Bear attacks. Shipwreck. Competing on a desert island for a cash prize on a television show hosted by Jeff Probst.

There are all kinds of survival situations. Some are life-threatening. Some are threatening your wallet and livelihood. 

There’s no greater threat to your wallet than rising inflation. So, we’ve compiled some handy tips on how to tackle inflation and make it through, wallet intact (and fatter.)

Espresso Shots

☕️ Bitcoin Passes 30k 🚀 👀

For the first time since June of 2022, Bitcoin has passed the $30,000 mark.

Late Monday night, Bitcoin climbed its way to a 10 month high, giving crypto advocates a reason to be hopeful. 

While many are looking for a specific cause for this latest jump, the evidence seems to suggest that this is a continuation of the market's reaction to the banking crisis.

As traditional financial markets look weaker and more volatile, crypto is suddenly looking sweeter and safer than ever. Bitcoin isn’t alone in that either.

Ethereum also found itself over $1,900 for the first time since August of 2022. Ethereum is now up over 60% from the start of 2023, Bitcoin is up over 80%.

Notably, crypto markets are still down over 50% from their all time highs, meaning the potential upside for investors getting in right now is still eye-popping. 

For context: if you bought Bitcoin in the days after the FTX crash, you’d be up nearly 100% on your investment. If you just punched your wall, join the club. 

☕️ The Winklevoss Twins Lend Gemini $100 Million ♊️ 💰

Crypto exchange Gemini has been looking for outside lenders to assist with their lawsuit over the Gemini Earn Program.

The lawsuit, brought by SEC, alleges that the Gemini Earn program violated securities laws by not registering their program as a security - and therefore as a risk to investors.

This was brought about as Gemini Earn investors were unable to withdraw their funds due to Gemini's liquidity crisis with Genesis Lending. 

So as Gemini has pleaded for help to survive this turbulence, help arrived in the form of… Gemini’s founders, the Winklevoss twins. The Winklevi have contributed $100 million of their personal funds to assist the exchange.

Ironically, $100 million was exactly the amount that the SEC ordered Gemini to pay back their frustrated investors. Neither Gemini nor the Winklevi have commented on the number, but it doesn’t require a lot of speculation or imagination to suss this one out.

Hopefully, this $100 million loan will serve Gemini better than the $800 I gave my Uncle Terry for a “sure thing” at the Pimlico race track.

☕️ SEC Still Holds Firm in the “Howey” Test 📝 📉

The Howey Test is a 77-year old practice relating to a supreme court case involving a lawsuit against a Florida farm.

The Howey Test is a rubric used to determine whether a transaction is actually an investment contract and therefore should be labeled a security.

And this same, dated rubric is being used when it comes to determining whether or not crypto is a security. Despite widespread insistence that cryptocurrencies are tokens, not securities, Gary Gensler and the SEC have held firm to this decades-old precedent.

“Simply labeling a digital asset a ‘utility token’ does not turn the asset into something that is not a security,” said Gensler.

For clarification, the Howey Test is entirely unrelated to the “Howey Mandel” test, which determines if someone is too afraid of germs to shake hands.

Spilling the Beans

The Inflation Survival Guide 🎈

It’s become impossible not to notice the economic inflation in this country.

Though gas prices have stabilized from this year’s earlier hike, you may be scratching your head in the cereal aisle as you realize your Frosted Flakes are going for $8.

And it’s a case by case basis, but based on the current rates, economists predict that gas prices will rise by 4.6% and food prices by 5.9%.

On some levels, we’re still seeing stress echoes from COVID on the supply chain, but these inflationary prices are not a uniquely American problem.

Europe is also in the midst of a recession. It’s a nasty cocktail of a recession, stress on the region from the war in Ukraine, and again, residual COVID.

So, we may not be able to solve the world’s inflation problem, but we think we can help with yours.

And we might have buried the lede here, but the answer lies in crypto.

You may not be surprised that a newsletters called Coffee & Crypto is going to direct you to either decentralized currency or a dark, jitter-inducing cup of caffeine, but here we are.

And in this case, crypto offers a very real, actionable solution to the individual problems posed by inflation.

You’re finding that your dollar is worth less as prices get higher. It’s a nasty situation to be in. We know, cause we’re in there with you.

But all of inflation’s problems are tied to the dollar, or euro, or whichever fiat currency you’re using, because those are backed by the governments suffering under this economic turmoil.

Bitcoin is a currency without a government. It’s decentralized, a coin without a country.

And that’s been a really good thing. Bitcoin has been on the rise while fiat currencies have only grown weaker.

Bitcoin is a deflationary investment, it’s ostensibly immune to the movements of global government, even if it does at times react to them. 

But Bitcoin’s not the only deflationary investment. Pre-crypto, gold, silver, and other precious minerals have shown to be solid investments in the midst of high inflation or a recession.

If you’re still finicky about cryptocurrency, you can’t go wrong with the gold standard.

In fact, most people from the assets and minerals side see Bitcoin as the digital gold.

And if Bitcoin’s even too mainstream for you, you might want to take a gander at some Alt-coins! There, Solana, Ripple or even our personal favorite HBAR. 

Though crypto functions radically different from the traditional stock market, some of the old wisdom still applies, namely, diversify your portfolio.

And no, we’re not telling you to run out and gobble up Alt-coins. 

Now seems like a good time to reiterate that nothing we write in this newsletter constitutes legal, or even sound, investment advice.

The oft-repeated phrase in crypto, DYOR, or “Do Your Own Research” is a key principle.

Consider other sources, check histories, volatility, and consult a financial advisor if you're into that sort of thing! Do your due diligence before you buy!

Another strong, deflationary route to consider is staking your crypto.

Staking your crypto can give you a double hedge against inflation. If you believe in the longevity of the coin you're staking, that's your first hedge. 

The actual staking of the currency also gets you interest on your locked up holdings. That's your second hedge.

So while the rest of the world’s finances run deep into the red, you enjoy a healthy, steady rise into the green.

Don't worry, we’ll have more on staking in another newsletter. There’s at least an entire “Deep Dive” (and a lot more) worth to cover there.

But for now, remember that inflation follows the same rules for quick sand or when a large shark swims under you.

Don’t panic. The shark (and also presumably the sand) can sense your heartbeat.

Keep a cool head and make smart investments. There are moves you can make not just to avoid the hurt, but to come out on top.

If you like this section, let us know in the Poll below! We're looking to roll out more educational material for you in the very near future!

Meme of the Day

These goddamn balloons.

Crypto 101

Staking: Earning rewards by pledging your crypto toward validating transactions on the blockchain. This is a key element in creating a functioning ecosystem on the blockchain.

Staking represents an active investment and like any investment, the more you stake, the greater the rewards. But don’t forget the more you stake, the more you stand to lose if things go belly up. Don’t get greedy, stake smart.

The Last Sip

The Winklevoss twins generously lent Gemini $100 million for problems that they almost certainly helped create.

We’ve compiled three of the most notable loans from the Winklevi throughout their storied careers:

• New oars for the entire Harvard crew team.

• One-on-one acting lessons for Armie Hammer.

• A helping hand to Mark Zuckerberg when they showed him the infrastructure for ConnectU while insisting he could, “peek at their homework, but make sure it doesn’t look like you copied.”

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.