🤑 Meme to mainstream

Brought to you by:

You can’t make this stuff up. 

So the Financial Times reported yesterday that Trump Media is mulling a multi-billion capital raise to buy some crypto. They cited six sources, who told them that the media company behind Truth Social is looking at a $2 billion equity raise and a $1 billion convertible bond raise.

Nothing super out of the ordinary, especially as companies normalize buying crypto for their balance sheets, but what made me laugh was the response from Trump Media. 

“Apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources,” the company told the Financial Times in a statement. Notably, it’s not a denial of the reporting. 

We could still potentially see Trump Media adopt the Strategy approach. 

Meanwhile:

• Bitcoin’s price is hovering just below $110,000, a 4% increase over the past week. 

• On the other hand, ETH’s sitting at $2,600 to start the week, while Solana’s at $176. 

• DEX volume’s up 39% in the past week to $20.2 billion, per Blockworks Research.

🙏 The memecoin way

The crypto boom isn’t just boosting interest in the US — it’s boosting interest across the world. 

Gemini’s State of Crypto Report found in a survey that Singapore has the highest ownership rate at 28%, a 2% increase from last year. Meanwhile, the UK jumped to 24% from 18%. 

It’s obviously hard to deny the impact of the US opening up, and that was cited as a big reason for folks across the world who are crypto-curious but not ready to commit to owning any (yet). 

“Nearly a quarter (23%) of non-crypto owners in the US said the launch of Strategic Bitcoin Reserve makes them more confident in the value of cryptocurrency. This sentiment was echoed by respondents in the UK and Singapore, where about one in five (21% and 19%, respectively) non-owners said they were more confident due to President Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” the report said. 

But what I found to be the most interesting nugget was actually about memecoins. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. 

France is the leader for memecoin adoption so far this year. A whopping 67% of French crypto investors own memecoins, which is pretty firmly above the 59% of Singapore investors and 58% of Italians that own memecoins. 

The survey also found that memecoins seem to be working as an onramp for investors, with 94% of folks surveyed reporting that they own both memecoins and other crypto. 

“In the US, 31% of investors who own both memecoins and traditional cryptocurrencies report that they purchased their memecoins first, followed by 28% in Australia and the UK, 23% in Singapore, 22% in Italy, and 19% in France,” the report said.

But for the more buttoned-up investors, ETFs have helped act as an onramp. In the US specifically, Gemini found that two in five US investors surveyed own crypto ETFs. The products have also seen a jump over in Italy, United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore. 

I always caveat these types of reports by cautioning that they’re giving a glimpse into survey results, which means we may not be seeing the full picture for a lot of the momentum we’ve seen. 

However, there’s no denying that the results give us an interesting snapshot of the appetite for crypto at this point. 

It’s also nice to see how global adoption continues, something we’ve been touching on but haven’t had a chance to delve into. Admittedly, right now it’s pretty easy to get lost in the US narratives as they continue to dominate. 

One thing’s for sure, though: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, memecoins have managed to stick, not only as a way to onboard folks but as a way to allow investors to diversify their crypto holdings if they’re feeling, well, adventurous.

Brought to you by:

Crypto-native security is no longer a niche concern for enterprises and financial institutions. It's table stakes.

Hear from the leading security architects at Blockdaemon, PayPal and Coinbase as they discuss how to mitigate attack vectors and build institutional-grade security frameworks.

Don't miss out. The live discussion happens Tuesday, May 27 at 12 pm ET.

• Strategy’s bitcoin holdings topped 580k after the firm announced it bought another 4,020 bitcoin on Monday. 

• A judge overturned the fraud and manipulation convictions for Mango Markets exploiter Avi Eisenberg.

• Standard Chartered’s turning a bullish eye on Solana with a year-end price target of $275.

Despite rumors, Circle continues its journey to go public. This morning, the firm filed an amended S-1 with the SEC. 

The company’s proceeding with its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, and plans to offer 24 million shares. Breaking that down, it’ll offer 9.6 million of Class A stock, and stockholders will offer 14.4 million shares. 

If everything goes well, Circle expects its stock to price between $24 and $26. We’ll have a firmer idea the night before they go public, and that price could be above or below the estimated range in the filing.

The long and short of it is that Circle’s continuing the steps to go public. Nothing in the amended filing stands out to me as anything out of the ordinary. 

As for when the company will actually go public, it’s still a bit of a guessing game. But generally speaking, it’s a good sign to have these documents, and it means that we may be seeing an IPO in the near future. Unfortunately, without a crystal ball (or insider knowledge), we won’t know when just yet.