Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → South Carolina is making a power move with Bitcoin

South Carolina just introduced the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Act (HB4256), aiming to allocate up to 10% of public funds into digital assets—starting with Bitcoin. The bill, proposed by State Rep. Jordan Pace, lays out a secure framework for custody, regular audits, and even allows voluntary BTC donations from residents.

This is yet another sign that states are racing to build Bitcoin reserves, following similar moves in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. However, not everyone’s on board—Wyoming just saw their proposal collapse, with the governor stressing Bitcoin’s volatility.

State-level Bitcoin adoption is all but inevitable at this point. Imagine being the last state to buy.

⌐◪-◪ → SEC gives crypto a big win

The SEC just dropped its enforcement cases against Kraken, ConsenSys, and Cumberland DRW—officially ending what many called a wasteful, politically motivated campaign against the crypto industry.

This marks a significant shift under acting SEC Chairman Mark T. Uyeda, who has pushed for clearer regulation and more transparency. Kraken, in a statement, called the dismissals a relief, noting it lifts uncertainty that was stifling innovation and investment.

The SEC’s changing tune signals a more crypto-friendly future, and might even pave the way for companies like Kraken to go public.

Regulatory clarity is finally on the horizon.

⌐◪-◪ → Hackers claim to have leaked Gemini & Binance user data

Hackers on the dark web are claiming to have stolen personal data from over 100,000 users of Gemini and Binance. The database allegedly includes full names, emails, phone numbers, and location data.

Binance has denied any breach, stating that the leaked information likely came from malware on user devices rather than an exchange leak.

It’s another reminder that personal security is paramount—make sure you’re using hardware wallets and strong, unique passwords.

Stay safe out there!

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → On-demand cash delivery is coming!

Robinhood just unveiled "Robinhood Banking" — a full-on traditional banking service that blurs the line between fintech and finance. This launch positions Robinhood as a direct competitor to established players like Charles Schwab and SoFi.

With features like 4% savings APY, estate planning, tax advice, and the ability to send cash worldwide, they're not messing around. Robinhood is also rolling out cash delivery directly to users — no ATMs required. Plus, they're offering FDIC insurance up to $2.5M, which is impressive for a fintech platform.

The service also integrates Robinhood Cortex — an AI-driven feature set to streamline financial planning and investing. This whole package could easily reshape how retail investors think about personal finance.

Really digging the whole golden Egyptian vibe they have on the landing page. If you want in, request early access now.

Say goodbye to last-minute runs to the atm to buy cash-only things.

⌐◪-◪ → The first state-issued stablecoin?

Wyoming is on the brink of launching its own state-backed stablecoin, dubbed "WYST." Set for a July debut, it will be the first fiat-backed, fully-reserved stablecoin issued by a U.S. state.

WYST will be backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and dollar reserves, using LayerZero tech to work across multiple blockchains, including Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon. The state aims to use any interest earned to fund local schools.

The token is already being tested on seven blockchains and will feature over-collateralization to ensure it maintains a 1:1 peg with the dollar.

Wyoming is making a massive push to position itself as a leader in blockchain adoption. If they pull this off, it could set a major precedent for other states to follow.

The stablecoin race is heating up faster than expected!

⌐◪-◪ → GameStop is all in on Bitcoin!

GameStop just announced its intention to buy Bitcoin with $1.3 billion worth of convertible notes — and the market loved it. Shares of GME surged 11% to $28.

This move mirrors Michael Saylor’s strategy with MicroStrategy, and many are comparing GameStop’s Bitcoin play to the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — but potentially even bigger given GameStop’s size and retail loyalty.

Jeff Park of Bitwise said it best: “$GME is the OG—the first retail revolt against centralization. No bond is stronger than the ethos of GME x BTC, by and for the PEOPLE.”

GameStop was the original retail rebellion stock, and now it's becoming a major Bitcoin player. As adoption spreads from companies to banks to states — GameStop is the next to lead the charge.

The biggest retail army in history just joined the hardest money in history.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → BitBoy is busted!

Crypto influencer Ben 'BitBoy' Armstrong has been arrested in Florida for allegedly sending threatening emails to Georgia Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs. Armstrong, who confirmed the existence of warrants against him via social media, now faces up to three years in prison.

This marks his second arrest in a short period — and incredibly, some people still like him and are defending him (maybe it’s just trolling?).

Honestly, it’s just another episode in the chaotic saga that is BitBoy and a great example of our favorite lesson — fuck around, find out.

⌐◪-◪ → Another stablecoin is born!

Fidelity is entering the stablecoin arena!

The $5 trillion asset manager just announced plans to launch its own stablecoin, joining the likes of Trump’s World Liberty Financial and Sam Altman’s Worldcoin. The token will form part of their strategy to enter the tokenized government bonds market, integrating digital assets into their massive financial offerings.

This move comes on the heels of Fidelity's recent filing for an "OnChain" share class of its Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX), aiming to leverage blockchain for greater transparency and efficiency. It’s part of a broader trend of TradFi giants moving deeper into crypto, as the gap between TradFi and DeFi continues to shrink.

Stablecoin wars are heating up. Tether and Circle better watch their backs!

⌐◪-◪ → GameStop is all in on Bitcoin!

GameStop just made a huge move into crypto, updating its investment policy to include Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. The decision was unanimously approved by the board, signaling a strategic shift towards digital assets.

With approximately $4.75 billion in cash, GameStop has the firepower to make a substantial investment in Bitcoin. This comes as the company doubles its Q4 net income to $131.3 million, despite closing 590 stores in 2024 and planning to shut down even more in 2025.

GameStop’s pivot to Bitcoin is a big move, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the market reacts.

The memestock just got a whole lot meme-ier.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Another stablecoin is born!

WLFI just announced its latest venture into the stablecoin space with USD1 — a dollar-backed, 100% reserve stablecoin built on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain.

Unlike algorithmic and unregulated stablecoins, USD1 aims to be the most secure and reliable option available — backed entirely by short-term U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents. The reserves will be held and managed by BitGo, the world’s leading digital asset custodian.

Co-founder Zach Witkoff emphasized that USD1 brings institutional-grade security and liquidity to DeFi, making it an attractive choice for both investors and institutions alike.

