A new crypto "system"?

Plus, US dollar to go lower, BTC-USD correlation, memecoin utility, war, tariffs, treasuries and more

“We must plan for freedom, and not only for security, if for no other reason than that only freedom can make security secure.” – Karl Popper ||

Hello everyone!!! I hope you’re all doing well!

A confession: Every day, give or take, I sit down at my desk in the morning and tell myself that the newsletter will be short today because the past few have been so long, and that I’ll be able to get it out early. Then I start opening tabs, going down rabbit holes and suddenly I’m 3,000+ words in and wondering what I can push to another day. And before you suggest just writing less, well, that’s harder that it sounds. As Blaise Pascal supposedly said: "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time."

It's been especially challenging recently because of so much going on – but tariff fatigue is starting to niggle at the edges, and I’m looking forward to once again focusing on tokenization trends, enterprise adoption and other even nerdier topics. That said, I’ve been writing for years now about the coming global realignment in which crypto would be dragged onto the big stage. Seeing it start to actually happen, well, it makes the macro focus and the crypto impact so much more important. So, I still hold out hope for shorter and nerdier newsletters – but for now, the unfolding drama will continue to grab more attention than it might deserve. Crazy times.

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Production note: apologies, I have to skip publication tomorrow, I’ll be away from my desk for most of the morning – but I will be sending out the free weekly on Saturday.

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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

• A new type of crypto “system”?

• Goldman Sachs: Dollar will go lower

• Memecoin utility

• Macro-Crypto Bits: BTC-USD correlation, more tariff confusion, possible war in Asia, weakening activity, good news for treasuries.

If you’re not a premium subscriber, I hope you’ll consider becoming one! You get ~daily commentary on markets, tokenization, regulation and other signs that crypto IS impacting the macro landscape. As well as relevant links and music recommendations ‘cos why not.

WHAT I’M WATCHING:

A new type of crypto “system”?

Normally I wouldn’t be commenting on a company focused on acquiring BTC – it’s good for the market, sure, but not that relevant in the ongoing crypto/macro shift. (Corporates diversifying treasury reserves with some BTC and stablecoin holdings, now that is relevant.) You might have noticed, for example, that my coverage of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has been scant to non-existent as I don’t find it interesting beyond the financial engineering angle.

But I’m going to make an exception for the creation of Twenty One Capital, announced yesterday, not because of the company structure but because of who’s behind it – that feels like a much bigger-picture signal than another big BTC buyer entering the market.