Consider Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue: they’re very nearly crypto-rich, but not quite. And current volatility has left them unsure what they should do.

In the words of the Steve Miller Band: should they “take the money and run?”

Bitcoin’s down, regulation seems uncertain, and no one can say Bitcoin ETFs will make good with 100% certainty.

Should you finally pick up stakes and sell?

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Did you know: After the stock market moves up 50% in a year, the S&P 500 tends to be down 1.5% the year after. 3 years later, the market moved up 42.4%, historically.

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Espresso Shots

☕️ PEPE’s Crash 🐸 💥

PEPE, the strongest meme coin of the bear market, underwent a massive rug pull on August 24, with users selling off $16 million worth of PEPE in just 24 hours.

The event drove PEPE’s price down 26%, but in the days since, PEPE has slowly begun to recover.

The rug pull was orchestrated by the team who created PEPE. And though it was an inside job, an anonymous account claiming to be the last remaining PEPE founder, took to X to apologize.

Still, the last time we saw an amphibian get trucked this hard we were playing “Frogger” on PlayStation.

☕️ PYUSD Underperforming 💰 🔻

Despite the media attention around the launch of PayPal’s PYUSD, the stablecoin is still seeing relatively low adoption.

“On the surface there’s a lack of demand from crypto users for PYUSD when other alternatives exist,” reads a report from Nansen, a crypto analytics platform, according to a Forbes report.

Paxos, a crypto exchange, is currently in custody of more than 90% of the total PYUSD supply. An additional 7% is still held by Kraken, Crypto.com, and Gate.io.

That leaves a mere 3% or less in wallets using self-custody solutions.

We hope that PayPal doesn’t feel too bad about PYUSD’s low adoption, imagine how those orphans in “Stuart Little” felt when they were tossed aside for a mouse.

☕️ Binance vs. ISIS 🪙 ⚔

Binance has become an unlikely hero for the exchange’s role in stopping ISIS.

Binance, as well as TRM Labs, provided authorities with key information that led to the arrest of ISIS-linked suspects in both Tajikistan and Turkey.

The men arrested were members of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IKSP), a radical military group with ties to ISIS.

Tigran Gambaryan, Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Binance, told Fortune that a routine scan revealed a crypto wallet that a terrorist leader was using to solicit donations.

Binance has had its own troubles as of late, and could really use this good PR.

But we’ve seen this sort of quid pro quo before, like when Hannibal Lecter helped the FBI so he could have a roomier cell.

Spilling the Beans

Is it Time to Cash Out on Crypto...? ⏰ 🤯

Once crypto winter was over, we thought it would be smooth sailing.

And we weren’t just thinking, we felt that some good times and relative ease were owed to us.

But crypto summer hasn’t turned out at all like we planned.

Like the villain in a horror movie, economic downturn has returned for one last scare, an ankle grab, deep in the third act.

Bitcoin’s down, way down.

And the larger crypto market isn’t faring much better.

Why? Well, it’s a combination of factors, and investors are pointing fingers all over the place.

Some are blaming a Space X sell-off, others are saying it’s waves of economic instability rippling out from China.

Of course, there’s always the chance that Bitcoin and crypto have just run out of public enthusiasm as the SEC forces all of us to play the waiting game on approvals for the wave of Bitcoin ETF applications.

A combination of all of these macro factors is making investors lose hope. FUD is rampant, hitting levels we haven’t seen since crypto winter.

And yes, it is scary. When crypto takes L after L, it’s hard to escape the feeling that this grand experiment may be over.

Now, you might think from our earlier tone in this newsletter, that we had succumbed to FUD.

But no, that is never the case. We’ll still be bullish on crypto, even if that means we’re living out of a van and mining Bitcoin with a hand crank.

When things seem darkest, that’s when you must HODL the hardest. We didn’t get into crypto because we thought it would be easy, we got into crypto because we were pretty sure it’s the future of finance.

And you know what, we’re still firm in that belief.

Don’t let fear and panic get the best of you. This week’s massive sell-off? It’s just the latest series in losses. And yes, it may be ushering in a bear market, but more importantly, it’s separating the wheat from the chaff.

These investors that are bailing now? Taking investments at a loss because they think this is the best they can get? They’re weak. They never had the temerity to go all the way.

Did you see “Dune”? Maybe you’ve read it. If you have, you’ll remember the Litany Against Fear.

"I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

Be like Paul Atreides. Be cool, don’t panic. And we can HODL strong, keep getting high on spice, and ride this space worm called crypto into the stars.

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☕️ Our Take:

Meme of the Day

Don’t miss the 1997 Frogger x $PEPE reboot crossover, filled with crippling microtransactions and cosmetic NFTs!

Crypto 101

Series-A Funding: This occurs after the initial seed round and start-up money from angel investors.

During series A, a startup is expected to begin to come into its own as it further develops its processes and refines its business model.

The Last Sip

In addition to the Litany Against Fear, here are three more life lessons we can learn from “Dune.”

3. Most of your problems and self-doubt can be solved by hallucinating really hard in the desert.

2. Remember to drink water.

1. Foreign powers should stay out of the Middle East. The planet is called “Arrakis.” Sound that out. Iraq-is. And the foreign invaders are fighting over the region’s hyper-valuable resource that makes space travel possible? C’mon.

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.