Meanwhile, looks like Sam Altman’s Worldcoin is in talks with Visa about launching its own stablecoin. Looks like the stablecoin wars are heating up again!

⌐◪-◪ → Is Trump launching a crypto ETF?

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) just announced a partnership with Crypto.com to launch 'Made in America' themed crypto ETFs. The collaboration will focus on creating ETF baskets of digital assets, including Bitcoin and CRO, available to Crypto.com’s 140 million users.

Crypto.com will provide backend tech, custody, and liquidity through its Custody Trust Company — an SEC-regulated entity.

This partnership comes amid controversy as Crypto.com recently reissued 70 billion CRO tokens, previously burned, which has raised some eyebrows among investors.

Trump has consistently shown support for Bitcoin and crypto adoption — proving that his pro-crypto stance goes beyond just votes. It’s clear he’s all in on pushing the industry forward.

⌐◪-◪ → States are embracing crypto!

Crypto is winning on the legislative front again as Kentucky passes the Bitcoin Rights Bill, protecting self-custody and mining from discrimination. The bill also exempts digital asset payments from additional taxes and clarifies that PoW mining is not a security.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma has passed the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act through its House of Representatives, aiming to set up a state-backed Bitcoin reserve.

This momentum aligns with Trump’s pro-crypto executive orders, and it’s becoming clear that crypto is here to stay — especially at the state level.

As more states follow suit, expect a wave of crypto-friendly legislation to sweep the country. The future of crypto in America has never looked brighter.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Tornado Cash is back from the dead!

Tornado Cash just scored a major win as the U.S. Treasury Department officially removed it from the sanction list, sending TORN tokens soaring 35%. The protocol was originally targeted by OFAC back in August 2022, accused of laundering over $7 billion worth of crypto, with half a billion allegedly linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

This comes after a U.S. court overturned the sanctions last month, pushing TORN from $3.5 to $20 in a massive 470% rally. Today, it's up another 36% to $11.56 with a $45M market cap.

While Tornado Cash just got a green light, the battle isn't over. Treasury filed a late Friday pleading to claim they can still revisit the decision, despite removing TC from the list. So while privacy advocates are celebrating, it's clear that power never recedes voluntarily. As Balaji said, “Privacy wins. Tornado Cash is legal. Now Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev should be immediately freed and reimbursed by the state.”

So, are we witnessing a real victory for privacy or just a temporary retreat from the powers that be? Stay vigilant, because they’re not giving up that easily.

One thing is for sure, privacy is a fundamental human right.

⌐◪-◪ → Fidelity is making moves on Ethereum

Fidelity Investments just filed for regulatory approval to launch the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX), a blockchain-based share class on Ethereum. This marks a big step towards tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) and could add more legitimacy to Ethereum as the default platform for traditional finance (TradFi) on-chain.

The fund will be 99.5% backed by U.S. Treasuries and cash, using Ethereum for on-chain recordkeeping. While it doesn’t involve tokenized treasuries or a secondary market (yet), it does require a blockchain wallet to participate. The launch is expected on May 30, 2025, assuming it gets the regulatory green light.

Fidelity is not alone in this race. BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are also making strides in the RWA tokenization game. Robbie Mitchnick, head of crypto at BlackRock, called Ethereum the “natural default answer” for TradFi firms, emphasizing its credibility, security, and decentralization.

The move marks a new chapter for TradFi on Ethereum, and it’s safe to say the race for on-chain finance just got a major boost. As more institutions leverage blockchain for real-world assets, it only strengthens Ethereum’s positioning as the go-to financial layer of the internet.

⌐◪-◪ → Did BNB just flip ETH?

BNB Chain just pulled off something unthinkable — outpacing Ethereum in weekly DEX volume! According to DeFiLlama, BNB Chain clocked in $14.3B in trading volume over 7 days, compared to Ethereum’s $9.6B. This marks a 48% surge in activity while ETH, Solana, Base, and Arbitrum all saw declines.

The secret sauce? PancakeSwap. The platform accounted for a staggering 32% of total DEX volume and 94% of BNB Chain’s activity. Combine that with BNB Chain’s Total Value Locked (TVL) of $5.4B (+5.6%) and record $2.61B 24H DEX volume, and it’s clear that momentum is shifting.

Upcoming upgrades like Lorentz (April) and Maxwell (June) will cut block times to as low as 0.75 seconds, making BNB Chain one of the fastest networks in crypto. While Ethereum is still the king of DeFi, it’s clear BNB Chain is making serious moves to challenge that dominance.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Penguins are coming to Wall Street!

Canary Capital just filed an S-1 for the first-ever $PENGU and Pudgy Penguins NFT ETF — a groundbreaking moment as it would be the first U.S. ETF to hold NFTs if approved. This move comes just two weeks after Robinhood listed $PENGU on their app for trading, making it accessible to the masses.

The ETF won’t just hold $PENGU and Pudgy Penguins NFTs, but will also include other digital assets like SOL and ETH required for transactions and custody. Canary Capital is aiming to open the door to mainstream adoption of NFTs via the traditional finance route.

Honestly, I knew an NFT ETF was coming eventually, but seeing Pudgy Penguins lead the charge is pretty crazy. Shoutout to the team for making it happen — good luck on the approval. If this goes through, it could inspire other NFT collections to follow suit, but I can't help but feel a bit conflicted about the idea of Punks doing it — it’s probably good for bags, but definitely feels anti-punk.

NFTs on Wall Street — who would’ve thought?

⌐◪-◪ → POW! Proof-of-Work for the win.

The SEC just dropped a staff statement clarifying that Proof-of-Work (PoW) crypto mining, both solo and pooled, is outside its jurisdiction. Translation: no need for mining operators to register transactions with the SEC.

The reasoning here is that PoW doesn’t meet the definition of a security under the Howey Test, specifically because it’s “not undertaken with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others.”

This is a huge win for the mining community — and the broader crypto space — as it ends fears of enforcement action, which has been the SEC’s MO under Gary Gensler.

This statement comes shortly after the SEC published a similar statement suggesting that most memecoins do not constitute securities.

Zooming out, this feels like part of a larger effort to provide much-needed regulatory clarity around crypto assets, something we’ve been fighting over for years. If the SEC is taking the stance that PoW isn’t their problem, it’s a promising sign for how other projects might be handled moving forward.

