In the ever-growing landscape of the cryptocurrency world, where digital assets are made left and right a new player $PEPE (yup, Pepe the Frog meme) has hopped into the light. 🐸

PEPE cryptocurrency was created on April 15 and already leaped past a $150 million market cap at one point. The investors flock to this digital asset, hoping it follows other successful meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). 🐶

One lucky PEPE investor turned a modest $251 investment into $1.14M within just a few days. Talk about a frog-to-prince transformation! Meanwhile, another user managed to make nearly $1 million after investing a mere $27 in PEPE.

PEPE train caught so much attention that it spread like wildfire in crypto community, sparking a mini meme season. Trying to replicate the success of PEPE, 100s of similar coins popped up, such as $WOJAK, $CHAD, $CEO, $COPE. Some of these lookalikes were so similar that gossip started, hinting that a few of these might have been created by the same clever crew. 👥

Meme coin party was quickly interrupted by the rekt police, with a 5% drop in BTC and an 8% drop for ETH. From April 19 to 21, BTC dipped just over 10%, while ETH plunged 13%. This sent memecoins tumbling too. 📉🚨

The reason for this sudden drop remains a mystery, but it was likely a chain reaction of liquidations, fueling the price drop even further. One potential trigger: a strange sell-off of 16K BTC 🧐

Within 24 hours of the initial drop, the liquidation level skyrocketed, ranking as the 5th largest this year.

Liquidation, what's that? It's when margin traders (those who leverage borrowed resources for crypto transactions) don't provide enough collateral. Lacking the necessary funds to maintain trades or offset losses, exchanges shut down their positions. 💸🚫

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed frustration over the lack of regulatory clarity in the US and is considering moving the company out of the country. Armstrong has criticized the SEC's handling of the situation, stating that despite meeting with the regulator over 30 times in the past year, Coinbase has received no clear guidance on improvements or necessary changes. 🇺🇸❓

Although prepared for a long legal battle with the SEC, Armstrong prefers to avoid litigation. He has also accused the SEC of failing to provide a transparent rulebook for crypto companies. 📖🚫

Coinbase has already secured a license in Bermuda and is exploring opportunities in Abu Dhabi. It's not the first company to consider relocation due to the SEC's actions. 🌍🛫

Gemini is expanding its engineering and operation teams to Asia. 🌏💼

Bittrex announced plans to leave the US and received a parting gift from the SEC. The regulator filed a lawsuit against Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO, accusing the crypto asset trading platform of operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. ⚖️📜

When it comes to scaring off crypto businesses, the SEC has it down to a fine art. 🎨

First of all, who is Gary Gensler? Gary is the SEC Chair and a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He has become a central figure in the world of cryptocurrency regulation. 👨🏻‍⚖️

On April 18 SEC Chair Gensler testified before the House Financial Services Committee’s “Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission” hearing. Republicans engaged in a verbal duel over digital asset regulation, as they questioned Gensler’s approach. The Republicans criticized SEC for pressuring digital asset trading platforms to register under the national securities exchange (NSE) framework, arguing that it's an unsuitable structure for digital assets. They emphasised the pressing need for lucid crypto rules that everyone could comprehend. 🥊

Gensler, taking a defensive stance, maintained that most crypto tokens are, in fact, securities and that complying with securities laws isn't a matter of personal preference. He emphasized the importance of investor protection, arguing that cryptocurrencies shouldn't be treated as untouchable by securities laws.

During the heated exchange McHenry criticized Gensler's "rushed" rulemaking process, implying it was not effective.

Representative Tom Emmer slammed Gensler for the SEC's failure to provide crystal-clear rules for crypto firms and accused him of incompetence. Emmer questioned Gensler's meetings with FTX and Terra Luna and reminded him of his public statement on Kraken staking.

The heated discussion showcased the ongoing debate around the best path for crypto regulation in the US. 🇺🇸

Perhaps the SEC should take a page from blockchain's book and work on achieving some clarity and consensus. 🙃

The @wallet bot web interface now allows users to buy, withdraw, swap, and conduct peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions using Bitcoin directly via Telegram's web interface. This development expands upon the current cryptocurrency services that have gained popularity within the messaging platform.

Telegram's recent initiative to launch Bitcoin peer-to-peer trading and broaden its crypto exchange offerings marks a considerable advancement in the company's pursuit of becoming a key player in the fast-paced digital finance landscape. 🔑 

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