In This Issue

• Sam shares his thoughts on Ripple (the central bank blockchain), Tom Emmer upgrading the Securities Act, America’s debt ceiling, Celsius update & MicroStrategy being open to Ordinals.
• This week on chain.
• This week’s trending coins by Rebecca.
• David has an article comparing MetaMask and Trust Wallet

The Ultimate Taking Profits Guide

Hello friends, Lark here 👋

Before diving into today’s report, I’d like to reflect on something.

Because crypto can be so volatile, it can be easy to let your investments go a little too long, and that’s what I did.

I bought a coin at 2 cents but instead of selling it at all time highs when it soared over $1, I waited just a little too long until it went all the way back down again.

Even though I’ve been investing in crypto for years, I still let that emotion get to me and it cost me big time. It can happen to the best of us. 

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The News Now

Ripple the Central Bank Blockchain

There’s a lot of attention on Ripple as it’s creating a platform on which CBDCs can be launched and operated, facilitating both wholesale CBDCs (for institutional use) and retail CBDCs (for use by the general public in place of cash).

The platform is a newer version of Ripple’s already-existing private ledger, which launched in 2021. When we think of blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum, we’re thinking of decentralized public ledgers that are permissionless, but a private ledger is centrally controlled, and permissioned.

Ripple has announced that it’s working with several clients, of which four have been named:

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority
• The Central Bank of Montenegro
• The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
• The government of Palau (as Palau has no central bank)

In Hong Kong, Ripple’s services are being tied in with not just digital currency (the e-HKD), but with tokenized real estate and blockchain-based lending protocols, and Ripple is working on this with Taiwan’s Fubon Bank.

Becoming a go-to platform for CBDCs could be huge, although that depends on the extent to which CBDCs actually happen. Global attitudes vary but there are many use cases including not only currency, but also, as in Hong Kong, tokenized real estate and other assets. However, there are serious concerns too, especially around retail CBDCs.

Privacy, tracking, and the very real possibility of central authority over-reach are key issues, and over in the state of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has gone as far as to ban the use of CBDCs for exactly these kinds of reasons. What we can say for sure when it comes to the tech, is that if crypto was originally all about public blockchains, then Ripple is on a very different mission.

Metaco acquisition

Ripple also made news recently with an announcement that it has, for $250 million, acquired Swiss crypto custody firm Metaco, which provides services to institutional investors and has some big customers including BNP Paribas and Citi Ventures.

Can Tom Emmer Upgrade the Securities Act?

What exactly is holding the US back from regulatory clarity around crypto? Part of the problem is the SEC appointing itself as America’s crypto grand inquisitor, with its decisions hinged on the 1933 Securities Act, which is informed by the Howey Test, which uses precedents set by a 1946 case revolving around investment in a citrus grove.

There’s a pretty reasonable argument that investing in a citrus grove in the 1940s is far removed from buying, and using, ETH, ADA, or whatever your favorite coin happens to be here in 2023, and last week, pro-crypto Congressman and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer made positive moves with a bill to amend existing securities laws with a new term, “investment contract asset”.

Whether or not the changes go through, we can’t yet know, but if successful they would separate out assets such as digital tokens (which would be classed as investment contract assets) from securities contracts themselves, and clear a path forward for crypto to operate and innovate in the US without undue restriction from the SEC.

This development was welcomed enthusiastically by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, who have themselves expressed strong backing for Coinbase as the exchange takes on the regulators.

America in Debt (As Always)

America’s debt ceiling is in the spotlight again, but is there any real possibility that the US could default this time? Well, yes, theoretically, but the likely outcome is the same as usual: the deadline approaches, the scenario is painted as tensely dramatic… and then the debt ceiling is raised. In fact, it’s been raised 78 times since 1960.

That said, it’s interesting to consider what would happen to bitcoin if there ever was a default. Amid economic chaos, there are two clear possibilities: tech stocks crash and bitcoin goes with them, or on the other hand, as traditional structures collapse, bitcoin shines as a decentralized alternative with no counterparty risks, acting as a financial life raft.

