War extracts a terrible toll, that’s kind of the whole point.

Each side goes at the other until one accrues losses it can no longer bear.

And then they take those losses and put them on a memorial that is really sad and impressive and looks like it would be really cool to skateboard on.

But they won’t let you skate it. Which only makes you more sad.

The war on crypto is no different. It has collateral damage, countless casualties, and entire exchanges forced to flee countries.

Let’s pour one mug out for crypto’s noble sacrifices.

Espresso Shots

☕️ Ripple Pump Doesn’t Last 📈 📉

Despite the release of SEC emails surrounding the Hinman speech pumping Ripple XRP token up by roughly 6%, XRP has dropped just as fast.

As of Wednesday, XRP fell 5%, effectively returning to where it was before we got all excited about Ripple sticking it to the SEC.

The XRP drop could be related to Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty coming back too hard and too fast. Alderoty called for an investigation into Hinman and the removal of the speech from the SEC’s website.

In short, Ripple’s rise was sweet, but it was not here to stay.

Usually when something makes you feel that good, that briefly, it comes from a metal canister passed to you at a Grateful Dead concert.

☕️ Brazil’s New Crypto Framework 🇧🇷 📝

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a government decree on Tuesday clarifying the roles that Brazil’s central bank and securities regulators will fulfill as Brazil’s adoption of crypto moves forward.

Brazil’s central bank will oversee the crypto providers themselves, while the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), essentially Brazil’s SEC, will cover those token projects that Brazil designates as securities.

This decree came about not only to address Brazil’s emerging crypto market, but to establish regulatory clarity as the country moves toward the release of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Brazil’s regulatory framework seems eerily similar to the American model, so we can be sure that it will go off without a hitch.

But now that crypto appears to be sorted out, Brazil can get back to its top priority, uncovering the region’s hidden Nazi cloning facilities.

☕️ Binance Departs Cyprus 🏃 🇨🇾

Binance has announced plans to depart the European island of Cyprus ahead of the EU’s incoming MiCA legislation.

As MiCA’s June 29 start date grows closer, companies are being warned to acquire the necessary licensing to comply with new MiCA regulations.

But sometimes compliance means getting out while the getting’s good.

Though in an interview with Decrypt, a spokesperson for Binance said that the company’s departure was not an attempt to skirt regulation, but rather to focus “efforts on fewer regulated entities in the E.U., especially our larger registered markets where we already have a mature footprint, including France, Italy and Spain.”

“We are working hard to prepare our business to be fully compliant with MiCA when it is implemented in the next 18 months,” added the Binance spokesperson.

Without Binance, Cyprus will return to being known for its trees, short-lived wars, and the hill where 1990s weed rap was created.

Spilling the Beans

The Casualties of the War on Crypto 😭 ☠️

Let’s face it. Crypto’s fight to keep its hold in America has become war-like.

And this hasn’t been one of those glorious wars we preen over in the history books, like the Revolutionary War or WWII.

If anything, the war on crypto has been like WWI; muddy, and brutal. Instead of fighting for countries, crypto’s fighting for inches of territory.

The Crypto War is made up of sprawling no man’s lands, and the battle-lines are constantly being drawn and redrawn.

And, much like The Great War, the Crypto War has amassed a staggering body count.

So, it’s time to account for the casualties: those brave tokens and exchanges that gave the ultimate sacrifice for the future of DeFi.

Bittrex.com

Bittrex and Co-Founder William Shihara were charged by the SEC for operating as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

After nine years on American soil, Bittrex was forced to shut down its U.S. operations last April.

Crypto.com 

This Singapore-based exchange will halt service in the U.S. on June 21, 2023. 

This was an internal decision, as Crypto.com is removing itself from the equation, without any direct pressure from the SEC.

For Los Angelinos wondering whether the Lakers will have to change the name of their Crypto.com Arena, the name will stay for another 20 years per the $700 million deal for the naming rights.

Crypto.com Arena wishes only the best to Miami’s Kaseya Center, formerly the FTX Arena.

XRP and Ripple

This is a particularly interesting case, since it’s still ongoing.

The SEC charged Ripple for the sale of unregistered securities in the sale of its native XRP token.

As you can see in our espresso shot above, this case is still hotly contested after being initiated in late 2020. But some say the courts will reach a verdict by the first half of 2023.

Here’s hoping.

Delistings

Several tokens have been delisted from major trading platforms pending SEC suits.

"Based on our latest review, we’ve decided to end support for Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL),” wrote Robinhood in a blog post.

Support for those tokens will officially end on June 27, 2023, at which point, if they haven’t been removed from a user’s Robinhood account, they’ll be sold at market value.

Polygon was also delisted from e-toro, another popular trading app, as well as the tokens Algorand (ALGO), Decentraland (MANA), and Dash (DASH).

Armistice, Defeat, or Victory?

Now, we’ve compiled this list of the dead, departed, or “quasi-living” to drive home the cost of the Crypto War.

Wartime peace talks are still ongoing and the end of this conflict is nowhere in sight. If anything, tensions will probably heat up as we approach the next election cycle.

But in the study of warfare, it always helps to look to history for guidance.

The Pyrrhic Wars were a five-year conflict (280-275 B.C.) between Pyrrhus, the emperor of Epirus, and the Roman Empire.

Like many wars of that period, it would have made a cool movie, with spears, legions, and war elephants prominently featured throughout.

But most importantly, it gave us the term “Pyrrhic Victory.” A Pyrrhic Victory is a win that is so costly it might as well have been a defeat.

The Crypto War will probably cost crypto dearly, but unlike a Pyrrhic victory, one day this will all be worth it.

Of course, there’s no telling how many exchanges, tokens, and CEOs are going to need to take hard falls until crypto’s position in America is secure.

But, like clone soldiers or an army of undead skeletons, we’re in luck, because they can always keep making more.

These are just some of the notable losses that crypto has experienced on the long, bloody road toward legitimization. And we know there will be many more before it’s all over.

So settle into your trench, get a dirty cup of mud coffee, and make sure that helmet’s on tight. We won’t be back for Christmas.

Meme of the Day

One down, roughly 900+ arena’s in the continental United States to go. 🪙 👀

Crypto 101

Market in Crypto Assets - MiCA: MiCA is a piece of EU legislation that will go into effect this or next month.

It was approved and passed through EU parliament, with all 27 member nations agreeing to the new regulations.

MiCA provides a licensing framework that may enable clearer regulation and further legitimization as crypto is adopted throughout the EU.

MiCA is not to be confused with the Maryland Institute College or Arts or that common, shiny rock you got excited about in geology class.

The Last Sip

We’ve had a lot of fun joking about war today and no, we’re not done. Though the Crypto War is purely ideological, we’re going to channel our inner ten-year-olds and tell you about the imaginary weapons and armor involved.

• Bit-Cannon: This fiendish wedding of crypto and gunpowder was devised by the mysterious engineer, Satoshi Nakamoto. Due to slippage and market volatility, cannonballs may drastically change in size and value, mid-flight.

• NF-Tasers: Digital collectibles with real-world functionality! That function? Shooting out darts at a 15-ft. range capable of delivering 50,000 volts of electric shock. That’s enough to stop a small black bear.

• Block Chain-mail - This comparatively lightweight but effective armor consists of tiny, interlocking chains forged by validators. It also stops arrows. It is not effective against NF-Tasers.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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