🏴‍☠️ Trump x CZ: Secret Deal Crumbles?

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We don’t have a clear signal from Fed Chair Jerome Powell yet. But guess what? Everyone’s already betting the Fed is about to cut!!!

Just overnight, the chance of a December rate cut jumped to ~85%. You know how quickly the mood can shift? So even if Powell stays vague, the market expects a quick sentiment rally.

But be careful. If Powell pulls a curveball and delays, it could shake things up fast!

Here’s what we got for you today:

• 👀 It’s turnaround time for BTC!!!

• ⭐ If BTC dies, does crypto die with it?

• ⭐ Binance got hit with another big lawsuit

• 🔥 Burning hot takes for the road

Everyone’s been calling this the most boring crypto winter ever… prices stuck, alts bleeding, “bear market confirmed” in every group chat.

This is a closer look at how $BTC.X ( ▲ 4.34% ) , and old-cycle survivors are setting up for a potential green yearly close despite months of weakness.

(Grab coffee, the charts are starting to look delicious again 👀)

💀 IF BTC DIES, DOES CRYPTO DIE WITH IT?

Some say yes. But honestly? Not really.

For years, many believed crypto lives or dies with Bitcoin. But David Hoffman from TrustlessState calls that out as outdated thinking.

Like when people thought the Earth was the center of the universe, or like this thought:

Even if Bitcoin shut down tomorrow, $ETH.X ( ▲ 2.58% ) keeps going. Blocks keep coming. DeFi still works. Stablecoins still move billions. The rest of crypto doesn't stop.

So where’s the new risk?

👉 Quantum computing, especially Shor’s algorithm, could break old Bitcoin wallets by exposing their private keys. Some experts think this tech might arrive before the next US election.

And Bitcoin is not prepared. Fixing its core security isn’t easy. But Ethereum's been ready for this for years:

• Wallets don’t expose public keys until needed

• Withdrawal keys are hidden after The Merge

• Upgrades already include quantum-proof plans

That’s why David believes ETH might actually grow if Bitcoin ever fell. The internet still needs native money. And Ethereum’s ecosystem is built to keep running no matter what.

But… that’s just one side of the coin.

Now flip it. Let’s remember what Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in late 2024: “Bitcoin is like digital gold. It’s not a dollar competitor. It’s a gold alternative.”

Then in early 2025, he added:

“Banks can offer Bitcoin and crypto services, if they follow safety and compliance rules.”

Bitcoin isn’t going anywhere soon. It’s being acknowledged at the highest level. Even got compared to gold by the Fed boss himself.

And there’s still more to this debate...

New analysis from PillageCapital adds another layer: Maybe Bitcoin isn’t dying. Maybe it’s just being left behind.

Bitcoin was never supposed to be the final destination. Now, capital is flowing to assets that feel more useful, easier to use, and closer to real-world needs.

Now that stablecoins, tokenized assets, and regulated platforms exist, investors don’t need Bitcoin to access the benefits of digital finance. They’re shifting capital elsewhere.

• Using Bitcoin is still kinda clunky

• No “oops” button, no fraud protection

• But stablecoins? Tokenized gold? Licensed apps? Those feel safer and smoother

• And now you don’t need BTC to enjoy digital asset benefits

Bitcoin did its job. It made the world pay attention. But the spotlight’s shifting toward assets with real-world ties and better UX.

My personal view:

I don’t think Bitcoin dies. But it does get repositioned.

It becomes what gold is today, a legacy asset, respected but not central to new innovation. Ethereum and RWA platforms will likely carry the next wave.

If you follow the money, it’s heading toward assets that feel real, useful, and connected to the systems people already understand.

Bitcoin was the door. The rest of crypto is the house. We’re just now exploring all the rooms.

Crash Expert: “This Looks Like 1929” → 70,000 Hedging Here

Mark Spitznagel, who made $1B in a single day during the 2015 flash crash, warns markets are mimicking 1929. Yeah, just another oracle spouting gloom and doom, right?

