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Newsletter: Trump horrifies even some of his crypto-steeped fans by launching a memecoin before his inauguration, and a flurry of activity from the new administration signals what’s in store for the crypto world in the next four years.

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Citation Needed · Issue 75 – Absolutely preposterous
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Molly White

First, a note about my work. I am entirely funded by readers like you, and your support will be crucial going into what is clearly going to be a very busy four years.

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Trump’s memecoin did not exactly receive a warm welcome from much of the crypto world, who were horrified that their crypto president would tarnish the industry’s sterling reputation by doing a blatant cashgrab.

In my view, the memecoin launch only adds to Trump’s long list of already very serious conflicts of interest and unethical activities.

The industry’s high hopes for a crypto-focused day one in office quickly sank. However, Trump eventually got around to them later on, issuing a pardon for Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht on day two.

The much-awaited crypto executive order came later on. Instead of establishing a “bitcoin strategic reserve”, Trump created a committee to think about whether to recommend he establish a stockpile from digital assets already held by the government.

Other agencies, such as the SEC, have already sprung into action to push Trump’s deregulatory agenda, however. And Elon is trying to pump Dogecoin again, this time with the backing of the government.

Crypto crime was particularly violent this week, with a very alarming kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife (who have since been rescued by police).

The Ethereum Foundation is facing a confidence crisis, and some were disappointed when Vitalik Buterin announced that his plans to overhaul the leadership don’t include “execut[ing] some kind of ideological / vibez pivot from feminized wef soyboy mentality to bronze age mindset”.

All that and more in this issue of Citation Needed. If you found this helpful, please consider signing up for a free or pay-what-you-want subscription. Citation Needed is an independent publication, entirely supported by readers like you.

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@molly0xfff i gotta say - i really appreciate that you narrate your own articles. thats pretty rad! and great work! :D

@molly0xfff I wondered why it wasn’t already in Overcast for my commute home 😉

@molly0xfff i am confoozled and i still cannot buy pizza w eth

@molly0xfff [dons They Live sunglasses] "we are here to create an unsafe space"

@molly0xfff Corrupt LA Sherrifs? Makings of “Training Day 2: .eth“

@molly0xfff

So everybody was freaking out about the prospect of the US government buying into crypto bigtime and possibly tanking the economy with the next crypto crash.

This doesn't look as bad though right? Just hanging on to confiscated assets does not put us at risk?

@Phosphenes a bitcoin stockpile/strategic reserve is only one way that they would introduce widespread economic risk, and IMO the deregulatory moves hold much more systemic risk

@molly0xfff What does Ross Ulbricht’s pardon mean to the crypto industry? I mean it seems to me that crypto is already somewhat concerned about looking like a grift and scam, one would think they’d stay as far away from someone like Ulbricht as they can. “It’s okay if you use crypto to buy drugs and identities on the dark web” seems like a weird flex.

@jgeorge there’s a fair bit of overlap between the libertarian and crypto industry view on Ulbricht. Generally they seem him as someone who was simply providing a free market, and feel it was unfair that he was prosecuted on drug crimes when he was operating the marketplace and not directly supplying the drugs

@molly0xfff Interesting, thank you, that’s a take that I really wasn’t understanding. Granted, I think it’s a /stupid/ take, personally, but it is at least a take.

@molly0xfff unethical, but according to the supporting cast at the Supreme Court, fully immunized!

@molly0xfff "wtf he's doing what WE'RE doing that's so unfair!"

@molly0xfff

At the risk of sounding snide, schemers are often the first to get upset that it's not *their* scheme getting priority.

@molly0xfff fake horrification. They know/knew EXACTLY what the felon is capable of.

@molly0xfff I've just signed up for an annual subscription. Thank you for the work you do!

@cxiao thank you for the support!