From last week it has felt like most crypto market participants are exhausted. After a whirlwind of meme coin pumps, dramatic price swings, and sentiment whiplash, it’s easy to see why many are feeling that way.
This editorial is from last week’s edition of the Week in Review newsletter. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get the editorial the second it’s finished.
Bitcoin Is the Safer and Smarter Bet in This Market
Coming off of the exhausting past 10 days or so, it’s understandable how sentiment from many of the most active crypto market participants (as gauged through Crypto Twitter, the beating heart of the industry) is more bearish than bullish. Understandable, but wrong. I felt this was true, but it’s reassuring when crypto OG’s like DonAlt post about it, reminding people the evergreen advice of zooming out.
That is a good looking chart.
On this week’s Token Narratives, Graham also reminded everyone that the preponderance of crypto news is bullish. The SEC repealed SAB 121, opening up the ability for traditional financial institutions to custody cryptoassets which will incentivize them to offer crypto services to their customers. Despite Deepseek triggering U.S. stock markets to sell off sharply, bitcoin held up very well. From a low of around $98,000 on Monday, bitcoin is back up to $104,500 as of this writing, It’s like the move down never happened.
Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media, is launching Truth.fi with up to “$250 million for investments in bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, crypto-related securities, ETFs, and industries supporting U.S. economic growth.” Even if you’re not bullish, it’d be unwise to short the sitting president of the United States’ asset positions!
Those wishing a reprieve from meme coin mania after Trump and Melania coin madness last week, were disappointed. A new meme coin meta started based off of Silicon Valley founders launching coins tenuously connected to companies they started. VINE, launched via Pump.fun on Jan 23 by co-founder Rus Yusupov, touched a $500 million market cap on the first day, and appears to already be down only as of Jan 31. On Jan 30, the co-founder of Venmo, Iqram Magdon-Ismail, launched a memecoin called JELLYJELLY, which touched $250 million market cap on the first day. It’s been down only since then. I’d bet this is a passing fad that no one will be talking about in 2 to 4 weeks.
This kind of hyper fast meme coin meta where a coin is pumped to dizzying heights in a matter of hours before tanking into oblivion is an exhausting environment to operate. At the very least, even if you choose not to participate, you must fight the FOMO urge while social media is inundated with overnight rags to riches stories.
If you do partake, it requires shunning the rest of your life to stay online, constantly checking Discord, Telegram, and X for the latest info. Any gleaned info must be rigorously checked for rug potential, but too much time cannot be spent lest your time-edge wastes away. Assuming you catch an earlier winner, you have the agonizing task of deciding when to exit. I feel stressed just writing this out.
For people who wish to avoid this, or cannot make such commitments (basically anyone who is not a Zoomer), I’d stay clear of what meme coins are turning into. Bitcoin is a set-and-forget trade that lets you get exposure to this burgeoning industry but without all the unhealthy head and heartaches. Hodl and touch grass. Lovely!
