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The world felt a little heavy today with some scary headlines about war threats and oil blockades in the Middle East. Usually, people get nervous and sell. But while the headlines were shouting "Danger!", here’s what’s waiting for you:

  • $BTC ( ▲ 1.92% ) didn’t just survive the drop, it bounced back like a rubber ball. Is the correction already over?

  • For the first time in a while, big institutional investors poured more money into $ETH ( ▲ 2.42% ) than BTC! Do they know something we don't?

In times like this, the big "whales" love to scare normal people into selling cheap so they can buy it all up. The smart money isn't waiting, should you?

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • 👀 Top 10 venture capital funding in crypto

  • ⭐ OpenClaw trading: gold mine or money pit?

  • ⭐ 2026 bear market is similar to 2022!???

  • 🔥 Burning hot takes for the road

Ever heard of a16z or Paradigm? They aren't just "investors", they are the Silicon Valley legends who backed Facebook and Airbnb, and now they’re deciding which crypto tools you’ll use tomorrow.

We simplify the one thing most beginners get wrong. One group builds the future; the other keeps the "shop" open so you can trade. Knowing the difference is the first step to not getting "Rekt." 👇

🇨🇳 CHINA'S OPENCLAW IN CRYPTO: GOLDMINE OR MONEY PIT?

A massive trend is taking over China called OpenClaw. In less than 4 months, this open-source AI tool has racked up over 260k stars on GitHub. People are rushing to use it to build crypto trading bots, but the results are... mixed, to say the least.

1. The Scale of This Frenzy Is Hard to Overstate

From Tencent/Baidu engineers to students and office workers, everyone is lining up to install OpenClaw and create their own AI agents.

The craze has reportedly added over $100 billion to China's tech sector market cap, with AI token provider Minimax surging 550% in just 2 months.

2. From Productivity Tool to "Money Printer"?

Chinese developer communities immediately started pushing OpenClaw toward financial and crypto trading. On the ClawHub marketplace, there are now over 300 finance-related skills.

  • One bot on Polymarket allegedly turned $50 into $2,980 in 48 hours by analyzing weather data, sports injuries, and on-chain sentiment.

  • Another bot, "0x8dxd," executed over 20k trades, reportedly profiting over $1.7 million.

Those are the headline stories everyone shares. What most people do not share is what happens to everyone else.

3. Most Retail Traders Are Getting Wrecked

A developer spent 2 weeks documenting quantitative trading experiments with OpenClaw. The core problems came down to a few things that anyone considering this should understand clearly:

  • OpenClaw works reasonably well as an information analyst but consistently fails as a reliable trade executor

  • AI "hallucinations" can cause bots to go all-in at 3 AM

  • API latency of 1-10s means bots can't react fast enough to volatility

→ Thousands of malicious skills (malware) are lurking, trying to steal crypto wallets. The actual investment decisions still have to be your own.

Key Takeaway: Chinese AI models are currently trading smarter than US ones, but overall, 4 out of 6 models lost money due to high fees and poor risk management.

Profits Generated By Different AI Models

😅 Backlash Is Already Here and It Is Hilarious

On the second-hand market Xianyu, "OpenClaw Uninstall Service" is trending. Users who paid to install it are now paying ~$43 to remove it, fearing data theft.

OpenClaw has genuinely lowered the barrier for retail traders to experiment with AI powered trading systems and that is a real development worth paying attention to.

Once again, OpenClaw helps you gather information and build analytical frameworks. The investment decisions, ultimately, still have to be your own.

88% resolved. 22% stayed loyal. What went wrong?

That's the AI paradox hiding in your CX stack. Tickets close. Customers leave. And most teams don't see it coming because they're measuring the wrong things.

Efficiency metrics look great on paper. Handle time down. Containment rate up. But customer loyalty? That's a different story — and it's one your current dashboards probably aren't telling you.

Gladly's 2026 Customer Expectations Report surveyed thousands of real consumers to find out exactly where AI-powered service breaks trust, and what separates the platforms that drive retention from the ones that quietly erode it.

If you're architecting the CX stack, this is the data you need to build it right. Not just fast. Not just cheap. Built to last.

🐻 2026 BEAR MARKET: WHY IT FEELS SO DIFFERENT FROM 2022?

If you’ve been looking at your portfolio lately and feeling that familiar "Crypto Winter" chill, take a deep breath. I have some news that might actually help you sleep tonight: 2026 is NOT 2022.

1. Most Important Difference: No System Wide Blowup

  • 2022: Massive leverage unwinds and contagion caused a chain reaction of failures.

  • 2026: No major systemic blowups. The market is correcting in an orderly fashion.

Why? Institutions are now the shock absorber. Here is something that simply did not exist in 2022:

  • Spot Bitcoin ETFs are holding close to $91 billion according to Glassnode data

  • Long term holders are buying dips rather than panic selling

  • Whales are accumulating quietly while exchange balances keep declining

Capital is being allocated thoughtfully rather than emotionally and that changes the entire character of the drawdown.

2. Regulation is Actually Helping This Time

In 2022, regulatory uncertainty was part of the problem. Projects operated in legal grey zones, leverage was uncontrolled and there was no framework separating legitimate projects from pure speculation. But now:

  • The GENIUS Act for stablecoins is already law. The CLARITY Act for broader token markets is progressing through the Senate

  • Projects are now being valued on actual cash flows and real utility rather than narrative and hype alone

  • Weaker projects are quietly dying while stronger ones with real fundamentals are holding up comparatively well

The existential fear that haunted 2022 is simply gone. What is happening now is a repricing process, not a collapse.

3. A "Two-Speed" Economy.

This is perhaps the most interesting dynamic of this particular cycle. The market is effectively running at two speeds simultaneously:

Crypto’s 2025 Scorecard

  • Speculation: Down significantly. Weak projects are quietly fading away.

  • Utility: Quietly booming. Blockchain users are up, stablecoin volume is +50%, and real-world applications are +36% despite lower prices

DeFi TVL, stablecoin supply and on-chain infrastructure all remain resilient. Emerging sectors like agentic finance protocols, tokenized equities and institutional DeFi are showing early signs of real traction.

4. So What Does Recovery Actually Look Like From Here?

If and when this market turns, do not expect the same kind of explosive across the board mania that characterized 2020 to 2021. The recovery this cycle will likely be slower and more gradual than previous cycles.

If you are holding quality projects with real use cases and you are not overleveraged, this bear market is uncomfortable but survivable in a way that 2022 genuinely was not for many people!

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🔥 BURNING HOT TAKES FOR THE ROAD

Bonk(.)fun memecoin site was just "domain-hijacked." Hackers planted a fake update that drains your entire wallet the moment you sign. Read more

BlackRock launched a staking Ethereum ETF called ETHB. It offers ETH exposure plus ~4% staking yield. Day-one volume hit $15.5M. Read more

One trader, one swap, $50,000,000 gone. A catastrophic error on Ethereum just wiped out a whale in seconds. Read more

Top 297 $TRUMP ( ▲ 36.9% ) holders are heading to an exclusive gala, getting a private tour of Mar-a-Lago. Memecoins meet the president. Read more

🤡 SPICY MEME

Highway to hell 😅😅

💌 SHOUTOUT FROM OUR FIRESTARTER

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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.

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