USDTHB

The seventh article in the 15-part “Deconstructing DeFi” Series. Buckle up, it’s about to get nerdy.

In November 2022, a month of reckoning, over 325,000 BTC were spirited away from the exchanges, as if investors, suddenly enlightened, realized the folly of trusting their treasures to the hands of others. The result? A paltry 2.7 million BTC remain, a sum that would once have been deemed vast, but now seems but a pittance. Binance, that titan of the crypto world, holds a mere 20% of this remnant, while Coinbase Advanced, a haven for the professional gambler, boasts nearly 800,000 BTC-a figure that, alas, is 200,000 less than its former glory in July 2025.

Alderoty, in a rare act of public self-congratulation, posted a photograph of this historic encounter on X (formerly Twitter), a platform that thrives on both brevity and the slow decay of dignity.

The crypto market has had quite a week. Total market capitalization surged by around 11%, adding nearly $250 billion in a matter of days. Then, just as quickly, the gains reversed. Approximately $175 billion in market value disappeared by week’s end. 

On the ninth of March, the company declared, with a flourish of pen and paper, that its crypto holdings now comprise 4,534,563 ETH, alongside smaller positions in Bitcoin and other assets. The firm, in its wisdom, reports that its total crypto, cash, and investment holdings have reached $10.3 billion, a sum that would make even the most frugal of accountants blush.

Indeed, XRP’s destiny lies not in the hands of those who trade it as if it were confetti at a festival, but in the shadowy corridors of infrastructure. As the sage Rob Cunningham once mused (on the sacred scrolls of X), the world is hurtling toward a future where digital commodities are as regulated as the gowns at Versailles. Tokens, once shrouded in mystery, now strut across interoperable rails, bridging liquidity gaps with the grace of a court jester balancing on a tightrope.

When Bitcoin soared in 2021, our intrepid hero doubled down, hoarding over 100,000 BTC with the zeal of a religious zealot. Yet when the market turned treacherous in 2022, it did not falter, but rather, with measured steps, continued its quest, as though investing in Bitcoin were a matter of mortal survival.

The VIX and bitcoin often move in opposite directions, with sharp spikes in the volatility index frequently coinciding with bitcoin local bottoms. (Because nothing says “investment strategy” like watching your portfolio cry and then laugh at the same time.)

Lo, the eligible users of over 26 nations-France, Germany, the Netherlands, and others-now find themselves graced with the opportunity to trade derivatives, as if they were noblemen granted access to the court of a most peculiar king. Yet, to partake, one must first complete a “know-your-customer” form, a task as daunting as deciphering the prophecies of a drunken prophet.

On Scott Melker’s podcast, The Wolf Of All Streets, Giancarlo didn’t mince words: the real enemy of crypto is not wild innovation nor its rabid fans, but the bewildering wilderness of unclear rules where even the bravest traders get lost.