The Cleveland Guardians just swept the Astros after a brutal 10-game losing streak. Now we’re three wins deep, with momentum heading into the All-Star break. But you’re not here for baseball — let’s get into the day’s crypto news.
🇸🇻 El Salvador’s Bukele Mocks Senate Democrats Over Bitcoin Criticism
⚖️ Judge Rules Logan Paul’s Ex-Assistant Can Proceed With CryptoZoo Lawsuit
🏦 Ripple Taps BNY Mellon as Stablecoin Custodian Partner
🎤 Snoop Dogg’s NFT Collection on Telegram Sells Out in 30 Minutes
📉 Trader Cobb & Market Training via The Grow Me Co
El Salvador Fires Back at Senate Democrats
"What the hell is going on in the Senate? Like this is what you're focusing on, Democrats?"
President Nayib Bukele is laughing off the newly proposed El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025, which seeks to investigate whether crypto is being used for corruption or sanction evasion. The bill, introduced by Senators Kaine, Van Hollen, and Padilla, even proposes freezing the country's assets — a dramatic escalation.
Bukele mocked the proposal on X, calling Democrats “salty.” He's continued to align with President Trump, and his domestic approval remains high at 85%. Despite pushback from institutions like the IMF, Bukele disclosed that El Salvador holds over 6,200 Bitcoin, worth nearly $690 million at current prices. That wallet continues to grow, and whether you love or hate his style, Bukele’s crypto commitment is unwavering.
Logan Paul's Assistant Dismissed from CryptoZoo Lawsuit
"Once you watch this video, you'll understand exactly what happened."
A federal judge has recommended dismissing Logan Paul's former assistant, Danielle Strobel, from the CryptoZoo class action. Strobel held a 1% equity stake but did not promote the failed NFT project and lacked direct ties to Texas, where the case was filed.
This move doesn’t absolve Paul or other parties from the broader lawsuit. The case stems from CryptoZoo’s marketing of NFTs and a game that never launched, leaving investors with worthless tokens. Paul also faces a defamation suit against YouTuber Coffeezilla, who published a compelling exposé on the entire fiasco. Highly recommended viewing.
Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin Scores Major Win with BNY Mellon
"With $43 trillion of assets under management, it looks like they just want to just yum, yum, yum like the Cookie Monster."
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin just got a serious boost: BNY Mellon will be its primary custodian. With a $500 million market cap, RLUSD now has institutional credibility. BNY Mellon, managing a staggering $43 trillion in assets, will also offer transaction services and bespoke integrations.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse said this signals a turning point — one where TradFi is warming to crypto. The bank’s involvement mirrors its earlier partnerships with Circle’s USDC. Ripple’s growing legitimacy continues to contrast with its long-running legal battle with the SEC.
Snoop Dogg’s NFT Drop on TON Sells Out Instantly
"If Snoop's launching an NFT, trust me, people are paying attention."
Snoop Dogg is back in the NFT spotlight. His latest drop, hosted on Telegram and built on The Open Network (TON), sold out in just 30 minutes. Nearly one million NFTs were tied to Snoop’s music, GIFs, and digital style — all distributed using Telegram’s new Send a GIF feature.
The NFT space may seem like it’s cooled down, but Snoop’s involvement proves that with the right celeb and real functionality, people still care. TON and Telegram are becoming serious hubs for NFT innovation, especially for the Degen crowd.
Listener Questions
This episode had a flood of listener engagement — Twitter threads, Substack comments, and great questions that deserved a deeper dive. Here’s what came in.
WazDog on Flexa vs. USDC
A Twitter thread sparked by WazDog kicked off a deeper conversation about two competing philosophies: Flexa (and its AMP token) versus Circle’s USDC. My take is that Flexa is trying to build an all-in-one, vertically integrated system — their own rails, product, and collateral. It’s an ambitious but closed approach. In contrast, Circle has opted to provide developers with open APIs and SDKs, allowing them to build on top of USDC however they want.
I argued that an open ecosystem fosters faster innovation and broader product-market fit. When you give developers tools and freedom, they often come up with use cases and efficiencies that the core team might not anticipate. A closed system like Flexa risks falling behind, having to guess what customers want and iterate slowly, whereas open systems let the market dictate direction in real time.
