The Wolf Den #1165 - Decentralization Actually Matters
Here's why.
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In This Issue:
Decentralization Actually Matters
Bitcoin Thoughts And Analysis
Legacy Markets
More Details On Trump’s Stablecoin
BOOM: Fidelity Files For Solana ETF and Other Solana News
These Two Banks Issued A Stablecoin On Ethereum
Ripple Drops Its Appeal
Is The Bitcoin Bottom In? What's Next For Crypto?
Decentralization Actually Matters
Important Notice!
This newsletter is for entertainment and educational purposes only and reflects my personal opinions. It is not financial advice and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. While I strive for accuracy and neutrality, I encourage all readers to Do Your Own Research (DYOR) and form their own opinions. Any statements made about individuals, companies, or entities are opinions only and not intended to defame, misrepresent, or cause harm. Readers should verify all information independently, and I assume no liability for decisions made based on this content.
When I first read that Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media – the parent company of Truth Social – had partnered with Crypto.com to launch a series of ETFs and ETPs, my gut reaction was that this is good news for crypto investors. The Trump team is clearly continuing to expand its presence in the digital asset space, and this move only reinforces their growing commitment.
The press release is below:
I wrapped up yesterday’s newsletter with the following statement: “There’s no reason to believe Trump won’t pump crypto into the stratosphere. His family’s wealth is now largely riding on this space. Ethics aside, patient crypto investors stand to benefit tremendously.”
I still believe that, by the way. But let’s not breeze past the “ethics aside” part – it matters. A full exploration of the ethics surrounding Trump’s crypto push would take more time than I have today, and frankly, it deserves its own deep dive.
At first glance, this latest move looks like just another strategic expansion by the Trump team. But this time is different. They’ve touched a nerve I didn’t even know existed – the Crypto.com ecosystem. That community is still reeling from a decision the company made recently regarding its token supply, one that many see as a betrayal.
I’ll get into the details in a moment, but when I first came across the story, I assumed it had to be one big misunderstanding. Turns out, it wasn’t – and the words you’re about to read come directly from Crypto.com.
In the spirit of fair reporting, I’ll keep my tone neutral so you can form your own view – and hopefully walk away with a valuable takeaway.
On March 2, the entire space stopped what they were doing to talk about this:
Amid all this, Cronos Labs - a subsidiary of Crypto.com and the team behind the Cronos blockchain - released a newsletter titled “The New Golden Age for Cronos.” In it, they announced plans to establish the Cronos Strategic Reserve, describing it as “a reversal of the February 2021 token burn, to support this ambition.”
This is a screenshot below:
Here’s some more info…
What amazes me about this story is how open it all is – Cronos Labs is reintroducing 70 billion CRO tokens, which were previously burned and represented 70% of the original supply, to establish a new strategic reserve. The move brings the total supply back to 100 billion CRO – all in a bid to “drive institutional adoption of CRO.”
Nothing like this has ever happened in crypto. We’ve seen token burns. We’ve seen chain rollbacks – both controversial in their own right. But never before has a major altcoin burned 70% of its supply, only to resurrect it years later. It was unprecedented the first time – and somehow, even more so the second.
At the time of the decision, CRO’s circulating supply sat at 27 billion. Then, just like that, a massive dilution was put into motion. CRO has had a rocky few years, and this move only added to the turbulence. Yes, there was a voting process, but the outcome was never in doubt – the team held overwhelming voting power. As expected, the proposal passed with a resounding yes.
This is commentary from a reporter:
“And, it appears that the decision will be Crypto.com’s alone. Voting on the proposal is scheduled to continue through March 16th. According to the current vote count, the vast majority of token holders are voting against the proposal. However, two very large voters, Falcon Heavy and Starship, who two sources told Unchained are operated by Crypto.com, have used their considerable power (in terms of CRO ownership) to put the yes vote ahead by a 50.92% to 48.56% margin.” Steven Ehrlich, Unchained Crypto
From the price chart above, you can see that the CRO token benefited from the burn and later rode the COVID pump when it arrived. The burn originally took place in early 2021, and the large run-up you see corresponds to the COVID-driven market surge. What token holder wouldn’t be happy to see their token being burned? None.
