Pending Crypto Announcement?

369: Trump Signing Executive Order at 2:30pm

Morning all. Hope the week is going well.

Quite a bit breaking this week as the Trump Administration gets into gear. Markets have responded positively so far, with crypto displaying a high amount of volatility. We got news on X that there may be a breaking crypto announcement from Senator Lummis but nothing as of yet — some are speculating it may come at 10am Wyoming Time. We also have reports Trump will be holding a call with the President of El Salvador and that he may sign some type of executive order at 2:30pm ET today.

Things could get explosive quick.

Make sure you are ready.

Welcome to all new subscribers.

You guys have chosen one of the top alternative outlets for news, in which only the most relevant and critical items are covered. As a reminder for all new subs, I put out a free markets/news update roughly once a week and several deeper dive posts/guides for those of you subscribed to premium. If you want full access to the archive and all posts released just click below.

Our last three posts are linked below for those of you who might need to play catch up on regulatory developments, inauguration news, or crypto/meme coin pointers:

Inauguration of the god pumps - Inauguration Updates & Crypto Bull Indicators

Getting Rich in 2025 - Business, markets, and life in 2025

Today we’ve got a classic run down of the news and market updates from the week. Episode 19 of Risk On will be dropping later today or tomorrow morning — we have a great interview dropping next week as well. In this week’s, I will cover the lightning fast changes the Trump Administration is implementing and recount some of the most egregious moves made in the last 4 years. We will also cover AI and executive orders.

You’re going to get tired of all of the winning by the end of this administration.

The vibes are elevated and there’s money to be made this week. Let’s dive in. Going to start adding a tweet of the day for these market update posts. Today’s is below, if you’ve ever worked in sales, finance, or client facing roles you probably get this immediately.

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Markets & Crypto

Quite a bit breaking this week as the Trump Administration gets into gear. Markets have responded positively so far, with crypto displaying a high amount of volatility. Meme coin madness continues as more influencers and celebrities launch tokens.

Coins like $TRUMP and similar derivatives continue to be front and center and traders are eagerly awaiting some sort of executive announcement on crypto whether that’s tax breaks, a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, or other big purchase plans or adoption.

Larry Fink of BlackRock, said in a recent interview that he is a "big believer" in Bitcoin and predicts it could rise to $700,000 with large inflows. He mentions being in a conversation with a Sovereign Wealth Fund discussing what type of allocation makes sense as a hedge — somewhere between 2-5% seems to be the proposed idea.

Arkham Intelligence showed a $600M buy from BlackRock yesterday on their on chain wallet analysis.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road online marketplace, received a full and unconditional pardon from President Donald Trump this week. Ulbricht had been serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole since his 2015 conviction on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, and computer hacking. The pardon, announced as part of a broader effort to address concerns over the justice system, fulfilled a campaign promise made by Trump during the 2024 election cycle.

President Trump announced a colossal initiative where OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and MGX plan to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure across the United States by 2029. This project involves constructing vast data centers to bolster AI development nationwide.

One potential outcome of this initiative could be a significant acceleration in AI research and application, potentially leading to breakthroughs in various sectors like healthcare, transportation, and cybersecurity, but it might also raise concerns about job displacement and privacy issues due to the expanded data collection capabilities.

• Netflix stock, NFLX 0.00%↑ soared over +11% earlier this week after the streaming giant posts stronger than expected Q4 2024 earnings (Kobeissi Letter)

• Amazon AMZN 0.00%↑ stock reached a new all-time high, with an intraday peak of $235.41, surpassing its previous record closing price of $232.93 from late 2024.

• President Trump has officially pardoned charged Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht

• Someone was apparently able to hack the official Nasdaq X account last night and proceeded to shill a memecoin by the name of $STONKS that immediately dumped lmao

• Morgan Stanley CEO has said that the bank is working with regulators to offer crypto transactions (WatcherGuru)

  

• There are now 33 crypto ETFs now currently filed with SEC including $TRUMP & $DOGE (Whale Insider)

• Kraken, the crypto exchange, has sent $111,111 worth of Bitcoin to Ross Ulbricht as a donation to help the Silk Road founder land on his feet after his release from prison (CoinTelegraph)

• Ethereum core developer Eric Conner exits the Ethereum Foundation, citing Vitalik Buterin’s leadership decisions, and shifts focus to building AI tools (CoinTelegraph)

• From January 2020 to end of 2024, home prices nationwide increased over 52%, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index (Unusual Whales)

Majors and blue chip crypto is suffering from the attention drought caused by the second re-run of the meme coin phenomenon. My take is that this will pass once the dust settles — right now you have a huge contingent of degens waiting on new launches and apeing into the next celebrity or hype token as soon as it drops.

