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Scott Melker is the host of The Wolf Of All Streets Podcast and author of The Wolf Den newsletter.

“If I tweeted about a small cap [crypto] of some sort right now, the price would probably change by like 50%,” says Scott Melker, better known to his 904,800 Twitter followers as The Wolf Of All Streets.

Melker says he takes this responsibility seriously and won’t share tweets that might “impact the market” – but this makes Twitter “a lot more boring” from his end. In fact, Melker declares that Twitter “stopped being fun” when he reached 100,000 followers.

“That’s when I went through a phase of a real love-hate relationship with Twitter because that’s when I guess 10% of the people who respond to comments were trolling at any given time.”

All you can really post to 900,000 followers is “Bitcoin and inspirational quotes” because “everything else” will land you in hot water. 

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After graduating from Penn State University with an Anthropology degree in 1999, Melker tried his hand at a “million” other things — finding the most success in his 20-year stint as a DJ.

Shortly after finishing university, he also started his own magazine in Philadelphia called 101 Magazine, focusing on street culture and city vibes.

It caught the attention of a “huge” magazine called Frank 151, which acquired it, and Melker became the editor-in-chief of both. 



During that time, he had the opportunity to attend “insane” parties and rub shoulders with legendary acts like the Wu-Tang Clan and Outcast.

The music industry led him to try crypto trading in the first place.

“I just happened to look into crypto because there was a bunch of DJs trading it,” he says.

He first started trading on the Gemini crypto exchange in 2016 and recalls buying Bitcoin to send it to another exchange, Bittrex, so he “could buy Ethereum and Ripple.” ETH was “under 20 bucks” back then, he notes in a cheeky humble brag.

Rather than some lofty higher purpose, he says the main attraction was making cold hard cash.  

“I was really just trading, trying to make money to support a new family; it had nothing to do with what Bitcoin was or what the asset class was.”

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What led to Twitter fame?

Melker initially started stacking up followers when he was “trading the market well” and posting about it on Twitter. At that point in time, his content was “100% charts and trades.” 

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However, Melker didn’t want his account to be based on trades because it’s “fickle.”

So, he transitioned toward a more holistic approach to his content within the crypto industry.

“I would love to tell you there was some strategy that I took to grow my account, but it was always just me doing whatever I enjoyed doing the most at any given time.”

Melker has observed a direct correlation between his follower growth and the performance of the crypto market.

During previous bull markets, he has experienced an insane influx of daily followers. 

“There was a time when I was getting a hundred thousand [followers] in two months,” he says.

Melker used to “literally respond to everybody” who commented on his tweets or messaged him, but that ship has now sailed.

“That’s like a full-time job, and then you just get to the point where you literally can’t open all your DMs anymore,” he says.

But it’s best not to refer to him as an “influencer.”

“I hate the term influencer because, to me, I’m just a student of crypto, and it’s something I’m passionate about and want to learn more about.”

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What type of content do you do?

Melker’s content revolves around crypto news and keeping people up-to-date with what’s happening in the market.

He likes to share his take on what’s important, and “what’s kind of noise and not signal.”

“[My content includes] all the lessons that I’ve learned in my streams and podcasts, but I would say it’s generally educational/informational content about this market.”

Melker emphasizes the overwhelming pressure he faces whenever he decides to “fire off a tweet,” considering how many followers he has amassed on Twitter.

Twitter is like a movie where you throw a grenade in a room and walk away, and there’s a huge explosion behind you. That’s how I feel every time I send a tweet now,” Melker says.

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Extreme beef: Gary Gensler

Melker is not a fan of United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler

He admits that his Twitter is filled with many “angry tweets against Gensler.” 

“I literally contributed to aggressively getting #firegarygensler trending on Twitter,” he declares.

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He explains that his problem with Gensler is his recent regulatory actions, which he perceives as a “massive overcorrection” targeting crypto firms. 

He believes that it stems from a sense of embarrassment over the fact Gensler was meeting with Sam Bankman-Fried before the collapse of FTX and didn’t realize “he was a fraud.”

