Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance

For those of you who have been following me for a while, I’m certain that by this point you know I don’t consider myself to be too serious of a person.

Frankly, over the last 10 years, I’ve created a following in the financial world specifically, I’d like to think, because I’m not just another crusty old f*ck in a bowtie who happily surrendered their critical thinking skills to academics presenting modern monetary theory as some type of 9th Wonder of the World.

Yes, that’s right—I’ve cursed, dirty-joked, shit-talked, and drank my way into occupying at least some small sliver of iconoclastic space in the financial world. As I’ve said many times, I’m not even sure I can affect change, so I’m just happy to sit back and watch this experiment in monetary policy and human psychology play out.

It’s like the Jerry Springer Show for finance—the best kind of reality TV you can get.

Pictured: Neel Kashkari arbitrates monetary policy debate between FOMC members

Which is why, given my background, I’ve surprised even myself these last few weeks with how alarmed and disgusted I’ve been over the rise of financial products like the aptly named "Fartcoin"—a cryptocurrency that is assuredly worth zero dollars, has zero practical use, and is as noxious and empty as its name suggests.

But in today’s market, Fartcoin has skyrocketed to a market capitalization of near $1.3 billion. To put this into perspective, Fartcoin is now worth more than around 1,000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index, — companies with products and services, many of which are generating cash, others that are on a path to generating cash.

Fartcoin’s ascent (literally can’t believe I’m typing those words), marked by a 2,940% return since November 2024, dwarfs gains in almost all other assets — the risk averse and the risky. Since November 4, 2024, the S&P 500 has risen approximately 5.7%, while long-term Treasury bonds, oil, and gold have experienced slight declines.

Cryptocurrencies are about as speculative a financial asset as you can put money into right now. I’ve written extensively about how I think it’s the lowest-hanging fruit on the risk tree and how the asset class will likely be the first to dive and deleverage in the event of a market crash. Its use case remains uncertain over the long term, and there are infinite layers to the ecosystem — populated by got-rich-quick techno-dweeb ultra-billionaires with questionable personal hygiene and addictions to World of Warcraft — that have proven to be riddled with fraud and abuse

Within that universe of the most speculative asset class available, there are “conservative” options like Bitcoin, which has solidified its place as the protocol underpinning most of the rest of the crypto universe. And then there are “coins” that are obvious frauds, created solely to “rug” their users—that is, quickly defraud them. For example, coins launched by influencers like Hailey Welch, the Hawk Tauh girl, have been...(READ THIS FULL ARTICLE, 100% FREE, HERE).