Welcome to the Beluga Brief, where we deliver data-driven insights to your inbox every week, spending our time in the crypto trenches and combing through thousands of crypto news feeds so you don’t have to.

As the Beluga Brief grows we’ll try out new content sections and schedules to find what is best for our readers — since Memecoins are all the rage these days, we’ve added a section to cover all the craziness in the market from Marc Andreessen-funded AI memecoins to the most profitable traders turning $100 into millions. If you have other suggestions for things you’d like us to cover, feel free to leave a reply on our Twitter!

Fundstrat Solana Report

Our partners at Fundstrat, a leading market strategy and sector research fund, have just released their report on the cutting edge technology being developed on the Solana blockchain. They have also been kind enough to make it available to Beluga Brief subscribers for free!

If you’re interested in a deep dive into topics like the slide above, you can download the full report from the link below. You can expect more reports like this from our partners in the future, so be sure to stay tuned if you’re interested in getting ahead of the market!

What happened today?

For the first time in what feels like a week or two, the market took a slump today. Well, everything except for Bitcoin that is, which has once again surged to over $94,000. BTC showing such strength would make you think that euphoria among traders would be at a peak, however from what I can see across social media this really isn’t the case. I think what’s likely going on is most crypto natives had allocated their portfolios to alt-coins hoping for greater multiples, and haven’t yet felt the benefits of the bull run. If true, this means Bitcoin likely has more legs in it to go higher as crypto-native traders begin to FOMO back into BTC.

It’s been a tough year for alts but it’s worth remembering this is what we saw last cycle as well, where Bitcoin sucked the liquidity out of everything on its major run up. Only once it stabilizes should we expect to see meaningful flows back into lower cap coins. For now, don’t get shaken out of your conviction bets and keep an eye on that BTC price.

Biggest Headlines

The Beluga intern has been hard at work gathering all the most important crypto news stories so you have them in one place!

The Majors

• Shanghai court says crypto ownership legal under China law amid bitcoin price surge

• Bitcoin smashes record on path to $100,000 amid BlackRock options debut: ‘This is a big deal.’

Alt Coins and Stocks

• MicroStrategy breaks into top 100 U.S. publicly traded companies as Bitcoin reaches $94,000

• Digital Currency Group’s Barry Silbert bets big on AI blockchain Bittensor

Regulatory

• Trump’s team is considering a new White House role focused on Crypto Policy

• SEC delays making a decision on Franklin Crypto Index ETF dubbed EZPZ

New Launches

• Coinbase Wallet introduces 4.7% APY reward for USDC holders

Memecoin Corner

The last 24 hours marked one of the most wild times in memecoins we’ve ever had, with no better story than the middle schooler who rugged his coin for $30,000 while live on stream. His legend didn’t stop there however, as $QUANT ended up running to a peak of $75M in market cap after he had sold — his share of tokens would have been worth millions at the peak. The story has gone totally viral with massive accounts sharing the clip everywhere, leading to the “TikTok” meta getting solidified.

Looking at the top memecoins on Solana, basically every single one is down over 20% in the last day while memes from TikTok trends suck up all the liquidity. The biggest winner by far has been Chill Guy, which reached a peak of $500M after launching only 5 days ago. When we see run ups like that while other coins dump, it means the liquidity is rotating from other memes into that one, not new liquidity coming in. For this reason I don’t expect this wild only-TikTok meta to last very long, as in reality it is not normies buying just crypto traders pretending they are. It’s undeniable, however, how much attention TikTok can generate in this day and age so given the nature of memecoins I don’t expect TikTok-related memes to go away.

Beluga Podcast is Back!

The content on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. While Beluga strives to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information, there may be discrepancies when comparing our data to that of financial institutions, service providers, or specific product websites. Always consult with a professional before making any financial decisions.

Will McKinnon is the Head of Content for Beluga and has spent every day for many years trading coins. For that reason there are too many to name, however his largest holdings by a significant margin are Ethereum and Bitcoin. NFA DYOR