3rd January 2025 > > NFK 5 of 9, MS & X are on our side.

tl;dr

The fifth of the nine NFKs. MS and X are enabling retail adoption of cryptos.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

A disappointing start to the year with outflows of $240mm from the spot BTC ETFs yesterday though that hasn’t dampened BTC price action today, which is surprising and very welcome.

Occasional Series – Project K: Fur Baby. NFK 5 of 9

https://www.curiouscryptos.com/projectk

Occasional Series – Contrarians

I put myself very much in this category. I do have a tendency to disagree with what everyone else is thinking/saying, mostly because the consensus opinion is often/usually/mostly/always the lazy option. Being contrarian has paid off, financially speaking, though some people do get annoyed on a personal level, for reasons that continue to escape me.

@0xaporia is having none of it:

“being (sic) contrarian … not only exposes your lack of a systematic approach but also your inflated ego.”

That’s me told then.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Morgan Stanley (MS)

MS has long been a supporter of the crypto industry, buying a decent chunk of MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock on the same day as the CC Treasury’s first investment in MSTR on 31st December 2020. At a price of $39 or so once adjusted for the 10:1 stock split, a near 8x return in four years (with plenty more to come) shows that there are some smart cookies working at MS on the crypto side of the business.

The online retail stock trading platform for MS is known as E-Trade. With the strength and depth of MS’s retail customer base covering 8.2mm households in the US, E-Trade is one of the biggest online platforms. It currently offers access to spot BTC and ETH ETFs but rather surprisingly has not gone any further down the crypto route.

Until now. I am reliably informed that an announcement is imminent that E-Trade will allow access to directly buy cryptos. I assume that in the first stages the offering will be limited to just BTC and ETH, but I might be wrong about that. I am quietly confident that over time the range will be increased to incorporate the larger and more well-established cryptos, such as SOL amongst others.

With ease of execution, an instant and trusted fiat-crypto on-ramp, and zero custodial risk for investors, I leave it to you to decide whether potentially onboarding 8.2mm US households will impact demand for cryptos in a positive way, or not.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – X

X is soon to launch X Money according to CEO Linda Yaccarino:

“In 2024, X changed the world. Now, YOU are the media! 2025 X will connect you in ways never thought possible. X TV, X Money, Grok and more. Buckle up. Happy New Year!”

X has gained a money transmitter licence in 39 states so far. Elon Musk’s interest in cryptos is well-documented. It would be very surprising to many (but not impossible) if X Money did not incorporate a crypto element, more likely to be DOGE than any other coin.

I leave it to you to decide whether potentially onboarding 611mm monthly active users around the world will impact demand for cryptos in a positive way, or not.