O’ Canada, our home and native land.

Well, not native to us. The writers of this fine newsletter live in America. Regardless, we’ve got a lot of fuzzy feelings for our neighbors to the North.

They’re excessively polite, have the finest, grade A amber maple syrup, and we like to pretend we’ll be seeking refuge there whenever an election doesn’t go our way.

But when it comes to crypto, Canada may be even more enlightened than we think. So come brave the tundra with us as we examine Canada’ love for crypto.

Espresso Shots

☕️ Has Crypto Spring Finally Sprung? 🌸 📈

After a truly dismal crypto winter, it seems like the great thaw is finally upon us.

For the past week, Bitcoin’s has hovered near $28,000.

There was a dip as crypto suffered under cuts to OPEC and the oil industry, but there are excited whispers that Bitcoin could soon rally past the $30,000 mark.

Of course, maintaining a sense of relativity, this would be a far cry from Bitcoin’s previous high of $68,789.

But Bitcoin’s steady climb, especially in a period of financial uncertainty, is making us wonder if Crypto Winter may finally be thawing.

And though Crypto Spring means the end of crypto’s bear market, it also signifies the approach of the ancient enemy of the crypto bro: seasonal allergies.

☕️ Japan’s Crypto Crackdown 🇯🇵 ❌

Having seemingly taken a page out of the American regulators’ book, Japan is warning several crypto companies of improper registration.

Last Friday, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) warned several Japanese based companies that they’re lacking the requisite licenses to operate within the country.

Those companies include Bybit, MEXC Global, and Bitget.

In 2020, the FSA introduced new legislation that would require crypto companies to obtain licenses to operate in Japan.

It would seem that these three companies… completely ignored that. But at the same time, we have to empathize.

Trying to keep your international crypto company up to date with constantly shifting regional regulation could be exhausting, if not close to impossible.

If these three companies don’t get with the picture, they’re going to get a deal rawer than the sushi this region is known for.

☕️ Doge Twitter? 🐕 🪙

In another incomprehensible move by Elon Musk, this Monday the classic blue bird Twitter logo was replaced by the Shiba from the Dogecoin logo.

And of course, whenever Elon does anything wacky with Doge, the meme coin moves accordingly.

Dogecoin shot up 20% on Monday to $.092, the coin’s highest point in over a month.

As to why Twitter did this? The most popular guess seems to be that this was an April Fool’s Day prank that took three days to roll out, you know, cause things are going so smoothly at Twitter.

But it’s heartening to know that the billionaire who once promised to colonize Mars is now more interested in meme-based pranks.

Spilling the Beans

Canada's Crypto Love Affair ❤️ 🇨🇦

Canada: America’s hat.

Though we like to tease them for their lack of a meaningful military industrial complex, there are a couple things that our neighbors to the North seem to get right.

Gravy and cheese on french fries. Free Healthcare. And now crypto.

It seems like when it comes to implementing the most important things in life, Canada’s a little bit ahead of America.

And Canada has some very big crypto news.

Three Canadian crypto exchanges, Wonderfi, Coinsquare, and Coinsmart are all merging into the first Canadian superexchange.

As a unit, these three exchanges have 1.65 million users between them as well as $600 million in assets under their custody.

Though we’re still waiting on a name for this supergroup, this Canadian conglomerate is poised to become one of the largest exchanges in the world.

And this sort of corporate merger certainly isn’t unprecedented.

We’ve seen similar actions in the United States as monolithic companies consume each other like amoebas.

Consider, for instance, the incestuous relationships between the American gas companies, or AT&T’s acquisition of Warner Bros.

And the reason these companies grow so large is the mass adoption of the industries behind them. There’s nowhere that gas, oil, and entertainment flourish quite like America.

But crypto is an entirely different story in America.

While Canadian exchanges are on the precipice of becoming bigger than ever, American exchanges aren’t becoming bigger… in fact, they’re leaving.

Take Bittrex, for example, an exchange which just preemptively shut down U.S. operations following a lawsuit from the CFTC, alleging that the company violated trading and derivatives rules.

And Bittrex isn’t going bankrupt or shutting down entirely, it’s just leaving the U.S. because it’s too difficult to run a crypto company here.

In a statement, the CEO of Bittrex Richard Lai said, “Regulatory requirements are often unclear and enforced without appropriate discussion.”

Lai concluded that, “operating the U.S. is no longer feasible.”

It would seem that with crypto, America is beginning to fall woefully behind.

And it’s not that crypto will just… stop happening. It’s that these companies will take their business away from America and look… just about anywhere else.

In fact, Canada may be poised to become the default relocation for these spurned American crypto companies.

Now, this isn’t to say that Canada has lax or no crypto regulation, quite the opposite. Canada has strict consumer protections in place as well as rules that define and regulate digital assets.

Despite those rules, or perhaps because of them, Canada has been able to welcome crypto with open arms, seeing it as the innovative technology it clearly is.

In a tragic turn of events for believers in American excellence, it would appear that a country known for being friendlier and more apologetic than us… is a lot friendlier to crypto.

And unless American regulators and lawmakers are able to reach some kind of clear consensus, crypto’s going to become just like the Winter Olympics.

In that the U.S. is going to be absolutely dominated by Canadians. And sometimes Russians.

Meme of the Day

Poutine for everyone!

Crypto 101

Seed: A Seed in crypto is very different from seed money in finance, which is just an industry term for startup money. In Crypto, a seed phrase is the foundation of your wallet’s security.

A seed phrase or “recovery seed” is the 12 to 24 word recovery phrase associated with a wallet.

Don’t lose your seed, forget your seed, or share it with anybody or you’ll lose all of your money and ruin your chances of that seed growing into a beautiful, expensive tree.

The Last Sip

Will Arnett: Great podcaster if you’re not already listening to him. His gravelly voice makes us want to buy more crypto, a truck, and also call our dads.

Justin Trudeau: Maybe the kindest eyes of any politician living or dead. But he’s more handsome when he’s not wearing blackface.

Rob Ford: Toronto’s most rock&roll mayor and an inspiration to crack smokers everywhere. Ford teaches us that you can accomplish anything if you just believe in yourself and never change your behavior.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

That's all for today! If this email got you hooked on our unhinged crypto takes, be sure to get a full dose on Twitter @GetCoffeeCrypto.

If you find yourself smiling at any of our dumb jokes, or even *learning* something - make sure to share this newsletter with your friends!

If you get 10 friends to sign up - or even enemies, we don't care - we'll send you a swag box with some epic Coffee & Crypto merch! Just hit the Click to Share button in the section below to get started!

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.