Author: dfmines

Bitcoin is currently trading just above $80,000, following a brief rally to $83,000 yesterday that sparked renewed investor optimism. Despite the 4.1% gain over the past day, the asset remains more than 25% below its all-time high of over $109,000 set in January. One of the latest developments influencing the current sentiment came from US President Donald Trump, who posted, “This is a great time to buy,” shortly before a 90-day suspension on new tariffs was announced. The pause led to a sharp reaction across financial markets. Bitcoin jumped over 10%, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ saw daily gains exceeding 11% and 14%, respectively. According to CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn, this development mirrors a similar episode in 2009 when then-President Barack Obama encouraged long-term stock investments amid a market downturn. That historical parallel saw the S&P 500 begin a multi-year rally, raising the question of whether Trump’s second term might trigger a similar bullish cycle. Related Reading: Bitcoin Ownership Patterns Shift Amid Price Correction Historic Parallels and Their Potential Impact on Bitcoin Maartunn emphasized the potential for policy-driven sentiment shifts to play a role in Bitcoin’s future price trajectory. Drawing comparisons to the market response following Obama’s 2009 comments, the analyst suggests that investor psychology, coupled with fiscal strategy, could significantly affect market direction. The implications are not just isolated to equities but also extend to crypto markets, as demonstrated by Bitcoin’s strong correlation with traditional financial indices during major policy shifts. While no trajectory is guaranteed, the market’s reaction to political cues highlights Bitcoin’s growing entrenchment in broader macroeconomic trends. Maartunn wrote: Could the remainder of Trump’s second term mirror Obama’s first, when the market surged roughly 75% over four years? The parallels are there—but nothing is guaranteed. This chart will be one to watch closely in the coming months. Hashrate Hits Record as Fundamentals Strengthen Separately, CryptoQuant analyst Yonsei Dent pointed out an important underlying development. Despite Bitcoin’s decline from its $109K peak to around $80K, both the network hashrate and mining difficulty have reached all-time highs. These metrics suggest that Bitcoin’s network security and miner confidence remain strong, even during price drawdowns. While increased mining difficulty implies greater costs for miners, it also reflects heightened participation and belief in Bitcoin’s long-term value. The network’s resilience in the face of price volatility may offer a stabilizing factor as market sentiment continues to fluctuate. Dent cited CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju who noted that Bitcoin’s hashrate could serve as a proxy for its intrinsic value. He posited that, based on current mining trends, Bitcoin’s potential market cap could reach as high as $5 trillion. Notably, with the asset currently holding a $1.6 trillion valuation, Bitcoin’s upside remains considerable should fundamentals continue to align with investor confidence. Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

The lower chamber of the Argentine Congress approved the creation of a commission to formally investigate the involvement of government officials with Libra, the cryptocurrency shared by President Javier Milei. The group will begin its investigative work on April 23. Argentine Congress to Open Libra Probe The lower chamber of the Argentine Congress approved the […]

