I have been waiting for my entry point for some time and I believe that we are seeing a major turning point in global equities. There is a huge amount of gathering unease and unrest and the powers that be have really run out of magic bullets, excepting the fact that war is the final QE, but still smashes markets.
As many have been.
Of course the current global index markets' over-valuation levels' sustainability always certainly remains in question. But on the other hand ZeroHedge & the like have spent 8 years betting against markets and losing. "Any time now" can take longer than one's ability to remain solvent/stave away margin calls.
There will be serious corrections, very likely this year in fact - but to underestimate the immense, extortive and overbearing power the modern major governments have accumulated by now, is not a mistake I would make.
Salient excerpt from an 'armchair expert' found the other day ->
"Look- the international monetary system "collapses" every 40 years or so. Of course it will happen at some point but I don't think that's the nightmare scenario the libertarians think it will be...
What's likely to happen is a black swan event that forces world leaders together in a bretton woods type event. 2 weeks later everything will be back to normal for the most part.
The IMF will probably step in and reinject the central banks with liquidity using the SDR, or Special Drawing Rights. Who knows what that will do to the dollar and markets, but outright
Higher taxes. Probably some inflation at some point. Few more banks go bust. Some confidence is lost. Negative Interest Rates. Debt restructuring. Another 50% correction in the stock market.
That's about as close to "collapse" as we will see."
I have been reading up on attempts posted on this forum to give individuals access to futures markets with Bitcoin and it's got many problems.
And those problems have been solved in a far more professional, secure, efficient and intelligent way than by sending wealth anonymously to strangers on BitcoinTalk.
For almost 5 years now these platforms and many more have provided solutions to those who wish to margin-trade on the price movements of forex, futures, individual stocks, & cryptocurrencies, using a bitcoin-based balance as unit of account & deposit/withdrawal method.
However I think I have found a good way around it -
And they have found far, far better way.
A cursory search on these very boards would have revealed that these brokers even maintain a presence on here to inform bitcoiners of their services.
Newer entrants to this space whose solvency, reliability & counterparty trustworthiness remain highly untested, include MuEX.io (/Forex) & WhalePool.io.
My favorite is 1Broker.
..but trust is an issue as ever.
As I would hope it would be, to say the least O.O
Otherwise, why don't we send envelopes with cash, cheques, debit cards via the postal service, or send PayPal transfers to one another to let a manager commingle funds together and trade forex/stocks for all of us together, since the 20th century..?? Just because decentralized blockchain-based value tokens have no built-in feature to access global markets doesn't mean one should send theirs to some manager for them to trade on the sender's behalf.
No offense - but, interestingly, if I wanted to make an effective ponzi pitch without triggering the usual, well-sharpened alarm bells, I would employ the very tone and appearance this OP has made here - like an old fogey completely clueless as to the perils of internet anonymity and base human natures, appealing to innocent, naive goodness (and make no mistake - there are indeed many who do have a proud moral code & only noble intentions, in the world, still - but they are far from the majority) - quite like the infamous Nigerian Prince emails we're all devilishly acquainted with.