The future of crypto in America has never looked brighter!

⌐◪-◪ → PumpFun just dropped its own DEX!

PumpFun just launched its native decentralized exchange called PumpSwap — and it’s primed to become the go-to DEX for memecoin trading. With its focus on user experience, instant migrations, thicker liquidity, and no migration fees, it’s a significant upgrade from past setups, where switching protocols could cost as much as 6 SOL ($750).

The platform charges a 0.25% fee, which is slightly lower than Uniswap V2’s 0.3% fee and on par with Raydium’s 0.25% fee. PumpSwap will host all coins that complete PumpFun bonding curves, allowing instant migration and integration with key partners like Ethena’s USDe, Coinbase’s cbBTC, and TRON.

The most intriguing part is a revenue-sharing mechanism for creators that could really shake up the space. While PumpFun makes moves with its DEX, Raydium isn’t sitting still. They just introduced their own memecoin launchpad, putting them in direct competition with PumpFun on both the launchpad and DEX fronts.

Let the Pump vs. Raydium wars begin!

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → POTUS is heading to DAS!

Today marks a historic moment as President Donald Trump becomes the first sitting U.S. president to address a crypto conference — the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York. Remember, he was only a candidate when he showed up at Bitcoin Conference 2024 in Nashville.

According to The Kobeissi Letter, Trump is expected to make a major update to his crypto strategy, and naturally, crypto Twitter is buzzing with speculation. The leading (though entirely unconfirmed) rumor is that he’ll announce 0% capital gains tax on Bitcoin and other crypto investments in the U.S.

If that happens, we could easily see new all-time highs by Q2 2025.

Also on stage are Michael Saylor and Brad Garlinghouse, who will be discussing Bitcoin ETFs and institutional adoption. Safe to say, the lineup is stacked.

But regardless of what’s announced, one thing is clear — anyone who said Trump’s pro-crypto stance was just to win votes might need to rethink that narrative. He’s already in office, he’s already delivered on his campaign promises, and he’s still showing up consistently to help push the space forward.

Do you think Trump will announce anything major, or is he just attending to show support for the industry? Let me know what you think in Specs.Chat.

⌐◪-◪ → Another nation adopting Bitcoin!

Another one joins the crypto revolution — Pakistan is moving towards legalizing cryptocurrency trading, aiming to attract foreign investment and integrate blockchain tech into its financial system.

The government has launched the Pakistan Crypto Council to regulate and foster digital finance, which follows a period of ambiguity and previous bans on crypto in the country.

While details are still coming in, this move could position Pakistan as a hub for digital finance in the region. The specifics of the regulatory framework and long-term impact remain to be fully articulated, but this is undeniably bullish.

First corps, then banks, then states, then nations. The crypto prophecy is unfolding before our eyes. If you’re not stacking, you’re probably underexposed.

⌐◪-◪ → Stablecoins are not stopping!

Tether (USDT) just became the 7th largest buyer of U.S. Treasuries in 2024, with $33.1 billion in holdings. That puts them alongside major countries like Japan and China — yeah, it’s that big.

For context, here are the top 5 stablecoins by market cap as of today:

1. USDT: $143B

2. USDC: $59.21B

3. USDe: $5.41B

4. DAI: $5.37B

5. FDUSD: $2.2B

The stablecoin competition is really heating up, with other FinTech giants like PayPal and Ripple trying to break into the top 5.

While the broader crypto market is struggling, stablecoins are surging, recently hitting $234B in total market cap — nearly matching Ethereum’s $242B. This consistent growth is a bullish signal for the EVM ecosystem.

Don’t capitulate, keep accumulating, and thank me later.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Coinbase just launched Verified Pools!

Coinbase is taking another step in bridging TradFi and DeFi with its latest product—Coinbase Verified Pools, a curated selection of liquidity pools available only to users with Coinbase Verification Credentials (KYC).

As expected, these pools live on Base, Coinbase’s L2, which recently caught heat from Standard Chartered for “reducing Ethereum’s market cap by $50 billion.” But personally? This is just the same old ETH vs. L2 value accrual debate we’ve been having for years. Large holders are still accumulating, and I remain bullish.

Back to Verified Pools—the goal here is to bring more assets onchain in a compliant way, unlocking capital that would otherwise stay sidelined due to regulatory concerns. Users get verified, institutions feel safer, and suddenly, we have more liquidity flowing onchain.

I see this as the beginning of something much greater. Over time, every financial institution will launch permissioned pools and onchain services, aligning with my thesis that TradFi will eventually be just a portal to the great shared backend—blockchain global liquidity.

That said, KYC always raises privacy concerns. ZachXBT recently voiced frustration, pointing out that KYC data often becomes a honeypot for leaks and breaches, while doing little to prevent actual financial crime. Always something to watch.

Overall though, this is bullish and will help us bring the world onchain!

⌐◪-◪ → Another Bitcoin Reserve Bill just dropped!

North Carolina has entered the Bitcoin Reserve race. Senate Bill 327, aka the "North Carolina Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act," would allow the state to invest up to 10% of its $9.5B general fund into Bitcoin.

This isn’t just a one-off event—it’s part of a massive wave of state-level Bitcoin legislation. By my count, 33 of 50 states now have active Bitcoin bills, with some states, like Texas, proposing multiple reserve plans.

The Bitcoin prophecy is playing out in real-time. First, it was corporations. Then, it was banks. Now, states are getting involved. The next step? Nations.

Keep stacking and spread the gospel. We are still so early.

⌐◪-◪ → Raydium is gunning for PumpFun!

Raydium, a core pillar of Solana’s DeFi infrastructure, is going head-to-head with PumpFun by launching “LaunchLab,” a memecoin launchpad designed to rival Pump’s dominance.

This is a direct response to PumpFun’s move to develop its own AMM (automated market maker), which put them in competition with Raydium for token launches. The battle lines are drawn.

LaunchLab will introduce new bonding curves for token pricing and allow third-party interfaces to set their own fees. The result? A more open and competitive launch environment for memecoins.

The market loved the news—Raydium’s token $RAY pumped 30%—but opinions on Crypto Twitter were mixed. Some are bullish on competition, while others worry about the growing normalization of memecoins and the rampant scams they enable.

