#156 What Went Wrong?
Crypto falls off a cliff - the lowdown
GM - this is The Snapshot, edition #156.
This is what I’ve got for you this week.
This Week In Web3 - Top Signals Everywhere
Sponsored Post -Lil Eternal Rhythms 2.6 ETH Proposal Passed
Notable Sales - CryptoPunks, ack
Investment Focus - Crypto Collapse: Personal Thoughts
For sponsorship enquires, please DM me on Twitter.
Have a great day,
B
This Week In NFT World - Top Signals Everywhere
Michael Saylor on Forbes cover as The Bitcoin Alchemist
Venmo cofounder launches Jelly App with memecoin which sends to $200M with Raj from Solana tweeting
Trump Media launches fintech brand with partnership with Charles Schwab + crypto focus
Czech Central Bank want to buy billions of euros in BTC, reported by FT
“The head of the Czech National Bank wants to plough billions of euros’ worth of the country’s reserves into bitcoin, a groundbreaking move that could make it the first western central bank known to hold crypto assets. Governor Aleš Michl told the Financial Times that he would present a plan to the board to invest in bitcoin as a way of diversifying the CNB’s reserves at a meeting on Thursday. Should the board approve this, then the CNB could eventually hold as much as 5 per cent of its €140bn of reserves in bitcoin, he said.”
From FT
$730B asset manager Apollo launches tokenized private credit fund
"Apollo, an investment firm with over $730 billion in assets under management, is offering investors a new tokenized private credit fund with the help of security token specialist Securitize. Accessed via the Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED) feeder fund, the token is the first public on-chain offering for accredited investors of Apollo and also the first integration for Securitize with the Solana blockchain, as well as with Ink, a layer-2 network built by the Kraken crypto exchange. Ethereum, Aptos, Avalanche and Polygon are also initial launchpads for the tokenized fund."
Doodles announce change of CEO with founder Burnt Toast stepping back into the role
Sponsored Post - Lil Eternal Rhythms 2.6 ETH Proposal Passed
This week Lil Nouns DAO got behind an immersive storytelling experience that blends live performance, music, visual art, and technology - last week it did not get the votes required, but this week it passed unanimously!
370 votes required, only 353 received
The plan is to cover travel and production expenses necessary to bring Eternal Rhythms to life at The Temple, Denver, Colorado, for the opening night of ETHDenver hosted by Nolcha Shows on February 26th, 2025.
Creating a custom 360 HDRI environment that integrates Lil Nouns into our visual storytelling will be seen during the performance like the noggles in the picture below of Creatress performing at last year's ETH Denver Opening Party thanks to NounsAmigos DAO.
This is the full plan:
Social Media Reach and Promotion: Leveraging collective followings on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube, we estimate the reach to be valued at $5,000–$10,000, reflecting content creation, posting, and audience engagement.
HDRI Environment Integration with Lil Nouns Branding: Custom visual content for the performance valued at $2,000, factoring in design expertise and branding longevity. Custom animation featuring the Lil Nouns, shared as a free NFT for attendees.
Content Creation and Filming at the Podcast Lounge: Filming additional promotional content featuring Lil Nouns at the ETH Denver podcast lounge, 30-60 min video podcast discussion between the collaborating artists about the experience and support from lil nouns. We are also creating reels, behind-the-scenes videos, and recap posts. Estimated value: $4,000.
Performance Highlight Videos and Post-Event Recaps: Creation and distribution valued at $3,000, showcasing Lil Nouns’ support within high-quality post-event materials.
Great to see Lil Nouns DAO supporting the irl events as usual!
If you are curious about contributing to a cutting-edge DAO and getting paid to bring your ideas to life: check out our website.
Notable Sales - CryptoPunks, ack
ack, self portrait in the garden of the muse - $200k
CryptoPunk, Classic Shades - 62.5 ETH
CryptoPunk, Purple Hair - 45.95 ETH
CryptoPunk, Nerd Glasses - 54 ETH
Investment Focus - Crypto Collapse
Yes the tariffs announced against Canada, Mexico and China hit markets and crypto on Friday as it expected this to affect trade, the reason for the sell off this weekend must also be attributed to the crazy amount of greed recently.
Since Trump and Melania launched, there have been multiple 0 to billion dollar or hundred million dollar meme coins that have pumped and then dumped aggressively.
the tweet (v good summary of the various extractive launches recently)
Ultimately, this level of gross speculation needs to be flushed out of the market, and as more people lose in the casino, unsurprising that we have moved down lower.
So where are we now?
Some personal thoughts:
I think the tariff war is an act - i could of course be wrong and it could go on for longer, but i feel like it is performative and designed to get some quick wins for Trump - i expect this to be over sooner rather than later - and markets will rally on that news
i also do not rule out some more unpredictable behaviour from trump - so expect i expect volatility
the backdrop for crypto is still excellent though - the best it has ever been: the US government has established a crypto working group to make it the best place to be in crypto in the world
i do not think this saves the coins that are further down the risk curve in crypto; this is mostly bullish for real businesses building in crypto, not vaporous shitcoins (if so much of new crypto inflows is into etfs, gains there do not spill over into other coins, which used to happen when etfs did not exist)
the casino is still one of the best use cases for crypto - and i think it will come back this year it just needs some time to reset after some of the most extractive events in january
overall: mid-long term bullish on major crypto currency; bearish alts/memes (think new memes will emerge, old ones die into irrelevance). we need a bit of time to heal; i do not think there is an immediate v-reversal, not while there is trump uncertainty.
Have a great day,
B
Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
I hold some of the NFTs mentioned in these newsletters