Taking a wider view, both could happen together: short-term collapse followed by medium to long-term growth as bitcoin comes into its own in a reshaped world. Just to be clear, though, this scenario is not likely to occur in 2023 as we, most likely, just play out some political theater until the debt limit is raised. 

By the way, one establishment suggestion is that the US could fix its problems by–seriously–minting a trillion dollar coin. Yep, that’s right, according to the very respectable bean counters who are (somehow) in charge of everything, crypto is a giant scam that spins up money from nowhere, while the fiat system–which is deeply trustworthy and not-at-all built on sand–can MAKE A GIANT COIN and everything will be ok.

Bids in to Reheat Celsius

You probably remember that during the great crypto catastrophes of 2022, one of the highest profile casualties–triggered by the downfall of Terra/Luna–was Celsius Network.

Now it’s being reported (by the Wall Street Journal) that the bankrupt crypto lending platform is the subject of a bidding contest involving two major players from the world of traditional finance: Apollo Global Management, and Fortress Investment Group, each of which is backing a different group with ambitions to bring Celsius back from the dead.

It’s unusual for the kinds of groups who usually take over distressed or bankrupt entities to show interest in crypto companies, and a well-funded deal could result in a relatively decent payout for Celsius creditors, including the many customers who have lost money.

Saylor Activated: MicroStrategy Open to Ordinals

Twitter’s Ordinals community put out the word last week that Saylor was activated, in response to bitcoin mega-chad Michael Saylor indicating, in an interview at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, that MicroStrategy was looking into app development on Bitcoin using the Ordinals protocol.

We’ve also recently seen the first ever Solidity contract on Bitcoin, and the launch of DIBA, a new Bitcoin NFT marketplace that runs on RGB (Really Good for Bitcoin) smart contracts, all of which suggests that the Ordinals space could be set to heat up in future.

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This Week On Chain

When it comes to stablecoins, USDT is pulling away from its competitors, with a total market cap now approaching $83 billion, which is getting very close to its all-time high of $84 billion in May 2022. At the same time, nearest rivals USDC and BUSD have dropped away.

This comes after USDC briefly depegged from the dollar in March (due to panic around issuer Circle holding about 8% of reserve backing in the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank), damaging confidence in USDC, and while BUSD issuer Paxos contends with a February lawsuit from the SEC ordering it stop minting the stablecoin.

Green (top) = USDT, Blue (second) = USDC, Orange (third) = BUSD

This can be seen even more clearly if you just look at the start-of-month market cap figures for each major stablecoin, with that big gap opening up for USDT.

However, at the same time, we can also see that traders on DEXes still prefer to use USDC. Interpret that as you will, but it’s fair to say that among people who are familiar with the working mechanics of crypto and who are actively using stablecoins to make trades, USDC is the go-to option.

Bitcoin has seen big increases in network activity and by mid-May, BRC-20 tokens accounted for 47% of that activity–a huge share that seems like it’s come out of nowhere. BRC-20s are fungible assets created on the Bitcoin network via the Ordinals protocol, and have been generating an increasing amount of hype.

Looking more closely though, we find some curious details. Transactions may be at an all-time high thanks to recent Ordinals activity, but by contrast, overall volume remains subdued, and hasn’t increased in line with the growth in transactions.

This indicates large numbers of small Ordinals transactions that don’t actually move much BTC around, which fits with the current view of the Ordinals space: early-moving developers and niche enthusiasts experimenting with the tech, rather than mainstream interest. It certainly isn’t typical bull market activity, when we’d see new people coming in, lots of trades taking place, and bitcoin moving around in high volumes.

Moving on to look at how Bitcoin and Ether are moving in relation to one another, we can see the correlation getting lower, having dropped from 96% to 77% since mid-March, and sitting now at its lowest point since November 2021.

This is happening post-Shappella upgrade and with Ethereum firmly set up in its proof-of-stake era, and could plausibly indicate diverging uses and narratives between the two leading blockchains. In that case this trend should continue but, on the other hand, we can’t know the reasons for sure, and there is a definite possibility that what we’re seeing is just a temporary decoupling.

And on Ethereum, there’s a continuing trend in which ERC-20 activity is going up while ERC-721 activity drops off. ERC-20s are fungible tokens (including all those frog coins), while ERC-721s are non-fungible, meaning NFT interest has been falling.

