Not your average B-Day [MEDITERRANEAN/E+ via GettyImages]
Hey Snackers,
Summer is almost over, and the McFlurry machine is still broken. The FTC is reportedly looking into McDonald's infamous McFlurry malfunctions.
Stocks ticked down yesterday as investors digested the bummer August jobs report, and Bitcoin dropped 10% after El Salvador made it an official currency.
"Happy B-Day"... Just got a whole new meaning. Yesterday, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a national currency. Crypto enthusiasts call it "B-Day." Bitcoin is now legal tender alongside the US dollar, which has been El Salvador's official currency since 2001. The Salvadoran government is rolling out Bitcoin ATMs and snazzy kiosks — and offering a $30 BTC credit to those who download its govt-run Bitcoin wallet, Chivo.
Crypto instead of cake... Not everyone's into it. El Salvador plans to spend $225M+ in the rollout, but ~65% of Salvadorans don’t want the govt to spend tax money on Bitcoin adoption, and 80% lack confidence in BTC. Meanwhile, the IMF is worried BTC's volatility poses major risks to El Salvador's economy, which is already one of Central America's poorest. A Bitcoin price plunge could make its huge debt load even worse. Just yesterday, BTC dropped 10%. Some potential pros...
It's the first big coin experiment... and the stakes are high. El Salvador's BTC adoption could destabilize its fragile economy, boost corruption, and be a boon to the Salvadoran president’s authoritarian tactics — or it could be a social and economic success. It’s all TBD. But the experiment could be valuable for other governments considering using crypto as legal tender.
Down to the wire... Hurricane Ida cut off power for ~1M people in Louisiana and Mississippi. The storm knocked out 31K electric poles – more than hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Delta, and Zeta combined. Plus, all those poles were above ground – aka: not protected against 150-mph wind. Entergy, the utility giant with 3M customers across the Gulf states, has restored power to less than half of its affected customers.
Pole-arizing issue... After the Senate passed its $1T infrastructure bill, officials are debating whether to build new power lines above or below ground. Underground wires can be more than 10X as expensive to build as above-ground wires — but they're also more resilient in disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. And America’s ~70-year-old electric grid is 20 years overdue for an update:
Natural monopolies, extreme outcomes... One-third of US electricity companies are state-regulated "natural monopolies" that earn pre-determined returns, which means little incentive to pay for pricey upgrades. Often, taxpayers end up footing the costs: a whopping $99B just last year. Now, policy makers are debating whether to pay utility companies to update their infrastructure, or fine them if they don't: Last year, PG&E was fined ~$2B after its old wires caused several devastating wildfires.
Authors of this Snacks own: Bitcoin and shares of Ford
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