Is crypto finally winning over the banks

Plus: DOGE dreams vs. Musk’s reality check

GM. Grab your crypto blender – we’re tossing in today’s juiciest updates for a smooth, market-ready mix.

🏦 Standard Chartered got a digital asset license in Luxembourg.

🍋 News drops: James Howells took a legal L in his battle over $770M BTC he accidentally threw away, Elon Musk’s plans for DOGE got a reality check + more

🍍 Market flavor today

The crypto market feels like that one friend who always has “a crazy business idea” – they’re unpredictable, even scary, but everytime you hang out it’s hella exciting (and you still wanna start that podcast with them) 💡

The Fear & Greed Index just moved into the Neutral zone (50) for the first time since October as Bitcoin dipped close to $91K yesterday.

And that’s not all – US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a $578.8M outflow on Wednesday.

Source: BitDegree

This drop is tied to a bunch of stuff we already talked about yesterday: a stronger US dollar, anxiety over inflation, fading hopes for interest rate cuts, and chatter about the US government potentially selling off a huge stash of BTC.

CryptoQuant’s Mac_D noticed that short-term holders are now selling at a loss – that’s historically been a time when long-term investors stepped in to get cheaper coins. So Mac_D thinks this is just a correction in a longer upswing.

And, of course, Raoul Pal from Real Vision brought bananas into the conversation 🍌 He uses the term “Banana Zone” to describe a time when prices shoot up fast and things get busy.

Here’s how Pal breaks it down:

• Phase One: The initial breakout;

• Phase Two: The “Banana Singularity” (aka altcoin season), where loads of coins go up;

• Phase Three: The concentration phase, during which the leading cryptos hit crazy new highs.

Pal says that the market is currently in Phase One, so the “Banana Singularity” might be just around the corner.

So yeah, whether the market’s next “crazy idea” is pure genius or just another wild detour, one thing’s for sure – it’s definitely not gonna be boring, and we’re definitely here for it 😛

🥝 Memecoin harvest

The mood of these memecoins today? All jokes, all gains, no ragrets.

	Name		24H Change
	StealthSDK STEALTH		▲ 22K%
	ai16zterminalfartARCzereLLMswarm GUDTEK		▲ 11K%
	AIWS AIWS		▲ 5K%
	Autonomous Virtual Beings AVB		▲ 164%

Data as of 07:50 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

One of the core principles of crypto is like, “Let’s stop relying on these banks and TradFi, we gotta take the power back into our own hands, LFG!! 🗣🔈” (there’s also stuff like Butthole Coin, but let’s not get into that today).

But… at the same time… when that institutional money starts pouring in… let’s just say the drinks might actually be on me 👀

The latest update in that department: Standard Chartered, a banking giant with over $870 billion in total assets, is getting even more comfy with crypto.

They got a digital asset license in Luxembourg, which is basically their VIP pass to start offering digital asset custody services in the EU.

At launch, they’re starting with the OGs – Bitcoin and Ethereum – but they’ve promised more assets in 2025.

While they’re only gonna offer custody services (no trading for now), the ripple effect of this might be huge. For starters:

• TradFi validation: another proof that crypto is not just some internet Monopoly money;

• More liquidity: when trusted entities like Standard Chartered enter the industry, people take notice. Translation: wider adoption, and thus more cash in the system;

• Setting a trend: banks and asset managers are realizing they can’t sit out the crypto wave. And especially with Trump’s pro-crypto stance, we can expect even more institutions to hop on.

So yeah, if this keeps up – maybe, just maybe, the next couple of rounds could be on me 😎 … Don’t get used to it though.

🍋 News drops

🗑 James Howells, the guy who accidentally yeeted $770M in Bitcoin into a landfill, lost his legal battle to dig it up. The Newport City Council shut him down over environmental concerns, and now a judge has ruled his case doesn’t stand a chance in trial.

💸 Elon Musk’s goals for DOGE cuts from US government spending got a reality check. Turns out, slashing $2T isn’t in the cards – now, he’s aiming for half that.

👀 Coinbase received a subpoena from the CFTC. Apparently, they want customer info in their case against Polymarket, a crypto prediction platform.

⚡️ Thai police and electricity officials busted a company for running 996 Bitcoin mining rigs on stolen power. They allegedly stole electricity worth hundreds of millions of baht.

🇷🇺 Russian officials seized 103 Bitcoin (worth $10M) from Marat Tambiev, a former ICRF employee. It’s apparently all part of a massive crypto bribery scandal.

🚀 CleanSpark just joined the 10K Bitcoin Club – they now have 10,097 BTC in their treasury. That makes them the fourth publicly traded miner to unlock this achievement.

🧃 Sip of knowledge

Learn about Vanilla Finance with the latest BitDegree Mission, “Sweeten Your DeFi Experience With Vanilla Finance”:

🍌 Juicy memes