A presidential executive announcement or Strategic Bitcoin Reserve would be all we need to teleport higher. As I outlined in the paid posts earlier last week the bread crumbs are on chain if you want to see which defi and oracle plays are likely going to do well if either of these things happen. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on CNBC recently “I want the SEC to rapidly approve the tokenization of bonds and stocks”.

I’m going to say it again here because I want there to be no doubt in retrospect — you need to hold some $LINK.

"Digital assets represent a new interesting, innovative technology, which we think could be important to the financial system over the next 10, 20 years.”

— Robin Vince CEO of BNY Mellon

As far as overnight riches go — two new meme tokens launched on social media. One, was launched by Rus Yusupov, the founder of Vine, stirring excitement in the crypto community and tapping into the current trends of the industry. He made the official announcement on X, sharing the contract address and rallying with the slogan, "Let's relive the magic and DO IT FOR THE VINECOIN." The token absolutely ripped up to $200M+ Market Cap over night.

The other was launched from John McAfee’s X account — John McAfee was a British-American computer programmer and entrepreneur renowned for founding McAfee Associates and developing one of the first commercial antivirus software products before leaving the company, leading a controversial life (understatement), and passing away in 2021. It is presumed his wife or someone he knew launched it from the account.

Unfortunately this one ended up rugging overnight.

If you want in on meme coin plays today we will be trading and chatting in the free discord (we just passed 1,000 members). The Meta right now is clearly retro tech apps. Those I have seen and traded in and out of this morning are Myspace, Playstation, and YikYak.

If we see a major announcement today things could get silly FAST.

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Geopolitics & Global News

As the world prepare for a second Trump administration expect some major shifts to occur. This week Trump signed multiple executive orders that concern Mexico and other neighboring countries. It appears at this time that deportations are going to begin with ICE on the ground in major US cities.

The rapid orders and initiative to remove Biden era federal policies and structures is wild to witness, Trump is systematically dismantling much of what Biden/Harris put into place over the last 4 years.

• All federal employees in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility offices will need to be placed on paid administrative leave "effective immediately," per Newsweek

• President Trump has ordered a type of "blackout" at various health agencies including the CDC, FDA and NIH according to the Washington Post — under this these bodies cannot publish scientific reports, update their websites, or issue any health advisories for now.

• ICE arrested 308 illegal migrants on Trump’s first day in office, border czar Tom Homan says

• The US Coast Guard used 'Gulf of America' in a press release yesterday

• 4 police officers were last night shot in San Antonio, Texas - KSAT

• After declaring Mexican cartels to be foreign terror organizations, President Trump is asked if he'd send U.S. Special Forces to Mexico to take them out. "Could happen," he says. "Stranger things have happened." (CBS News)

• Antifa launched attacks on a Portland ICE detention on Monday night, just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office. The incident was in retaliation to the Trump administration's mass deportation operations and crackdown on illegal immigration (PostMillenial)

• The U.S. Border Patrol agent who was killed in Vermont by an illegal immigrant was reportedly a military veteran who worked security duty at the Pentagon during the time of 9/11 attacks, his family told sources - (AP)

• At least 2 dead are dead, including a child, with several several injured after a stabbing attack in Aschaffenburg, Germany. 2 suspects arrested

• CNN is set to cut 200 jobs in traditional TV and hire the same number for digital roles as the network’s chief executive, Mark Thompson plans an overhaul for a new Trump Admin (NYT/InsiderPaper)

Argentine President Javier Milei delivered a striking speech at the World Economic Forum this week in line with many other global leaders, where he:

• Condemned Socialism: Milei warned that Western societies are at risk due to leaders embracing forms of collectivism, which he equates with socialism. He argued that socialism inevitably leads to economic, social, and cultural decline and has historically caused the deaths of millions.

