Whether it’s the last call at the bar or the entertainment value of Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” all good things must come to an end.

We’ve been thrilled about Bitcoin’s bull run, but recently it seems that crypto’s favorite coin is slipping back down the slope.

Why? Well, there’s no simple answer, but we’ve come up with quite a few good ones.

But will Bitcoin be able to overcome these obstacles and reclaim its throne?

Because unlike “The Mandalorian,” there’s still hope that Bitcoin’s worth watching.

The Only Real Hacker Repellant

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Espresso Shots

☕️ Ripple moves to UK and Ireland 🇬🇧 🍀

After a big win in the American court system, Ripple is headed to England and Ireland.

Ripple has applied for a crypto asset firm license with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.K.’s regulatory body.

Additionally, Ripple has applied for a payment institution license in Ireland.

However, this isn’t Ripple’s first international foray. Ripple is already offering payments and service options in Singapore.

It should come as no surprise that an exchange named for the byproduct of stone skipping would eventually head across the pond.

☕️ South Korea Launches Crypto Task Force 🪙 🇰🇷

South Korea has created a special investigation unit to combat the nation’s rise in crypto-related crime.

Like America, South Korea is still awaiting comprehensive crypto regulation. In the meantime, this task force was created to protect investors while they navigate the murky waters of South Korea’s crypto market.

“Virtual assets, which are traded over 3 trillion won (~$2.35 million) every day, with more than 6 million participants, are already investment products comparable to stocks, but the laws and systems are not complete, so market participants are practically left out from the protection of the law,” reads a statement from the Prosecutor’s office.

All investigations, by law, must start with a black screen and Steve Zirnkilton’s narration. “In the South Korean justice system, crypto-based offenses are considered especially heinous…”

☕️ KuCoin says Layoffs Aren’t Layoffs 🏢 🔥

There have been rumors circulating that crypto exchange KuCoin intends to cut 30% of its 1,000-person staff, but KuCoin insists there aren’t layoffs planned.

“We did not initiate any alleged layoff plan,” said a spokesperson for KuCoin in an interview with Decrypt. “As part of a normal process of organization development, we keep doing biannual appraisals to keep up with the competitive market.”

However, KuCoin hasn’t denied it intends to cut jobs. And we might not be corporate sharks, but competitive, “biannual appraisals" sound a lot like layoffs.

KuCoin has insisted that if its employees see anyone clearing out their desks, they haven’t been fired, they’re just engaging in long-term Spring cleaning.

Spilling the Beans

Bitcoin's No Good Very Bad Week 😭 📉

It’s been a rosy spring and rosier summer for Bitcoin.

When Bitcoin hit its rock bottom in the dregs of crypto winter, around the $17,000 mark, many of us lost hope that Bitcoin could ever surge ahead and fulfill its destiny as the Coca-Cola of crypto.

But our hopes were renewed when Bitcoin clambered back up to the top in 2023, rising 85% through the year.

And what drove Bitcoin’s bull run? Well, it was those same institutions whose widespread failures and inaccessibility drove the creation of a financial alternative in the first place.

Bitcoin ETFs, whether spots or futures, have bridged the gap — and become the talk of both crypto and Wall Street.

And that enthusiasm thrust Bitcoin to the $30,000 mark. But recently, Bitcoin has dipped back to around $29,000.

Because that institutional enthusiasm may also be the source of Bitcoin’s recent problems.

And, like any macro event influencing the markets, whenever there’s a hint of instability, the market reacts accordingly.

There’s reason to believe that the SEC may not share the same enthusiasm that spawned the wave of ETF applications from BlackRock, Wisdom Tree, Fidelity, and the like.

The SEC deemed the first wave of filings inadequate with particular attention paid to lapses in security and privacy in the “surveillance-sharing agreement” sections of the applications.

Now, some of those institutions, such as BlackRock and ARK, have refiled amended applications with updated surveillance-sharing sections.

But the cracks are already showing. And the SEC hasn’t expressed any warmer regard for crypto.

The recent Ripple ruling, which should have been a huge win for crypto in the decision that the XRP token does not constitute an unregistered security, is only shedding more light on America’s regulatory uncertainty.

The SEC has indicated that they intend to challenge the Ripple ruling. That’s not the action of a regulatory body that can’t wait to approve a huge batch of Bitcoin ETF applications.

But beyond institutional or regulatory sentiments, it seems that these developments aren’t sitting well with rank-and-file crypto investors.

Just last week, there was $13 million in outflow from Bitcoin investments. Crypto investors are taking their money out of Bitcoin and putting it into Ethereum or XRP.

On one level, that may be investors' distaste for the growing institutionalization of Bitcoin. On the other hand, they may simply feel that Bitcoin has run out of good news to stake their investments on.

This shift in sentiment, compounded by institutional misgivings, has dropped Bitcoin to the $29,000 price point at which it languishes today.

But is there hope for Bitcoin? Absolutely.

Realistically, cynically, maybe not in the short term. We’d be pleasantly surprised if the wave of Bitcoin ETFs received widespread SEC approval.

But don’t clutch your pearls if there’s another dip when many, if not all of them, are rejected.

Hurdling the SEC is just the latest battle in Bitcoin’s long road to the top. It’s a long road, but our brave little coin is headed in the right direction.

It’s easy to be bearish, but the strong will HODL on.

Bitcoin’s success isn’t an impossibility, but an inevitability.

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Meme of the Day

Don’t worry Bitcoin, tomorrow is another day. ❤️ 🌄

Crypto 101

BI Applications: “Business Intelligence” applications are tools that collect and process large amounts of unstructured data and render it into usable stats for analysis.

BI Applications are quickly becoming intertwined with blockchain technology. Blockchains are incredibly useful for businesses looking to secure this processed data with an encrypted ledger.

The Last Sip

In honor of Bitcoin’s bad week, we’ve compiled some of the worst weeks in history.

3. April 20, 2010, to April 27, 2010. The BP oil spill that followed the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. A bad time to be a pelican, even if you do get a free shampoo and get to star in a commercial.

2. October 16, 1962, to October 29, 1962. True calendar heads will recognize that this isn’t a week, but actually thirteen days. Well, it’s the Cuban Missile Crisis and it still counts. Imagine you’re a secretary in the 1960s and you still have to type up memos with the threat of nuclear war over your head.

1. October 17, 1998. “One Week” by the Barenaked Ladies is at the top of the charts. “It’s been one week since you looked at me, cocked your head to the side and said, ‘I’m angry.’” Why is she so angry? And why won’t you apologize now?

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.