35 – Crypto-Billionaire-in-Chief

el Prof

January 21, 2025

GM HEARTLAND

New year, old us.

(By “Golden Age of America”, we’re pretty sure Trump was referring to the classic era of Tuesday release dates.)

—El Prof, Muhammed & Chad

MONEY MONEY MONEY

TOKEN

PRICE CHANGE

PRICE

Solana ($SOL)

+34.17%

$252.57

Helium ($HNT)

-6.65%

$4.45

Pyth ($PYTH)

-1.32%

$0.32

Save ($SLND)

+1.45%

$0.84

(Price changes reflect past 7 days as of 1.21.25)

BUZZWORD OF THE WEEK

de-PIN:

  • Public utilities that are modern and efficient, through advanced accounting and auditing technologies enabled with AI

  • The next evolution of IoT (Internet of Things), where the data prescribes agents to identify and resolve problems before they get out of hand

  • The robotic arm of the Data Economy

A Lifetime In 96 Hours

The last 96 hours have been exhausting. Why wouldn’t it be for the industry that never sleeps? Web3 is 24/7. So what happens when MLK Day, the CFP Championship Game, and the coronation of our new Crypto-Billionaire-in-Chief all fall within the same 24?

Two words: price action. And boy did we get some action. It started with an announcement that American-made web3 solutions would be championed by the Trump administration. (Although it sacrilegiously named XRP and Solana in the same breadth, two projects that couldn’t represent fundamentally more different approaches to building solutions in the space, and yet also the mostly likely rails of our future.)

But this announcement was merely a precursor for what followed next, which was a launch of the official $TRUMP presidential commemorative token (read: shitcoin) on the Solana blockchain, seemingly a fundraising event for the Trump-backed crypto projects within the Ethereum ecosystem.

(Full disclosure: the 🖤+SOL team holds the shitcoin in question. I entered at a $27M marketcap with a modest .1 SOL bet at the insistence of my fellow writer Muhammed, which I rode all the way to $70M — and back down to $30M.)

So what does it mean to be standing in an era where the sitting President opens his second term with a rug pull? While, on the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got Gensler’s farewell (and/or fuck you) present on his way out of office: a lawsuit against the most presently useful and real project in the space, Helium.

I wish I had an answer. But the bizarre and short-lived TikTok ban, despite amounting to just a few hours of non-access, thoroughly disrupted my Sunday morning info consumption. So I’m not sure what the plot of anything is anymore. 

But we have to start the search somewhere, so let’s start there. The original movement to ban TikTok in the US actually began as a Trump initiative to counter the influence of China. That was before he was convinced by Barron to leverage the platform for his reelection campaign by influencing young, male voters, an overwhelming majority of which overlap with the current online crypto communities. But at some point in there, it was co-opted by a foreign lobby with a lot to lose from millions of Americans getting together and criticizing the way they wage war, or influencing their access to American taxpayers’ funds.

As a dyed-in-the-wool data nerd, the argument that TikTok has too much access to consumer data feels off. The thesis goes that TikTok is a China-owned propaganda machine influencing American’s political positions. But that doesn’t entirely jive with the reality, which is that TikTok is banned in China (yes, really), based in Singapore, owned by private individuals from multiple countries, and has less access to data than the average American tech company.

But officially, it’s the data, not the influence, driving the ban. That’s because the data represents the inputs for TikTok’s algorithm, which I am 100% convinced is an unsupervised learning algo aimed at delivering you a personalized feed to maximize your session time by matching videos to your expressed preferences based on past viewing behaviors. This is something American social media companies simply can’t do, because it is not the most direct path to profitability. Instead, they are incentivized to favor the content that primes you to engage with ads, so they can make more money. But that in turn undermines their own usefulness and influence, which is why TikTok is eating their lunch.

The point being, in midst of a major sea change in crypto/online/American culture, only the fools are pretending like they have any clue where this is all going. The Convicts are whooping the Catholics (there’s a Miami in Ohio, and I’m a Wolverine), Zuck caught a Dirty Sanchez, Elon might have done a Nazi on his way to Mars, and Ross Albricht got a pardon. But at least we still have TikTok, for now, to compare notes.

We live in the most absurd timeline. Until next week.

—El Prof

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The Fartcoin Stage of the Market Cycle

Much like swallowed air, legumes, and the human digestive tract can create some unholy alchemy, modern technology has led us to what Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn called “the ‘Fartcoin’ stage of the market cycle.”