Personally, this is a win. Raydium has been a foundational player in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem, while Pump.Fun changed the game for memecoin trading. Now, they’re competing, which means innovation, better products, and lower fees for users.

Let the Pump vs. Raydium war begin!

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Did Base just take $50B from Ethereum?

The Ethereum vs. Layer 2 value accrual debate is nothing new, but Standard Chartered just reignited it—slashing its 2025 ETH price target by 60% and pointing the finger at Base.

According to their report, Base alone has "removed" $50B in market cap from Ethereum as economic activity shifts away from L1. Fees that once fueled Ethereum’s security now flow to L2s instead, boosting their profits while ETH struggles.

Ethereum wanted rollups to scale the network, but has it backfired? Critics argue Ethereum has "commoditized itself," giving away its most valuable revenue streams for free. Some analysts are even floating the idea of taxing L2s, like governments taxing foreign mining companies—but admit it’s unlikely.

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s fundamentals are taking a hit:

• S&P500 has outperformed ETH over the last 7 years

• ETH/BTC just hit a 5-year low

• Pump.Fun YTD revenue > ETH protocol revenue

• Stablecoins surpassed ETH’s market cap

• ETH dropped out of the top 20 protocols by revenue

Despite all this, large holders are still accumulating aggressively. Some see this as Ethereum's biggest test yet—others, just another phase in a long cycle of L2 FUD. Besides, who cares about Standard Chartered’s price predictions anyways.

So, is Base actually killing Ethereum, or is this just noise? Let me know what you think in Specs.Chat.

⌐◪-◪ → Robinhood bets big on prediction markets

Robinhood is officially launching a Prediction Markets Hub, allowing users to bet on major world events directly within the Robinhood app. The first contracts include bets on the Fed’s interest rate decisions and NCAA basketball tournaments, with plans to expand into other political, economic, and cultural events.

This is a massive win for Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated exchange providing the backend, as it instantly gets access to Robinhood’s 25M+ user base. It also signals that Robinhood is serious about diversifying its offerings beyond stocks and crypto. The market liked it too—Robinhood stock surged 9% on the news.

But the real question is, will Robinhood stick with Kalshi long term, or will it eventually spin up its own prediction markets? Also, how will this impact sports betting giants like DraftKings and FanDuel? A platform like Robinhood—already trusted for financial speculation—could eat into their market share over time.

Prediction markets aren’t just about gambling—they’re the future of information. When properly structured, they create the most accurate real-time forecasts on any event. The launch of Robinhood’s hub is just the beginning of what could be a seismic shift in how people trade on knowledge.

⌐◪-◪ → WLFI just pulled off one of the biggest token sales ever.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has officially completed its second token sale, raising $550 million and cementing its position as a major force in DeFi.

Since launching in October 2024, WLFI has successfully conducted two rounds of token sales, bringing in a total of $590 million. With over 85,000 KYC-verified participants, it ranks among the top token sales of all time.

WLFI is rapidly building key relationships across the industry, partnering with Ondo Finance, Ethena, Chainlink, Sui, and Aave, while also assembling a strategic reserve of top crypto assets, including BTC, ETH, TRX, LINK, SUI, and ONDO.

Co-founder Zak Witkoff emphasized that this is just the beginning:

"This milestone proves that those who truly understand crypto and finance recognize what we’re building—WLFI is on track to supercharge DeFi as it transforms global finance in the coming years."

WLFI’s mission is clear: to democratize finance at a global scale. With its latest funding success, it now has the firepower to make that vision a reality.

Exciting times ahead—stay tuned.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → There are now two competing Bitcoin Reserve bills!

The fight to make Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve law is heating up.

On one side, Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ Bitcoin Act proposes the U.S. buy 1M BTC over five years, using funds from reevaluating gold reserves. On the other, Rep. Byron Donalds’ Reserve and Stockpile Act is much simpler—it just codifies Trump’s executive order and doesn’t mandate any purchases.

Donalds' bill could be an easier political win—no forced spending, just a rubber stamp on what Trump already set in motion. But Lummis' bill is the one that actually accelerates Bitcoin accumulation at the federal level.

Which one will win out? The White House is reportedly pushing for some form of Bitcoin Reserve legislation, but they haven’t endorsed a specific bill yet. Given Trump’s stance, expect pressure to get something across the finish line.

One thing’s for sure: this isn’t a question of IF the U.S. will own Bitcoin, but HOW MUCH.

⌐◪-◪ → Goldman Sachs finally acknowledges crypto!

For the first time ever, Goldman Sachs mentioned crypto in its annual shareholder letter, marking a shift in TradFi’s relationship with digital assets.

In the letter, Goldman acknowledged that crypto and blockchain are legitimate financial competitors, citing the rise of digital asset trading and AI-powered finance. But they also threw in some classic TradFi fear, warning about cybersecurity risks and market volatility.

Despite this cautious stance, Goldman doubled down on Bitcoin ETFs last quarter, upping its holdings in BlackRock's IBIT by 88% and Fidelity’s FBTC by 105%, putting over $1.5B into Bitcoin ETFs.

Goldman’s CEO David Solomon has always been skeptical, calling BTC a "speculative asset" with no real use case. But actions speak louder than words—when a bank like Goldman is buying Bitcoin, it’s not just speculation anymore.

⌐◪-◪ → South Korea rejects Bitcoin reserves.

Not everyone’s following Trump’s lead—South Korea’s central bank just ruled out Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) says Bitcoin doesn’t meet the IMF’s criteria for foreign reserves, citing its volatility and lack of liquidity. They’re worried that BTC can’t be easily converted to cash without spiking transaction costs.

This follows recent discussions in Korea’s parliament about adding BTC to national reserves—so despite the rejection, the conversation is gaining traction.

Other Asian nations are also weighing the idea. Japan’s PM has raised concerns, but lawmakers there are pushing for a Bitcoin allocation.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve plan has set a new standard, and more countries are being forced to address the question—even if, for now, they’re saying no.

Bitcoin as a national reserve asset is no longer a fringe idea. South Korea might be saying no today, but the conversation isn’t going anywhere.

The Bitcoin standard is happening — first corps, then banks, then states, then nations. You are probably underexposed.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Russia is getting sneaky with it!

