Plus: Aussie investor bites kidnapper’s finger

GM. The news today is so juicy it could be a Capri-Sun... but like, one of the forbidden flavors they don’t sell anymore.

🏦 Ripple wants to get a national banking license + a Fed Master Account.

🍋 News drops: crypto investor bites kidnapper's finger, AI deciphers an ancient hymn + more

🍍 Market flavor today

Crypto Market Cap: $3.40T 2.2% (24H)
Name		Price	24H	7D
	Bitcoin BTC	$109,482.04	1.26%	2.06%
	Ethereum ETH	$2,584.26	3.85%	5.79%
	XRP XRP	$2.27	3.05%	6.67%
	BNB BNB	$660.18	0.18%	2.50%
	Solana SOL	$151.89	0.78%	6.01%

Bitcoin's pushing toward $110K, prices across the board are loving the color green, and everyone’s feeling greedy today.

Why? Some nice stuff is coming together all at once:

1/ June jobs report dropped today

The US added 147K jobs (better than expected), and unemployment fell to 4.1%.

That shows the economy’s holding up - which gives investors confidence to take on more risk - even though that could make the Fed less eager to cut rates soon.

2/ ETFs

They’re still sucking up Bitcoin like crazy - $407.8M flowed in just yesterday.

3/ Exchange balances are declining

Bitcoin’s been leaving exchanges for 98 days in a row now, according to 10xResearch.

This suggests more coins are being moved into cold storage, which usually means that holders don’t plan to sell anytime soon.

It’s the longest streak of outflows since 2020 - and back then, this kind of supply squeeze helped kick off a big bull run.

Oh, and let's not forget:

4/ I've been manifesting this

Brb, gonna light some more candles just to lock the good vibes in.

🐳 War of Whales is ON

While you’re doomscrolling, someone’s out there winning stuff you didn’t even know was on the table. Let's fix that.

Our friends at BloFin launched War of Whales - a massive futures trading competition where the prizes are absolutely insane.

We're talking over $4 million in USDT, along with a Rolex, an iPhone 16, a MacBook, and even a Tesla Cybertruck.

The formula’s simple: the more you trade, the better your chances and the bigger your prizes.

This ends July 15. So, what are you waiting for? 🤨

🥝 Memecoin harvest

Yes, a token named after a dog flipped a serious project. Cope 🐶

Data as of 04:45 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

🤷 If you can't beat them, join them?

Imma be honest, I have the memory of a goldfish. I genuinely couldn't tell you where my car is parked right now, let alone what happened years ago.

But for some reason, I do remember Michael from 7th grade.

Mikey boy was that kid in the back of the class, hoodie up, always ready to drop a sarcastic comment - especially if someone had the audacity to raise their hand. 'Cause like, ew, teacher's pet.

Then at some point, something changed. Mike stayed in his hoodie, stayed in the back row… but now he was also asking questions and cracking jokes with the teacher.

Because realized something: having the teacher on your side can actually work in your favor sometimes - his grade did go up after he changed his behavior.

For some reason, that stuck with me - I think it was the first time I saw someone use the rules to their advantage instead of continuing to fight them.

And it's kinda like what Ripple’s doing right now.

They’re chasing two of the most TradFi-approvedgolden tickets:a national banking license and a Federal Reserve Master Account.

What does that mean? Let's break it down:

1/ National banking license

That’s basically a federal license from the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) to operate as a bank under federal rules.

So yeah, if approved, Ripple would become a bank.

Why does that matter? Well:

👉 They could operate in all 50 states without needing separate approvals;

👉 They’d have more services they’re allowed to offer;

👉 It would make them look way more legit to regulators and institutions;

👉 And - big one - their stablecoin, RLUSD, would be backed by a federally-regulated bank (aka themselves if this goes through) → major trust and transparency points.

2/ Fed Master Account

Think of it like a backstage pass to the Fed.

Normally, companies have to keep their money in regular banks, which then interact with the Fed’s payment system. With a Master Account, Ripple could cut out the middlemen and keep their money directly with the Fed.

Why’s that useful? Because it means:

👉 They don’t have to rely on random partner banks to hold RLUSD reserves → trust increase;

👉 Faster, cheaper payments;

👉 Plus, since the Fed’s system runs 24/7, even when normal banks are closed.

So yeah, the benefits are definitely there, but actually getting these approvals? Not easy.

The OCC will dig through every corner of Ripple’s business- finances, risk management, compliance, AML policies, consumer protections, all of it. They want everything to be rock solid.

The Fed's also picky about who gets a Master Account - they expect nothing less than strong governance and capital + a good reputation.

And even if you check all the boxes, the process still drags on for months.

So far, the only crypto-native company to actually pull it off is Anchorage Digital, which shows just how steep this climb really is.

Now, some of you might look at the whole thing and think: wow... Ripple and that Mikey kid are both sellouts.

And, honestly, fair enough - if your view of crypto is purely decentralization, anti-censorship, and anti-TradFi, then yeah… Ripple getting itself into that very system feels kinda backwards.

At the same time, not every crypto project is chasing the same dream.

Ripple's focus was always on making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient for banks and institutions through XRP.

So, they’re not trying to replace the system - they’re trying to improve it.

And... uhh... I already forgot what I was saying. Again, goldfish memory.

Well, anyways, this is just another reminder of how flexible crypto can be - powering both radical freedom and institutional innovation.

🍋 News drops

🇦🇺 An Australian crypto investor was attacked in his apartment building in Estonia. He fought back by biting through one attacker’s finger.

🙅 SIFMA, a group representing banks and brokers, told the SEC not to let crypto firms issue tokenized stocks under looser rules. They said these firms are asking for shortcuts to sell blockchain-based shares.

📜 AI helped reconstruct a long-lost Babylonian hymn. It gives a glimpse into life and beliefs in ancient Mesopotamia.

🍌 Juicy memes