LIBRA memecoin orchestrators named as defendants in US class-action suit  

Opinion by: Georgii Verbitskii, founder of TYMIO Memecoins have dominated the crypto narrative over the past year, leading to a series of high-profile events where most traders lost money while insiders profited. The Libra token alone, by some estimations, resulted in $4.4 billion in public losses. Unlike previous crypto cycles where broad market growth rewarded holders, today’s memecoin speculation has created an environment where the average trader’s chances of success are slim. How did memecoins happen to drive the market to a dead end, and will this ever end?Speculation or investment?Investing and speculation are fundamentally different games with distinct rules. Investing isn’t about making quick money. It is about purchasing the right assets to protect capital in the long haul. Usually, investors don’t wait for the right “entry point” but purchase assets to be held for years. Such assets grow relative to fiat currencies based on fundamental factors. For example, stocks, gold and Bitcoin (BTC) rise against the US dollar, which faces unlimited issuance and inflation.Some assets have extra growth drivers — rising property demand, growing company profits or even Bitcoin adoption by governments — but these are bonuses. The key point is that your investment is not supposed to lose all its value against the fiat. Investors follow long-term macroeconomic trends, which helps them preserve purchasing power.On the other hand, speculation is a zero-sum game where the skilled minority profits because of the uninformed majority. Typically, such people are chasing quick profits. This is what happens with memecoins. Unlike traditional investments, they lack intrinsic value, dividends or interest returns. While in the case of Bitcoin, the “greater fools” who buy after a trader could be companies adopting the Bitcoin standard, followed by entire nations establishing strategic Bitcoin reserves after the US, in the case of a token like LIBRA, the greater fool is the one who bought it after Javier Milei’s announcement on X. That’s it — there are no more buyers.Unregulated gamblingMemecoins operate similarly to online casinos. They provide entertainment and promise quick profits but favor only those who create and promote them. Unlike regulated gambling, where risks are well-known, memecoins are often hyped by influential figures — starting from the famous crypto influencer Murad and ending with the US president — and, consequently, social media narratives. The harsh reality is that, like in a casino, the odds overwhelmingly favor insiders and early adopters while the majority suffer losses.Recent: Solana’s token minting frenzy loses steam as memecoins get torchedThe memecoin craze clearly thrives on speculation and psychological triggers — this is the game that evolves emotions and leaves players’ wallets empty. Platforms like Pump.fun, which facilitate memecoin launches, have reaped massive profits, proving that selling shovels is the best way to profit from a gold rush. How can opening a casino require a license and choosing a location in strictly designated areas, while anyone can launch their own memecoin? Well, the situation is likely to change soon.Will this ever end?The lack of regulatory oversight has enabled the explosive growth of memecoins. How did we get here? Let’s remember the SEC’s activities in recent years, namely lawsuits against major decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and large crypto companies that tried to play fair. Another serious step was Operation Chokepoint 2.0, directed by the previous US administration against the crypto industry as a whole. All this not only stifled well-intentioned companies that created something meaningful in crypto but also indirectly triggered a counterweight in the form of other players who took advantage of unclear rules.As a result, crypto exchanges have recently been listing mostly memecoins almost immediately after their release. Chaos in the field of regulation has turned the crypto industry into a sizable global casino. While earlier, everyone hoped to win in this gamble, now, along with the losses, it seems that general disappointment is setting in.There is a ray of hope. The current US administration can unequivocally be called “crypto-friendly,” which means we will likely see significant regulation progress this year. This is especially crucial for the DeFi sector, which has long found its product-market fit and is rapidly developing, capturing the markets of traditional finance (banks, brokers and other intermediaries).It is essential to rewrite outdated financial regulations as quickly as possible. The old rules were designed for a system based on trust in centralized intermediaries, whereas the new framework must incorporate smart contracts — in other words, executable blockchain code.Stronger regulatory frameworks could introduce stricter requirements for token launches, including mandatory disclosures of creators’ personalities and restrictions on centralized exchange listings. Yet market participants may learn through costly mistakes even without direct intervention and become more cautious about memecoin investments. After a series of harsh but sobering memecoin rug pulls, the Web3 community should finally realize that such projects rarely reward risk-takers. If someone still decides to take a chance, they should treat it like a trip to the casino: only bringing the amount they are prepared to lose and making the most of the joy from this experience. For those to whom this approach doesn’t appeal or those truly serious about growing their net worth to pass it on to future generations, welcome to the real world of bland, regular Bitcoin purchases. It seems the market is only now starting to realize this.Opinion by: Georgii Verbitskii, founder of TYMIO.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin may stage a recovery above the key $90,000 psychological mark amid easing monetary inflation concerns in the world’s largest economy.Bitcoin’s (BTC) over two-month downtrend has raised numerous alarms that the current Bitcoin bull cycle may be over, defying the theory of the four-year market cycle.Despite widespread investor concerns, Bitcoin may be on track to a recovery above $90,000 due to easing inflation concerns in the United States, according to Markus Thielen, the CEO of 10x Research.“We can see some counter-trend rally as prices are oversold, and there is a good chance that the Fed is mildly dovish,” Thielen told Cointelegraph, adding:“This is not a major bullish development, rather some fine-tuning from the policymakers. We think BTC will be in a broader consolidation range but we could trade back towards $90,000.”Bitcoin daily RSI indicator. Source: 10x ResearchInvestor confidence may also be improved by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments indicating that the Fed will “remain on hold amid rising uncertainty among households and businesses,” wrote 10x Research in a March 17 X post, adding:“Powell also expressed doubts about the sustained inflationary impact of Trump’s tariffs, referencing the 2019 scenario where tariff-related inflation was temporary, and the Fed eventually cut rates three times.”Meanwhile, investors are eagerly awaiting today’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, for cues on the Fed’s monetary policy for the rest of 2025, a development that may impact investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin.Related: Crypto market’s biggest risks in 2025: US recession, circular crypto economyFOMC meeting will be crucial for Bitcoin’s trajectory: analystTraders and investors will be watching for any hints about the ending of the Fed’s quantitative easing (QT) program, “a move that could boost liquidity and risk assets,” according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at Nexo digital asset investment platform.“The upcoming Fed decision could be a major catalyst for further movements,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:“If Chair Powell spreads his dovish wings, Bitcoin could take flight on renewed bullish momentum.”“However, persistent inflation concerns or a reaffirmation of tight financial conditions, such as elevated interest rates or continued liquidity tightening, could limit upside potential,” added the analyst.Related: Rising $219B stablecoin supply signals mid-bull cycle, not market topFed target interest rate probabilities. Source: CME Group’s FedWatch toolMarkets are currently pricing in a 99% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates steady, according to the latest estimates of the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.Still, investors have slashed their exposure to  US equities by the most on record by 40-percentage-points between February and March, according to Bank of America’s latest survey — raising concerns that recession fears may hurt Bitcoin’s price action.Magazine: ETH may bottom at $1.6K, SEC delays multiple crypto ETFs, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 9 – 15

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s multi-year enforcement action against Ripple is finally coming to an end, according to the company CEO.“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X on March 19.Source: Brad Garlinghouse“I’m finally able to announce that the case has ended; it’s over,” Garlinghouse said in the attached video to the X post.The end of a long-running legal battle between Ripple and the SEC comes four years after the US securities regulator sued the company over an alleged $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering in December 2020.“We’re now closing a chapter in crypto history,” Garlinghouse stated, adding that “it’s time to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show that the crypto market responded positively to the development.XRP price shot up 10% following SEC’s backout. Source: TradingViewThis is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.