Some of the most unlikely alliances have had the most profound results. England and the US were able to put aside that whole colonies thing to buddy up for two World Wars.

Arby’s, the fast food chain, partnered with Tattersall Distilling to bring us two different french fry flavored vodkas, proving that earth is truly past saving.

But this latest alliance is even more head scratching. Could crypto’s interests be aligned with… the United States Congress? More on that in the Deep Dive.

Espresso Shots

☕️ Texas Crypto Bill Passes 🌵 💰

The Texan proof-of-reserves crypto bill has passed through the house of representatives.

This bill would require crypto exchanges operating in Texas to always maintain funds, “in an amount sufficient to fulfill all obligations to digital asset customers.”

In short, exchanges should always be liquid enough to cover their client base. Texas is truly to legally protect itself from another FTX.

It would be fantastic if this kind of reform was occurring on a national level, but this is America, where progress happens state by state. It usually doesn’t start in Texas though.

Again, Texans, the proof-of-reserve bill pertains to crypto safety. This is not a legal guarantee that the proof in Woodford Reserve will remain at 43.2% alcohol.

☕️ Crypto in the Biden Administration? 😳 🇺🇸

The incoming White House Communications Director, Ben LaBolt, has a storied crypto history.

Labolt previously served as a partner at Bully Pulpit Interactive, where he worked with crypto giants like venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz and DeFi exchange Uniswap.

Labolt also disclosed that her personally has crypto holdings in the tens of thousands, including both Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Despite the fact that Labolt is serving in a communications capacity, he will be permitted to advise the White House on crypto, he won't however be able to advise on anything to do with his previous clients.

The Biden Administration is reportedly thrilled to have a crypto insider onboard, but unnerved by the presence of his light-up keyboard and gaming rig in the West Wing.

☕️ Bitcoin Whales Awaken! 🐳 💰

Last Friday, another sleeping crypto giant awoke from its hibernation.

After over a decade of inactivity, a Bitcoin user holding 279 BTC ($7.8 million) just moved their hoard to three new wallets.

This revitalization of these stagnant accounts seems to be a trend as two months ago, another Bitcoin whale worth $9.6 million, moved their crypto for the first time in eleven years.

Why are the Bitcoin whales on the move?

Is it some sort of ancient, ingrained migratory pattern? Or do these transfers herald the true end of crypto winter and the balmy promises of crypto spring?

But this flurry of activity has also woken up discord user captain_ahab, whose missing leg tingles with thoughts of vengeance.

Spilling the Beans

Congress & Crypto's #1 Enemy 😡

Gary Gensler is the figurehead for American anti-crypto regulation.

In crypto’s coming-to-America tale, Gensler’s the clear villain.

And Gensler has doubled down on that position. He insists that cryptocurrencies are securities and should be regulated as such, in accordance with decades-old statutes.

And in this newsletter, we complain about Gensler constantly.

But it would seem that Gensler’s inflexibility is actually rubbing more powerful, more influential people the wrong way.

There is a vocal and growing movement in Congress to oust Gensler.

It’s spearheaded by the likes of Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) who has said on record that he intends to introduce legislation that will remove Gensler from his post.

And Davidson’s not alone, his strong Republican backing results in Gensler being called in for an oversight hearing in front of the Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee.

The hearing was preempted by a letter to Gensler, signed by all the Republicans on the committee,

There, Gensler faced criticism not only for his crypto stance, but for his 50 proposed actions for the SEC in the coming year.

That’s twice as many rules as Gensler’s predecessor, Allison Lee, proposed in less than half the time.

Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, was quoted as saying:

“There’s a massive amount of change that this chair is trying to drive and it has a lot of expensive in the markets and he’s given a limited amount of time for actually good comment,”

“So we’re going to have shoddy rules that are very expensive on a market at time where the rest of the world wants to take our capital markets. I don’t think it’s a very smart agenda.”

Throughout the hearing, though Gensler proclaimed that, “the SEC is the cop on the beat watching out for your constituents,” criticism after criticism were leveled against Gensler.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-M) even went so far as to call Gensler, ‘the incompetent cop on the beat.”

Republicans accused Gensler’s regulations of staunching American business, stifling the entrepreneurial spirit, and driving the crypto industry into the hands of communist China.

So much the classic Republican sentiment of pro-business with a healthy sprinkling of anti-China rhetoric thrown in.

For now, Gensler’s position is secure. But this heat from the Republican party is drawing attention to the biggest weakness in Gensler’s anti-crypto empire.

Namely, that a regulatory body like the SEC can’t act without Congressional authority.

The laws and regulations around crypto have been so ill-defined, that for the past few years, Gensler and the SEC have been functioning like their own, autonomous authority.

A change is coming. And nothing seems to unite people like a villain.

Crypto and Congress seem temporarily aligned, exhausted by Gensler, and frustrated by a lack of regulatory clarity.

What that change is remains to be seen. It may be the removal of Gensler (or rather his position, Chair of the SEC) It could even be clearer infrastructure for crypto.

Whatever it may be, anything would be better than crypto's current legal purgatory.

In the race for crypto adoption, Europe is several laps ahead of us with the rest of the world not far behind.

But with a potential resolution ahead of us, it seems that American crypto could finally be able to limp past the starting block.

Meme of the Day

Nature is healing.

Crypto 101

Whale: This is any account, whether that’s a corporate entity or individual investor, that holds a massive amount of a single cryptocurrency.

To qualify as a whale, the account doesn’t need to be able to hold its breath for over an hour and migrate 7,000 miles.

No, to qualify as a whale, an account needs enough of their designated crypto that their selling or transferring affects the entire market.

The Last Sip

The Three Most Unlikely Alliances since Crypto and Congress.

• Prosciutto and Melon.

• Lamb and Mint Jelly.

• Brian Cox becoming the terrifying new spokesperson for McDonalds.

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.