According to The Kobeissi Letter, it now takes an average 1,295 hours worked in the U.S. to buy one unit of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a new record and roughly 500 hours more than in 2017 or at the 2020 pandemic low, source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 5, 2026. Since the 2008 Financial Crisis, the hours required to buy the Dow have more than quadrupled while the Dow has gained 629% and average hourly earnings have risen 67% to a record $36.86, source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 5, 2026. The Kobeissi Letter states that asset owners are enjoying unprecedented gains, highlighting a widening gap between equity performance and wage growth that is relevant for market allocation decisions, source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 5, 2026. The post does not provide cryptocurrency-specific data or direct crypto market impacts, source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 5, 2026.