to happen.
It is a relief for him, at least what I think, as he wasn't having a good appetite and was lying down most of the time. The memories do flow back as I think of the times he cooked breakfast, tied my hair and prepare me for school everyday when I was young. It was a period of time when my grandfather took great care of me and I am thankful and hence why I am feeling a sense of regret of not spending more time with him.
I think we have heard of this so many times, cherish the people around you while they are there and once you lose them, there is nothing much you can do. Even though there is nothing much you can do, the memories live on in you and I am happy that there were many happy memories made.
It still feels a little surreal but time will pass and we will get used to it. I have actually prepared a few articles that I was going to record and release over the next few weeks but I will take a short break and enter 2022 with more learnings to share. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as we break into 2022!
I was scrolling through YouTube and came across this video by The Economist (video is very much in the context of London and the US so do take that into account, nonetheless, it is still an interesting video to take a look at), the title is definitely very eye-catching but the main point of the video is how you might think climbing the social ladder now is much easier compared to your parent’s time but unfortunately it’s not the case as opportunities are not there for the general population. The video starts by explaining how the neighbourhood you grow up in affects your chances of moving up the income levels where being at the ‘bottom’ means you have a lower chance.
The land of opportunities, America?
A Senior Fellow they interviewed mentioned that America is the poster child for rising income and wealth inequality hence making the chances for catching up (having opportunities) which make it difficult to climb the social ladder. It was also mentioned that if you are not from a priviledged background, it would feel like your child is facing failure and this can affect your political views as populist movement would appeal to them.
To get a degree or not?
The video also touches on how being in a university can affect your income as most counties move away from manufacturing and towards service-based industries resulting in lesser openings for non-degree holders. This means education is a huge factor determining your social status compared to 50 and 60 years ago. I watched the College Admission Scandal on Netflix and this video also backs it up by saying that America has legacy admissions where children of alumni does have a higher chance of getting in for example, between 2014 to 2019, 43% of white students who graduated from Harvard were student athletes, children of faculty, “dean’s interest list” and “legacy” students. This gives an impression that if your parents are rich and went to college, you are more likely to graduate than if your parents are poor and did not go to college.
Effects of starting young
It also covered how starting young and being exposed to more items or knowledge can help in the long run as well as how tuition works. It also showed how in a small island nation in Jamaica, toys that can be used to educate young children helped them in the long run as the study showed that they earned 25% more in 20 years compared to the control group and earned 43% more per hour in 30 years. Of course, the country you are in also determines the absolute mobility as emerging markets like India and China where a huge proportion of people have been out of extreme poverty as the country grows.
Social Capital
Your network matters! Having someone in the industry you are interested in and in the words of one of them is the subtle favours that people can call upon. I think this is also hugely felt all around the world as referrals do work for jobs and to be honest, you would tend to trust someone who has good reviews from a person you know than a complete stranger as you can gauge the skillsets and character of the person beforehand based on the description given by the referrer.
My thoughts
I would think that in a way, your own potential is limited by your surroundings mainly because the exposure is not there so you would think wow, it’s gonna be difficult to attain it or feel like you need certain pre-requisites to achieve things. Studies and data have definitely proven so that where you grow up and your parents can determine your opportunities in this time and age. But of course, there are many chances in life to change it but it’s not easy. We have also seen success stories and what we don’t see are the struggles and difficulties faced. I think after watching the video, a lot of the individuals who manage to break out of the poverty cycles that exists in their neighbourhood mostly aspire or have gone back to help the places that need help the most. It is not easy but slowly more opportunities can be opened for everyone and individual effort matters. Many factors are involved and it is definitely not easy to break through the cycle. As wealth inequality expands due to the pandemic, children who have no access to technology really lose out in opportunities to those who have access.
