Back to the grind.

This week’s market feels like we set the treadmill to a steady jog—nothing groundbreaking but still moving. 

Bitcoin hovers just under $100k, seeing a mid-week deep in reaction to news of some super quantum bogeyman chip Google claims to have invented. 

Ethereum added a modest 2.35%, settling at $3,915.15. But the real stories are the mid-cap players showing double-digit growth, leading us into some notable standouts.

The real action is with some of the mid-cap movers. 

• Aave (AAVE) is climbing the DeFi ranks, up over 44% this week. Aave offers decentralized lending and borrowing services, letting users earn yield or access liquidity. 

• Chainlink (LINK) is flexing its dominance with a 25.07% weekly gain further solidifying its position as the go-to decentralized oracle solution, connecting smart contracts with real-world data.

• Aerodrome Finance (AERO) stays in the green with a 17.37% weekly increase. As an AMM on Base, Aerodrome is attempting to become the Raydium of Base with innovative staking mechanics.

While Bitcoin and Ethereum barely budged, a few altcoins demonstrated outsized momentum, suggesting some investors are redistributing focus into DeFi and mid-cap protocols. 

This week, we’re talking:

1. Bitwise’s 2025 Bitcoin forecast.

2. Celsius’s Alex Mashinsky's guilty plea reveals a $5 billion fraud, turning the "Unbank Yourself" mantra into a cautionary tale of crypto mismanagement.

3. Stablecoins maintain a $200 billion market cap, but upcoming SEC regulations could challenge their role as crypto's safe haven.

4. Rumors suggest Trump may appoint PayPal co-founder pro-Bitcoin David Sacks to lead AI and crypto policy. 

Bitcoin’s $200K Bet: Moon Mission or Mirage?

Bitwise Asset Management, a leading crypto asset manager, has projected that Bitcoin could reach $200,000 by 2025. 

Why care? 

Bitwise isn’t some crypto hype machine shouting from a Reddit thread. 

It manages over $5 billion in assets, including crypto index funds and ETFs that Wall Street actually respects. Its predictions land differently because it earned the right to make them. Oh, and it just picked up another $1.1 billion in AUM by acquiring ETC Group in Europe

Trump’s SEC pick, Paul Atkins, brought a pro-crypto vibe to Washington, and investors ate it up like free pizza at a startup happy hour.

But let’s talk Coinbase—the blue-chip poster child of crypto exchanges. Analysts were practically taking bets on its S&P 500 inclusion. 

Spoiler: It didn’t happen. 

The stock tanked 7.8%, leaving investors feeling like they ordered Wagyu but got a Big Mac. Still, Coinbase isn’t crying into its ledger. Its shiny new Coinbase 50 Index, a benchmark of top-performing digital assets, gives it some new shine. 

So, what does Bitwise’s bold bet mean for investors? The $200K figure isn’t plucked from thin air, but it also isn’t a certainty. 

For Bitcoin to climb that high, it needs institutional momentum and a predictable regulatory landscape.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward scenario—and anyone jumping in should know the crypto market’s volatility isn’t going anywhere.

In other words, it’s not about dreaming of the moon; it’s about managing your fuel for the trip. And with 2025 looming, you’ll want to check your risk tolerance before boarding the Crypto Express.

Unbanked and Unhinged: The Fall of Celsius

Alex Mashinsky, who once touted his platform with the feel-good slogan "Unbank Yourself," now finds himself chained to a legal nightmare. The founder of Celsius, a prominent crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy in 2022, pleaded guilty to masterminding a labyrinthine fraud that has left investors out to dry, with a $5 billion debt looming like a bad hangover. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams labeled it "one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry," and Mashinsky himself admitted, "I knew what I did was wrong."

Celsius claimed to offer a safe haven for crypto holders, ensuring them their coins were as secure as money in a licensed bank. Unlike banks, it promised juicy returns tied with a neat bow. But underneath this enticing offer lay an empire built on smoke and mirrors.