Honing in on NFTs, weekly trades are down, and it’s the same story when we look at the numbers of daily traders. It seems only the hardcore JPEG flippers remain but, more optimistically, daily NFT trading volume is actually up 3X from its lowest point, in November 2022, suggesting that we might (possibly) be past the worst of this NFT phase.

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This Week’s Trending Coins by Rebecca

Here are my key takeaways from the trends this week and there has been a sea of announcements. 

1. Solana is an L1 blockchain that’s launched the presale for its annual Breakpoint conference in Amsterdam from October 30-November 3. Solana has also teamed up with Polygon and Algorand for a $50M cross-chain investment fund.
2. Ethereum has been boosted by the launch of Lido Finance’s V2 upgrade allowing users to withdraw staked ETH. Ethereum developers have also issued the final report on finality discussing the fallout from the network outage last week.
3. XRP is a cross-border payments network that’s seen Ripple announce the launch of a CBDC platform which has no direct need for the XRP token.
4. Bitcoin will be bought up by Tether starting in May using as much as 15% of net monthly profits. The Bitcoin Conference has also been happening in Miami and has seen announcements from Strike and speeches from Robert Kennedy Jr. 
5. Hourglass is a Web3 incubator that’s teasing the launch of its upcoming TV show “The Next Crypto Gem.” 
6. Ovr is an AR platform on Ethereum that’s launched a Twitter contest giving away 5,000 OVR tokens.
7.  Pepe is a memecoin on Ethereum that’s seen wallet analysis suggest BlackRock was a PEPE whale and withdrew $1.2M worth of PEPE tokens from Binance. 
8. ORDI is a BRC-20 token that’s just been listed on OKX. Michael Saylor has also announced that MicroStrategy is looking at Bitcoin Ordinals for app development.
9. XEN Crypto is an ERC-20 project that’s announced XENKnights are now listed on Magic Eden’s marketplace. XenDoge has also launched on Ethereum under the XDOGE ticker.
10. Sui is a Layer-1 blockchain that’s partnered with Oracle, Pyth, to make over 200 real-time feeds available on the network. 
11.  Injective is an L1 blockchain and DEX protocol that’s seen its token jump 19% after teasing a surprise NFT announcement.
12. Arbitrum is an Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution that’s seen Swaprum DEX perform a rug pull and customers have lost $3M. Chainlink’s Verifiable Random Function (VRF) has launched on Arbitrum One.
13. GALA is a play-to-earn (P2E) gaming and music ecosystem that’s completed its V2 airdrop and has burned almost 21B GALA tokens.
14. Tether is a stablecoin issuer that’s announced it will DCA into Bitcoin starting in May, using as much as 15% of its net monthly profits. Tether has also revealed to already have $1.5B in Bitcoin on its balance sheet.
15. 0x0 ai: Smart Contract is a DeFi platform that’s paired around 60.2 ETH with 1.9M 0x0 tokens and added them to the liquidity pool.

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MetaMask vs Trust Wallet: 2023 Comparison by David

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably trying to figure out whether MetaMask or Trust Wallet is the right crypto wallet for you. Well, you’ve come to the right place, fren.

Below is a no BS comparison between two of the most popular crypto wallets on the market. The good, the bad, and the ugly. All white meat. No fat. This is MetaMask vs Trust Wallet in 2023.

Let’s dive in.

	MetaMask	Trust Wallet
Strengths	– The OG Web3 wallet pioneer.- King of Ethereum dApp integrations.	– EVM & non-EVM compatible. Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc., etc.- Clean UI.- Great for beginners.
Weaknesses	– EVM-compatible blockchains & cryptos only. No bitcoin.	*Honestly not finding any major weaknesses here folks.
Wallet Category	Non-Custodial, Hot Wallet	Non-Custodial, Hot Wallet
Platforms	Desktop Browser Extension & Mobile (iOS & Android)	Desktop Browser Extension & Mobile (iOS & Android)
Supported Blockchains / Cryptos / dApps / NFTs	Only EVM-Compatible blockchains, cryptos, dApps, NFTs	EVM & non-EVM-Compatible blockchains, cryptos, dApps, NFTs
Uses	Buy, Send, Receive, Swap, dApps, Stake, NFTs	Buy, Sell, Send, Receive, Swap, dApps, Stake, dApps, NFTs
Security	Password, Secret 12 Word Recovery Phrase	Password, PIN (mobile), Secret 12 Word Recovery Phrase
Additional Features	dApp browser, “Portfolio” Page	dApp browser, “Discover” Tab
Fees, Fiat On & Off Ramps	*See below	* See below

