| | | | | By Jeff Brown, Editor, The Bleeding Edge | | |
It's AMA day and we've got a great round of questions to get to. | | But first, I have exciting news. | | I just spent the better part of this week in Washington, D.C. working on research and preparing for my latest new venture. | | It was cold and very snowy, but the trip was very much worth it. This was me on a very cold and windy day on the national all with the Capitol building behind me. The city was on high alert with the inauguration just days away… | | | | Many of you have asked when we intended to relaunch my Unchained Profits crypto advisory. | | For newer Brownstone readers,Unchained Profits was fundamental analysis buy-and-hold research service focused on the highest growth, most promising projects in the blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces. | | And I'm thrilled to announce that – with the help of my team and my senior crypto analyst, Ben Lilly – Unchained Profits is ready for relaunch. | | It won't look quite the same as the original. | | And it will have a new name – Permissionless Investor. It more directly speaks to the real opportunities in crypto that we're seeking to profit from. | | It's not just about the blockchain, or just about any one coin, or just about crypto applications. | | Permissionless Investor will feature a portfolio of meticulously researched crypto companies, coins, projects, applications, and other opportunities to help us profit and prosper from cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology… particularly in this age of artificial intelligence (AI). | | The competitive landscape has changed significantly in the digital assets industry over the last four years. And it's about to go through its most radical change in the last decade as we peer into 2025. | | We've been witnessing the stunning rise of AI and that means we're very optimistic about the potential at the intersection of AI and crypto. | | These two fields are far more connected than you might think. Blockchain technology is perfectly suited for autonomous AI agents capable of transacting to accomplish assigned tasks. Blockchain technology enables AIs to engage in meaningful economic activities without needing the direct oversight of a software developer. | | And over the last few years, the industry has developed more streamlined and user-friendly interfaces that have made digital assets more accessible to a wider range of users and investors. It's very easy for self-directed investors new to cryptocurrencies to get involved in this space. | | And the timing couldn't be better as we prepare to welcome our first-ever actively pro-crypto President looking to guide the U.S. into a new era of blockchain innovation and adoption after years of regulatory strangulation from the government. | | There's never been a more exciting time to be a crypto investor. And because it is such a unique asset class, it needs its own dedicated research. | | And I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you all. | | I'm hosting a strategy session next Wednesday, January 15, at 8 p.m. ET where I get to tell you all about it, as well as a special selection of small coins Ben and I believe have incredible potential to benefit from all of this incredible change happening in the industry right now. | | | | Now, on to the AMA… | | The HyperCycle Blockchain Project | | | To Brownstone Research, have you been or are you aware of HyperCycle Node Licenses as a layer Zero Protocol for Neural Network computing providing ledger-less solutions across many Algorithms with quick, efficient, and secured AI while saving customers operating costs? And if you're aware of it, will you write about it in your upcoming reports? | | I thank you in advance for your response. | | – Glenn B. | | | | Hi Glenn, | | Ben Lilly – my senior crypto analyst I mentioned above – and I had to do some research on the HyperCycle project, as neither one of us was that familiar with it. It's very rare that neither one of us is aware of a project in the blockchain industry, so we appreciated the question. | | The HyperCycle project has taken a unique approach to scaling a blockchain to support AI agents. And it appears to have been designed for another blockchain project – SingularityNET – which has been out for several years now. There are clear ties between the two projects. Even their respective teams have some overlap. | | The goal of HyperCycle was to overcome the scaling limitations of Ethereum and Cardano (more on the limitations momentarily). This is achieved using a ledgerless approach to its blockchain architecture. | | The architecture of most blockchains provides for an immutable ledger – the blockchain – upon which all transactions are written. It's a single source of truth for all transactions on any blockchain. A ledgerless architecture does not have this design and is therefore a faster network by design (i.e. no need for consensus to record every transaction to the blockchain). There is a