🐧 $PENGUIN Mooned on a Joke

63+ Cheat Sheets | Advertise | SuperAI x Crypto | Free One-Shot Guides

$BTC ( ▲ 1.27% ) briefly fell to $86K early this morning, now trading around $87.8K. In just the last 12 hours, over $650M in long positions got liquidated.

U.S. gov shutdown risk is rising sharply, with forecasts expecting it could happen before Jan 31. It's a tough week for all of us. Move fast, grow up, or get ‘Netscaped’ 🙄

Here’s what we got for you today:

• 👀 4 steps to profitable long-term trading

• ⭐ U.S. government shutdown risk surges

• ⭐ $PENGUIN +1500% jump in hours

• 🔥 Burning hot takes for the road

Most people who start crypto trading believe they’ll get rich fast. But the majority lose money. The market is emotional, unpredictable, and full of traps built for inexperienced traders.

You’ve probably seen charts on social media showing quick profits, but what you don’t see are the thousands of small losses behind them.

81% of retail traders lost money in BTC during the last bull run. If you want to make money and keep it, you need to know how the game is actually played 👇

🏸 U.S. GOV FREEZE: BTC DROPS & GOLD EXPLODES

Looks like we might be heading for another U.S. government shutdown again.

Polymarket odds are now pricing in a 78% chance that the U.S. government shuts down before Jan 31. Here’s what we’re seeing on Polymarket:

• 77% chance the government runs out of funds that day

• Bets suggest the shutdown could last up to 2 months

That’s up from just 10% three days ago. Why? Budget deadlock over DHS and ICE funding has completely frozen Washington.

1/ Fear Rising Across the Crypto Market

You can actually feel the fear hitting crypto. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index just flipped to “Extreme Fear”.

BTC is struggling, with sharp swings tied to liquidity risks and macro uncertainty. Reminder: During the last shutdown (end of 2025), BTC dropped ~20% over 43 days.

To make it worse, $1.3B just flowed out of BTC ETFs last week, it’s the biggest hit since Feb 2025.

2/ Safe-Haven Metals Surging

Meanwhile, gold and silver are absolutely flying:

• Gold just broke $5,000/oz for the first time ever, now trading at ~$5,041

• Silver smashed through $100/oz, now trading near $103.07

• People are flocking to safety, and metals are soaking up that demand

And if you remember the last shutdown, gold jumped from ~$3,858 to $4,100+, and silver hit $54. So this pattern isn’t new.

3/ Why This Shutdown Feels Different

This isn’t just about passing a budget, it’s about flying blind.

• Economic indicators like CPI and jobs reports are being delayed

• That means the Fed can’t plan, traders can’t model risk, and liquidity dries up

• If the shutdown extends, experts predict:

  • Slower GDP growth (down 0.2% per week)

  • Potential U.S. credit rating downgrade

  • Major liquidity freeze in markets

Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, publicly basically said “no deal” unless the ICE/DHS section is reformed.

4/ What This Means for Us

A lot of people still aren’t paying attention but they should be. If the shutdown hits:

• No economic data = wild swings in every market

• Treasury auctions might get delayed

• Cash flow slows down, fast

Gold and silver are doing what they always do, becoming the flight-to-safety zone. But crypto’s in a trickier spot. It’s still reactive, still sensitive to every macro headline.

We’re not guaranteed a shutdown. Congress could still pass another short-term deal. But with under a week left, we’d prep for real volatility.

Stop waiting on your agency. While they're perfecting decks, your competitors are shipping wins.

Traditional agencies are killing your momentum. Week-long approval chains. Strategy decks that never ship. By the time they're ready to execute, your window has passed.

Distractive doesn't work like that. We're builders who do marketing - embedded in your stack, moving at your speed, shipping live campaigns while others schedule kickoffs. No bottlenecks. No approval theater. We test fast, kill what doesn't work, and scale what does. Built for Web3 velocity because we live in it.

Need community growth that compounds? Content that converts? Campaigns that move as fast as your code drops? We're already shipping.

Book a free call to get your 2026 GTM plan ready today.

🐧 TRUMP & $PENGUIN Sparked a $170M Moment

Early 2026 is already proving how chaotic things can get when Trump has power again, and somehow a penguin just caused a memecoin to go 1500%.

On Jan 24, the Solana memecoin Nietzschean Penguin ($PENGUIN ( ▲ 33.81% ) ) suddenly shot up from $0.01 to $0.16, that’s a +1500% jump in hours.

Because the White House posted a photo of Trump walking hand-in-hand with a penguin. That’s it, no caption.

Crypto traders immediately tied it to $PENGUIN, even though there was zero official connection, and began piling in. More information:

• Before the Trump photo, market cap was just $300K

• After the post, it peaked at $170M, now sitting around $112M

• Trading volume hit $244M in 24h, one of Solana’s biggest spikes this month

• A trader who spent just 6 SOL (~$867) turned it into $1.4M

Even Pump(.)fun’s founder said that on-chain trading was never dead. It was just sleeping, waiting for the next narrative.

Then, Penguin Party Ends Fast

Like every good meme pump, it didn’t last. As the rest of the market dipped overnight, $PENGUIN dropped ~50% from the peak.

The same White House post that pumped the trend might’ve also marked its top. While PENGUIN had its moment, most meme coins are still in pain:

• $DOGE ( ▲ 2.59% ) : -10%

• $SHIB ( ▲ 1.05% ) : -7.5%

• $PEPE ( ▲ 1.24% ) : -14.5%

• 11.6M+ tokens failed in 2025, most tied to scams or hype collapses

Yet meme interest is rising again, with tokens like PEPE, MOG, and POPCAT showing renewed retail traction. The volatility is back, for better or worse.

If Trump stays in power, this kind of chaos is just beginning.

One day it’s “walk with penguin,” next day he’s threatening a 100% tax on Canada, or claiming Greenland is up for grabs.

Teach them money habits that last

Helping your teen learn to manage money is a big step, and Cash App Card makes it easy for both of you. They get a secure debit card and easy ways to save and send money, while you stay in the loop every step of the way.

All with no monthly or hidden fees for you or your teen. Why millions of families trust Cash App Card:

• Instant discounts on everyday spending: Add offers and save on groceries, restaurants, rides, and more.

• No monthly or hidden fees: Shop in-store and online where Visa is accepted with no monthly or hidden fees.

• 24/7 fraud monitoring: Avoid scams before they can happen with proactive security features.

• Oversight and control: Review your teen’s spending, control who can send them requests, and lock their card if it’s ever lost or stolen.

🔥 BURNING HOT TAKES FOR THE ROAD

Farcaster is returning all $180M to VCs over the last 5 years. But it’s not shutting down, Neynar is taking over protocol ownership. Read more

BTC holders recorded net losses for the first time since Oct 2023, says CryptoQuant. Are we entering the next downtrend cycle? Read more

The FOMC will announce its interest rate decision on Jan 29. Here’s what investors want even more than a Fed interest-rate cut this week. Read more

Trump warned of a 100% tariff on Canada if it signs trade deals with China. Canada would be "destroyed" if it lets China bypass U.S. tariffs. Read more

🤡 SPICY MEME

💌 SHOUTOUT FROM OUR FIRESTARTER

We read your emails, comments, and poll replies daily

Hit reply and say Hello, we'd love to hear from you!

And if you’ve got a friend deep in crypto (or just getting started), feel free to forward this to them. They can sign up here. Cheers!

⚠ 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.