Good morning, HODLers.
This weekend’s livestream went deep. What started as a market check-in turned into a whirlwind through macro trends, DNA sales, stablecoin legality, the future of science—and yes, Banana Gun.
Let’s break it down.
🟠 Bitcoin Market Outlook: Bearish Vibes or Just Volatility?
Bitcoin’s sitting at ~$82K, but macro sentiment is wobbly.
$1B in ETF inflows over the past 10 days
Michael Saylor still buying
GameStop looking to raise $1.3B to buy Bitcoin
But… housing starts, mortgage defaults, and savings rates are all looking rough
Trump tariffs returning could shake things up even more
“There’s no decoupling. There never was. And the more TradFi piles in, the less likely there ever will be.” — Matt
Bottom Line: TradFi and crypto are now one beast. Unless Bitcoin becomes true digital gold, it’ll rise and fall with the S&P.
🏛️ Wyoming’s State-Issued Stablecoin: Is It Even Legal?
Wyoming is launching the WYST (Wyoming Stable Token) in July 2025.
Backed 1:1 with USD
Authorized under the Wyoming Stable Token Act (2023)
Will run on blockchain (likely Solana)
🧠 Questions to Watch:
Can states even legally issue a currency? (Article I, Section 10 says maybe not.)
Will the feds sue?
Could this spark a state-vs-state currency war?
“This is just like Tether or Circle—but now it’s state-sanctioned. And states are gonna want that float money.” — Matt
🧬 23andMe’s DNA Fire Sale: SAFE Foundation Steps In
23andMe is bankrupt. Their database—DNA from 15 million people—is reportedly up for sale.
Enter the SAFE Foundation, bidding to acquire the data and “protect it on-chain.”
🚨 Concerns:
Users did not sign up for their DNA to be auctioned
Blockchain ≠ privacy
Will it be used for research… or worse?
“We’ve been tricked for decades. Facebook, Amazon, car companies, now genetic firms. Blockchain might help, but we’re way behind.” — Matt
📚 The Curious Case of Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz, co-founder of Reddit and architect of Creative Commons, tried to liberate publicly funded academic research locked behind JSTOR.
He downloaded millions of papers
Faced felony charges
Died by suicide in 2013
Seen as a martyr for open access and decentralized science
“Knowledge is power. And D-Sci is about removing unnecessary barriers to that power.” — Kyle
Swartz’s story is central to the D-Sci movement. He saw the paywalls coming before most of us—and paid the ultimate price trying to tear them down.
🧠 AI, Hallucinations & the New 1776
AI is accelerating, and we’re watching it absorb decades of locked-up human knowledge. A Stanford professor told us:
PhDs now use AI to come up with research questions
Guardrails are limiting
Hallucinations might be necessary for creativity
“We always build tools to fight back: the First Amendment, the Internet, and now crypto. Are we smart enough to use this one before it’s too late?” — Matt
🐻 Bear Chain & Alt-L1s Update
Bear Chain is holding strong despite an initially rocky launch.
Total Value Locked is growing
Proof-of-Liquidity mechanism = validators earn based on ecosystem participation
Governance is tied to activity, not just token holding
Also: XYO is launching its own L1. While everyone else builds on Solana and Ethereum, some teams still want to own the full stack.
“Layer 1s still offer a ton of value—if they do it right.” — Matt
📩 Listener Questions
1. Why Stablecoins? Isn’t USD better? — from Twon 🇳🇱
Stablecoins like USDC and USDT are tools. You use them for:
Locking in crypto profits
Trading between assets
Earning yield (Coinbase pays 4.25% on USDC)
On-chain finance
They’re just digitized dollars—issued by private companies (Circle, Tether) who profit off the float by investing your deposited funds.
“You give them $1, they give you a token—and they go make 4% on your money. It’s stupid. It’s brilliant.” — Matt
2. What’s the tax treatment of swapping Bitcoin to Ethereum?
Every trade is a taxable event.
Buy BTC at $5,000
Sell BTC at $10,000 to buy ETH
You owe taxes on that $5,000 gain, even if ETH drops
The IRS doesn't care what you bought—it cares what you sold
TLDR: Know your cost basis, track your trades, and report everything.
3. Banana Gun, Grass, Wen, GRT, Jasmy — Thoughts? — from Hugh 🧃
GRT (The Graph): Legit. Infrastructure for DeFi indexing.
Grass: Shares your internet bandwidth—basically AI data farming.
Banana Gun: Telegram sniper bot token—some utility, big risk.
WEN: Meme coin. Probably not now, maybe never.
Jasmy: No strong take—low-cap volatility, DYOR.
“Don’t invest what you’re not willing to lose. Especially in a token called Banana Gun.” — Kyle
🧵 Summary
This episode hit all the levels:
Macro fears
Legal fights over state coins
DNA sovereignty
Scientific freedom
Layer 1 innovation
Listener alpha
And just enough tinfoil-hat energy to keep things spicy
Happy HODLing, Everyone.
— Matt & Kyle
Share this post