disadvantage though to ledgerless technology… | | Without a ledger, there is no transparency or immutability regarding transactions that occur on that network. There's no single source of truth, which could create problems. | | With that background, an industry event in June 2024 impacted the HyperCycle project. SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol merged to form the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance. Their goal is to foster innovation, transparency, and inclusivity in advanced AI activities. | | It's a great vision the alliance is pursuing. And without getting into the details or the merits of the merger, it looked like HyperCycle was going to facilitate much of the roadmap of the alliance. However, a few months ago, HyperCycle got forked. | | Largely due to the lack of transparency from the ledgerless solution, the alliance is not looking to build on HyperCycle. For this reason, the revenue generated from fees when running a node on HyperCycle may have taken a hit. | | So while the ledgerless agent-specific blockchain technology could be a true breakthrough, the network effects are not yet clear. This means acquiring a license, ensuring you have all the proper hardware, and running the node might not yield much from network activity. | | HyperCycle licenses are for sale in a secondary market called NodeMarket. And while we're not familiar with the marketplace, it appears the licenses are being sold for less than what HyperCycle asks for on its website. There also look to be only a few wallets behind the majority of listings. This feels like a red flag and speaks to a lack of network effects. | | If the alliance decided to leverage HyperCycle, then running a node seems like a promising move. If not, much less promising. | | This topic is an interesting one, especially the intersection of blockchain technology and AI, as well as the use of ledgerless blockchains. And once AI agents scale blockchain networks will become flooded with transactions, so scaling and speed will be a critical issue. | | I understand this is a more technical topic of some more involved blockchain concepts, especially for those who are less inclined to follow crypto and blockchain technology. So to avoid any misunderstandings, I want to be clear that both Ben and I are skeptical about HyperCycle. | | We will look to keep an eye out for possible hardware plays similar to what you asked about since it could be a great opportunity for those looking to get involved in an AI-related blockchain network. And that's exactly the sort of opportunity we want on our radar as we prepare to launch our new Permissionless Investor advisory next week. | | | | | | This coming Wednesday, January 15, at 8 p.m. ET, Jeff will reveal how President Trump's day-one executive orders could help send his top five "Trump coins" higher than anyone can imagine… Giving you a rare chance to turn a tiny stake into a six-figure nest egg, possibly by the end of the year. Click here to automatically RSVP… And you'll discover why these rare coins have been called "the next big thing in the cryptocurrency market." | | | | Hope for Thorium Reactors? | | | So good to hear your comments on MRNA horrors, but apart from fusion, is there hope for thorium reactors? | | – Barry W.L. | | | | First off, thorium (Th-232) is a fertile material, as compared to uranium or plutonium which are fissile materials. Thorium is a radioactive metal, but less radioactive than uranium or plutonium. | | Because thorium is a fertile material, it needs to be bombarded with neutrons to create a fission reaction. This is typically done by using Uranium 235 or Plutonium 239 as fissile drivers. | | Using these fissile drivers, thorium will breed Uranium 233, which is good fuel for maintaining a fission reaction and producing carbon-free energy. | | It is true that Uranium 233 can be used to produce a nuclear weapon. And it is also true that Uranium 233, which is bred from a thorium reactor, is less effective than Uranium 235 for a nuclear weapon. | | The reality is that when the U.S. government was researching fuels and nuclear reactors to meet the exponential growth of energy demands of the U.S. economy, it found that uranium-based nuclear reactors were simply more efficient than thorium-based reactors. This was the primary driver for the industry, leaning heavily into uranium versus thorium as a fuel. | | That decision was at least partially influenced by the proliferation of nuclear weapons at the time, and the need for enriched uranium for that purpose. | | | | I also touched on the pros of this abundant material… | | | Thorium reactors produce only a tiny fraction of the amount of radioactive waste as uranium reactors, and that waste is much shorter lived, measured in "only" hundreds of years. | | Thorium reactors are also much safer by design and can be designed in a way that makes a nuclear meltdown impossible. | | … Thorium is three to four times more abundant than uranium. And the top