Celebrity Memecoin Chaos 🙆♀️
Celebrity Memecoin Chaos 🙆♀️
Vitalik Buterin on what celebrity tokens get wrong. Gary Gensler hits out at crypto exchanges. Lawmakers urge Biden to rescue Binance Exec in Nigeria. Nvidia hits $3T, flips Apple. FTX $24B IRS bill.
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Vitalik Buterin isn't a fan of the latest trend: celebrity-backed memecoins.
He criticised these projects for focusing on quick profits over real value.
Celebrity memecoin mania
The ease of creating memecoins has led to a surge, with nearly half a million tokens launched on Solana in May alone.
Stars Get in on the Act: Celebrities like Iggy Azalea, Caitlyn Jenner, and Rich the Kid have launched their own Solana-based memecoins.
Pump and Dump Allegations: Celebrity memecoin promoter Sahil Arora accused of manipulating prices and dumping tokens has been banned by X.
Read: Celeb Crypto Handler Gone Rogue? 🐗
Davido’s memecoin: Nigerian crypto community raises concerns over Davido's management of his meme token, DAVIDO. Davido reportedly made a profit of $473,000 by selling his DAVIDO memecoin shortly after its launch.
PolitiFi Memecoins Join the Fray: Memecoins with political references like Jeo Boden (BODEN) and Doland Tremp (TREMP) have also seen rallies.
Not a New Trend: Celebrities promoting crypto ventures have faced legal trouble before, with cases involving Tom Brady, Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and DJ Khaled.
They are all down now
Buterin clarifies that his issue isn't with memecoins themselves, but with those lacking a purpose beyond making money.
He says projects that contribute to positive causes like healthcare or open-source software are more respectable.
Buterin acknowledges some celebrity crypto ventures do it right.
He points to Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis's Stoner Cats NFTs as an example.
These NFTs funded an actual show, unlike the recent Iggy Azalea "Mother" token focused solely on price hikes.
For future celebrity crypto projects, Buterin proposes a three-pronged approach:
A public good goal
Engaged holders
Long-term vision
The fix
Read Vitalik’s blog on memecoins: What else could memecoins be?
Block That Quote 🎙️
Gary Gensler, SEC Chair.
“These crypto exchanges are doing things we would never allow this New York Stock Exchange to do.”
Gensler’s latest salvo against crypto exchanges.
“Our laws don’t allow you to trade against your customers … Some of the most leading lights of this field are in jail, about to go to jail, or awaiting extradition.”
Gensler, in a CNBC interview, indicated that approvals for spot Ether ETFs might be on the slow track.
Despite initial moves forward, Gensler hinted that finalising S-1 registration statements for these ETFs, which would allow them to be listed and traded on US exchanges, could take several months.
He suggests that tokens like Solana memecoin BONK might be considered acceptable investments with proper disclosures.
“Right now, without prejudging anyone, these tokens, whether they’re the ones Jim [Cramer] listed or other tokens, have not given you the disclosures that you not only need to make your investment decisions, but also that are required by the law.”
'Bring Back Tigran Gambaryan'
US lawmakers are turning up the heat on President Biden to step in and help Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance exec from the US stuck in detention in Nigeria.
The situation is pretty dire.
His health isn't looking good and everyone's worried.
Gambaryan, the head honcho for financial compliance at Binance, found himself behind bars in Nigeria since February, facing some hefty charges of laundering $35 million.
Here’s what happened: Nigeria's Crypto Crime Thriller 🇳🇬
US representatives are slamming these charges as baseless, calling them a play by the Nigerian government to squeeze Binance.
A letter backed by 16 members of Congress, including the big gun, Michael McCaul, is pushing for Gambaryan's case to be bumped up to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
They're saying action needs to be fast to safeguard his life.
Back at Binance, the CEO is demanding Gambaryan’s release, stating he’s being held in harsh conditions as a way to leverage control over Binance.
In The Numbers 🔢
$3 trillion
Nvidia Corp, market cap.
Nvidia, the chipmaker giant behind powerful graphics cards and AI tech, just rocketed past Apple in market cap.
Just a few months ago, Nvidia surpassed Amazon in market cap.
Now, it's Apple's turn to eat Nvidia's dust, with Nvidia's market cap tripling Apple's current value.
While Nvidia basks in its $3 trillion glory, the entire cryptocurrency market sits at a comparatively smaller $2.8 trillion.
Nvidia even beat the Russell 2000 Index.
Thanks to the AI boom: Nvidia, at the forefront of AI revolution, has seen its stock skyrocket over 150% this year alone. Nvidia has been aggressively pushing into AI with powerful hardware, software, and even robotics ventures like Project Gr00t, designed to advance humanoid robots.
Even prominent figures like the US Representative Nancy Pelosi are celebrating Nvidia's success.
Her investment in the company has reportedly netted her $4 million.
FTX To Settle $24B IRS Tax Bill for $200M?
FTX has reached a tentative agreement with the IRS to settle a hefty tax bill.
This agreement removes a major hurdle in FTX's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
The Numbers
The Bill: Over $44 billion (later reduced to $24 billion)
The Settlement: $200 million priority claim + $685 million subordinated claim
The Catch: The additional $685 million is a lower priority claim, meaning FTX would need to pay other creditors first
This settlement could significantly reduce the financial burden on FTX during its bankruptcy proceedings.
Key Points
The settlement hinges on court approval of FTX's reorganisation plan.
The deal covers tax liabilities up to October 31, 2022.
FTX doesn't deny owing taxes, but disputes the amount and specific reasons for the liability.
This includes disagreements over taxes on misappropriated funds by former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and calculations related to employee salaries.
What happens next?
FTX previously proposed a plan to fully repay creditors, with priority given to smaller claims. Repayment amounts will be based on the value of FTX's assets at the time of its collapse in November 2022.
Read: FTX Creditors' Dilemma 🤦
The Surfer 🏄
'Stand with Crypto' PAC, launched by Coinbase, has reached 1 million advocates in the United States. The PAC is focused on passing the "Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act" (FIT21) to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
Franklin Templeton CEO predicts a major upcoming wave in Bitcoin ETF adoption. Institutions are becoming more comfortable with Bitcoin ETFs. Franklin Templeton's spot Bitcoin ETF, EZBC, has amassed $420 million in assets under management within five months.
VanEck predicts that the price of Ether (ETH) will reach $22,000 by 2030. This projection is based on the potential for $66 billion in free cashflows and a $15 trillion total addressable market (TAM).
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