Just when you thought it was safe to step back into the waters of decentralized finance…

The Trump NFTs are back!

They’re stranger (and funnier) than ever but still somehow the same price, and we’ll tell you all about them in today’s newsletter.

Espresso Shots

☕️ Elon Musk’s New AI 🤖 👀

Elon Musk has announced plans to create his own AI, “TruthGPT.”

The name, which sounds like an ode to Trump's TruthSocial, may be referring to ChatGPT, which the eccentric billionaire claims is, “programmed by left-wing experts, which train the chatbots to lie.”

If that sounds weirdly political, that may be because Musk’s conversation took place on Fox News with none other than Tucker Carlson.

Carlson, agreeing with Musk, replied that ChatGPT could, “control our understanding of reality and do it in a really dishonest way… it could be programmed to lie to us for political effect.”

Musk’s solution? To roll out a, “maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe.”

Musk feels that his TruthGPT’s inquisitive nature will prevent any kind of Terminator effect in which AI decides humans are obsolete and tries to destroy us.

“I think this might be the best path to safety in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe is unlikely to annihilate humans because we are an interesting part of the universe.”

Musk also intends to roll out TruthGPT with a short power cord, so that when it goes rogue anyway, the attack will be limited to kitchens, dining rooms, and in-home offices.

☕️ More Republicans Pile On Gensler 🇺🇸 🐘

The political outcry against Gensler is growing only greater following his recent announcement that he'd be going after crypto exchanges in the US.

The outcry has led to every Republican on the House Financial Services Committee signing a letter condemning Gensler.

“Without clear rules of the road, your push for firms to ‘come in and register’ is a willful misrepresentation of the SEC’s non-existent registration process,” the letter reads. “The only entity to blame for the lack of registrants is the SEC itself.”

What’s more, Representative Warren Davidson has already stated that he intends to introduce legislation that would remove Gensler's position from the SEC.

And things got even more heated when at a hearing on Tuesday, Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN) called Gensler an “incompetent cop on the beat.”

Emmer even claimed that Gensler was pushing American tech companies and crypto exchanges into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

Gensler’s trying to keep a brave face, but the Republicans chanting, “Swirly! Swirly!” outside of his office are getting harder to ignore.

☕️ PepeCoin’s Massive Upswing 🐸 🚀

Meme coins are always somewhat of a joke in crypto, but it’s been impossible to ignore that PepeCoin went up 21,000% in just three days, from April 15th to 18th.

As of Tuesday, PepeCoin reached a market capitalization of $33 million.

This run has surpassed even the greatest of the Shiba Inu bumps as the PepeCoin website proudly touts their coin as “the most memeable memecoin in existence. The dogs have had their day, it’s time for Pepe to take reign.”

And though meme coins or “shitcoins” like Pepe are intended to be a joke, at times like these, their impact on the market is impossible to ignore.

“Meme coins are huge parts of the crypto trading landscape, whether we like it or not,” said Jame Wo, co-founder of crypto fund DFG.

“While the biggest currencies like bitcoin and ether have very low volatility, it’s only natural that traders will look for opportunities elsewhere.”

But despite Pepecoin’s big gains, it may be impossible to ignore Pepe the Frog’s complicated political presence among the alt-right.

Since 2015, Pepe has been adopted as a mascot among white nationalists. The meme has been tied to hate groups such as neo-nazis, skinheads, and the Ku Klux Klan.

But if you’re morally agnostic in your investments, now might be a good time to buy stock in Home Depot, known for their garden department’s world class tiki torches.

Spilling the Beans

Trump's NFTs Return 😳

Donald Trump’s indictment has him back in the headlines.

Will the legal charges levied against him be enough to prevent a presidential run in 2024?

Probably not.

Trump has become a wild, unstoppable force of nature. Keeping him out of mainstream media is as useless as defending a sandcastle against the incoming tide.

But while we watch Trump’s volatile political presence, we’ve been rewarded with some treats along the way.

And our favorite treat has been the Trump Trading Card Collection of NFTs.

Though widely regarded as a joke throughout crypto, the Trump Trading Cards went through a rollercoaster of trading volume that had many feeling like they missed out.

The Trump Trading Card Collection sold out entirely in a single day. Each NFT was priced at $99 and netted Trump $4.4 million in sales.

There was an initial high in trading volume, then a collapse, then another jump when they were parodied on Saturday Night Live.

Just recently, the Trump NFT trading volume popped up 400% after news of his indictment.

The cards are… objectively weird. They come across as a sort of Texan child’s fantasy, depicting Trump as a cowboy, a superhero, or a fireman.

And now Series 2 has been announced… and they’re weirder than ever.

Stand outs include this one…

In which Trump is standing behind a lion made of fire perched on top of the globe. Eagle-eyed observers will note that the flaming lion is wearing a 45 crown.

This was another favorite.

Here we’ve got the 45th president as a camouflaged, crossbow-wielding hunter. Pay attention to the lime, digital camoflage on the crossbow.

This skin was surely awarded as a trophy in some sort of first-person shooter, competitive hunting arena.

Now, like the first series, these NFTs are selling at $99 a pop.

Historically, whenever Trump does something insane, the secondary market prices and trading volume for his collection rise accordingly.

But this NFT release seems to have broken the formula.

The addition of this second series of 47,000 NFTs sent the price of the original series plummeting from .4 ETH to .2ETH, or $840 to $420, literally half their value.

This could spell doom for the release of future iterations of crypto’s most unhinged collection.

Is a bull run possible? Maybe. If there’s one thing you can predict about Trump it’s that he’s entirely unpredictable.

But with sales for this new collection looking dicey, Trump may stop releasing NFTs forever.

But for the smiles on our faces and the weird, irreverent content this brings to our newsletter…

We hope he never stops. Never.

Meme of the Day

We gathered up the most wild Trump NFTs on our Twitter. Check it out, they are absolutely insane lol. 👇

Crypto 101

POAP or Proof of Attendance Protocol: In crypto, this is a collectible awarded to users who attended a live-streamed or otherwise exclusive or limited digital event.

If you went to a large college, you may remember the clicker you had to purchase that verified your attendance in lecture halls. This essentially automates that function.

This is also a cool way for NFT creators to interact with and incentivize their fans. POAP protocols allow engagement to be tracked and even rewarded.

The Last Sip

Future Trump Trading Cards that we’d like to see. We thought this might be a little weird for the first collection, but now we’ve learned that nothing is off the table...

• Trump as a gladiator eating the still-beating heart of his Roman opponent.

• Trump as Rachel Ray mixing a fresh batch of deviled eggs.

• Trump as a killer whale in front of awed spectators at SeaWorld.

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.