Russia is now using crypto to settle oil trades with China and India, skirting Western sanctions. According to sources cited by Reuters, BTC, ETH, and USDT are being used in transactions worth tens of millions per month.

The use of USDT raises some interesting questions—Tether, as a centralized issuer, has the power to freeze funds. If the West pressures them to block these transactions, will Tether comply? And if they don’t, what consequences might they face?

Russia began experimenting with crypto settlements in December after legalizing international payments in digital assets. Since then, sanctions have pushed them further into crypto rails, particularly as local banks hesitate to process Russia-linked transactions.

Meanwhile, Trump has signaled interest in improving relations with Russia and ending the war in Ukraine—but whether sanctions will be lifted remains unclear.

Politics aside, this is a prime example of blockchain’s censorship resistance in action. Even if Tether gets involved, Bitcoin and Ethereum remain unstoppable alternatives. The first truly global, permissionless financial system is proving why it exists.

⌐◪-◪ → Trump-backed World Liberty Financial raises $550M

The Trump-backed DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) just wrapped up its latest public token sale, bringing its total raised to $590 million. This puts WLFI in the top 10 biggest token sales ever.

The latest round sold 5 billion tokens at $0.05 per token, raising $250M. The sale gained momentum after the hype around Trump and Melania’s memecoins, driving renewed interest in WLFI.

WLFI has been gaining traction despite early underwhelming demand. Notably, Justin Sun played a key role in the project’s success, contributing $30M to the token sale.

However, there’s a catch: WLFI tokens aren’t tradable yet. They were only available to accredited investors, and there’s no set date for an exchange listing.

The WLFI raise is now one of the largest in history—but whether it delivers on its DeFi vision remains to be seen.

⌐◪-◪ → Solana's latest governance vote just made history

Solana’s SIMD-228 proposal, which aimed to cut SOL inflation by up to 80%, just failed to pass the validator vote.

74% of staked SOL participated in the vote—making this the biggest crypto governance vote ever, both in participation and in total staked market cap.

Even though the proposal didn’t pass, Solana maxis are calling this a win for governance, showing an engaged and active validator community. That’s rare—most on-chain governance fails due to low participation.

Not everyone was thrilled, though. Mert, CEO of Helius Labs, said the process was chaotic and distracting, adding that his team will now build a tool to simplify staker voting.

Regardless of the outcome, this vote proves one thing: Solana’s governance is alive and well. The network isn’t just growing—it’s maturing.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → ETH is bleeding out. Is this the bottom?

Ethereum just hit a 5-year low against Bitcoin, and ETH sentiment is at rock bottom. The ETH/BTC ratio is now at levels we haven’t seen since May 2020, down 52% over the past three months. To make matters worse, Ethereum has been dethroned as the second-largest crypto—stablecoins now have a higher market cap at $235.7B—and it fell out of the top 20 protocols by 24-hour revenue.

So what’s the play? Some traders see this as a golden buying opportunity, betting that ETH is close to bottoming out. Others think ETH’s dominance is fading for good, pointing to Solana’s rapid rise, the decline in Ethereum’s revenue, or its own Layer 2 solutions pulling activity off mainnet.

At the same time, more aggressive traders are rotating into high-beta altcoins, expecting to outperform ETH while the market rebounds. The argument? If the market keeps dipping, you’ll bleed out either way—but if it pumps, you’ll want to be in the assets that move first.

Is this the moment to accumulate ETH, swap for BTC, or ape into stronger alts? Let me know what you think in Specs.Chat.

⌐◪-◪ → The SEC’s Ripple lawsuit might be ending soon

Rumors are swirling that the SEC is preparing to end its lawsuit against Ripple. According to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, negotiations are still ongoing, with Ripple's legal team pushing for more favorable settlement terms—specifically, better conditions around the $125M fine and the restrictions placed on XRP sales to institutions.

MetaLawMan, a reputable web3 lawyer/analyst, speculated that Ripple is trying to get the SEC to vacate key parts of Judge Torres’ ruling. While the decision was a massive win for XRP holders, Ripple itself was still hit with securities law violations and a permanent injunction. If they plan to IPO or issue an exempt securities offering in the future, that ruling could be a major roadblock.

It’s worth noting that the SEC would likely accept a deal right now—dismissing all appeals and taking the $125M penalty—if Ripple agrees. Whether or not Ripple will push for more remains to be seen.

If this lawsuit officially wraps up, it would mark yet another major SEC retreat from the crypto sector. Coinbase, Uniswap, Yuga Labs, and now potentially Ripple—the trend is clear.

Meanwhile, Ripple is full steam ahead on the global frontier and just secured full regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority — a first-of-a-kind license to operate in Dubai.

⌐◪-◪ → Abu Dhabi just sent Binance $2B in stablecoins

Binance just locked in its first-ever institutional investment, and it’s a big one—Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund has dropped $2 billion into the exchange, transacted entirely in stablecoins.

This isn’t just a huge deal for Binance—it’s the largest single investment into a crypto company in history and the biggest investment ever made via crypto rails. MGX, a fund backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and AI powerhouse G42, is looking to scale up its exposure to blockchain infrastructure.

Binance founder CZ commented on the move, saying, “More stables to buy alts soon.” He’s not wrong—this influx of capital could drive some serious market action.

Binance remains the undisputed king of crypto exchanges, dominating both spot and derivatives markets with volumes that crush competitors. With $21B in spot trading and $74B in derivatives volume in the last 24 hours alone, this partnership only strengthens its grip on the industry.

Could this be the start of a wave of institutional money moving directly into exchanges via stablecoins? If so, we might be on the brink of a new era for crypto finance.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → The BITCOIN Act is back

Senator Cynthia Lummis just reintroduced the BITCOIN Act, reaffirming the U.S. plan to acquire 1 million BTC over five years with a 20-year minimum hold.

For context, the bill was originally introduced in July 2024, directing the government to buy 200K BTC annually over five years. The reintroduced version stays largely the same, but adds a formal process for handling Bitcoin forked assets and airdrops, ensuring that only the most valuable assets (by market cap) are retained after a five-year period.

The bill also has new co-sponsors, including Jim Justice (R-WV), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH), signaling growing political support.

Oh, and Michael Saylor’s presentation at the event is already being called one of the best presentations on Bitcoin ever.

