Hey there, PoI readers! 🌟

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another juicy serving of web3 drama and developments. From Pump.fun's livestream chaos and Ripple's political power plays to CZ's memecoin manifesto and NFT's market madness, we've got quite the feast for your crypto-curious minds! Grab your favorite beverage and let's dive into this week's digital digest. 🌐

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Pump.fun's livestream feature turned into a wild west show of shocking content, forcing the platform to slam on the emergency brakes while legal experts wave red flags about potential criminal charges.

🟧 Ripple drops another $25M in Fairshake PAC's piggy bank, bringing their total political play money to a whopping $103M for the 2026 election cycle.

🟧 Former Binance CEO CZ tells crypto world to stop making weird memecoins and start building something useful, while awkwardly standing next to Binance's own memecoin listings.

🟧 NFTs are having a party with $158M in weekly sales, with Ethereum and Bitcoin leading the conga line while Solana's bringing in the most party guests.

Pump.fun Livestreams Turn Criminal After Shocking Content Forces Platform Shutdown

Pump.fun, our favorite token-launching playground, just had to put their livestream feature in timeout – and boy, oh boy, is this story a doozy!

Picture this: You're casually browsing crypto content when suddenly you're hit with a bizarre mix of livestreams that would make even reality TV producers blush. We're talking about everything from dramatic suicide threats to goldfish hostage situations (yes, you read that right). It's like someone took Black Mirror and turned it into a memecoin marketing strategy!

The platform, which has launched a whopping 3.8 million tokens since January (talk about token confetti!), finally waved the white flag on November 25th. They've temporarily pulled the plug on their livestream feature.

But here's where it gets spicy: Legal expert Yuriy Brisov is basically saying "Hold my lawbook!" He's warning that these shenanigans could attract some unwanted attention from folks wearing badges and carrying subpoenas. Apparently, creating memecoins doesn't give you a "Get Out of Jail Free" card – who knew? 🤷‍♂️

The platform's success rate is... well... let's just say only 1.2% of tokens reach the $69,000 market cap needed for DEX listing. That's lower than my chances of winning the office lottery pool!

Co-founder "Alon" tried to do damage control faster than a PR team during a celebrity scandal, claiming they have a "large" moderation team working 24/7. Though given recent events, one might wonder if their definition of "moderation" came from a parallel universe.

Pump.fun halted its livestream feature after creators went full chaos mode with shocking content

Legal experts warn these antics could attract criminal investigations and civil lawsuits

Platform claims to fight rug pulls, but success rate sits at a humble 1.2% of all launched tokens

Ripple Floods Political Arena With Fresh $25M To Win Over US Politicians

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO and apparently the crypto world's version of a political influencer, just announced they're tossing another $25 million into Fairshake PAC's war chest. That's like buying 25 million lottery tickets, except instead of hoping for random numbers, they're betting on pro-crypto politicians!

Speaking of betting, Fairshake's track record is looking pretty sweet – about two-thirds of their supported candidates won their seats in the 2024 elections. Talk about ROI! The PAC now has a cool $103 million ready to splash around in the 2026 midterms. That's enough money to buy... well, a lot of political ads and probably some very fancy campaign dinners.

But here's where it gets spicy: While Ripple's been their biggest sugar da- ahem, contributor (along with Coinbase, Jump Crypto, and Andreessen Horowitz), the political drama runs deeper. Ripple's top brass seems to be playing both sides of the aisle like a crypto-powered game of political ping-pong. While Garlinghouse was speculated to be team "Make Crypto Great Again," co-founder Chris Larsen was throwing $12 million toward Team Blue.

The 2026 midterms will put all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats up for grabs. That's a lot of politicians to potentially convert to the crypto cause! And with Fairshake claiming to support candidates "on both sides of the aisle," it looks like they're hedging their bets better than a seasoned trader.

Ripple adds $25M to their previous $45M contribution to Fairshake PAC

Fairshake now has $103M ready to influence 2026 midterm elections

PAC's strategy of supporting pro-crypto candidates proved successful in 2024, with majority of backed candidates winning

Former Binance CEO Attacks Memecoins While His Own Exchange Lists Them

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the ex-CEO of Binance who recently got a $50M timeout from the crypto playground, has some thoughts about memecoins – and they're spicier than your favorite ramen!

In what might be the most "do as I say, not as I did" moment of 2024, CZ took to X (formerly Twitter) to basically say, "Guys, these memecoins are getting weird." This coming from the guy whose exchange listed more memecoins than I have socks!

The timing is particularly chef's kiss considering Binance Futures just listed new memecoins Why (WHY) and Cheems (CHEEMS) – both of which performed about as well as a chocolate teapot.

But here's the kicker: While CZ is preaching about building "real" blockchain applications, the memecoin market is sitting pretty at $110 billion, making up about 3.44% of the total crypto market. That's like saying, "Stop making desserts!" while standing in front of a thriving bakery.

Some of CZ's followers were quick to point out this delicious irony, basically saying, "Hey, wasn't Binance the one serving memecoin cocktails at the crypto party?" Meanwhile, old favorites like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are still wagging their tails in the market, thanks in part to their biggest fan club president, Elon Musk.

CZ calls for focus on 'real' blockchain apps over increasingly "weird" memecoins

Awkward timing as Binance continues listing new memecoins that promptly tank

Despite the criticism, memecoin market cap sits at $110 billion, showing the genre isn't going anywhere fast

NFT Market Explodes With $158M Weekly Volume As Ethereum Leads The Charge

Despite a tiny dip that's about as concerning as a pizza with one less pepperoni, the NFT market is still flexing with a whopping $158 million in weekly sales!

Let's break this down like a dance battle: Ethereum is still the reigning champion with $49M in sales (though it dropped its moves by 25.9%), while Bitcoin's showing off its new NFT swagger with $43M. But here's where it gets interesting – Solana's out here being the popular kid at the party with 185,000 buyers (up 58%!).

Remember when everyone was saying NFTs were as dead? Well, plot twist! We're seeing numbers that would make your traditional art dealer spill their fancy wine. October closed with $356M in sales (an 18% glow-up from September), and November's already flexing harder than a gym influencer!

The average transaction value is chilling at $126.17 (down from $133.08), which is still more than my weekly coffee budget (don't judge me). Meanwhile, the cool kids' table – Polygon, Mythos Chain, Immutable, and BNB Chain – collectively brought in $35.8M to the party.

Sure, we're down 12.7% from last week's $181M, but that's like comparing a mansion party to a slightly smaller mansion party – still pretty epic if you ask me!

Weekly NFT sales hit $158M, showing strong market momentum

Ethereum ($49M) and Bitcoin ($43M) lead in sales, while Solana dominates with 185,000 buyers

November's already outperforming October's impressive $356M total volume

And that's all the tea for today, my wonderful PoI readers! 🍵 From $158M in NFT sales to $103M in political contributions, the numbers are as wild as Pump.fun's livestreams (too soon?). But remember, in this crazy crypto world, staying informed is your best strategy - well, that and not threatening goldfish on camera!

Until next time, this is your favorite ice-cream-named newsletter writer, Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five! 🙌✨

P.S. Got thoughts about CZ's memecoin takes or predictions about Ripple's political moves? Share them with the PoI community! Every voice (and meme) matters! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter with your crypto-curious friends!

🍨📰 Catch you in the next issue! 📰🍨