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Today we’re making finance fun as we talk about yesterday’s interest rate hike, the NFT that broke the blockchain, more Dealers accepting crypto and how you can make sense of it all whatever your position in the Dealership is. 

• Fed raises rates .5% for the second time since 2018. Highest one-time increase since 2000

  • Second of seven planned increases this year
  • Fed reserve targets a 2% inflation rate, we are at 8.5% as of march
  • They say inflation is showing signs of peaking 
  • Theory: Higher rates make borrowing money more expensive, thereby slowing spending and curbing consumer demand allowing prices to stabilize
  • Take away for dealers: With affordability already being an issue, look for ways to ease the pressure in other areas for your consumers. This could come in non-automotive related areas through partnerships with other local businesses
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• “Otherside” deeds for new metaverse land temporarily shuts down Ethereum blockchain
  • Bored Ape NFT’s (the most popular NFT by sales) was acquired by Yuga studios who now owns Apes, Punks, Cool Cats, World of Women, and more.
  • Launched their own crypto currency, Apecoin
  • Announced creation of new metaverse world called “Otherside” and had a sale of ‘deeds’ to 55,000 parcels of land where uses can use their NFTs as avatars
  • Each parcel averaged $5800 but a ‘gas’ war ensued with network congestion pushing prices for the transaction as high as an additional $6k
  • The Otherside mint’s gas war “burned” more than $157 million worth of ETH in hours ‘Ebay of NFTs’ OpenSea, has burned $630 million worth of ETH … over nine months.
  • As of this morning, floor price is 3.77 ETH or $11,204
  • Take away for dealers: With crypto currency use being adopted in more dealers across the country everyday, having a basic knowledge of how consumers are earning and trading it is an important step to understanding your customer. 
• More Dealers than ever accepting cryptocurrency as payment
  • “Last month, Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell in Kentucky sold a certified pre-owned 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580 to a buyer in Saudi Arabia who had submitted an Internet lead and paid using the ethereum cryptocurrency, said Kevin Frye of Jeff Wyler Automotive Family. Frye heads up marketing for the group, which owns the Fort Mitchell store.”
    • "For us, it's really no different than getting a traditional down payment," Frye said. "It's just the form we're getting it in."
    • Jeff Wyler Automotive Family said it will accept 12 cryptocurrency forms at its 23 dealerships in three states.
  • "Every important business decision that we make, we ask ourselves this question: Does this make us more consumer-facing?" Frye told me. "And when we apply, 'Does accepting crypto make us more cons

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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