five countries for thorium reserves are India, Brazil, Australia, the U.S., and Egypt. Russia is number 9 and China is number 11, so there would be no dependence on either country. | | From my perspective, thorium is a safer, more abundant fuel for nuclear fission reactors. And it also produces dramatically less radioactive waste. | | | | As well as the cons and hurdles that hinder the nuclear industry from pursuing thorium as a reasonable alternative to existing fission-powered plants… | | | But despite that, I don't believe that it will be successful. | | The reality is that the cost of fuel is such a small part of operating a nuclear fission reactor, it just isn't an economic driver for the choice of what kind of reactor to build. And third and fourth-generation nuclear fission reactors, using uranium as a fuel, are now just as safe as thorium reactors would be. | | And just because thorium is more abundant in nature, it doesn't mean that it's easy or cheap to mine. Thorium is most commonly found in the mineral monazite, which is also a source of rare earth elements. And the extraction of rare earth elements is far more important for the world's economy right now than mining thorium. | | Thorium is just a byproduct, and extracting thorium from monazite is more expensive than the extraction of uranium. But again, the fuel costs wouldn't be an economic driver for choosing a thorium reactor versus a uranium reactor. | | In the end, I just don't see the economic – or even political – drivers for shifting focus toward thorium reactors. It will actually be more expensive, due to billions needed for research and development. | | It will take decades to make the transition to thorium. And before that time comes, we'll have nuclear fusion technology producing clean, limitless, and very cheap energy. | | | | It's also worth noting that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) has not certified a nuclear reactor design with a thorium fuel cycle. In other words, the U.S. market is a very long way from commercializing a thorium-fueled nuclear reactor. | | And as to the point I made earlier, both next-generation SMRs and fusion reactors will have been commercialized in a time frame well before a thorium-based reactor could be brought online, therefore it's hard for me to see a path whereby the industry would finance a strategic push into thorium reactors. | | | | A New Approach to Wind Energy? | | | Hi Jeff. Wondering if you have heard of the company Halcium Energy. They're taking a new approach to wind turbines. Although very early without so much as a prototype, I was wondering if you thought one of their turbines even had the ability to power a house. | | – Jarod R. | | | | Hi Jarod, | | Halcium is a very small company that has gone through a few rounds of crowdfunding. It is still at a very early stage with no revenues. The company has outsourced its prototype development to an engineering firm to develop its Powershell "turbine" (shown below): | | | | Source: Halcium Energy | | The concept is simple. The "turbine" can be placed on a rooftop or even on the ground. The wind flows into the Powershell and turns the internal blade generating power. | | The below chart, which is theoretical, shows the power curve from the Powershell which could potentially generate as much as 500 watts or so on a very windy day (at speeds of 35 miles per hour). | | | | Source: Halcium Energy | | This is the key thing to understand. An individual Powershell may be able to generate enough electricity to power a laptop, a small refrigerator, or some lighting… When the wind is blowing above 30 mph. | | So, to answer your question specifically, no, a Powershell cannot power a house. You'd need a whole lot of them to do that, and you'd still have to consider that the wind won't be blowing at 30+ mph 24/7/365… | | Ride-hailing Outside the Big City? | | | Hi Jeff. I continue to love and look forward to my daily read of the Bleeding Edge daily article. You have written a couple of times in the past week or so about FSD and Tesla's latest release of updated software. | | Adoption in cities for ride-hailing services, it is quite obvious to me that will work well and expand exponentially. What about rural areas? I live in a semi-rural area where the house lots are an acre or more and we are about 15 minutes from a small city… Carson City, population of about 65,000. | | Many others are much more remote than we are. How well will these rural and semi-rural communities be served by ride-hailing services? Will it be available and will actually work? | | – Mike C. | | | | Hi Mike, | | I got a chuckle when I read your question because of an experience I had recently. | | Last month I had a trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and I had a flight out to Minneapolis at 5 o'clock the morning of my departure. | | It's a small city with a population of more than 200,000, so I didn't think so much about how I'd get to the airport. I figured that I'd have no trouble