Zooming out — there aren’t any major changes here. Seems like they are just resetting the stage to build momentum and ensure everything is in alignment with Trump’s recent executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. So while there were some small adjustments, the big shift is really political context.

⌐◪-◪ → Congress is in crypto’s corner

The U.S. House of Representatives just voted 292-132 to overturn the DeFi broker rule proposed by the IRS under Biden’s administration—a huge win for crypto.

For context, this rule would have forced DeFi projects to collect and report information that would have been impossible to comply with, stifling innovation. Even some Democrats saw the problem, with 76 breaking ranks to vote in favor of overturning the rule.

The Senate already passed this resolution once, but it needs to do so again before it reaches Trump’s desk. Unlike Biden, who vetoed it last time, Trump is expected to sign it.

Crypto’s future in America has never looked brighter.

⌐◪-◪ → Taproot Wizards are finally minting

The long-awaited Taproot Wizards mint is finally happening, here are the key details:

• Mint date: March 19

• Supply: 2,121

• Mint price: 0.2 BTC

The only ways to mint are by: holding a pair of Dead + Alive Quantum Cats, being a top supporter, or Dutch auction.

If it sells out, it would be the biggest Ordinals mint ever at $35M in gross sales—putting it among the top PFP collections in terms of mint revenue since the NFT boom of 2021-2022. For reference (shoutout to wale.moca for this data):

• Mutant Apes raised $91M

• Moonbirds raised $60M

• Azuki Elementals raised $38M

• WoW Galaxy raised $34M

While this is bullish, there’s also a lot that could go wrong. Be honest—aside from a few wild parties at conferences—how often do you think about Moonbirds, Azuki, or WoW these days? Hype fades fast.

That’s why I lean toward the communities with no expectations, where the only “thing” you own is the art and access to the community—like Punks, Dickbutts, and Toadz.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Bitcoin took a hit, but is the dip a gift?

Bitcoin just dropped below $80,000, liquidating over $667M in leveraged positions. The market-wide sell-off is being blamed on inflation concerns, weak jobs data, and investors suddenly getting spooked about risk assets. Meanwhile, gold is pumping—suggesting some big money is rotating out of BTC in the short term.

Some analysts are calling for a deeper correction, with targets as low as $72,000 for BTC and $1,600 for ETH. Others see this as just another shakeout before we push higher.

Historically, corrections like these have always been great buying opportunities for long-term holders. ETF flows are still strong, and institutional demand isn’t going anywhere.

Zoom out. Bull markets climb a wall of worry.

⌐◪-◪ → The memecoin crash is killing Solana’s revenue

Solana’s chain revenue is down 90% from its January highs, thanks to the memecoin market completely imploding. The network was making $38M per week during peak memecoin mania—now, it’s barely scraping $4M.

The collapse of TRUMP, LIBRA, MELANIA, and ENRON sent memecoin traders running, and with them went Solana’s explosive fee revenue. At the same time, SOL is down nearly 60% from its all-time high, and major token unlocks are adding more sell pressure.

But despite the bloodbath, Solana is still doing better than late 2024 levels, and its memecoin casino will be back as soon as the next narrative takes hold. Whether that’s another cycle of degeneracy or something more sustainable—remains to be seen.

⌐◪-◪ → Trump moves to end anti-crypto banking policies

Trump is planning an executive order to reverse Biden-era policies that made it harder for crypto companies to access banking services, sources say.

The order is expected to roll back rules tied to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” a term coined by Nic Carter to describe how federal regulators pressured banks to cut off crypto businesses from traditional banking.

One of the biggest implications? Crypto banks like Custodia might finally get access to Fed master accounts, which would be a game-changer for the industry.

This could also go beyond banking. Some sources claim the order may include new directives stating that stablecoins are not securities—another major win for the industry.

If Trump follows through, this would be his third executive order dedicated to crypto since returning to office. First, he launched the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. Then, he created the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Now, he’s coming for the banking system.

One thing’s clear: this administration is pushing full steam ahead to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Saylor is a Bitcoin bull, bull, bull.

At the White House Crypto Summit, Saylor pitched an ambitious digital asset strategy, recommending the U.S. government acquire up to 25% of Bitcoin’s total supply by 2035, when 99% of all BTC will have been mined. His argument? A massive Bitcoin stockpile could generate trillions in revenue and act as a “perpetual source of prosperity” for Americans.

His proposal suggests the government should never sell its Bitcoin, emphasizing that a long-term holding strategy could generate $16T to $81T for the U.S. Treasury by 2045. Compared to Senator Cynthia Lummis’ previous push for a 5% allocation, this is an order of magnitude larger—and far more aggressive.

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is already in motion, with Trump’s executive order establishing a BTC stockpile using seized crypto. But so far, there’s no official commitment to buy more Bitcoin—only a directive for the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to develop “budget-neutral” strategies for future acquisition.

Saylor clearly thinks bigger. Whether or not his plan gains traction, one thing is certain: the conversation around nation-state Bitcoin accumulation has entered the mainstream. The real game theory is now in play.

⌐◪-◪ → Big win for banks and crypto.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) just announced that federally regulated banks can engage in crypto custody, stablecoin-related activities, and even run blockchain nodes—no prior approval needed. This is a major shift, removing the burdensome approval and control requirements that were previously in place.

Even more interesting, the OCC has officially withdrawn its 2023 statement on liquidity risks from crypto, signaling a reversal of prior concerns about the industry's impact on financial stability. Acting Comptroller Rodney Hood made it clear: banks engaging with crypto should have the same strong risk management controls as traditional activities, but there will no longer be unnecessary roadblocks in place.

Zooming out, this marks another step in the normalization of crypto within traditional finance. Expect more banks to start dipping their toes into custody and stablecoin operations, further blurring the lines between TradFi and DeFi. The great integration continues.

⌐◪-◪ → Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade just hit a roadblock.

During its final testnet run on Sepolia, the upgrade ran into unexpected issues, and an unknown attacker made things worse by exploiting an edge case to force the mining of empty blocks. The problem stemmed from the deposit contract triggering the wrong event type—a transfer event instead of a deposit. A fix was rolled out quickly, but the attacker found a loophole, sending zero-token transfers to keep the issue alive.

