Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

What the bleep is happening to Bitcoin, and why?  Its value hit a historic peak on Monday, October 6. A bitcoin was worth $123,857 that day.  Of course since I called that a "peak" you have probably already figured out that the value has come down since.  Pretty dramatically, too. On Monday, Oct. 20 that was down to $110,245. On November 6. $103,976.  Then came the big drop. Before Thanksgiving, the value got as low as $86K before beginning to claw its way back up.   Here's a link: Bitcoin value real time chart - Google Search In part the problem is the Federal Reserve. Bitcoin speculators want interest rates down?  Why? Because higher interest rates tend to support to dollar, and Bitcoin is likely to prove the beneficiary of a flight from the dollar.  If I can't get much of an income stream from just owning US bonds, I may well sell the bonds (for dollars, naturally) and then convert those dollars into the dominant cryptocurrency.  This impu...

A company called Gramercy, which advises investors on opportunities for capital in the "emerging market" nations, says that now is a good time for lending money to countries in Latin America, Africa, and much of Asia.  Why? Because the US is driving the economic action out of itself, in their direction.  Presumably the opposite of the intention. Uncertainty about everything from the supply chains for US companies that import their inputs to the independence of the Federal Reserve have all made the rest of the world seem a better place to invest. Furthermore, the US will to a large extent drag the rest of the industrialized world with it for some time yet, so opportunities are to be found ... elsewhere. In the not-yet industrialized world, i.e. the emerging markets.  Good going, Mr President.  It is an ill wind that blows no good.