Whale Wallets Wake Up After 14 Years
“It's Freedom Day over here. And everybody else who's listening all over the world — happy Fourth of July to you too.”
As the U.S. celebrates Independence Day, we’re seeing a different kind of revolution happening in the crypto world — legislative battles in Congress, long-dormant whale wallets waking up, frozen FTX funds, and Comrade Kyle's anti-capitalist insurgency gaining backup from the listener base. Let’s dig into all of it, and then we’ll hit listener questions and crypto prices.
🇺🇸 Congress Poised to Pass Three Landmark Crypto Bills During 'Crypto Week'
🗳️ New York Politician Zohran Mamdani Makes Crypto Central to Re-Election Bid
🐋 Bitcoin Whales Emerge After 14-Year Slumber, Stir Speculation
🧊 FTX Freezes $500M Linked to China and Crypto-Restricted Nations
📈 Bitcoin ETF Inflows Surge Past $600M — First Time Since May
📉 Trader Cobb & Market Training via The Grow Me Co
Crypto Week Is Coming to Washington
Congress will kick off Crypto Week on July 14, and it could be a defining moment for the Trump administration’s crypto platform. Three key bills are up for debate:
The Genius Act would regulate stablecoins by giving federal oversight to issuers with more than $10 billion, while allowing smaller ones to remain under state control.
The Clarity Act would shift authority for crypto from the SEC to the CFTC and ease restrictions on decentralized blockchain projects. Critics say it would weaken regulatory enforcement.
The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act seeks to make Trump's executive order permanent by banning the issuance of a U.S. central bank digital currency over privacy concerns.
“I just think that we’re going down a very slippery slope of the wrong direction — and the Trojan horse of government surveillance is actually these private companies and stablecoins.”
I have long warned about the potential for corporate-issued stablecoins to act like CBDCs without the oversight of constitutional protections. The bottom line: the debate around freedom and surveillance is just getting started.
Mamdani Moves On, But Crypto's Still Foggy in NYC
Zoran Mamdani won his primary and is now heading into the general election for New York City mayor. A democratic socialist, Mamdani hasn’t taken a strong position on crypto. His record shows support for consumer protections and regulation — not innovation.
“The fact of the matter is, none of them have really the power to do much because they’re a city, not a state.”
Still, NYC’s mayor can set the tone. Eric Adams rode the “pro-crypto” wave for fundraising, but did little. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, is still lurking, having advised OKX during its SEC probe. None of them have real authority over crypto regulation, but their public stances matter.
A $2 Billion Bitcoin Wallet Awakens
A dormant wallet holding 20,000 BTC (purchased when Bitcoin was $0.78) moved its funds this week. That’s $2 billionin today's prices — and the crypto world is buzzing with theories.
My top theory? The wallet owner is likely dead. The estate just figured out how to access the funds. Other theories include nation-state ownership, or an ultra-rich holder who simply doesn’t need the money. But without a move to exchanges, it seems liquidation isn’t the goal — at least not yet.
FTX: $500 Million Frozen and $2.5 Billion Denied
FTX has frozen $500 million in customer funds across 49 jurisdictions — with China making up 82% of that. The company cites legal limitations and VPN-based access as the reason. On top of that, 400,000 claims worth $2.5 billionhave been disqualified due to identity verification issues.
“That’s not a little bit of money.”
I ran the math: the average disqualified claim was around $6,250. Whether these funds will ever be recovered remains uncertain — and serves as another reminder of the risks baked into crypto’s early-stage chaos.
Listener Questions
Comrade Malcolm chimed in with a fiery response to our ongoing beef about Michael Saylor. Siding firmly with Comrade Kyle, Malcolm argues that the so-called "free market" isn’t free at all — it’s paid for through what he calls wage theft. In his view, the market is a playground for the ultra-wealthy to extract value from everyone else. He doesn’t think Saylor is a genius — just a guy with more money and early access.
“Michael Saylor isn’t smarter than everyone listening to this show. Just richer.”
It's an echo of growing frustration in the space: should a few mega-holders have the power to steer Bitcoin’s narrative and liquidity? Is that decentralization or just old-school power in a new wrapper?
Jackson asked, “I have $50 of ETH. Should I transfer it all to Bitcoin?”
Short answer from Matt: no need to overthink it. If you’re working with $50, just hold both. At that amount, it’s about building a foundation, not optimizing performance.
“Diversify early. Learn what it feels like to own both and watch how they move.”
Will had a deeper question: “Now that I have money in crypto, how can I secure it as much as possible?”
Great question — and the answer depends on your lifestyle.
If you’re stable — you live in one place, have a safe home, don’t have roommates, and aren’t traveling a lot — then self-custody might be for you. That means buying a hardware wallet, writing down your seed phrase, and keeping it somewhere safe.
If you're moving a lot, sharing a home, or not confident in your technical skills, it might be smarter to use a reputable exchange like Coinbase or Kraken. Or, for minimal risk and max simplicity, just get a Bitcoin ETF.
Matt added:
“If you’ve never had that moment where you sent crypto and spent three hours refreshing the screen in panic, you’re not ready to self-custody yet.”
Also — Kyle and Matt had different takes on this in their recent livestream. Go back to the blog, check the timestamps, and hear both sides.
Finn from Norway asked about the Ocean/FET → ASI token migration.
Here’s the deal:
Kraken didn’t support the automatic conversion.
You have to withdraw your Ocean or FET to a self-custody wallet.
Then, use SingularityDAO’s migration tool to convert them to ASI tokens.
Finn’s got three realistic options:
Migrate manually: Take custody of your tokens, follow the tool, get ASI, and hold or trade it elsewhere.
Sell while you still can: Ocean and FET are still tradable on Kraken (for now). You could wait for a better price or just cut your losses.
Exit now: Convert it to USDC or another supported token, and move on.
Matt also noted that Ocean is down 56% in the past six months, while ASI is down 57% — so even if you migrate, this is a long-term hold, not a quick flip.
“Once exchanges start delisting old tokens, prices often drop fast. If you're going to move, move soon.”
Crypto Prices (as of 11:03 AM EST)
Bitcoin: $107,905
Market Cap: $2.14 trillion
24h: -1.8%
Ethereum: $2,518
Market Cap: $303.8 billion
24h: -3.0%
XRP: $0.222 (↓2.6%)
BNB: $655 (↓1.0%)
Solana: $148.21 (↓2.8%)
Tron: $0.284 (↓0.11%)
Dogecoin: $0.164 (↓5.0%)
Cardano: $0.574 (↓4.0%)
Total Market Cap: $3.32 trillion (↓1.9%)
Summary
This Fourth of July, the crypto industry finds itself in a battle over freedom — from surveillance, from regulatory ambiguity, and from financial exclusion. Congress is gearing up to shape that future with major bills on deck. Meanwhile, dormant whale wallets and disqualified claims remind us of crypto’s unpredictable nature. Add in a shifting mayoral race in NYC and the lingering effects of FTX’s collapse, and you’ve got a market full of signals — not just noise.
Happy HODLing, Everyone.
I have a much more aggressive stance on BTC hitting $1M. Once the Genius Act and Clarity Act is signed, that will unlock billions of dollars. Additionally, US Govt will start to purchase up to 1M BTC starting end of the year. Given these catalysts, I think by end of 2026 BTC is over $1M per coin.