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- 2/20/25: Coinbase CEO Warns Of Insider Trading š¤«šļøš
2/20/25: Coinbase CEO Warns Of Insider Trading š¤«šļøš

Top News
Coinbase CEO warns against insider trading with memecoins
SEC withdraws appeal to regulate DeFi
Trump orders audit of Fort Knox gold reserves

Specsā Insights
1. Coinbase CEO warns against insider trading with memecoins
On memecoinsā¦
Memecoins have generated a lot of buzz recently, and Iāve gotten some questions on how I think about them. I am personally not a memecoin trader (beyond a few test trades), but theyāve become hugely popular. Arguably, they've been with us since the beginning āā¦ x.com/i/web/status/1ā¦
ā Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong)
9:21 PM ā¢ Feb 19, 2025
āāŖ-āŖ ā Baldy has spoken, be wary of memecoins.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong just weighed in on the memecoin mania, calling out the rampant insider trading and outright scams flooding the space. While heās not anti-memecoin, he made it clear that some people are playing a dangerous gameāone that could land them in prison.
Armstrong even took it a step further, saying that, in a way, Bitcoin itself is a memecoin, and that the U.S. dollar has been one since it left the gold standard. Heās challenging our entire perception of moneyāreminding us that value is often based on faith and collective belief, not intrinsic fundamentals.
At the same time, heās making it clear that memecoins are starting to go too far. Hayden Davisā $LIBRA fiasco is a perfect example of how greed and bad actors are poisoning the well.
Meanwhile, some folks like Nic Carter, believe the memecoin bubble is popping, while othersālike Krakenāsay new traders are pouring in. Personally, I think as long as greed exists and regulations are loose, memecoins arenāt going anywhere.
That said, I wouldnāt be surprised if we see an eventual crackdown on blatant insider trading and rugs. The real question isnāt if memecoins will surviveāitās how they evolve.
Just like the end game for NFTs isnāt profile pictures, I donāt think the end games for memecoins are its current form.
2. SEC withdraws appeal to regulate DeFi
šØ NEW: SEC withdraws its appeal in case over crypto broker-dealer rules that would have given the agency jurisdiction over decentralized crypto protocols.
ā Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph)
6:00 AM ā¢ Feb 20, 2025
āāŖ-āŖ ā The SEC just put itself in the back seat.
The SEC has voluntarily withdrawn its appeal in a case that aimed to force DeFi protocols to register as securities dealers. This follows a Texas court ruling that called their move āunlawful.ā
This is huge. For years, the SEC has been overreaching, trying to cram DeFi into its outdated securities framework. Now theyāre backing off. Hereās why this matters:
Less SEC interference means more DeFi innovation
This solidifies DeFiās legal standing, making it harder to target in the future
Itās yet another signal that regulation is shifting pro-crypto under new leadership
Weāve already seen the SEC scale back crypto enforcement, reassigning 50+ lawyers and forming a new Crypto Task Force to actually work with the industry instead of fighting it.
With Ethereumās Pectra upgrade around the corner and DeFi about to get more breathing room, the golden era for ETH could be coming sooner than people think. Iām still stacking.
3. Trump orders audit of Fort Knox gold reserves
šØTRUMP: "We hope everything is fine with Fort Knox. We're going to go to the fabled Fort Knox and make sure the gold is there. If the gold isn't there we're going to be very upset."
Trump's on an RPG quest. We're off to the fabled Fort Knox to check for the gold! š
ā Autism Capital š§© (@AutismCapital)
5:14 AM ā¢ Feb 20, 2025
āāŖ-āŖ ā Trump is ready to crack open the piggy bank.
President Trump just announced plans to audit the gold reserves at Fort Knox, amid discussions with Elon Musk.
For context, the U.S. claims to hold $425B worth of gold, but it hasnāt been officially audited in decades. Hereās why this matters:
Some believe the gold isnāt even there
Others speculate thereās more gold than recorded, possibly acquired in unethical ways
Either way, the lack of transparency is a major red flag
This is why blockchain matters. We first saw this when Bitcoin ETFs publish their wallet addresses, letting anybody validate their holdings in real time. Imagine if you could do that with Fort Knox or U.S. government spending. instead of relying on slow, corruptible audits, weād have a public, verifiable ledger.
The old way of financial reporting is dead. The future of government is on-chain ā a piggy bank built of glass, not porcelain.
Eventually, the truth always comes out.

Everything Else
āļø Crypto & DeFi
Ethereum Foundation collaborates on intent transactions framework
Ethereumās Pectra upgrade seen as a major boost for staking ecosystem
Derivatives data suggests traders expect ETH gains ahead of Pectra upgrade
Phemex hack funds are on the move, some heading to Tornado Cash
Traders fuel a ācommunity takeoverā as Aptos price surges
Monad joins forces with Orderly Network for DeFi expansion
Kraken survey finds U.S. investors still piling into memecoins despite risks
Nic Carter declares the memecoin craze āunquestionably overā
Wingbits to launch satellite to improve flight tracking with DePIN
Binance.US restores fiat deposits/withdrawals for first time since 2023
Trumpās World Liberty Financial buys $SEI
š¦ Wall Street & VC
Nasdaq proposes new rule for listing digital asset-based investments
Wintermute to open a New York office and expand in the U.S.
Bitcoin ETFs saw $38.7B in institutional inflows, 3x previous quarter
Microsoft unveils a quantum chip powered by a new state of matter
Institutional interest in MicroStrategy surged in Q4, with $37B options traded
Bernstein analysts see a āperfect stormā for stablecoin regulation in 2025
Fidelity sees BTC Lightning Network strengthening its investment thesis
Fold Bitcoin rewards app debuts on Wall Street
Fluent Labs raises $8M to build a blended execution network
šļø Legal & Regulatory
Trump underscores commitment to making the U.S. the ācrypto capitalā
CoinShares spot XRP and Litecoin ETF filings acknowledged by the SEC
Blockchain Association pushes for repeal of controversial crypto tax rule
Crypto industry asks Congress to scrap the IRS's DeFi broker rule
Sam Bankman-Friedās forfeited assets include private jets and political cash
š Rest Of The World
Franklin Templeton launches tokenized treasury fund in Europe on Stellar
Binance sued in Nigeria for $81B in economic losses and back taxes
Brazil set to launch the worldās first spot XRP ETF
eToro secures MiCA license to offer crypto services across the EEA
UK police charge two in connection with a six-figure crypto scam
Iranians flocked to crypto as exchange outflows surged 70% to $4.2B in 2024
Czech central bank chief continues making the case for Bitcoin
Metaplanet buys 68.5 Bitcoin, expanding holdings to 2100 BTC
š¼ļø NFTs & Metaverse
Telegramās Zoo game airdrop begins ahead of TON token launch
Mark Cuban shelves meme coin plans, saying āa lot has to changeā
MYRIAD partners with Paris Blockchain Week for startup competition
Community Gaming launches CGX airdrop and prediction market on Ronin
Valko continues to post about kings and castles