Which makes the reverse true… what token holder WOULD be happy to see their token re-issued? Also, none.
There must be a solid reason, right? The point of bringing back the tokens as Cronos details, “is connecting CRO to the institutional liquidity pools through Cronos ETFs,” and that’s where Trump’s team comes into play:
Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, said, “We are proud to partner with Truth Social (DJT) and Yorkville America, and to support the launch of these new ETFs, including the first of its kind basket of tokens including CRO. These ETFs will give consumers more options from a brand with a loyal following. Once launched, these ETFs will be available on the Crypto.com App for our more than 140 million users around the world.”
Is this ETF going to be successful enough to outweigh the negative impacts of reintroducing 70 billion CRO tokens? Assuming the CRO ETF is approved, it has to compete with a growing list of other ETFs, including ETH, SOL, LTC, ADA, XRP, DOT, HBAR, and DOGE. Also, CRO has no filings from Bitwise, ARK, Fidelity, or BlackRock; it’s leaning entirely on the Trump / Truth.Fi brand and Crypto.com.
Aside from the performance of CRO, this story is the epitome of why centralization carries risks in this space. Who would have thought that the Crypto.com team and its subsidiary would one day decide to re-issue 70 billion tokens to build out a new business opportunity? Nobody saw it coming, but here it is. And it’s exactly the type of thing that can happen when centralization is a variable in play.
This story is a perfect example of why decentralization matters - an often-overlooked safeguard until it’s too late. It’s not just a buzzword or a catchphrase for libertarians; it’s an insurance policy against the decisions of a select few that can drastically reshape an entire ecosystem in their favor. When power is concentrated, anything can happen - whether the community agrees with it or not.
Before I wrap up here, two things: First, I want to give credit to my good friend Laura Shin, founder of Unchained Crypto, where I first came across this story. The original article was written by Steven Ehrlich, and I highly recommend giving it a read HERE.
Second, this…
This is the Michael Saylor / Strategy effect – call it whatever you like. We’re talking about an $11.35 billion company that just reported $4.775 billion in cash during its Q4 earnings. While GameStop hasn’t explicitly said it plans to add Bitcoin to the balance sheet, updating the investment policy leaves little room for interpretation… use your imagination.
GameStop is perfectly positioned to take the #2 spot behind Strategy. It has a cult-like following, dominates the retail tech space, thrives as a meme, and sits on a war chest of cash. I’d love to see this company reinvent itself with Bitcoin.
This bull market is going to rage once the path becomes clear. Valhalla awaits.
Bitcoin Thoughts And Analysis
Bitcoin has broken cleanly above the Bollinger Band midline (20-day moving average), marking a notable shift in structure.
This move signals that momentum is leaning back in favor of the bulls. After weeks of price action stuck below the midline and hugging the lower band, reclaiming this level flips the tone from defensive to opportunistic. Historically, when price moves above the midline and holds, it often targets the upper band — currently near $89,200.
Price is now riding the upper half of the bands, suggesting increasing bullish pressure. While the bands are still relatively wide — indicating no classic volatility squeeze yet — sustained strength could begin to compress them and build toward a breakout.
In short, reclaiming the midline is a technical win for the bulls, with the upper Bollinger Band as the next logical target.
Legacy Markets
Global stocks slipped on Wednesday as markets remained gripped by uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy ahead of President Trump’s April 2 deadline. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each dipped about 0.2%, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 fell 0.5%. Tesla and Nvidia edged lower in premarket trading, while GameStop jumped 12% after announcing it would add Bitcoin to its treasury reserves.
Conflicting signals from Trump have added to investor confusion. While the administration previously suggested the upcoming tariffs would be more targeted than sweeping, Trump has since stated he wants few exceptions—though he might be “more lenient than reciprocal.” Strategists say this lack of clarity is making it nearly impossible to price risk or plan ahead.
Compounding market anxiety, U.S. consumer confidence fell to a four-year low, deepening concerns about a potential economic slowdown despite persistently elevated inflation. Technology stocks remain under pressure, and the S&P 500 is on track for its worst first quarter in three years, underperforming European stocks by a record margin. In contrast, the Stoxx 600 is poised for its best quarter since late 2022.