In Singapore, I would say we are lucky as help is usually accessible however, we do see the distance between the rich widen as more overseas wealthy individuals choose to buy properties or have their family offices in Singapore due to the tax benefits although it does bring certain benefits. Overall, life’s a journey and an exploration of yourself, although statistics and data show a certain phenomenon but we can make the change in one way or another no matter how small or big. I will be taking a break from making videos (but will be posting articles) in December as it is more of a reflection month for me and work is kinda piling up although it’s year-end..... Lots of looking back and reflecting posts coming haha. I might do a end of year portfolio review video at most. December is flying past and hope everyone enjoys the last 2 weeks of it.
► How I Protect My Bitcoin using Ledger: Get your ledger from HERE (Using my affiliate link will help me where Ledger will pay a small incentive that's not from
you but from them) ► How I earn interest on my Crypto (Hodlnaut): https://app.hodlnaut.com/signup?r=_JF037Nb0 Get USD20 equivalent for your initial deposit of at least USD1000 on any of the supported asset by using my referral link ►Join Celsius Network using my referral code 1169038ddc when signing up and earn $50 in BTC with your first transfer of $400 or more! https://celsiusnetwork.app.link/1169038ddc ► Where I Buy my Cryptocurrencies: Gemini (Receive $10 of bitcoin after you buy or sell $100 after signing up using https://www.gemini.com/share/558gylyhg) ►FTX: https://ftx.com/#a=41877278 (If a new user signs up with my referral code, I will receive 25%-40% of their fees, and they will get 5% of their fees back) ►Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/evwynu4g57 or code: evwynu4g57 to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD :) ► Where I buy my stocks FSMone Referral: P0364886 Tiger Brokers (Free stock and commission free trades, check out more here Interactive Brokers (Open an account today and start earning up to $1000 of IBKR Stock for free!*Terms and Conditions apply) ► Google Pay: v89ph61
NFTs have been the rage so far and digital assets are what people are looking at. From virtual land to ships, the possibilities are endless as almost everything can be a digital asset, it's just whether how valuable will it be. I have been following various NFT sites and do want to own an NFT, something that can be called mine and is registered on the blockchain. But of the course, the hype and prices do make me apprehensive to buy in.
On 8 December, I saw on the Chain Debrief's Telegram chat on a NFT release where they provided the link and mentioned that it was on the Cronos chain, something that I am familiar with also NFT Debrief did also earlier posted on it on Instagram. The project is the Mad Meerkat (MM), where there are 777 genesis MM on Ethereum Chain and 10,000 of it on the Cronos Chain. The one I minted was 1 of the 10,000 on the Cronos Chain. Besides getting the copyrighted materials of the MM, one other interesting feature of getting the MM is a higher daily yield on the MM.finance which is a Automated Market Maker.
Why get an NFT
A lot people might ask, why own an NFT? I think it really is intriguing and once you understand what you are buying, it changes a lot of things. Being part of a community or a project that you like and wanting to grow or just owning a piece of something that you like is one of the reasons why you should get an NFT. I know that MM is not a project as big as BAYC or Cryptopunks but this recent podcast by Chain Debrief with an owner of 2 BAYC explains very well on NFTs value. I think I liked what he said on it depends on why you are going into it, some go in for the sole purpose of making money but for him he will only really go in if he likes the community and project which means he will not get it so cheap.
For me, I think one of the reason I got in was the first the accessibility of it, using CROs was simple and easy for me. Next, I actually like the design of the Meerkats where they look kinda crazy and explains why it's called Mad Meerkats. On the community, I have only just joined the discord and so I haven't really explored much yet. This is the first NFT I have minted and it costs 299 CROs. It feels quite surreal buying a digital piece of item/art. The team behind Mad Meerkat is from Asia and consist of 6 of them, I think they are all currently anonymous. Amazing that a group of 6 can come up with a project like this (the crypto world is really filled with talents), in the FAQ, it was mentioned that some of them used to be from companies like Ethereum Foundation and consenSYS. It was really easy and straightforward minting it.
How I mint Mad Meerkat
You will of course need a metamask wallet but you can also use the crypto.com DeFi Wallet but for me, I used metamask. If you have CROs available in crypto.com, you can transfer it via the cronos network type to your metamask, do remember to transfer more as gas fees will apply on everything you do. Next, after transferring, go to https://madmeerkat.io/gallery and connect your wallet then click mint. So far, as of writing (10 Dec), it has been fully minted but I have seen many people who bought more than 1 seeing from the discord group. The top 1 holder holds about 102 MM. For me, I just minted 1, not sure where all this leads me to.
