Newton Gitonga
Digital assets traded in the green today as Bitcoin hovered above $100,000, changing hands at $105,498.
While that signaled stability for the overall market, political-based meme assets endured a bloodbath.
CoinGecko data shows the market cap of PolitiFi tokens plunged 8.4% in the past day to $7.67 billion.
Also, the significant decline in 24-hour trading volume confirms waning interest in the altcoins.
The bloodbath attracted attention as it occurred amidst bullish markets.
Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin’s latest critical remarks triggered the ongoing selling pressure on political-tied digital assets.
The Ethereum co-founder cautioned against political meme coins as “the most powerful people in the world are cheering on the idea of anyone creating tokens for anything, at any scale.”
Vitalik stated:
Now is the time to talk about the fact that large-scale political coins cross a further line: they are not just sources of fun, whose harm is at most contained to mistakes made by voluntary participants, they are vehicles for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation-states.
Meanwhile, the comments sparked discussions within the crypto space as PolitiFi assets gained attention this week following Trump and Melania’s meme token launches.
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Politician-backed meme assets failing to keep pace
Buterin’s latest comment on politician-backed cryptocurrencies came after Donald Trump and his family joined the crypto world with their meme tokens.
Notably, the new meme assets, TRUMP and MELANIA, have slumped considerably, triggering conversations about ethics in the crypto world.
TRUMP trades at $33.94 after plunging from January 20 all-time highs beyond $75.
Also, MELANIA exhibits significant bearishness after losing over 65% in its weekly chart to $2.72.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum co-founder criticized politician-backed cryptos.
He believes investors could increase politicians’ wealth by holding the assets without transacting.
Buterin highlighted that politician-backed tokens dent democracy with their donation and gambling rudiments.
While Buterin’s arguments remain vital for the evolving industry, some believe decentralization means equality for everyone.
They argue that politicians have the right to create and trade their favorite cryptocurrencies as other citizens.
How about we let a decentralized system become decentralized.
I believe in freedom of speech, of transaction, and privacy. Politicians are afforded these right just a much as an average citizen should be.
Let’s not try to force our own views on others.
Everything is on the…
US politician profits from suspicious trade
Vitalik Buterin’s remarks come as the financial space continued to fight insider trading.
High-level public officials capitalize on information inaccessible to the general public to magnify their returns.
Finbold’s trading radar identified a suspicious trade in November 2024. Congresswoman Debbie Schultz purchased VSAT stock at $10.29 price on October 23.
VSAT traded at $11.56 at press time, gaining over 12%.
Most of these gains came on Thursday (January 23), when the stock jumped 7.29% and extended the upside by another 2.99% surge in after-trading.
That translates to a 47.76% surge within the past five days.
Just in: This is why we follow the Politicians 🤝
Viasat $VSAT just landed a new $4.8 Billion dollar government contract from NASA
This was the trade we flagged by Debbie Schultz back on Nov 20th
Because Viasat specializes in military communications & services equipment
And…
The trade attracted attention as Schultz is a sitting representative of the people of Florida’s 25th district.
Moreover, the January 23 stock surge emerged as NASA selected Viasat among the four companies for its satellite contracts.
Questions linger about whether Schultz leveraged information inaccessible to the public for her timely execution.
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