What Is REAL? Conor McGregor’s staking-enabled memecoin explained Conor McGregor, also known as “Notorious,” is an Irish mixed martial artist born in Dublin on July 14, 1988. He is renowned for his achievements in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he became the first fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes — featherweight and lightweight. Beyond his fighting career, McGregor ventured into entrepreneurship, in 2018 launching his whiskey brand, Proper No. Twelve, named after his Dublin roots. He leveraged his UFC fame to market the triple-distilled blend. In 2021, McGregor sold a majority stake to Proximo Spirits for an estimated $600 million, while retaining a significant role.In April 2025, McGregor ventured into the crypto market by introducing a memecoin named “REAL.” Promising to change the crypto world, the digital token was launched through a sealed-bid auction to prevent interference from bots and snipers. Developed in collaboration with the Real World Gaming (RWG) decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), the REAL memecoin offers holders staking rewards and voting rights within its ecosystem. What happened during REAL memecoin fundraising? With the REAL memecoin, McGregor aimed to make a big impact in the crypto world. However, things didn’t go as planned.McGregor partnered with RWG, a decentralized autonomous organization, to raise funds for the project with a minimum goal of $1,008,000. But during the 28-hour presale, the DAO collected $392,315 in USDC (USDC) from 668 contributors, only 39% of its target.RWG acknowledged that the auction failed to hit the minimum raise, stating that they would fully refund all the bids. McGregor himself endorsed the announcement.For the fundraising, the REAL token was sold through a sealed-bid auction on Axis Finance. Users privately submitted bids specifying the quantity and price they desired, and tokens were allocated to the highest bidders at a single clearing price.After deliberating where they went wrong, RWG is now looking to relaunch the fundraising. The team hasn’t yet provided a date for the relaunch.McGregor has remained outspoken, characteristically announcing or endorsing project updates with his signature line, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is REAL!” The team plans to reshape the token’s purpose and possibly modify its fundraising approach for a more successful relaunch.Did you know? Memecoins often rise in value due to community hype and viral trends, not technical innovation. While they lack strong fundamentals, social media buzz and celebrity endorsements can drive massive short-term gains, making them popular among high-risk, high-reward investors. Reasons for REAL memecoin’s fundraising failure RWG’s attempt to launch the REAL memecoin faced multiple challenges, leading to the DAO’s failure to meet fundraising goals. Several factors contributed to this outcome:Market timing: The launch coincided with a downturn in the cryptocurrency market. Major cryptocurrencies, including Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL), faced sharp declines. Only Bitcoin (BTC) was an exception, as investors viewed it as a value holder. Memecoins faced almost a 60% decline after Dec. 24, except GHIBLI. Such a gloomy environment wasn’t conducive for the launch of yet another memecoin.Economic conditions: The world economy is going through a phase of reconstruction due to the Trump administration’s reorganization of tariffs. This resulted in a US stock crash of about $5 trillion, more than the total market cap in crypto. (Though the crash happened after the fundraising failure, the story was in the making). The tariffs led to uncertainty in the world economic system, which also impacted the crypto market. Recession fears and substantial losses in US equities made investors more cautious. Scams surrounding memecoins: In 2024, over $500 million was lost to memecoin rug pulls and scams, as reported by Merkle Science, fostering significant distrust toward memecoins. One instance involved hackers compromising Kylian Mbappe’s X account to promote a fraudulent memecoin that reached a $460 million market cap before a rug pull. Similarly, Wiz Khalifa’s 35.7 million X followers were targeted with a fake WIZ token that briefly hit a $3.4 million market cap before collapsing. This decline in investor confidence likely affected the REAL token’s reception. ​Nansen Research’s Nicolai Sondergaard noted that experienced traders were quickly taking profits.Misinterpretation of the token’s objective: Despite McGregor’s assertions that REAL was a legitimate project with real-world applications, many perceived it as another celebrity-endorsed memecoin. This misunderstanding may have undermined the token’s credibility and deterred potential investors.Investor skepticism toward celebrity tokens: The crypto community has grown wary of celebrity-backed tokens, especially after several high-profile failures. Even tokens tied to Donald Trump and Melania declined sharply, causing investors significant losses. Other known celebrity token failures include Hawk Tuah (HAWK) by Haliey Welch and Daddy Tate (DADDY) by Andrew Tate. Several celebrities associated with crypto earned a bad name for themselves. Davido, a popular Nigerian Afrobeat star, launched his memecoin Davido (DAVIDO) and made money using pump and dump. These incidents caused investors to view memecoins with suspicion.McGregor’s image: While central to his success in the UFC, Conor McGregor’s brash persona worked against him in the crypto world. His history of controversies and impulsive behavior undermined trust in the project’s legitimacy. His image raised red flags, especially in a space already plagued with scams. Did you know? Some memecoins have sparked real-world donations and activism. Dogecoin’s community once raised over $50,000 to send the Jamaican bobsled team to the 2014 Winter Olympics, showing that memecoins can fuel fun and philanthropy. Purpose and tokenomics of REAL memecoin The purpose of REAL is to facilitate functions like staking, governance, and utility, as well as a real-world MMA fight simulator and future business integrations. Its tokenomics, however, have come under criticism.According to the RWG team, the REAL memecoin tokenomics model was designed for transparency and community engagement, as 32% of the total supply was allocated to the DAO treasury to support ecosystem growth, while 17% was distributed to the community to incentivize participation. To earn governance rights and rewards, tokenholders could stake the coin; 10% was reserved for the development team. The model aimed to fund sports and gaming startups, blending hype with practical utility.Critics found flaws in the tokenomics, and many regard that as a reason for the poor show in fundraising. They were particularly harsh on the token’s 12-hour unlock window. This allowed investors to sell their tokens shortly after the acquisition and make profits, even while the price declined. Several projects had used such a structure earlier for pump and dump, which created a bad precedent. This deterred long-term investors seeking sustainable growth.The project’s marketing strategy also raised concerns, as many felt the project added no real value and was just an attempt to take advantage of a celebrity’s name. The use of third-party logos on its website led to accusations of misleading promotional tactics, undermining the project’s credibility and deterring potential investors. ​And the lack of a clear roadmap for REAL only amplified investor skepticism. Broader risks of celebrity-backed tokens The fate of McGregor’s REAL memecoin fundraising highlights the broader risks of celebrity crypto endorsements. While celebrities bring attention and massive followings, their involvement often lacks substance, long-term commitment or technical understanding of the projects they promote. Celebrity-backed tokens often ride on hype rather than real value, leading to pump-and-dump scenarios where early investors benefit while latecomers suffer losses. The credibility of the crypto industry suffers when such projects collapse, reinforcing public distrust. The way REAL’s fundraising event turned out serves as a warning that fame doesn’t equal a project’s credibility.Regulators also scrutinize such endorsements more closely, potentially bringing legal consequences for misleading promotions. For the crypto space to mature, projects must prioritize transparency, utility and experienced leadership over viral marketing. The REAL memecoin fundraising failure emphasizes that genuine trust and long-term vision are more valuable than celebrity clout in crypto fundraising.Did you know? Shiba Inu, launched in 2020 by “Ryoshi,” was dubbed the “Dogecoin killer.” With a quadrillion-token supply and a vibrant “Shib Army” community, it hit a $40 billion market cap in 2021. What can investors learn from the failure of REAL memecoin fundraising? Investors in the crypto space can learn many lessons from the failed fundraising of REAL memecoin. First and foremost, hype is not a substitute for value. Relying solely on celebrity influence without understanding the fundamentals of a project can lead to poor investment decisions.REAL also revealed how quickly investor sentiment can shift. Initial excitement turned into skepticism as users noticed the lack of community involvement and utility behind the token. McGregor’s limited engagement and controversial public image further fueled doubts, proving that star power doesn’t guarantee project longevity or trustworthiness.Investors need to recognize the importance of doing their own research (DYOR). Just because a celebrity backs a token doesn’t mean it is credible. Checking for real-world use cases, developer activity, tokenomics and community feedback is essential.Finally, the collapse of REAL fundraising highlights the need for regulatory clarity in celebrity endorsements. Without it, misleading promotions will continue to hurt retail investors and ultimately undermine the credibility of the crypto industry.