The platform wasn't exactly the making profits it advertised it was; instead, it was repurposing customer investments as high-stakes bets, padding the value of its CEL token like a Vegas casino boss stacking a deck.

In messages between Mashinsky and former Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon, it's revealed how this house of cards stayed standing through $8 million weekly injections to sustain CEL's illusion of value. Cohen-Pavon bluntly tells Mashinsky, "[T]he value was fake." And like all good schemes, this one eventually imploded, leaving ordinary investors holding not treasure but empty promises.

The Mashinsky story is a grim reminder that due diligence is non-negotiable. Investors are often wooed by lofty slogans and unsustainable returns, but as Celsius shows, those promises can evaporate faster than a summer storm

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🤔 What’s New at CoinCentral: Will Bitcoin Hit $250K?

IBitcoin at $250,000—a headline-grabbing prediction that seems like a moonshot to some and pure inevitability to others.

 Our latest deep dive explores what it would actually take for Bitcoin to hit this milestone, dissecting the economic, political, and institutional factors that could align to make it happen.

We talk halving (seems like so long ago, doesn’t it?), the institutional effect from BlackRock and Fidelity, Trump’s crypto-friendly presidency, and talk of the U.S. Bitcoin reserve.

It’s not all green candles and FOMO: macroeconomics remain Bitcoin’s wild card. Inflation needs to cool, interest rates must drop, and regulatory frameworks need to solidify for a $250K Bitcoin to emerge.

Is it realistic? Maybe. Is it exciting? Absolutely. 

Dive into our full article for the details, history, and scenarios that could propel Bitcoin to a quarter-million dollars.

Check it out here!

🎉 Stablecoins: Steady as She Goes

Stablecoins, the crypto world's designated adults, are designed to hold a steady value, typically pegged to currencies like the US dollar. While headlines tout explosive growth, the reality is more measured—their market cap just passed $200 billion. 

Growth? Sure. 

Borrowing interest rates for major stablecoins like USDT and USDC have skyrocketed beyond 20% on protocols like Aave, which highlights increased speculator activity. In other words, the degens are here. 

But, frenzy? Not quite.

Unlike Bitcoin's rollercoaster, stablecoins aim to be the calm in crypto’s storm, but let’s not nominate them for sainthood just yet. With SEC regulations looming, the crypto wild west could face tighter borders, forcing stablecoins to play by rules that might stifle innovation. 

For instance, Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has partnered with Binance to expand the use of USDC on the trading platform, aiming to accelerate global growth and adoption, which will surely catch some regulatory stray bullets from some governments.

Banks, unwilling to cede ground to startups, are diving into the space. Case in point: JP Morgan's Onyx platform, powered by JPM Coin, is already working on blockchain-based transactions.

⚔️ Trump’s Alleged AI and Crypto Czar: David Sacks

In a move blending Silicon Valley credentials with political theater, Donald Trump has reportedly tapped David Sacks to take a lead role in AI and cryptocurrency policy. 

While unconfirmed, the rumor feels plausible—Sacks is a VC with deep ties to tech, an outspoken voice in AI and blockchain innovation, and the growing conservative movement among techies and investors. 

Sacks’s résumé speaks for itself. He co-founded PayPal alongside Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and later built Yammer, which Microsoft acquired for $1.2 billion. 

Now at the helm of Craft Ventures, Sacks oversees $1.5 billion in assets, with substantial investments in crypto startups. Known for his sharp commentary and calculated bets, Sacks has become a pivotal figure in the tech world’s push toward an AI-powered and blockchain-driven future.

Despite the buzz, there’s no official confirmation of Sacks’s role in Trump’s orbit. Most mainstream outlets remain silent on the matter. 

For now, this story sits in the gray zone between speculation and reality, but it highlights the growing intersection of politics and tech.

We’ll see you next week!

AM

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The content herein is not an investment recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or assets. Readers are advised to conduct their own research and exercise caution in making any financial decisions.