Vanguard and Goldman Sachs forecast just 5% and 3% annual S&P returns respectively for the next decade (2024-2034).

Bonds? Not much better.

Enough warning signals—what’s something investors can actually do to diversify this week?

Almost no one knows this, but postwar and contemporary art appreciated 11.2% annually with near-zero correlation to equities from 1995–2024, according to Masterworks Data.

And sure… billionaires like Bezos and Gates can make headlines at auction, but what about the rest of us?

Masterworks makes it possible to invest in legendary artworks by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more – without spending millions.

23 exits. Net annualized returns like 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5%. $1.2 billion invested.

Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…

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🧨 BINANCE FACES NEW TERRORISM FINANCING LAWSUIT IN US

Another legal firestorm just hit Binance.

On Nov 24, more than 300 people (victims and families of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel) filed a 284-page lawsuit against Binance in a U.S. court.

They’re accusing the exchange of helping terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, IRGC, and PIJ move money through crypto.

This time, the lawsuit names Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Guangying Chen directly.

Despite Binance's past troubles, including a $4.3B money laundering fine and CZ stepping down as CEO in 2023, the new case claims Binance:

• Knew these were terror-linked transactions but did nothing for years

• Set up shop in places with loose laws to dodge oversight

• Had weak ID checks, making it easy for bad actors to hide

• Still kept going even after settling with the U.S. for $4.3B in 2023

The platform allegedly let hundreds of millions of dollars move through its network, often using dense wallet structures that made tracing near impossible.

Binance declined to comment on the new lawsuit. Instead, it reiterated its commitment to global compliance and cited statements from FinCEN and OFAC, which claim Hamas does not widely use crypto.

But there’s more fuel to the fire.

Recently, Donald Trump granted CZ a presidential pardon, just months after his sentence.

The twist? Binance had previously backed World Liberty Financial, a project advised by Trump’s two sons, raising serious conflict of interest concerns.

And no, Trump later said he "wasn’t fully aware" of CZ when signing the pardon.

So what’s going on here?

Honestly, I think we’re watching a messy collision of crypto, politics, and power consolidation.

On one side, regulators and victims are pushing for accountability.
On the other, crypto giants like Binance still carry enormous influence, even after fines and resignations.

We always need to read between the lines. The pardon timing, the ongoing lawsuits, and the deep political ties all hint this is about who gets to control the next phase of the financial system.

We should stay alert. Regulation is tightening. But enforcement is still selective.

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For the next 5 days only, we are slashing our premium access prices by up to 85%. Here is the breakdown (and yes, these numbers are real):

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This offer strictly ends on Nov 30. We've never cut prices this deep before (and we probably never will again). Once the clock strikes midnight, the price goes back up, and we won't be bringing this level of discount back!

🔥 BURNING HOT TAKES FOR THE ROAD

Congrats to all $LINK.X ( ▼ 1.11% ) holders. Grayscale’s LINK ETF approved, starts trading on NYSE. If it rallies to $20, holders win big. Read more

DOGE denied Reuters' shutdown report, proving they saved $335M last week & still alive. Read more

Texas just bought $5M of BlackRock’s IBIT, calling it their first “dip buy” for the new state BTC reserve. Read more

The "Buy Now, Pay Later" king, Klarna, is dropping a stablecoin $KlarnaUSD. The CEO (formerly a skeptic) is all-in. Read more

🤡 SPICY MEME

💌 SHOUTOUT FROM OUR FIRESTARTER

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Cinderella isn’t looking for her glass slipper— she’s busy smashing the $2T media market to pieces.

Elf Labs spent a decade at the US Patent & Trademark office in a historic effort to lock up 100+ historic trademarks to icons like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and more — characters that have generated billions for giant studios. Now they’re fusing their IP with patented AI/AR to build a new entertainment category the big players can’t copy.

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⚠ This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Traders should conduct thorough research, understand the risks, and carefully evaluate their decisions before investing in cryptocurrency.