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Spicy beef: ZachXBT

ZachXBT, a pseudonymous on-chain researcher, accused Melker of pumping and dumping shit coins to his followers in 2021. It was a troubling time for Melker, who received threats and became the target of white-hot anger.

Melker vehemently refuted the claims and announced he would steer clear of tweeting about projects with small market caps altogether.

Melker says he doesn’t want his audience to get the wrong idea and prefers to focus on the educational stuff. He reiterates that he “was passionate” about trading altcoins, but says it can be difficult to navigate the boundaries of what you should and shouldn’t talk about as your following grows.

“You don’t just show up with 900,000 followers one day and understand what you can and cannot tweet about.”

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Price predictions?

“There’s nothing that makes you look dumber than a price prediction,” Melker states. He should know, given he took an optimistic swing at predicting Ethereum would hit five figures in 2021.

However, he is bullish on Bitcoin hitting six figures in the next bull run.

“I think the next cycle would be somewhere between 100 (thousand) and 250 (thousand),” he declares. 

But Melker believes that after that, the market will see another huge decline before it hits half a million.

“Then we drop down to 60 (thousand), and it’s boring forever. Then, we pop up to half a million, like we continue these four-year cycles.”

However, Melker doesn’t want “to live in a world where Bitcoin is a million dollars.”

“The faster it happens, the worse the world is,” Melker says.

“Because if Bitcoin goes to a million dollars. It means that everything else has exploded, including the United States dollar, and we’re living in some Mad Max dystopian future.”

“Where you and I are those guys without faces painted going to gas town, fighting off the enemies,” he describes, referring to the 2015 movie Mad Max: Fury Road.

But maybe in a couple of decades.

“I would like to see Bitcoin at a million dollars in 20 years, following reasonable cycles,” he adds.

Ciaran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He’s also a standup comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.

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Politics

Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs

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Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs

Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs

Italy’s minister of economy and finance warned that US stablecoin policies are more concerning than President Donald Trump’s tariffs, citing the potential for these crypto assets to undermine the euro’s dominance in cross-border payments.

Speaking at an event in Milan, Giancarlo Giorgetti said that while trade tariffs dominate headlines, new US policies on dollar-backed stablecoins present an “even more dangerous” threat to European financial stability, according to a Reuters report.

US stablecoins allow users to invest in a widely accepted method for cross-border payments without opening a US bank account, Giorgetti said. He warned that the growing appeal of US stablecoins to Europeans should not be underestimated. 

Giorgetti urged European Union lawmakers to take more steps to boost the euro’s position as an international currency. He added that the digital euro under development by the European Central Bank (ECB) will be essential to minimize the need for Europeans to resort to foreign solutions. 

US lawmakers advance stablecoin bills

Presently, stablecoin regulation in the US remains fragmented. Instead of a unified framework, multiple agencies apply existing laws to regulate stablecoins. However, lawmakers are working to implement changes, with several pieces of stablecoin legislation progressing. 

On April 2, the US House Financial Services Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. The bill is now headed to the House floor for a full vote. 

The bill was introduced on Feb. 6 by Committee Chair French Hill and the Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil. It would ensure that stablecoin issuers provide information on their businesses, including how their tokens are backed. 

In addition, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act establishes rules that require issuers to maintain reserves backed one-to-one, comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, protect consumers and boost dollar dominance in the global economy. 

The GENIUS Act still requires approval by both chambers of Congress and a presidential signature before becoming law.

Related: Stablecoins are the best way to ensure US dollar dominance — Web3 CEO

ECB exec renews digital euro push

Apart from Giorgetti, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone also urged European lawmakers to intensify their efforts to combat dollar-backed stablecoin dominance in Europe. On April 8, Cipollone wrote an article expressing concerns about the growing popularity of US stablecoins. 

The official suggested launching a central bank digital currency to combat this threat to the euro. He said this would aid in preserving the monetary sovereignty of the eurozone. 

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OKX reenters US market following $505M DOJ settlement

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OKX reenters US market following 5M DOJ settlement

OKX reenters US market following 5M DOJ settlement

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced that it is reentering the US market.