Rarity
Since all the Mad Meerkat has been minted, the creators have also released a rarity check here. The NFT I minted is ranked 1955 in terms of rarity, not too rare. You can take a look at the NFT I have minted, I love it, although some say the look is not very pretty but I love the accessories and colours. I haven't made the change of my display picture to it, still pondering but am really happy! Short video and article today, do hit the like button and subscribe to my channel if you enjoy my content.
► How I Protect My Bitcoin using Ledger: Get your ledger from HERE (Using my affiliate link will help me where Ledger will pay a small incentive that's not from
you but from them) ► How I earn interest on my Crypto (Hodlnaut): https://app.hodlnaut.com/signup?r=_JF037Nb0 Get USD20 equivalent for your initial deposit of at least USD1000 on any of the supported asset by using my referral link ►Join Celsius Network using my referral code 1169038ddc when signing up and earn $50 in BTC with your first transfer of $400 or more! https://celsiusnetwork.app.link/1169038ddc ► Where I Buy my Cryptocurrencies: Gemini (Receive $10 of bitcoin after you buy or sell $100 after signing up using https://www.gemini.com/share/558gylyhg) ►FTX: https://ftx.com/#a=41877278 (If a new user signs up with my referral code, I will receive 25%-40% of their fees, and they will get 5% of their fees back) ►Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/evwynu4g57 or code: evwynu4g57 to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD :) ► Where I buy my stocks FSMone Referral: P0364886 Tiger Brokers (Free stock and commission free trades, check out more here Interactive Brokers (Open an account today and start earning up to $1000 of IBKR Stock for free!*Terms and Conditions apply) ► Google Pay: v89ph61
I released an earlier article/video talking about why I convert my extra available cash after setting aside my emergency funds to stablecoins (mostly USDC). Do go over and take a look before continuing here. Today, I will be talking another platform where you can earn interest on your cryptocurrencies, they offer up to 40+ cryptocurrencies with different interest rates.
Setting up of account + Stackable promo codes to get rewards
Setting of account was pretty simple, you do have to provide some form of ID as well as with other crypto exchanges. You can also download and use the app to sign up. It doesn't auto sign you in via the app until you have some form of assets in it.
What's really cool about it is the amount of promo codes they have however, some are stackable and some are not. So when signing up first, you can put in your friend's referral code or mine 🙂 at 1169038ddc and then when you deposit USD400 and more, you will get $50 in bitcoin after keeping it in for a month. For me, after I created my account, I also used 2 promo codes, STABLE50 and STABLE10 to earn another $50 in bitcoin and $10 in bitcoin. Do remember that you cannot transfer a lump sum in but you will need to transfer $200 and then $50 in USDC/USDT as per the terms and conditions. You will then also need to lock them up for 30 days before getting your rewards. They do have multiple promotion codes here and you can see which are stackable and which are not here. It can get pretty confusing but just try to secure those that you can meet the terms and conditions.
Earning interest
Celsius pays out weekly interest similar to Hodlnaut on Monday however something different is that you cannot choose your payout preference which Hodlnaut allows where you can use your Bitcoin to pay out USDC or ETH which is really a very convenient way to build up what you want to.
It also doesn't have the continuous ticker showing the amount that you are earning (which is oh, so addictive). Other than that, Celsius offers a lot more cryptocurrencies that can earn interest like DOT, LUNA, LINK and MATIC where of course, the interest fluctuates and varies.
Borrowing
Another cool feature on Celsius is that you are able to lend and borrow based on the cryptocurrencies you are giving as collateral. I am definitely not advocating for you to borrow but this opens up a whole new world as normally, you have to go through huge steps and administrative processes (eg credit checks) with Banks to get loans. But with platforms like Celsius, you can get a loan fast based on the collateral you are providing with no credit checks.