Einhorn was talking about the traditional public markets. But in explaining how TradFi valuations had exceeded common sense levels and veered into the territory of absurd and groundless hype, he invoked the reigning champion of the memecoin space, Fartcoin ($FARTCOIN).

On one level, Einhorn’s comparison was apt. Fartcoin’s appeal is in no way rooted in common sense. But it’s not inexplicable either. The shitcoin (shartcoin?) is one of several tokens propelled to prominence by the compatability of two new technologies: blockchain and AI. Typically, the best combos are more than the sum of their parts. And indeed, crypto and artificial intelligence together have the intangible “it” factor, creating value where logic might suggest there should be none.

Fartcoin’s value surged another 60% recently, one of the clearest indicators of just how powerful meme-based tokens can be when coupled with AI’s predictive and creative capabilities. Fartcoin’s originated as an AI chatbot’s idea of a joke, with every transaction triggering a fart noise. But it has become a phenomenon. And AI played a crucial role its origin story. By analyzing what types of humor and gimmicks get viral traction, the AI behind Fartcoin has created a memecoin that’s both ridiculously fun and primed for market dominance. The Fartcoin community isn’t just about trading — it’s about shared enjoyment, and that’s where the real value lies.

ElsewhereWall Street Pepe ($WEPE), an Ethereum-based memecoin, is bringing a unique twist to the scene by adding an element of utility — something that’s not always common in the meme world. The token has raised an astounding $48 million in presale funding, driven by the promise of empowering retail investors with access to exclusive trading signals and insights.

What sets $WEPE apart is how AI helps democratize trading, by analyzing market patterns and generating strategies that can give smaller traders a fighting chance against the whales. With its ability to process massive amounts of data, AI can offer predictions and strategies in real-time, leveling the playing field and turning meme coins like Wall Street Pepe into something more than just a joke. As AI continues to evolve in the crypto space, it could very well power more meme coins to add genuine value, far beyond the volatility of their initial hype.

Perhaps the most explosive example of AI’s potential in the memecoin world is the rise of iDEGEN. This controversial AI project has already raised over $16 million in presale funding, and its audacious, unfiltered approach to meme creation is turning heads. Created as a social experiment, iDEGEN was programmed to learn from the most deranged, unrestrained corners of crypto communities. Through its unorthodox approach — analyzing and adapting to the language and culture of “degens” — it has skyrocketed in popularity.

But not without a few stumbling blocks. iDEGEN was banned on X for “violent speech”. (That’s what you get for adapting the language of degens.) But it didn’t disappear. It exploded. Supporters launched a #freeiDEGEN campaign that sent presale numbers through the roof. The AI behind iDEGEN learns from user interactions, social media trends, and memetic warfare, creating content that resonates with the chaotic nature of crypto traders. In doing so, it has become the ultimate viral sensation, tapping into one of the most powerful memecoin catalysts: controversy.

Zooming out, we’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how meme coins are created, managed, and marketed. Traditionally, these coins were driven by human-created memes, influencers, or viral moments. Now, AI is taking the reins, analyzing social behavior, predicting trends, and even generating memes that resonate deeply with crypto’s unique culture. It’s not just about creating a coin that rides a wave of internet humor; AI is optimizing these coins to ride waves of market sentiment.

As AI continues to learn and adapt, the relationship between artificial intelligence and meme coins could be poised for significant growth. Unlike traditional projects, these AI-driven coins don’t just follow trends — they create them. The adaptability of AI, combined with the viral nature of memes, creates an ecosystem where anything is possible. From predictive trading to real-time market manipulation, the potential applications are enormous.

However, as AI begins to play a larger role in memecoin creation and management, the potential for manipulation and volatility increases. Fartcoin, Wall Street Pepe, and iDEGEN have all benefited from AI’s ability to predict, analyze, and generate content that speaks directly to the crypto crowd. But as the market matures, so too will the potential risks associated with these projects. AI will need to balance creativity with responsibility, ensuring that it’s not just fueling more speculative bubbles or scams.

In short, the future of AI-driven memecoins is both exciting and uncertain. Will they remain a fleeting trend, or will they become a mainstay of blockchain? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: they’re here to stay, and they’re reshaping the landscape in ways we could have never predicted. So, while Fartcoin might have started as a joke, it’s a glimpse into the future where AI is not just analyzing the world, but creating new assets that reflect the wild, unpredictable nature of the blockchain.

—Muhammed

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