According to an April 16 blog post, OKX will return to the United States market along with the appointment of former Barclays director Roshan Robert as its US CEO. Robert said in the post:

“Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of OKX’s centralized crypto exchange and OKX Wallet in the United States, alongside the establishment of our regional headquarters in San Jose, California.“

All existing Okcoin users will be migrated to the new platform, which Robert said will lead to a better overall experience. The promised improvements include deeper liquidity, lower fees and advanced trading tools.

OKX reenters US market following $505M DOJ settlement

Source: OKX

Related: Standard Chartered and OKX pilot crypto, tokenized fund collaterals

Step by step

OKX will not roll out the upgrade in one shot. Instead, the new platform will take a phased approach to onboard new customers. The exchange plans to follow the cautious approach with a nationwide launch later in 2025.

“We’re beginning with a phased rollout for new customers to ensure a smooth and secure onboarding process, with a broader nationwide launch planned later this year,“ Robert said.

OKX also promised integrations with local banks and support for major assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC). Robert noted that the company maintains a global proof of reserves for all its assets, which is published monthly by cybersecurity firm Hacken.

Hacken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time.

In addition to its trading platform, the firm is also rolling out OKX Wallet to its US-based customers. The wallet supports 130 blockchains and features a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, allowing access to over 10 million tokens on platforms including Ethereum, Solana and Base.

Related: Malta regulator fines OKX crypto exchange $1.2M for past AML breaches

OKX gets out of US troubles

The report follows OKX hiring former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over a federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.

The exchange admitted on Feb. 24 to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws. As a consequence, OKX agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from primarily institutional clients.

After the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the problems revealed by the federal probe and improve its compliance efforts. OKX’s CEO Star Xu wrote in a Feb. 24 X post:

“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies.”

OKX had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time

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Government claims car interventions will save £500 a year – but only if you hit a pothole

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Government claims car interventions will save £500 a year - but only if you hit a pothole

Hitting potholes is “all too common”, a minister has insisted amid scrutiny of the government’s claim that new road measures will save drivers £500 a year.

Lillian Greenwood told Sky News Breakfast with Anna Jones that people face “eyewatering” costs if a pothole causes more damage to their car than a puncture, with the average repair job setting them back by £460, according to the RAC.

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This, along with the continued freeze on fuel duty, will save drivers over £500 a year, the government has said, claiming its interventions are easing the cost-of-living crisis for drivers.

It was put to Ms Greenwood that the savings only apply if you hit a pothole in the first place.

Asked if she thinks it’s a common occurrence, she said: “Unfortunately, it’s all too common. And because we’ve had more than 10 years of the Conservatives under investing in our road network, that’s left it absolutely cratered with potholes.”

She said potholes are “probably the biggest issue” when she doorsteps constituents, adding: “They’re really angry about the state of their local roads.

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“Far too many people are hitting a pothole and finding they’re having to fork out to get their car fixed.”

Earlier this year, an annual industry report estimated that 17% of the local road network in England and Wales are in poor condition.

A pothole in the road.  Pic: iStock
Image:
Pic: iStock

It predicted that the one-time catch-up cost to clear the backlog of maintenance issues would cost £16.81bn and take 12 years to complete.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget contained a £1.6bn investment to maintain roads and fix potholes, which it said was an increase of £500m on the 2024-25 budget.

Local authorities will get the first tranche of that money this month.

It comes ahead of the local elections in May, when support for drivers could become a dividing line.

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It was put to Ms Greenwood that while trumpeting its motorist-friendly credentials, Labour has also introduced a £1.7bn car tax raid and backed more 20mph low tariff neighbourhoods.

She said the government has left decisions on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods to local authorities and many people “want to see drivers going slower”.

The government’s announcement on savings today came alongside a pledge to remove 1,000 miles of roadworks over the Easter weekend in a bid to cut journey times.

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The works will be reinstated after Easter Monday.

However, bank holiday engineering works on the railway lines will not be halted, meaning there will be disruption for people who don’t have a car.

No trains are running from London Euston, affecting most of the Avanti West Coast line.

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