In a Nutshell: GameStop, AMC, dogecoin, these meme stocks and altcoin soared to become worth billions of dollars. But what are they really worth? Do they have intrinsic value or is it all subjective? In today’s conversation, we explore what is value, how do you determine value, and what role is technology, monetary policy, the 2008 economic crisis, financial nihilism, and mimetic desire playing in how we decide where to invest our money. It’s a fascinating conversation that takes us well beyond traditional stock and bond investing.

Guest: Demetri Kofinas, a media entrepreneur, financial analyst, and host of a popular podcast called Hidden Forces.

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Demetri Kofinas

Demetri Kofinas: Investing is not about allocating capital towards productive investments. It’s really a shell game. So in that way, it’s also a manifestation of the financialization of capitalism, which has been going on, I think, since at least the early 1980s.

My Key Takeaways:

  1. The 2008 economic crisis is still having a massive effect on today’s society. The explosive expansion of government balance sheets, the lost jobs, the growth in wealth inequality, the introduction of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, the rise of populism and financial nihilism, all in some way can be connected to the response to that great crisis.
  2. The nature of what and how we value is morphing. The rise of NFTs, Bitcoin, and the metaverse signal a massive shift in where value will be created in the years to come.
  3. Technology-enabled mimetic desire is driving human behavior in fascinating ways. If you don’t understand mimetic desire, you’ll be controlled by it–and not necessarily in profitable ways.

Also Learn:

  1. Why Demetri has concerns about crypto.
  2. How financialization is eating the world.
  3. Key learnings from some of his favorite podcasts.

Complementary podcast: Listen to the bullish take on Bitcoin with Kraken’s Dan Held. Listen/read here.

Resources Featured In This Episode

Demetri Kofinas on Twitter

Hidden Forces Podcast