In the UK, mid-cap stocks rallied 0.5% as inflation unexpectedly slowed, bolstering hopes for Bank of England rate cuts. However, the pound weakened 0.4% and two-year yields dropped six basis points ahead of a key fiscal update from Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is expected to announce significant spending cuts.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.7% as of 10:04 a.m. London time
S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4%
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
The euro was little changed at $1.0795
The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 150.09 per dollar
The offshore yuan fell 0.1% to 7.2745 per dollar
The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2908
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $88,029.79
Ether was little changed at $2,065.42
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.32%
Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.79%
Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.72%
Commodities
Brent crude rose 0.6% to $73.46 a barrel
Spot gold was little changed
More Details On Trump’s Stablecoin
We now have the official announcement from World Liberty Financial, filling in several key details around the USD1 stablecoin. It’s confirmed that USD1 will launch on both Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain, with plans to expand to additional blockchains. Interestingly, some of the press releases circulating yesterday omitted the Ethereum mention – unclear whether that was intentional or simply an oversight.
Each USD1 will be redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars and will be fully backed by short-term U.S. government treasuries, dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents. The selected custodian for these reserves is BitGo, which WLFI describes as “the world’s largest independent qualified custodian and leader in digital asset security, custody, and liquidity.”
“USD1 provides what algorithmic and anonymous crypto projects cannot - access to the power of DeFi underpinned by the credibility and safeguards of the most respected names in traditional finance. We’re offering a digital dollar stablecoin that sovereign investors and major institutions can confidently integrate into their strategies for seamless, secure cross-border transactions.” Zach Witkoff, WLFI co-founder
BOOM: Fidelity Files For Solana ETF
Okay, now Solana investors finally have something to get excited about. Fidelity filing for a SOL ETF doesn’t just increase the odds that BlackRock will follow – it also removes one of the biggest lingering questions: would any major players even get involved?
Now that uncertainty is out of the way, only one question remains – how will it perform? With approval appearing likely, the spotlight shifts to demand and how Solana will measure up against other crypto ETFs already on the market. If BlackRock throws its hat in, things could get a lot more interesting.
In other news for Solana:
BlackRock clearly isn’t throwing Solana to the wayside. BlackRock is bringing its blockchain-based money market fund, BUIDL, to Solana through a partnership with Securitize, integrating traditional finance with blockchain technology.
Last but not least, there is this:
Polymarket has added SOL deposits, expanding beyond its usual reliance on USDC and the Polygon network. This move should boost platform activity, which surged during the U.S. presidential election but has slightly declined since January. The past week has been good Solana, and I expect it to have a strong rebound up when the market officially turns around.
These Two Banks Issued A Stablecoin On Ethereum
Custodia Bank, in partnership with Vantage Bank, has completed the first-ever tokenization of U.S. dollar demand deposits on a permissionless blockchain by issuing, transferring, and redeeming Avit™ stablecoins for a bank customer. The test transactions were conducted on Ethereum using the ERC-20 standard, and showcased benefits like low costs, fast settlements, and enhanced auditability while maintaining regulatory compliance.
“We broke ground on the legal/regulatory front, proving that U.S. banks can collaborate to tokenize demand deposits on a permissionless blockchain in a regulatorily-compliant manner. Custodia looks forward to the reversal of U.S. regulatory obstacles that have stymied stablecoin innovation in recent years, so that American consumers can benefit from the substantial network effects and global reach of permissionless blockchain technologies.” Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank
Ripple Drops Its Appeal
I suspect there will be some mixed feelings about Ripple ending its cross-appeal, but this decision officially puts an end to the battle and closes the case for good. Clear skies ahead for Ripple investors.
Is The Bitcoin Bottom In? What's Next For Crypto?
Joining me today are David Duong, Head of Research at Coinbase Institutional, and my friends from Arch Public, Andrew Parish, and Tillman Holloway, who will provide an update on the $10K algorithmic portfolio.
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The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own and should in no way be interpreted as financial advice. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision. I am not a financial advisor. Nothing contained in this e-mail constitutes or shall be construed as an offering of financial instruments or as investment advice or recommendations of an investment strategy or whether or not to "Buy," "Sell," or "Hold" an investment.