Ethereum developers eventually patched the problem by deploying a private fix across key nodes, preventing further disruption. Despite the setback, finalization was never lost, and the issue was contained to Sepolia due to its token-gated deposit contract, which isn’t present on mainnet.

This follows earlier testnet hiccups on Holesky, adding to concerns about Pectra’s readiness. As a result, the upgrade has been postponed for further testing. While delays are frustrating, they’re a reminder that Ethereum is optimizing for stability. Better to find the issues now than post-launch.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Presenting, Digital Fort Knox!

Yesterday, President Donald Trump officially created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Stockpile, delivering on his biggest promise to the crypto community. While some are trying to downplay the move (likely just their T.D.S. acting up), the reality is this is a massive, unprecedented moment in Bitcoin history.

The executive order does a few key things: it establishes the reserve, sidelines 200K BTC (~1% of supply) in U.S. government holdings, allows for the stockpiling of other seized crypto, and—most interestingly—authorizes “budget-neutral” strategies to acquire more Bitcoin without adding costs to taxpayers.

That last bit is still unclear, but Michael Saylor already chimed in saying he has a few strategies in mind. Could be Bitcoin bonds, selling gold, or even liquidating some of our strategic cheese reserves. All fair game.

For those saying this is "nothing," you need to wake up. The ETFs legitimized Bitcoin as an asset for Wall Street. This just legitimized Bitcoin as an asset for nation-states—on par with gold. The real race for sovereign Bitcoin accumulation has officially begun.

With this news out of the way, it makes you wonder what the next big bombshell from today’s White House Crypto Summit will be. If it’s tax incentives, we’re all about to be in a really good mood.

⌐◪-◪ → The SBF saga never dies.

Tucker Carlson just dropped a 43-minute interview with Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence at MDC Brooklyn (with Diddy, apparently).

I haven’t had a chance to watch the full thing, but the highlights making the rounds are already wild:

• “Diddy has been kind to me”

• “I don’t think I was a criminal”

• Describes why prison is soul crushing

• Discusses how he has no money left

Hearing Sam insist he’s not a criminal despite stealing billions is peak delusion. He also doubled down on how FTX would be worth $93B if it were still alive today—because, you know, that’s totally how things work.

By that logic, if I had all the Bitcoin I used to buy pizza in 2011, I’d be worth $100M right now.

Shoutout to Tucker for exposing just how much of a sociopath SBF is. And RIP to Sam’s crisis PR manager, who reportedly had no idea this interview even happened until it aired—and promptly resigned.

⌐◪-◪ → The Lone Star State is leading the way!

The Texas Senate just passed SB21 in a 25-5 vote, bringing the state one step closer to becoming the first in the U.S. to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet.

The bill would establish a Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, administered by the Texas Comptroller, and include Bitcoin plus other cryptos with a market cap of at least $500B. That means Bitcoin (market cap: $1.78T) qualifies, but Ethereum ($265B) doesn’t even make the cut.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick praised the move, calling Bitcoin’s "limited supply and decentralized nature a critical asset for Texas’ future.”

Shoutout to Senator Dr. Charles Schwertner for pushing the bill across the Senate line. If it passes the House, Texas could be the first U.S. state to have a Bitcoin reserve—standing with Trump’s mission to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.

Will Texas lead the charge, or will another state beat them to it? Join Specs.Chat to see what the hive mind thinks!

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → The odds of a Bitcoin reserve just shot up big time!

Speculation is running wild that Trump will announce his strategy for the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve tomorrow at the White House Crypto Summit. The odds of a Bitcoin reserve happening in 2025 have surged 20% this week on Polymarket, now sitting at 65% and climbing.

Trump has been teasing this for months—he’s promised a reserve, signed executive orders, and even specified which cryptos it would hold (which saw immediate pushback). But the big question remains — how will it actually work, and will congressional approval be required?

High-ranking officials are hinting that tomorrow could be the big reveal:

• David Sacks (Crypto Czar) pointed out that the U.S. paper-handed 195,000 BTC, costing taxpayers $17B because there was no long-term strategy.

• Howard Lutnick (Head of U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund) said, “A Bitcoin strategic reserve is something the President’s interested in… and I think you’re going to see it executed on Friday.”

Still, the reserve has sparked major debate. Industry leaders—including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong—argue it should be Bitcoin only and not hold ETH, XRP, SOL, or ADA. The pushback has been strong, and a lot of these critics will be at the summit tomorrow — full list of attendees.

That said, Howard Lutnick hinted that “Bitcoin will be treated differently from altcoins”—so maybe the reserve will be structured with a heavy BTC weighting and a market cap-weighted index for the rest. Something like 75% BTC and 25% spread across the others. Just a random number, but it sort of check out given Bitcoin dominance is currently 60.5%.

Regardless, I’m bullish on the idea of a U.S. crypto reserve, but I’m even more curious about how they plan to execute it. If it’s happening, I want details—and I want them fast.

⌐◪-◪ → The stock market is going onchain

Coinbase is reportedly exploring a tokenized version of its own stock, $COIN ( ▼ 2.88% ) —something that could open the floodgates for stock tokenization and permanently change Wall Street.

This is giving big Amazon vibes. First, they disrupted bookstores, then… well, everything. Tokenizing stocks could be TradFi’s Amazon moment, and if Coinbase pulls this off, it will force the legacy system to evolve or die. The benefits are obvious, but I’ll outline them anyway:

• 24/7 trading instead of 9:30am-4pm

• Instant settlement vs. waiting T+2 days

• Fractional ownership for any stock

• Global accessibility—no more borders

• Near-zero fees, no middlemen

• Trustless borrowing/lending

• Transparent real-time trading

Bringing stocks onchain would instantly eliminate the need for brokers, clearinghouses, and even traditional exchanges like NYSE and NASDAQ. They’d have no choice but to adapt or be left behind.

And it’s not just about public stocks—this would revolutionize private markets too. IPOs, M&A deals, and even early-stage startup funding could all be tokenized, blurring the lines between private and public companies.

For Coinbase, this is a power move. They have regulatory clout, strong TradFi + DeFi infrastructure, and could easily become the go-to U.S. platform for tokenized stocks—essentially a neo-stock exchange.

The writing’s on the wall. At some point, the blockchain will be our great shared financial backend. Legacy systems will just be portals connecting to it.