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Asset managers Osprey Funds and Grayscale Investments agreed to settle a lawsuit over alleged violations of Connecticut law in the advertising and promotion of Grayscale’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to an April 9 court filing, the parties agreed to settle the two-year-old case and are finalizing documentation and settlement terms. The filing noted that once those steps are completed, Osprey will withdraw its appeal.“Soon after this appeal was filed, the parties reached a settlement of this case,” the motion stated. “It is expected that all these tasks can be done within 45 days, and it is uncertain whether a shorter extension would suffice.”Details of the settlement have not been made public. Grayscale and Osprey reach settlementThe legal battle between the two firms started on Jan. 30, 2023, when Osprey filed a suit in the Connecticut Superior Court. Osprey claimed it was Grayscale’s only competitor in the over-the-counter Bitcoin (BTC) trust market and that Grayscale had maintained its market share through deceit. Osprey claimed Grayscale promoted its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as a means to access a spot Bitcoin ETF through a conversion. Osprey argued that the conversion was presented as a certainty, despite regulatory uncertainty at the time.Grayscale’s application to convert GBTC into a spot ETF was approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2024. An August 2023 ruling compelled the SEC to reconsider its rejection of Grayscale’s application to convert the fund into an ETF. The SEC’s approval allowed GBTC to transition into a spot ETF and begin trading on the NYSE Arca exchange.Related: Crypto ETPs shed $240M last week amid US trade tariffs — CoinSharesLawsuit settlement follows Osprey appeal On Feb. 7, Judge Mark Gould sided with Grayscale, ruling that Osprey’s claims against the asset manager were exempted from the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. Osprey responded by filing a motion for reargument on Feb. 10. The fund claimed that Gould’s ruling came “before the close of discovery,” which is the formal evidence-gathering phase of a lawsuit.The fund claimed that the ruling overlooked the differences between how the Federal Trade Commission and Connecticut courts treat deceptive advertising. The settlement ended one of the more prominent legal clashes among crypto asset managers competing for early ETF dominance. Grayscale’s GBTC remains one of the largest Bitcoin investment vehicles in the United States.Magazine: Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier scams in China: Asia Express

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Thailand has approved significant amendments to the digital asset and cybercrime laws to combat cybercrime and online scams. Combating Mule Accounts in the Crypto Industry The Thailand Cabinet has approved significant amendments to the Digital Asset Business Law and the Cybercrime Law, aiming to bolster the nation’s defenses against cybercrime and the use of “mule […]