Do note that Celsius loans does not apply at every location hence if you are planning to get a loan, you will need to check via the mobile app.
Mobile App Interface
Celsius was founded in 2017 and have made many improvements to their app. So far, I have started using the app and it's interface is pretty simple but it provides the basics that is needed to see your coins, total value and also rewards.
For me, mainly I am using it to store my stablecoins (USDC), I have paid quite a bit of fees as you need to use the ERC-20 address to transfer it to Celsius. So far, after a few trial and error, the most cost-effective way is to buy DAI from Gemini since there are 10 free withdrawals per month, transfer DAI to Hodlnaut, token swap it to USDC and once it is end of the month, you can make use of the 1 withdrawal per month to move it to Celsius. You will pay a bit in the spread to swap DAI to USDC but it is not as bad as paying the fees for sending it to a ERC20 wallet address. Of course, if your Hodlnaut wallet is not maxed, it is better to leave it in Hodlnaut as it offers a higher interest. Celsius is more like a supplement to it and it has unlimited withdrawals making it much easier to access your funds (eg sending it back to exchange to buy).
You can also use Hodlnaut as a 'holding area' since Celsius does give promo codes as and when for example, currently till 5 December 2021, using the promo code CELSIUSCARES (for new and existing users) gives you $150 in bitcoin when you deposit $5000 or more in the supported coins and hold the $5000 in for 60 days. Hence, you can build up your funds in Hodlnaut and once there are any attractive promo codes released then you can move your funds from Hodlnaut to Celsius and since Celsius has unlimited withdrawals, you can then move back your funds once the holding period and reward has been paid out to you.
If you want to open an account, you can use my referral code and get $50 in bitcoin once you transfer $400 (USD) or more in and leave it in for 30 days. Use your friend's referral code if you have so you each will earn $50 in bitcoin. Hodlnaut has been great so far and I love all the features in it but as the amount in it increases, I do find a need to have some in another platform to spread out the risk. I have been using Celsius for a few weeks so far and it's been good. Although recently there have been some unfavourable news on it, firstly on it's CFO which Celsius has addressed by saying that they have suspended the CFO and he was not involved with any Celsius funds, another one is that Celsius has lost some funds in the BadgerDAO hack. Celsius does hold frequent AMA (Ask me anything) with their CEO via Youtube where they will address questions on, which I think is great as the BadgerDAO hack was also revealed in a recent AMA video that they did via Youtube. Do note to be careful when transferring your assets in as there are some cryptocurrencies that require a certain chain and need a memo ID. This carries certain amount of risk and hence do your own due diligence before getting in. Hope you guys have found this informative and do hit the like button and subscribe to my channel to show some support. Thank you!
► How I Protect My Bitcoin using Ledger: Get your ledger from HERE (Using my affiliate link
will help me where Ledger will pay a small incentive that's not from
you but from them) - USD$25 discount coupon: THANKS-SHLRTVJ or
THANKS-V35SSK5 or FRIEND-PDWTHLT ► How I earn interest on my Crypto (Hodlnaut): https://app.hodlnaut.com/signup?r=_JF037Nb0 Get USD20 equivalent for your initial deposit of at least USD1000 on any of the supported asset by using my referral link ►Join Celsius Network using my referral code 1169038ddc when signing up and earn $50 in BTC with your first transfer of $400 or more! https://celsiusnetwork.app.link/1169038ddc ► Where I Buy my Cryptocurrencies: Gemini (Receive $10 of bitcoin after you buy or sell $100 after signing up using https://www.gemini.com/share/558gylyhg) ►FTX: https://ftx.com/#a=41877278 (If a new user signs up with my referral code, I will receive 25%-40% of their fees, and they will get 5% of their fees back) ►Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/evwynu4g57 or code: evwynu4g57 to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD :) ► Where I buy my stocks FSMone Referral: P0364886 Tiger Brokers (Free stock and commission free trades, check out more here Interactive Brokers (Open an account today and start earning up to $1000 of IBKR Stock for free!*Terms and Conditions apply) ► Google Pay: v89ph61
