Europe’s crypto vibe check… failed

Plus: Sam Altman’s orbs land in the US

GM. If the crypto market was a smoothie, it’d be a wild blend of gains, regrets, and mystery berries.

🌍 Europe is lagging…

🍋 News drops: crypto advocacy groups want clarity on staking, Sam Altman’s World enters the US + more

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🍍 Market flavor today

Things are looking pretty good – no big price decreases, and the Fear and Greed index upgraded from Neutral to Greed today.

That’s likely because people are betting the Fed might cut rates sooner than expected (and rate cuts are usually a W for crypto).

Now, nobody’s expecting much from the next Fed meeting on Wednesday – but the June 18 meeting? That one might actually bring some action 😎

So why are rate cut hopes rising? Recent US macro data: the Q1 2025 GDP numbers and March PCE Inflation report.

Let’s start with GDP, which measures the total value of everything a country produces and shows whether its economy is growing or shrinking.

And, uhh… it’s not lookin’ great.

The US economy shrank last quarter – the first time that’s happened since early 2022. GDP decreased by 0.3%, while economists had been hoping for a 0.4% increase.

Why the sudden dip? Imports. Tons of them. *Trump voice* Yuge amounts. Companies rushed to stock up on goods before Trump’s new tariffs kicked in, leading to a 41% jump in imports.

And since imports count as a negative in GDP math (because that’s money flowing out of the country), it dragged the whole number down.

A shrinking economy usually suggests lower demand, which would push the Fed toward cutting rates or at least keeping them steady to give growth a boost.

But – and it’s a big but – this GDP drop seems to be a one-time thing. It wasn’t broad economic weakness, just businesses panic-buying, so the Fed probably won’t freak out over that.

Now, let’s talk inflation. Things are complicated.

The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge – the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index – jumped to 3.6% last quarter. That’s up from 2.4% the quarter before and way above the Fed’s 2% target. So, inflation is still a problem.

But if you just look at March, PCE inflation rose only 2.3% year-over-year, down from 2.5% in February. That suggests inflation might be cooling off month by month, even though the quarterly number looks hot.

So yeah, this new data isn’t exactly making the Fed’s life easier.

Now, when the central bankers meet next week, they’ll probably focus more on inflation than the GDP hiccup.

The increase in quarterly inflation will make them cautious about cutting rates too soon. But the slower inflation growth in March could give them some confidence that things are headed in the right direction.

So for now? Expect the Fed to keep rates steady while they wait for clearer signs that inflation is really chilling out before considering any cuts.

🥝 Memecoin harvest

Today’s gainers make zero sense, but your wallet doesn’t seem to care.

Data as of 04:50 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

Europe has a lot of things to be proud of:

• Universal healthcare;

• Stunning old towns, legendary art, and architecture;

• Pizza (thx Italy), wine (thx France);

• Eurovision (and the vibe of pretending to love your neighbouring countries when you usually can’t stand them).

Y’know, some nice fun stuff goin’ on.

But when it comes to crypto? Oh boy. EUROPE’S SO BEHIND.

Let’s take a look at the US for comparison.

Donald Trump signed an executive order to start building a US Bitcoin reserve.

On top of that, individual states are racing to get involved. For example, North Carolina’s House of Representatives just passed a bill allowing the state treasurer to invest public money into approved crypto assets. It’s now heading to the Senate.

And it’s not just the US:

• Dubai’s been all-in on crypto;

• One of the regions in Bhutan has added Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB to its reserves.

Overall, countries all over the world are making moves to embrace crypto – and fast.

And what’s Europe been up to lately?

Well… they banned privacy coins (like Monero and Zcash) and anonymous crypto accounts starting in 2027.

😐 Not exactly an open-minded approach.

This is something that ex-Binance CEO CZ pointed out at the Token2049 conference in Dubai – the US is adopting crypto and also nudging other countries to get involved, but Europe is barely in the conversation.

(Except for Montenegro, which he said has been open to crypto.)

But the reality is simple:

The rest of the world is catching on and moving fast. The longer Europe waits, the harder – and more expensive – it’ll be to catch up.

🍋 News drops

✉️ About 30 crypto advocacy groups have asked the SEC to set clear rules for crypto staking and similar services. They explained that staking is a technical function, not an investment.

👁 Sam Altman’s crypto project, World, is now live in the US. Their weird little iris-scanning devices, called orbs, are already set up in Atlanta, LA, Miami, Nashville, Austin, and San Francisco.

🚫 Coinbase is delisting the MOVE token – the one used on the Movement Network blockchain. Trading will stop on May 15.

🏦 The US Treasury wants to block Cambodia’s Huione Group from using the American banking system. Officials say the company’s been helping North Korea’s Lazarus Group launder stolen crypto.

🎬 Natasha Lyonne – best known for her roles in Russian Doll and Orange Is the New Black – will direct and star in a new sci-fi movie called Uncanny Valley. The film will explore the blurry line between human performance and AI, and they’ll even use generative AI to help create some of the visuals.

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🍌 Juicy memes