Not Quite "The Standard"

Christmas is just around the corner, and my barber appointment is already locked in, ensuring I'll have a fresh haircut by December 25th. Sure, I could easily trim my damn hair myself, but the barber does a better job, and I've grown lazier than usual. Guess that's the holiday spirit kicking in this year.

In the name of the Christmas spirit, Pope Francis has given the nod for the blessing of same-sex couples. Welcome to Babylon, boys and girls; the show's about to start. Personally, I feel like the world has never been crazier than it is right now. Some stuff happening in the world doesn't make sense at all...

You know what else doesn't make sense? The fact that "The Appellate Court in Montenegro has canceled the approval of Do Kwon’s extradition, accepting the appeal of the Terraform Labs co-founder’s defense attorneys and annulling the Nov. 17 decision of the High Court." This guy made me lose $3,500 in a day with LUNA in mid-2022.

Well, I'll admit I share some blame for that too, but overall, Do Kwon is a crook and a scammer. So, why isn't he being extradited to the US? My lucky guess would be that he's bribed the right people in Montenegro. Balkan countries are notorious for being corrupt as hell, and Montenegro should not be an exception.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, is doing well. When you zoom out and look at the all-time chart, all the fails in crypto over the past couple of years seem like dirt on the road at the moment. BTC "was supposed" to correct after reaching a local peak around $45K, but it seems to be resisting that notion. Maybe there's more steam in the rally before the pre-halving correction kicks in.

Have you noticed that the crypto community, at large, is expecting the market to follow its past few cycles in terms of price action? What if this time is different? What if the two major catalysts for BTC's parabolic moves, the halving, and the ETF approvals, speed up our regular market cycles, leading to an earlier top than expected (2025)?

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein suggests that the approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF could unlock about $30 trillion worth of advised wealth for Bitcoin. Bitwise just dropped its new Spot Bitcoin ETF commercial. Finally, the much-anticipated Bitcoin spot ETFs are on the brink of approval in America, and the ride is about to get wild.

Recent news indicates that some of the big players in crypto who were expected to face trouble are not in as deep shit as thought. As mentioned in the paragraph above, it seems Do Kwon won't be extradited to the US for now, and CZ is thriving even more. Take a look at the following:

A federal judge approved a settlement between crypto exchange Binance and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a month after the crypto exchange's former CEO pleaded guilty to charges related to anti-money laundering violations.

Under the settlement, former CEO Changpeng Zhao will have to pay $150 million, with a third of that paid within the next 30 days, according to the order signed on Dec. 14 by Judge Manish Shah in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Binance will have to pay a $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC, as well as disgorge $1.35 billion of "ill-gotten transaction fees," according to the order.

The agency said Binance, at former CEO Changpeng Zhao's direction, solicited customers in the U.S. and was aware of regulations in the U.S. but "chose to ignore them," according to a statement released on Monday.

The consent order also requires Binance and Zhao to guarantee that the exchange will put in place a corporate governance structure that includes a board of directors with independent members, a compliance committee and an audit committee.
source

So, what was the deal with Binance anyway? Well, it was obstructing the paths of heavyweights like BlackRock, Bitwise, and other companies eager to capitalize on BTC—after, of course, belittling it for a few years in the past (specifically talking about BlackRock here).

For those unfamiliar with how BlackRock and other companies plan to profit from BTC, it differs from the model of an exchange. Exchanges primarily rake in profits through the commissions they charge for facilitating coin swaps on their platforms. In contrast, a spot ETF will generate fees from investors opting to securely hold their BTC with these companies.

BTC is no longer the most lucrative coin to ride during bull markets. If you're a minnow aiming to maximize gains in this ongoing bull market, your focus should be on micro caps with significant potential. That's where all the action is. Best of luck, and stay safe, peeps.

Thanks for your attention,
Adrian