How the $2 trillion crypto asset class taps into ‘scarcity credibility’
Any firm that approaches $1T in value has tapped into a basic human instinct. Consuming, signaling, loving, and praying have been the fuel of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google’s ascents, respectively. That the crypto asset class universe has reached $2T reveals, I believe, that it taps into two attributes we instinctively pursue: trust and scarcity.
No Mercy No Malice
The notorious co-working giant is the beneficiary of the ongoing remote work revolution
Real estate is an awesome gig.
For starters, the supply of fertile land (urban centers) is finite, but the source of demand keeps growing (more people/capital moving to cities). On top of that, we’ve granted real estate development such favorable tax treatment that it is nearly immune from taxation. Even Donald Trump, arguably the worst business person in U.S. history, made money in real estate development, despite the serial failure of the underlying business. As one tax law expert put it, the real estate industry “thinks of the tax code as a basket of goodies to feast on rather than…
No Mercy No Malice
The economic flood gates are about to open wide
Post-crisis periods are among history’s most productive eras. London rebuilt after the Great Fire with grand new architecture, and Europe, after the worst of its plagues, underwent a commercial revolution. The Marshall Plan turned enemies into allies, fomenting peace and prosperity for more than half a century. Leaders also emerge from crises. Ulysses S. Grant was a washed-up soldier without prospects until war broke out, but that war created the opportunity for Grant to save the Union and advance the cause of freedom. This is all to say: In the next 36 months, I believe our economy will birth a…
No Mercy No Malice
When society becomes so enamored with individual success, it forgets, and even attacks, the very institutions that enable it
This week, I get to cross something off my bucket list: a byline in The Economist. Those familiar with the newspaper (how the firm refers to itself) know it doesn’t byline its writers. However, The Economist also runs an online “By Invitation” section, which has featured Madeleine Albright, Garry Kasparov, Arnold Schwarzenegger — people I roll with all the time. So, how did this happen? I. Don’t. Know.
Anyway, below is an excerpt. The full essay is available here.
American individualism and institutions
I grew up on stories of the second world war. During the aerial bombardment of London known as the Blitz, my…
No Mercy No Malice
And why Pinterest and Snapchat are leaving money on the table
“The task is… not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.”
― Erwin Schrödinger
Just as life is not about what happens to you, but about how you respond to what happens to you, insight is not a function of data, but of how you perceive the data. Plotting data in different ways is illuminating, even fun, and it can lead one to discover stories. And while “stories” often connotes fiction, stories can also be true, and can even create truth.
The best way…
No Mercy No Malice
Proof that kindness compounds over the long term
As the news keeps thrusting the CEO of Robinhood in my face, I have two thoughts. One: Is the Javier Bardem No Country for Old Men hairstyle back in vogue? And two: Investing in — and holding — stocks has changed my life profoundly. …
No Mercy No Malice
Scott Galloway’s four unexpected principles for achieving economic security
The news of the (second) impeachment seems strangely pedestrian after the blowtorch intensity of Reddit vs. The Hedge Funds. The good news is that the hedge funds didn’t conspire with market makers and trading apps to suppress a (warranted) generational revolution. The inevitable Netflix/Hulu/Starz versions will not be so romantic; Reddit mainly inspired a transfer of wealth from one hedge fund to others. It was a pump and dump masquerading as a movement… with many retail investors left holding the bag. …
No Mercy No Malice
The social media giant’s toxicity and subpar financial results are one and the same problem
Every day, 187 million people open Twitter for news, entertainment, and a social connection. It is the real-time global communications network that sci-fi novelists envisioned. It is also a catalyst for conspiracy theories, a forum for hate speech, and a surprisingly lousy business.
In last week’s issue of New York magazine (February 1, 2021), I make the case that Twitter’s toxicity and subpar financial results are one and the same problem, amenable to one and the same solution. Fixing Twitter starts at the top — replacing an absentee CEO — and from there, changing the company’s business model. …
No Mercy No Malice
The S&P 500 registered the best Inauguration Day return since Reagan’s second term
The most striking thing about this abnormal inauguration? The normalcy.
The normalcy of a president speaking calmly. Speaking of unity and of a nation coming together. A president who is credible when he says it.
The normalcy of a previous, if not the prior, Republican president, saying to the incoming Democrat, “Mr. President, I’m pulling for your success. Your success is our country’s success and God bless you.”
The incoming president taking his oath to protect the Constitution on a Bible that has been in his family since 1893. …
No Mercy No Malice
While a quarter of America is behind on rent, the shareholder class has experienced an explosion in net worth
The federal response to the pandemic has been massive — a $5 trillion effort. It has also been a con. Under the cloud cover of Covid-19, the shareholder class has used its outsized influence over the government to toss a few loaves of bread at those suffering all while accruing trillions of dollars in wealth financed on the backs of younger and future generations.
How did we get here? In a healthy capitalist economy, wealth is always at risk. Competition spurs innovation, which disrupts the established order, creating winners — and also losers. Joseph Schumpeter called this the “gale of…
Scott Galloway
Prof Marketing @NYUStern · Founder @L2_digital @redenvelope @prophetBrand · Contributor @bloombergtv · Cohost Pivot podcast · Weekly musings profgalloway.com
