The Dumbest Seat in Your House
Why 80% of Japanese homes are using this new smart tech
Ric Edelman: It's Monday, October 2nd. Just how dumb is your toilet? I don't know about you, but mine is pretty dumb. And if you think about it, my toilet is pretty much the same as it was 50 years ago. In fact, it's exactly the same. But that is changing, at least in China and Japan. Their smart toilets are all the rage in China, 4% of homes have smart toilets, and Goldman Sachs says this will triple over the next three years. It's going to create a $21 billion market in China alone. Ultimately, Goldman says, 30% of Chinese homes will have smart toilets. That's a huge growth opportunity. And Japan's already there. 80% of homes in Japan have smart toilets.
And what about you? Nah, you don't have one. In fact, here in the US, less than 1% of homes have them. Right now, smart toilets are fairly pricey. Kohler's NUMI 2.0 smart toilet costs $8,600, compared to less than 300 bucks for a traditional dumb toilet that you can buy on Amazon. But like all new tech, the prices will drop dramatically as volume increases. So eventually you'll go for one, right?
By the way, what exactly is a smart toilet? Well, most of them are one piece units. The lid senses when you're near and it automatically opens. And when you walk away, it automatically closes. The seat is heated and it also serves as a dryer. The flushing is motion activated with two modes one for number one and one for number two.
This is more water efficient, better for the environment, especially in places where there's a shortage of water. They have a strainer filter that traps and removes debris in the water. There's a wireless remote control with auto deodorization for your posterior as well as functions for feminine wash as well as turbowash when you need. Never mind. They wash your rear end, your front. There's a lady car wash. A strong wash. A massage wash. There's also an automatic dryer to dry you off after the wash. And all this is operated by remote control. You also control the height of the seat. And there's a nightlight and a battery backup in case of a power outage. And the design is ultra-modern. These things do not look like toilets.
Now, do you want a smart toilet? They're already in a lot of five star luxury hotels. Once you use them, you might discover it's hard to go back.
Hey, you know, there's a lot of movement in the world of crypto these days and particular attention and focus on the potential for the SEC to say yes to spot Bitcoin ETFs. These would be ETFs that allow you to invest directly into Bitcoin. But while everybody's waiting for the SEC to rule on this, what the SEC has ruled on are Ethereum futures ETFs. These have just entered the marketplace this week. Nobody was really paying attention to that. But we now need to because you are hearing about them, you need to understand how they work. You need to understand both the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum and all about the new Ethereum futures ETFs. You could regard this as the easiest way to gain an Ethereum exposure for your portfolio.
And to help you figure it all out, I'm very happy to tell you that tomorrow, Tuesday, I'm presenting a special urgent webinar: What You Need To Know About Ethereum Futures ETFs. Joining me is going to be Matt Hougan, the CIO of Bitwise, which is one of the companies that has gotten approval for an Ethereum futures ETF, and we're going to tell you everything you need to know about it. It's tomorrow, 2:00pm ET. The webinar is free. You get one CE credit. This is your opportunity to stay ahead, be at the forefront of the latest investment opportunity. You'll be prepared to be able to answer client questions about this and make informed decisions about adding Ethereum to client portfolios. Hope to see you there. It's tomorrow, 2:00pm ET, one CE credit.
Hey, I'm happy to announce that I've been selected once again for Virginia Business Magazine's Annual Virginia 500 power list of the state's top executives. They've done this list for four years. I've been on the list every time. Thank you to the editors of Virginia Business magazine. It's an honor to receive your recognition, once again. You can check out the full list at Virginia Business.com.
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