catching an Uber. | | Except no one was driving for Uber at 4 in the morning in Sioux Falls. | | Blacklane doesn't service that airport either, almost certainly because there aren't enough drivers to meet their qualifications. In short, I got very lucky as I found one driver, just one, who was a Lyft driver and was working at 4 AM. If it weren't for him, I would have definitely missed my flight. | | But it made me think about exactly the point that you raised. Of course, I immediately thought an autonomous ride-hailing network would have solved the problem I experienced. After all, an autonomous car doesn't care about working at 4 AM, it's always on and ready to go. | | Your question isn't a technological question, but a business question. Will the economics make sense for cities or towns with much smaller populations? | | And there are two different answers because there will be two primary approaches to autonomous ride-hailing services. | | The first approach is the one that most are referring to which is a business model that is driven by one single entity – an autonomous ride-hailing company. Something along the lines of Waymo. | | In this construct, Waymo purchases all the cars, develops its own autonomous software, and controls its own ride-hailing app. | | For a business like this, Waymo would focus on the larger population centers where the economics make sense. | | After all, Waymo needs to have the infrastructure to service, clean, maintain, and charge all of its autonomous vehicles. | | Rolling out services to new cities is very expensive and takes a lot of time and money. It also requires mapping out the geofenced areas for service very precisely, due to Waymo's technological architecture for autonomous software. | | In a case like this, a city like Carson City, Nevada, with a relatively smaller population and a relatively larger distance from Nevada's busiest and most populated city, Las Vegas, would be very low on Waymo's list of cities. You might have to wait 10 years for that to happen, if ever. | | But a ride-hailing network like the one that Tesla has designed (but not launched yet), would be a far better solution with a quick timeline to market. | | While it appears that Tesla will launch its own Robotaxi network with its Cybercab, Tesla has already been clear that it will launch a shared autonomous vehicle network whereby Tesla owners (and lessees) will be able to opt-in their Teslas into the ride-hailing network. | | This is the solution to the question that you raise. Let's use the Carson City area as an example again. Below is a map of charging locations in your area: | | | | Source: Tesla | | There are chargers at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Carson City, a supercharger location at Incline Village, and additional charging locations in Gold Hill and Virginia City. My point is that there are already Teslas capable of full self-driving in your area. | | Two things will need to happen to make it a reality. Tesla will need to get regulatory approval from the state of Nevada for unsupervised self-driving cars, and then it will need to launch its autonomous ride-hailing app in Nevada. These two things will enable those with Teslas to have their cars go out and earn income for them when they are not being used. | | This approach is the fastest way to address the challenge that you raised, serving smaller rural communities. | | I actually believe that there is a great business opportunity here. Individuals will be able to purchase or lease a small fleet of Cybercabs, Model 3s, or Model Ys and operate their own ride-hailing services in their own hometowns. | | It's coming much sooner than you think. And given the level of investment that Tesla has made in Nevada, I think it is one of the earlier states that allow for unsupervised self-driving services. | That's it for today's AMA. Thanks for another exciting round of questions. If you have something you'd like answered in a future AMA, you can write us right here. | | Have a great weekend, | | Jeff | | | | | | | A profoundly positive development is happening in the social media sphere… | | | | | | There's something remarkable happening in the crypto markets right now… | | | | | | How will we know when artificial general intelligence has been achieved? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | To ensure our emails continue reaching your inbox, please add our email address to your address book. This editorial email containing advertisements was sent to riku221199@gmail.com because you subscribed to this service. To stop receiving these emails, click here. Brownstone Research welcomes your feedback and questions. But please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized advice. To contact Customer Service, call toll free Domestic/International: 1-888-512-0726, Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm ET, or email us here. © 2025 Brownstone Research. All rights reserved. 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