MetaMask vs Trust Wallet: Macro Comparison

Don’t miss the forest for the trees. Here’s how MetaMask and Trust Wallet compare in macro terms.

Similarities

MetaMask and Trust Wallet are both non-custodial, Web3 hot wallets. They are non-custodial because you – as the wallet owner – take custody of your crypto, and no other party has access to your coins. They are hot wallets because they’re connected to the internet.

When it comes to use-cases, both MetaMask and Trust Wallet are effectively the same. Both allow you to buy, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrencies. Both have crypto exchanges built into their platforms. Both connect with smart-contract powered dApps across their respective, applicable blockchains (i.e. this is what makes them Web3 wallets). And finally, both allow you to stake various cryptocurrencies on the wallets themselves, and receive, send, and store NFTs.

In terms of accessibility, both wallets are available as desktop browser-extensions and as mobile apps on iOS and Android.

Differences

The most significant difference between these two wallets relates to blockchain and crypto compatibility.

MetaMask only works with EVM-compatible blockchains, cryptos, and dApps. This means MetaMask works with Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, major Ethereum layer-2s like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism, and other smaller EVM-compatible blockchains. You can store ETH, ERC-20 tokens, and ERC-721 tokens (NFTs) with MetaMask. But if the crypto is not an ERC-20, then MetaMask can’t take it. So no Bitcoin (BTC), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC), etc. or any dApps or NFTs associated with these networks.

Trust Wallet works with everything that MetaMask works with, plus a bunch of other non-EVM blockchains, cryptos, and dApps. So Bitcoin, Cardano, Solana, Litecoin and many other non-EVM blockchains, dApps, and NFTs work with Trust Wallet.

MetaMask vs Trust Wallet: Micro Comparison

Now let’s examine the leaves. Here’s your micro.

Security

Fundamentally, the security guardrails on MetaMask and Trust Wallet are the same.

If you really want to understand what makes these wallets secure – and what are your biggest security vulnerabilities (hint: it’s you) – then you need to familiarize yourself with concepts relating to crypto self-custody and secret 12 word recovery phrases.

So, the security backbones for both wallets are their 12 word recovery phrases and access passwords. A password is required for accessing either across any platform (desktop or mobile) with the exception to Trust Wallet’s mobile application. For that, only a 6 digit PIN is required. Both wallets have adjustable auto-lock settings, and on mobile, both can be unlocked with Face ID.

Both wallets are open source, so anyone can inspect the code for either. For additional security, both can be connected to external hardware wallets. MetaMask connects with Ledger, Trezor, AirGap Vault, Keystone, and Lattice. Trust Wallet connects with Ledger.

Ease of Access & Use

With regards to ease of access, both are a breeze. Wallet setup is essentially the same – quick and easy. You can be up and running with either wallet in less than 10 minutes.

With regards to wallet use, both functionally operate in the same manner. Here’s the breakdown:

• Both UIs feature four main action icons: buy, receive, send, and swap.
• Both have large tabs for switching between cryptos and NFTs, and from the wallet to “browser”.
• Both feature drop-down menus for switching between blockchains.

The UIs are so similar, you’d think the same person designed both. But what’s really happening is both development teams are converging on the most intuitive and convenient UI for this type of product.

Regarding “browsers”, both feature in-app web browsers that allow you to search, pull-up, and connect to dApps. Very convenient.

Regarding relevant differences, on desktop, MetaMask has a new “Portfolio” UI feature that looks really nice.

Essentially, your MetaMask connects to a personal portfolio web-page which expands your wallet details across a full screen. The UI is clean, orderly, and intuitive. Alternatively, Trust Wallet has a “discover” tab on the mobile app that curates trending crypto news, staking and DeFi APRs, and top dApps. This gives Trust Wallet’s mobile app a more all-in-one feeling.