• Advocated for Capitalism: He praised free market capitalism as the only moral and effective system to alleviate global poverty. Milei described business leaders as "heroes" and refuted the idea that seeking profit is immoral, emphasizing that markets are key to lifting people out of poverty.

• Criticized Woke Ideologies: He attacked what he called "radical feminism" and "fanatical environmentalism," describing them as harmful distortions. Milei also took aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, suggesting they've undermined meritocracy in favor of diversity doctrines.

Drones Are Back

Mayor Michael Melham of New Jersey took to the news this week to report a refreshed presence of UFO/Drone sightings over the state of New Jersey. Similar reports have come out of Milwaukee as well. This marks the first major resurgence of sightings since the initial ones in November and December of 2024. We still don’t have answers. Many of you listened to the Risk On episode in which I covered the Shawn Ryan Podcast that covered an alleged email from the Green Beret in Las Vegas who reportedly detonated a Cybertruck.

In that email the Green Beret claimed that these drones were of Chinese Origin. While this email was confirmed to have come from the individual in question we still don’t have many other details on the validity of the Green Beret’s claims. For what it’s worth — deeper web theories on fringe sites like 4Chan suggest these drones or craft are entirely unknown in origin OR may be coming from the oceans.

Not here to tell you what to think but worth putting it all out there. Joe Rogan has had a few UFO types on his show that talk about this theory, that these craft are able to submerge very quickly and fly out of the water.

It seems that the theme of “disclosure” is growing in various circles online. This of course alluding to the idea that the government is close to divulging the truth about UFO’s/UAP’s to the public, either by necessity or to mislead us. Former Pentagon UFO Chief Jay Stratton says in the trailer for a new documentary: ‘I’ve Seen Non-Human Craft and Non-Human Beings”. You can make your mind up on how much credence to give this HERE.

Russia & China In the 2nd Trump Admin

The alliance between Russia and China has significantly deepened in response to Donald Trump's return to the presidency. Both nations have publicly committed to enhancing their strategic partnership, viewing this as an opportunity to counter Western influence, particularly from the U.S.

Politically, they share a vision of a world where Western, especially American, dominance is diminished. They've increased their military cooperation through joint exercises in key regions, like the Sea of Japan, and there's talk of sharing advanced military technologies. Economically, Russia's energy supplies are crucial for China, especially with Western sanctions affecting Russia's European markets.

This partnership has geopolitical implications, aiming to create a multi-polar world order, engaging with countries in the Global South to offer alternatives to Western-led international systems. However, their relationship isn't without challenges, including historical mistrust and the potential for rivalry in Central Asia, with Russia increasingly seen as the junior partner to China's growing global influence.

Regionally the two countries are expanding influence, particularly in areas key to US security interests:

1. Influence in Africa:

   • Both countries are actively increasing their presence in Africa, often working in tandem to support regimes and secure economic interests. In Burkina Faso, China has been a significant supplier of military equipment, while Russia has used groups like the Wagner Group to provide security in nations like the Central African Republic and Mali, trading military support for resource rights. Their strategy in Africa is clearly aimed at reducing Western influence, with coordinated efforts seen in places like Sudan for naval base access and in supporting governments across the Sahel. The Russians have had a strong mercenary presence in Africa for some time.

2. Engagement in the Asia-Pacific:

   • A surprising development has been the creation of a new security pact involving North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, with Russia and China playing crucial roles behind the scenes. This pact marks a significant change in Northeast Asian security, traditionally dominated by U.S.-led frameworks. By facilitating this agreement, Russia and China aim to lessen U.S. military influence in the region, promote stability on their terms, and potentially shift alliances in a way that benefits their strategic interests.

This evolving dynamic could lead to a more complicated international landscape for the U.S., necessitating strategic diplomatic, economic, and military responses to these shifts in global power by Trump and the new administration. While I am hopeful we will see more peace in the coming years the international stage is certainly getting more complex.

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That’s all I have for today guys — have a good rest of the week. We will be live in the discord if you want to join. Remember to follow on X for breaking news.

Peace.

Andy

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Disclaimer - I am a former trader, enterprise sales rep, and current entrepreneur with a monkey brain. Nothing I say should be considered formal financial advice or life advice, these are my opinions - always do your own research and diligence before investing and ensure you have a good understanding of your personal risk tolerance.