Wall Street lessons for NFTs...

1/ I've worked in the stock market for years. I've traded NFTs for months. The similarities from one to the other are fascinating.

Here I'm sharing some lessons, thoughts, and flagging some of my favorite projects. Let's go...

2/ Whitelisting in crypto is like Goldman Sachs running an IPO.

You think the big Wall Street banks give priority allocations to their best clients for the hottest IPOs? You're damn right they do.

Hate on it all you want, being somebody important is nice IRL and on web3.

Like WL, IPOs tend to get hyped up beyond reason. Management does a road show, pumping up investors. Bankers talk about how great this investment is. This stock is the next Amazon!

Then it IPOs, people FOMO in, it pops! Yay!

...then it fades as people move on.

Sound familiar?

3/ Technical analysis is dumb

Don’t believe TA or anybody who tells you it’s real. You might as well visit a fortune teller. It makes you feel good, but it's ultimately worthless.

People crow about TA when they're right and forget about it when they wrong. Ignore it all.

Note: comparing ratios, like SOL/BTC is fair game. That's simply a tool for pair trading, which is a rational approach to investing.

But "if it passes this made up line we're in trouble" is engagement farming. Wall Street does it too. It's dumb in New York and it's dumb on web3.

4/ Liquidity matters. I’ve made this mistake IRL. Loved a company. But should have avoided the stock. It was hard to buy and even harder to sell. If something has low liquidity your conviction needs to be MUCH higher.

In NFTs that’s something like @solBOOGLE or a rare DAA.

5/ Market manipulation happens.

Sorry. This is the real world. Money is at stake and humans are selfish. Markets are manipulated on Wall Street and they're manipulated in crypto.

Don't do it. Try to avoid it. But get used to it.

6/ If something you like is at a fair price don’t wait for a better price. I saw @TaiyoRoboticsat 12 SOL but waited for a dip. It never dipped.

Well, f**k me. Now guess who still doesn't own one?

But DO keep dry powder so that if things go down, you can buy even more.

7/ Investing and trading are not the same thing.

I repeat because it's important: INVESTING and TRADING are NOT the same thing.

Investing is valuation. Trading is psychology. Both are fine and potentially profitable, but pay attention to which one you're doing.

Trading is figuring out the latest meta - like staking for tokens - buying it early, and selling before the masses move on. It's the herd, the twitch, the pulse.

It can make fortunes. It can burn them. It's fun. It's stressful.

To do it well you need not just the tools everyone has - like Twitter and Discord - but also specialist tools like SolLObserver and Killshot from @SolanaMBB.

You also need nerves of steel and a stiff drink.

Investing is buying and HODLing. What do you BELEIVE in long term? What teams will continue to deliver? What themes have you identified that will play out over months, years?

When you buy and don't sell unless your thesis changes or you hit your price target, that's investing.

Personally, I like to INVEST.

And when you INVEST you take your time, work at it, and you concentrate in your highest convictions.

For example, @SOLBigBrain minted the ever living shit out of @GenesysGo because he used his big brain and believed in what they were building.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

Note this concept also applies to buying a lot of plays in a specific SECTOR, what is effectively the equivalent of an ETF in the stock market. You don't know who will win, but you know somebody will, so you buy them all.

A great example is @gaius1337 buying all things gambling.

8/ So what NFTs do I like?

I like projects that get more valuable the more Solana is used. $SHDW and their SSCs are a great example.

I work in finance, so it's a bit on the nose but I like defi plays. I just bought some @honeydefi bees. @Lifinity_io can work if they grab enough market share. I hear good things about @chestfinance.

Validator? Go with @CryptoStraps, they're doing a 0% commission validator for a year, which should get massive automatic stakes from large pools.

For commerce it's a no brainer: @FamousFoxFed and @YawwwNFT. Great teams and products.

Metaverse? It's @_portals_ and @TheSuitesNFT

Gaming, hard not like @AuroryProject, @photofinishgame, and @panzerdogs.

For market tools, it's @SolanaMBB for me, and I hear @SolluminatiNFT is solid.

Launchpads: @monkelabs, and @solana_stormNFT (from FFF devs) mints soon.

Music: @itsdaramola

And let's not forget, many pfp NFTs do a lot behind the pixels:

The @MonkeDAO is actually a VC firm. The content out of @DegenApeAcademy is astounding. @TheChimpions integrate into the real world with lore/art/books. @GoldPantherDAO is an alpha powerhouse led by @knox_trades.

Lastly, I think 1:1 art is a legitimate investment on #Solana. Creators get perpetual royalties and a huge audience. But buying all the art is hard. Much easier to go through a DAO.

I like @_ledao the best.

@TheRealmsDAO is great too, and @XeanusMonkeysN is worth a look.

I own much of what I just mentioned. But some I don't... just *wish* I did.

I did my own research on them. You should too.

Or just ape in. Whatever. You do you my frens. Just don't @ me if it doesn't work.

9/ What about the latest meta, Staking your NFTs for tokens?

Tbh I don't like it.

It reminds me of the conglomerates of the 70’s, the .coms of the late 90’s, the real estate of '07. Overhyped.

Not worthless, mind you. But too stretched, with too many low effort copycats.

As a whole the staking basket is massively overvalued and under scrutinized. I'd take the under, but if anybody CAN figure it out I’d put money on @StonedApeCrew, @mindfolkART, and @BoryokuDragonz. Maybe @ZillazNFT.

Good teams - which they all are - can (and will) adapt.

Did I miss some great projects? I'm sure I did. I know enough to realize how much I don't know.

Part of investing is knowing you can't get them ALL. Yes, it stinks when you pass on something and it moons. But don't dwell on it.

Find the next one. There is ALWAYS a next one.

10/ Buy good management.

Roadmaps can change. While I care about what teams say they're going to do and whether or not they can do them, I care even more about how well they can adapt as things inevitably change. @SolportTom @F_Inn42

Bet on sailors, not the sea.

11/ FOMO exists among everyone, everywhere. Don't be ashamed of it. It's a natural human emotion. If our ancestors were all doing something, odds are it was keeping them alive. You did well to follow.

Now it causes Kath Wood to get rich on ARK funds.

But it can also reverse...

12/ Lastly, I'll leave you with this adage from Warren Buffett:

"Diversification may preserve wealth, but concentration builds wealth."

It's takes smarts AND LUCK to make money. It takes wisdom to keep it. Good luck out there my friends.

Tagging my IRL fam, bro @primitivemoney and cuz @_Beck23

Ape frens @sainteclectic @ApeddaddyRick @NfThinks

Thought buddies @PabloHoneyNFT @RoninRosewater @iamkadense

Favorite shit talkers @k9ergreaseNFT @rainnen23 @RegenIncorp

And @immature69 because she's my bestie.