Fees & Fiat On-Ramps & Off-Ramps

The super nitty gritty. Fees and fiat on and off ramps.

	MetaMask	Trust Wallet
Fees	0.875% additional swap fee	1% additional fee when buying crypto
Fiat On-Ramps	– Apple Pay- Banxa- Binance Connect- Mercuryo- MoonPay- PayPal (ETH only)- Sardine- Transak	– Binance Connect- Binance P2P- Mercuryo- MoonPay- Ramp- Simplex- Transak
Fiat Off-Ramps	None.	– MoonPay- Ramp

Regarding fees, understand that both wallets are free to download and use. Generally, the only fees you’ll incur are the normal blockchain transaction fees when moving crypto in or out of your wallet. Side note: know that you can adjust the transaction priority with both wallets (high priority = higher fee; low priority = lower fee).

When using the built-in exchange, MetaMask does charge an additional 0.875% swap fee. And when purchasing crypto, Trust Wallet charges an additional 1% fee. But this fee can be avoided by holding a minimum of 100 Trust Wallet tokens (TWT).

Now, most people use these wallets as crypto-in and crypto-out. But it’s always nice to have a few fiat on and off ramps, especially if you’re new to crypto. Note that all options listed above are through third party payment providers.

Aesthetic Experience

After looking at the mobile apps and desktop browser extensions for both wallets, I think Trust Wallet has a cleaner, more modern, and simpler UI.

Trust Wallet just does a better job cutting the out the extraneous detail and focusing on the main features in a way that’s easy on the eyes.

Development History

This one’s for the history geeks.

MetaMask was created in 2016 by the software company ConsenSys. MetaMask started out only as a desktop browser extension, and then expanded to a mobile app in late 2020.

Trust Wallet did the reverse. A guy named Viktor Radchenko developed Trust Wallet in 2017 as a mobile app. Binance acquired the product in 2018 and made it the exchange’s official Web3 wallet. Trust Wallet’s desktop browser extension was then launched in late 2022.

Which it Choose & Final Thoughts

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either wallet. Both are fantastic products and very similar in design and use-case.

If you’re brand new to crypto, then I do recommend Trust Wallet. The main reason is because you’ll be able to store bitcoin and most other non-EVM-compatible coins along with your ETH and other ERC-20 coins. There can be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to crypto, so keeping everything under one roof when you’re starting out keeps things simple.

If you’re super into Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens, and Ethereum’s huge dApp universe, then I’d probably recommend MetaMask. Trust Wallet can hang in this department, but there’s more Ethereum-based optionality and integrations with MetaMask at the end of the day.

Now, stop overanalyzing everything and dive in. That’s the fastest way to learn.

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Final Notes

Big altcoins, news for Ethereum & Cardano, plus more in the video below. 👇

Thank you so much for your support, and I truly hope that today’s issue will give you insights needed to help you master your wealth.

If you are reading this it means you are on the free version of the Wealth Mastery Investor Report, which is great for news and tips on the crypto markets.

If you really want to take advantage of fastest growing asset class EVER, I highly recommend you to check out my new Altcoin course: Mastering Altcoin Investing

In this course we’ll teach you all about how to spot, choose and acquire the winning altcoins of the next bull market. 

Learn how to build your portfolio so that growth is ensured and risk is mitigated. Let me help you build a strategy that’ll change your life forever in the upcoming bull run.

Are you ready to make it?

See you next time!

Lark and the Wealth Mastery Team

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Legal Disclaimer

Wealth Mastery (Lark Davis, and the Wealth Mastery writing team) are not providing you individually tailored investment advice. Nor is Wealth Mastery registered to provide investment advice, is not a financial adviser, and is not a broker-dealer. The material provided is for educational purposes only. Wealth Mastery is not responsible for any gains or losses that result from your cryptocurrency investments. Investing in cryptocurrency involves a high degree of risk and should be considered only by persons who can afford to sustain a loss of their entire investment. Investors should consult their financial adviser before investing in cryptocurrency.

You can find a full disclosure of all my crypto & venture investments here.