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In This Issue:
Go Big or Go Home
El Salvador Pauses Bitcoin Purchases
Another Company Wants To Accumulate Solana
U.S. Spot BTC ETFs Are Back!
Nike Is Facing A Class Action Lawsuit Over NFTs
Why THIS Crypto Is About To Skyrocket With Dana White On Board l Sunny Lu, VeChain
Go Big or Go Home
The NBA playoffs kicked off just nine days ago, and according to Vegas, OKC is sitting at a clean +160 to win it all. Out of the sixteen teams in the playoffs, Vegas sees OKC as one of the top contenders – meaning a $100 bet will pay just $160 if they pull it off. The odds drop off quickly from there: after the Celtics at +200 and the Cavaliers at +450, the numbers jump dramatically, with the Warriors at 16-1 and the Heat all the way out at 1500-1. In other words, a single dollar on the Heat would pay out $1,500 if they win the championship.
Professional investing, at times, feels like chasing a championship in a high-stakes, full-contact sport with the odds stacked heavily against you. You're competing against yourself, the other players (buyers and sellers), and the broader market – and there are no consolation prizes. Sometimes, the path to victory feels like trying to score against Alex Caruso, one of OKC’s best defenders, or even Victor Wembanyama – the best defender in the NBA right now – who didn’t even make the playoffs.
It’s always a ‘Go Big or Go Home’ mentality.
But how fitting is the sports analogy for investing? Let's dive a little further into the basketball comparison.
For amateur players, a team vs. team basketball game usually hinges on three fundamental factors: speed, strength, and height. Properly employing these three aspects can create immense pressure that smaller and slower teams simply can’t withstand. Even a team of proficient shooters, passers, and dribblers may struggle against a team that effectively applies pressure and has a size advantage. It may sound controversial, but an average high school team that practices daily would likely lose to an average middle-aged men's league team that only meets once a week.
For the average player, defending against a 6'2", 220 lb, swift opponent is a daunting task. Even if this athletic player has no basketball experience, the odds are still heavily against the average amateur. If the bigger player knows just enough to protect the ball with his body and walk backward toward the hoop, the game is over before it even starts. Now, imagine a team of five casual players going up against a team of five superhumans – it’s likely the game would be decided within minutes through fast breaks and relentless pressure. This is exactly how markets operate.
Even if you've read all the right books, practiced paper trading, and developed a strategy that suits your style, a new investor with accreditation, access to deeper liquidity, and top-tier information (e.g., a Bloomberg Terminal) will likely still outperform you.
This perspective may sound pessimistic, but there’s good news: in investing, multiple players can win, even against uneven odds. Unlike basketball, where only one team can take home the trophy, investing allows for multiple success stories. Metaphorically speaking, the high schooler honing his skills (the beginner investor), the middle-aged man with dad strength (the intermediate), and the MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (the elite) can all walk away victorious without being crowned the overall champion. The key is knowing your lane – and staying in it.
Don’t get confused, though. Every investment decision still comes with high pressure from yourself, your counterparties, and the market itself. A high school player has no business playing against a D3 college player, who’s still no match for a D1 star, who then loses to an overseas pro, then a G League player, then an NBA benchwarmer, then a starter – and finally, a superstar. Even that is an oversimplified version of the competitive layers involved. The same applies to investing: opening a savings account is wildly different from dollar-cost averaging into index funds, which is different from picking individual stocks, diversifying into bonds, trading options, using leveraged ETFs, or hedging with derivatives.
If you opened your first savings account last week and are already shopping for leveraged ETFs this week, you’re going to lose. Master the basics before moving up a level – that’s a win. Anything beyond your depth is a guaranteed loss.
Without appropriate risk management, due diligence, or market awareness, investing quickly devolves into one schmuck selling to another – both taking losses. But with those foundational skills? Investing becomes a game where both you and your opponent can win, each with different strategies that lead to strong returns and minimal losses over time. For average investors like us, it simply means we must compete fiercely for every win and tread carefully.
The institutions are out there, and they thrive when smaller players overestimate themselves.
