Blogs -I/O Fund’s Interview with CoinDesk: Why Square’s Name Change to Block is Defensive

I/O Fund’s Interview with CoinDesk: Why Square’s Name Change to Block is Defensive


December 31, 2021

Beth Kindig

Lead Tech Analyst

Beth Kindig shared her views on Square’s name change to Block, Jack Dorsey stepping down as Twitter’s CEO, and the upcoming opportunities to watch in an interview with CoinDesk.

Here’s an overview of the discussion.

Square is technically getting disrupted by Blockchain and this is prompting Jack Dorsey to embrace Bitcoin. I had discussed this two years ago in an article for MarketWatch where I stated the following:

Finance is changing rapidly through mergers and acquisitions, but not rapidly enough. There will be tremendous pressure for traditional payment processors to get with the times and adopt blockchain, or else they will be left behind by lower-cost competitors …. The real value to consumers and merchants has yet to be seen. Square may have replaced cash registers, but the fees the company charges are as old-school as ever. Square charges 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction … Digitization in the finance industry is built atop age-old infrastructure and ignores the most obvious area in need of disruption: transaction fees. Visa and Mastercard are making acquisitions to remain relevant and competitive, while PayPal and Square are getting on more devices with peer-to-peer apps such as Venmo and Cash App. Those moves won’t lead to massive growth. An overhaul of the infrastructure via blockchain will take some time, and only then will investors enjoy serious investment returns.”

The fees that Square and other fintech names charge are the fees that blockchain promises to disrupt over time. We do not think Square is pushing for Bitcoin adoption and changing its name to Block out of strength, rather we think this is a defensive move.

Regarding Twitter, Beth Kindig points out in the interview that the social media site has many bots which can affect the number of advertisers on the platform sees. According to a Pew Study, 66 percent of tweeted links are shared by bots. Most websites do have some bot traffic at an estimated 29 percent, therefore some of this is unavoidable. The reason Twitter has higher bot traffic is because it does not require a network of friends/family to have a presence and someone with a very low follower count or brand new account can immediately click on ads and links. The CTO of Twitter has recently become the CEO, Parag Agrawal, and these problems are likely to persist under the new leadership as they did when he led the technical side.

How to Find the Next Opportunity

Cloud has been very resilient and we believe this sector will perform well during times of high inflation. We also think the market is currently oversold with the Russell 2000 index being more oversold than during March of 2020. During these times of indiscriminate selling, we stay firm on product and fundamentals as cloud, for example, drives down costs for the companies.

We believe the current sell-off was driven by a high inflation number rather than the Omicron variant. We believe Bitcoin will perform well during times of inflation while more speculative and high beta stocks will not perform well, such as IPOs. The bottom line will also begin to matter more.

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Please consult with your financial advisor in regards to any stocks you buy.

Gains of up to 403% from our Free Newsletter.

Here are sample stock gains from the I/O Fund’s newsletter --- produced weekly and all for free!

+344% on Nvidia

+403% on Bitcoin

+218% on Roku

*as of March 15, 2022

Our newsletter provides an edge in the world’s most valuable industry – technology. Due to the enormous gains from this particular industry, we think it’s essential that every stock investor have a credible source who specializes in tech. Subscribe for Free Weekly Analysis on the Best Tech Stocks.

If you are a more serious investor, we have a premium service that offers lower entries and real-time trade alerts. Sample returns on the premium site include 324% on Zoom, 601% on Nvidia, 445% on Bitcoin, and 4-digits on an alt-coin. The I/O Fund is audited annually to prove it’s one of the best performing Funds on the market with returns that beat Wall Street funds. 

More To Explore

Newsletter

Official Press Release: I/O Fund’s Cumulative Returns Double the Nasdaq Following a Tough 2022

Actively managed portfolio and research site announces its largest cumulative lead over institutional all-tech portfolios. The I/O Fund defies a challenging market, outperforming peers and providing i

March 30, 2023

Slowdown In Cloud Stocks On Thin Ice Following Q1 Guides

Following last quarter’s earnings, we published an analysis on cloud that showed hyperscalers were slowing (5%) sequentially and best-of-breed was slowing (12%) sequentially, based on Q4 guides.

March 29, 2023

NVIDIA Showcases AI Breakthroughs, Omniverse Platform, and New Partnerships at GTC 2023

The tech giant reveals cutting-edge AI advancements, a powerful cloud based Omniverse platform, and strategic collaborations in the automotive industry.

March 28, 2023

Master the FOMC Meetings: Our FOMC Cheat Sheet

Experts pay attention to FOMC meetings in order to help navigate the financial markets and their positions with more confidence. Our FOMC meeting cheat sheet will help equip you with everything you ne

March 22, 2023

Banks, Inflation, and One More Low

The bear market is not over. This has been our probable thesis since the start of 2023. With the 10-year rates breaking out to new highs, and on-going inflation reports showing a re-acceleration under

March 16, 2023

The Importance of Verified Returns and Risk Management for Retail Investors

Last year, the I/O Fund encouraged our readers to let go of the idea that picking good stocks could save a portfolio in the tech industry and to instead fully embrace risk management tools. We pivoted

March 12, 2023

The Best of I/O Fund’s Newsletter in 2022

For an investor, the antidote to noise is quality stock analysis. Due diligence requires dozens of hours per equity, and it takes hundreds of hours every year to produce a free newsletter with quality

March 03, 2023

Google Stock: Search Is On The Precipice Of Multi-Decade Disruption

Earlier this month, Google’s stock (Alphabet) tumbled 7% when chatbot Bard was unable to complete a search with 100% accuracy. During a demonstration, Bard returned incorrect information about which t

February 23, 2023

Nvidia Throwback: An Example of Why Conviction Matters for Stocks

Last August, Nvidia had a $2.5 billion revenue miss due to gaming and crypto mining related weakness. This caused the stock to selloff (8%) in one day. Many pundits were questioning if Nvidia could ov

February 23, 2023

Timeout for Tesla Stock: Where We Plan to Buy

 The stakes are high for Tesla's stock because if the margins remain healthy, the stock will do quite well. However, if the margins contract, then the bears will be in control. This is a big moment fo

February 22, 2023

Sign up for Analysis on
the Best Tech Stocks

The I/O Fund specializes in tech growth stocks and offers in-depth research for Premium Members. Investors get access to a transparent portfolio of 30 positions, a private forum, webinars, and real-time trade notifications. Sign up for Premium.

We are on social networks


Copyright © 2010 - 2023
Get Free Weekly Analysis on the Best Tech Stocks