⌐◪-◪ → Bitcoin’s making use of stranded energy!

Belarus is getting into Bitcoin mining. President Alexander Lukashenko just directed the country’s energy minister to explore using surplus electricity—mainly from its nuclear power plant—to mine BTC.

For context, Belarus has some of the cheapest electricity in Europe, making it a prime candidate for mining operations. And they aren’t alone—El Salvador and Bhutan are already using excess energy to mine crypto.

Usually, surplus energy gets “curtailed,” meaning it’s wasted—often sent to “dump loads” where it’s just converted into heat and dissipated. Bitcoin fixes this.

One of Bitcoin mining’s biggest advantages is its mobility and flexibility. Unlike a gas power plant, which can’t just turn off and on at will, Bitcoin miners can relocate and start/stop operations as needed. This allows them to absorb energy that would otherwise be wasted.

People love to bash Bitcoin for its energy consumption, but the reality is it’s actually making the global energy grid more efficient. Instead of wasting power, we’re putting it to good use—securing the hardest money in the world.

And don’t even get me started on the Kardashev scale…

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

⌐◪-◪ → Ethereum is about to get an upgrade.

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade just hit the Sepolia testnet—marking the last major test phase before mainnet launch. This upgrade is all about scalability, security, and usability, bringing key changes like better wallet UX and account abstraction (EIP-7702), increasing the validator stake cap from 32 to 2,048 ETH (EIP-7251), and boosting rollup scalability by increasing max blob count (EIP-7691).

The original plan was mid-March, but now we’re looking at sometime next month. The Holesky testnet had some early issues with incorrect deposit contracts delaying finality. Sepolia did better, but still ran into some hiccups—empty blocks due to a problem with a custom deposit contract.

While the timeline remains shakey, Ethereum keeps marching forward!

⌐◪-◪ → The Lone Star State loves Bitcoin!

Texas is about to make history. The state Senate is set to vote on Senate Bill 21, aka the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill, which—if passed—would make Texas the first U.S. state to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet.

The bill has already cleared the Senate Business and Commerce Committee and is now awaiting a final vote. If it passes, Texas officially cements itself as the most pro-Bitcoin state in the country.

The Bitcoin prophecy is unfolding exactly as predicted—first corporations, then banks, then states, then nations. The real question is: Which state will be the first to actually make this happen?

There should be a Polymarket for this — retweet to make it happen.

⌐◪-◪ → Bitcoin is the hardest asset in the world.

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas just went all-in on Bitcoin—now holding 70% of his portfolio in BTC-related assets, a staggering $4 billion position.

Back in 2020, his Bitcoin exposure was only 10%. Fast forward to today, and his conviction is undeniable. No bonds, no traditional stocks—just Bitcoin and gold, with the latter making up the remaining 30%.

Salinas calls Bitcoin the "hardest asset in the world" and advises long-term holding. Seeing someone at his level allocate this aggressively is insane—but it’s also exactly how conviction trickles down.

When billionaires move, the world follows. The risk of NOT investing in Bitcoin is now greater than the risk of investing.

Remember Speccies, everybody gets Bitcoin at the price they deserve.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

👉 Join their Telegram for exclusive alpha!

Telegram | Twitter | Community

Our monkey JPEGs are actually — finally — totally safe!

The SEC has officially ended its investigation into Yuga Labs after more than three years, without any enforcement action. This isn’t just a win for BAYC holders—it’s a win for all NFT communities. NFTs are now effectively deemed NOT securities.

That said, don’t think the SEC won’t come after NFT projects that commit fraud or issue tokens that act like securities (e.g., promising revenue shares or direct financial returns). But the broader picture? The vibe shift is real.

We are literally watching the SEC drop investigations left and right against major crypto players like Coinbase, OpenSea, Uniswap, Consensys, and now Yuga Labs. The agency’s new crypto task force will hold its first roundtable later this month, kicking off a series of meetings to provide actual regulatory clarity for the industry.

I know the market is down, but you have to see the forest from the trees. The future has never looked brighter for crypto.

Time to sit on your hands and HODL. Don’t capitulate and sell the dip—be greedy when others are fearful.

What did he know?

An Ethereum whale shorted ETH at $3,200 with 50x leverage—and is now sitting on an unrealized profit of $81M.

This move came just as the entire market started to slump. Some highlights:

• Crypto market loses 350B in 24 hours, 2nd worst drop ever

• Crypto ETPs saw record $2.9B in weekly outflows

• ETH/BTC ratio just hit a 4-year low

• ETH tested $2K, its lowest level since Nov 2023

Naturally, Crypto Twitter is speculating that this trader had insider knowledge. But so far, there’s no concrete evidence—just an insane level of conviction on a massive, high-leverage short. Maybe they’re just that good.

The whale has started closing positions to secure profits, as the market begins reacting to their trade. This is where crypto’s transparency shines—no backroom deals, no hidden trades—everything is on-chain, for everyone to see.

Imagine applying the same real-time trading transparency to politicians. Right now, they technically have to disclose their trades, but they get 45 days to do so. That’s plenty of time to adjust narratives, manipulate sentiment, and front-run retail.

This sort of system would instantly delete any alpha politicians have from their insider knowledge.

Elon, do something.

The rumor mill is spinning!

Everyone is waiting to see what Trump announces this Friday at the first-ever White House Crypto Summit.

One of the biggest rumors floating around? Trump will eliminate capital gains tax on crypto held for over a year.

We’ve heard this before. Back in January, Eric Trump teased the idea, saying it could boost innovation and investment, further positioning the U.S. as the global leader in crypto.

Unfortunately for our bags, this one looks like fake news. The supposed leak came from a Discord chat with Eric Trump and David F. Bailey, but Bailey quickly shot it down, saying “Magoo is trolling. You’re now a victim of fake news.”

No reputable sources have backed the claim, so don’t get your hopes up. But it’s amazing how quickly people latch onto rumors when they align with their confirmation bias.

As for whether this would actually be a good idea? Hard to say. The bag bias is real.

Join Specs.Chat to see what the hive mind thinks.

Join Our Community!

Designed to make you a better crypto investor, builder, and operator.

💬 Chat with Valko and other experts
📚 Access additional hand-curated resources
😊 Make friends, share memes, have fun