The real lesson from sports and investing is simple: if you love the game, you have to put in the work – both on and off the court. Use this intro as a reminder. If you already have a strategy, sharpen it. If you don’t, spend time studying the legends and building a real foundation.
Anyone can invest – but not everyone starts with the same advantages. We have to work relentlessly to level the playing field. If investing had a championship, the odds would be 50 billion to 1 that one of us wins. But unlike sports, the investment game isn’t over before it starts. With the right strategy, the right preparation, and the right mindset, even the underdog can build a winning record over time.
And that’s always a win in my book.
*The newsletter is a bit shorter today, with no market section.
El Salvador Pauses Bitcoin Purchases
According to a recent IMF briefing, El Salvador has officially paused its Bitcoin purchases using public funds under a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund. An IMF official confirmed that the country is complying with key conditions of the program — including halting Bitcoin accumulation by the public sector. However, the focus of the agreement extends far beyond Bitcoin — aiming to drive improvements in governance, transparency, and fiscal policy.
Despite the pause in public sector purchases, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings have continued to grow slightly, with the government maintaining a strategy of acquiring roughly one Bitcoin per day through means not tied to IMF-supported public funds.
Below is a screenshot from the IMF press briefing:
Another Company Wants To Accumulate Solana
Last week, I went into full detail about SOL Strategies, a public company, entering into an agreement with ATW Partners, securing 500 million to purchase and stake SOL tokens. That was pretty cool, and now I have another story, focusing on an entirely separate company, DeFi Development Corp., filing with the SEC, announcing its intent to raise up to $1 billion in securities for the purpose of acquiring SOL. As per the filing, “We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of any securities offered under this prospectus primarily for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Solana, unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement.” Furthermore, “As part of our capital allocation strategy for assets that are not required to provide working capital for our ongoing operations, we have invested and will continue to invest in SOL. As of April 23, 2025, we had purchased approximately $48.2 million of SOL, including staking rewards.”
The flywheel for any asset - especially one with a smaller market cap - can start spinning very rapidly if a few companies begin racing to outbid one another.
U.S. Spot BTC ETFs Are Back!
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted their first full week of inflows in five weeks - and the numbers were substantial. Over $3 billion poured into spot Bitcoin funds last week, capped by $380 million in a single day on April 25. April has now turned positive for Bitcoin ETFs, with total inflows reaching $2.26 billion despite early-month volatility.
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas compared the sudden surge to going “from 1st gear to 5th gear,” highlighting the speed of renewed institutional activity. Basis trades and evolving macro conditions may be fueling some of the momentum.
As for spot ETH ETFs, they also had an impressive week - relatively speaking. Not as strong as Bitcoin, but they still managed to produce a solid comeback, with Friday resulting in $104 million (the large green candle you see below) in net inflows.
Nike Is Facing A Class Action Lawsuit Over NFTs
Do you remember the RTFKT NFTs Nike released during the NFT mania? They were part of Nike's foray into the digital space after acquiring the fashion brand RTFKT in December 2021. The NFTs gained significant attention as collectibles that merged culture and gaming, but things took a turn when Nike suddenly shut down RTFKT's operations in December 2024. Now, Nike is facing a lawsuit from NFT buyers who claim they suffered major losses when the business unit was abruptly closed, causing the demand for the NFTs to evaporate. The plaintiffs argue that they were misled about the value of the NFTs, which they say were unregistered securities. The case, which seeks over $5 million in damages, is ongoing in Brooklyn federal court. It will be interesting to see if the SEC provides any guidance on this. This could either close the door to NFT lawsuits or swing it wide open. Nike's involvement is not much different from that of many other major brands that had their own NFT debuts.
Why THIS Crypto Is About To Skyrocket With Dana White On Board l Sunny Lu, VeChain
In this episode of The Wolf Of All Streets, I sit down with Sunny Lu, CEO of VeChain, to dive into how crypto and real-world sustainability are finally coming together. We talk about the UFC partnership, Dana White joining VeChain, and how blockchain can drive real-world action instead of hype. Join us as we explore why real utility is the future - and why now is the moment we must build it.
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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.