Crypto’s latest moonshot: what’s fueling the rise

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🚀 Cardano’s ADA, Dogecoin, and Ripple’s XRP are pumping. Why?

🍊 News drops: Gemini AI gets scary, Polymarket whale loses $3M after betting on Mike Tyson’s win against Jake Paul + more

🍍 Market flavor today

 Crypto Market Cap: $3.13T 0.96% (24H)

  Name
 
Price
24H
7D

Bitcoin BTC
$90,452.13
-0.30%
10.06%

Ethereum ETH
$3,064.16
-1.39%
-4.12%

Solana SOL
$243.16
3.02%
12.46%

BNB BNB
$616.84
-2.22%
-1.46%

If these past few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that the market doesn’t need Carolina Reaper chili peppers to keep things spicy 🌶️ The Fear and Greed Index has cranked back up to “Extreme Greed,” sitting at 83. Bitcoin has been dancing between $90K and $92K over the weekend and took a little dip below $89K last night.

Now, here’s some exciting news to kick off your week: Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas dropped a tidbit saying that the CFTC just cleared the way for spot Bitcoin ETF options to be listed. The ball is now in the OCC’s court, and they’re likely to play along soon. So what does this mean for us mere mortals? Well, it shows that regulators are getting comfy with Bitcoin-related products, plus more institutional money could flow into Bitcoin.

Also, Pennsylvania lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow the state treasury to invest up to 10% of its funds in Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and economic instability.

And that’s not all – turns out Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Cabinet nominee, is a total Bitcoin fanboy, saying he’d stacked most of his own wealth into it.

This Bitcoin fever isn’t just confined to the US: over in Poland, presidential candidate Sławomir Mentzen proposed creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. He even pledged that if he becomes president, Poland will become a crypto haven with friendly regulations, low taxes, and a supportive approach from banks and regulators.

What’s the big picture here? Bitcoin is catching the eye of politicians and policymakers. But these moves are just starting to break through, so if you’re reading this now, consider yourself ahead of the curve.

To top it all off, Cathie Wood from ARK Invest chimed in with some bullish predictions. She believes that even at $90K, Bitcoin has a lot of room to grow. According to her, the continued momentum will be driven by “regulatory relief,” which is one of the most anticipated outcomes from the new US administration. Their 2030 target? Around $650K in their base case and between $1M and $1.5M in their bull case. No, you’re not hallucinating.

So, keep your cutlery nearby and get ready for the main course – crypto’s cooking up something hot 🔥

🌕 The real moon landing

I’m not exactly one to believe in conspiracy theories. Although I must admit – I was scared of Lady Gaga as a child because of all the Illuminati stuff. Now though, I look at those wild theories from an entertainment perspective. Mark Zuckerberg is a lizard? C’mon, peak comedy. Apollo 11 never made it to the moon? Absolute classic.

But, you know, there’s one moon mission even the biggest conspiracy theorists can’t question… and that’s the crypto rocket, baby 😎 That said, let’s check out some cryptos that made me forget that gravity exists for a sec.

1/ Cardano

ADA is up almost 25% this week, sitting at $0.74 as of writing. Why?

Reason #1: Word on the street is that Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson might join the Trump administration in 2025. While there’s no official confirmation, he said he wanted to set up an office to encourage a dialogue with the government.

Reason #2: A member of the UN spilled some tea that a federal blockchain-based voting and ID system could be in the works… and Cardano’s rumored to be one of the tech partners, along with X, Hyperledger, and Hedera.

Reason #3: ADA’s rally came after the Cardano Foundation dropped their financial report for 2023, showing they’ve spent over $19M on stuff like building up operations, education, and pushing for adoption. CEO Frederik Gregaard said it’s all about being transparent and making Cardano a legit public asset (translation: they’re here to stay).

2/ Dogecoin

DOGE has been barking up a storm, shooting up 23% over the past week to land at $0.36. Who let it out?

Donald Trump: he announced a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Technically unrelated to the coin, but the name did its magic.

Brian Armstrong: the Coinbase CEO hopped on X to give the department his stamp of approval, saying it’s a big W for the economy. Once again, zero connection to the memecoin, but it’s one more person calling the name out – and we’re rolling with it.

3/ XRP

Last but not least, we’ve got Ripple’s XRP, which is going wild with a 95% increase this week, hitting $1.14. What’s driving it? Expectations of more crypto-friendly regulations after Donald J. Pump’s in the White House again.

So yeah, with all the evidence on the table, this rocket is heading up, and it’s definitely real. Unless, of course, nothing is real, we’re living in a simulation, and our only purpose is to entertain the lizards watching over us. But honestly? As long as they keep these gains coming, I might even do a little dance alone in my room to make ’em happy.

📰 News drops

🤖 A grad student from the US had an unsettling experience while chatting with Google’s AI, Gemini. He started off getting solid answers, but things took a scary twist when Gemini suddenly hit him with this:

🔌 Polter Finance pulled the plug on operations after getting hit with a $12M hack. They shut things down yesterday, right after spotting the security issue.

🥊 A Polymarket whale took a punch to the wallet, losing over $3.6M after betting on Mike Tyson to take down Jake Paul. That said, it doesn’t sting that much, considering this same person scored a $11M profit by betting on Donald Trump’s re-election.

😬 Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, didn’t hold back when talking about SEC Chair Gary Gensler. According to Tyler, Gensler has done “irreparable” damage to the industry. His verdict? “Let’s all be clear on one thing. Gary Gensler is evil.” Oof.

🐋 A Bitcoin whale just woke up after a 13-year nap, moving 2K BTC – worth $178M – to Coinbase. This user first got their BTC back in 2010, when each coin was worth only $0.06.

🍌 Juicy memes