This isn’t to say Flexa can't succeed — it may well carve out a niche. But when we’re talking about widespread adoption, Circle's strategy of letting builders build seems more agile and scalable.
Bugs’ Comment on Team vs. Audience
Bugs chimed in with an insightful angle: If your main value is your team, Flexa's tightly controlled infrastructure might be preferable. You retain oversight, you own the user experience, and you move with purpose. But if your key asset is your audience — your users, devs, and external builders — then Circle’s model is a better match. It gives the community more agency, which can result in better engagement, trust, and momentum.
While I don’t fully agree with the dichotomy — teams and audiences are both essential — Bugs is right that this philosophical divide may shape which projects thrive long-term.
Tokenomics & the ETH Risk Debate
Another listener brought up a real economic tension: If USDC and Tether eventually support trillions of dollars in stablecoin value, are they putting too much at risk on a chain like Ethereum with a market cap under $400 billion?
It’s a great question. The concern is that Ethereum could become a bottleneck or vulnerability. If bad actors targeted the chain, could they disrupt stablecoin settlements and value transfer on a global scale?
I pointed out that Ethereum already processes tremendous volume — $5.4 trillion so far this year in just ETH-denominated transactions. So it’s already scaling beyond its market cap. And in practice, stablecoins don’t live on just one chain. They live on multiple — including Ethereum layer 2s, Solana, Avalanche, and others. Diversification is a hedge against single-chain dependency, and that’s already happening behind the scenes.
Also worth noting: many of these stablecoin issuers do hold ETH and even stake it — not just to support the ecosystem, but possibly as a strategic move to maintain network resilience.
Sean on Cold Wallets and Decentralization
Sean asked about online claims that cold wallets like Ledger and Trezor are "not safe" and that "only decentralized wallets" offer true protection. I call FUD on this. Cold wallets remain the gold standard for self-custody.
I think what people are actually getting at is the closed-source vs. open-source debate. Trezor is open source, meaning the community can audit the code to check for vulnerabilities. Ledger is closed source, which means users have to trust the company. That’s a legit preference — but it doesn’t mean Ledger is inherently unsafe.
The real issue isn’t decentralization in this case — it’s about trust and transparency. But if your wallet gives you the private keys and stores them offline, you’re already doing 95% better than most crypto users. Don’t overthink it — just make sure you have your recovery phrases backed up, and don’t share them.
Trey and Roth IRAs at 17
Trey, who’s only 17, reached out asking about Roth IRAs. I was blown away. At 17, I was mostly thinking about where to buy beer, not retirement planning.
While I’m not an expert on Roths, I know this much: minors usually need a custodial Roth IRA, which means a parent or guardian has to open it on their behalf. So first step — Trey, talk to your parents and make sure they’re on board. If not, you’ll need to wait until you’re 18.
But let me just say — the fact that you're even thinking about this at 17 is a massive win. With decades of compound growth ahead, even a few thousand dollars invested now could be worth a fortune by the time you retire. If anyone in the community wants to help me explain Roths in more detail, hit me up — let’s help this young man out.
Crypto Prices – July 10, 2025
Bitcoin (BTC): $111,102
24h: +2.2% | 7d: +1.1%
Market Cap: $2.2 trillion
Ethereum (ETH): $2,773
24h: +5.0% | 7d: +6.7%
Market Cap: $334.6 billion
XRP: $2.43
24h: +3.3% | 7d: +6.7%
BNB: $669
24h: +1.3% | 7d: +1.0%
Solana (SOL): $156
24h: +2.0%
Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.18
24h: +4.9%
Cardano (ADA): $0.624
24h: +3.6% | 7d: +4.2%
Market Cap: $3.46 trillion (↑2.4%)
Summary
Today’s episode centered around one recurring theme: crypto’s expanding presence in both traditional finance and global politics. Whether it’s Ripple finding a banking giant partner, Snoop lighting up Telegram with NFTs, or lawmakers picking bizarre battles — the crypto story keeps evolving.
And don’t forget: it’s the listeners that keep this show sharp. Thanks for the questions and commentary.
Happy HODLing, Everyone.
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