Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another fresh serving of tech and Web3 news. Today we've got Trump cranking up tariffs while crypto somehow keeps its cool, an economist dropping an 88% Bitcoin bull case for December, IoTeX getting its pockets picked to the tune of $4.3 million, and Robinhood's crypto chief telling us investors are out here shopping the dip like it's Black Friday. Grab a snack — we've got a lot to unpack.

Meet America’s Newest $1B Unicorn

A US startup just hit a $1 billion private valuation, joining billion-dollar private companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, and ByteDance. Unlike those other unicorns, you can invest.

Over 40,000 people already have. So have industry giants like General Motors and POSCO.

Why all the interest? EnergyX’s patented tech can recover up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. That's a big deal, as demand for lithium is expected to 5X current production levels by 2040. Today, they’re moving toward commercial production, tapping into 100,000+ acres of lithium deposits in Chile, a potential $1.1B annual revenue opportunity at projected market prices.

Right now, you can invest at this pivotal growth stage for $11/share. But only through February 26. Become an early-stage EnergyX shareholder before the deadline.

Invest in EnergyX Today

_{This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.energyx.com. Under Regulation A, a company may change its share price by up to 20% without requalifying the offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.}

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Trump bumped global tariffs from 10% to 15%, but crypto markets basically shrugged and said, "cool story, bro."

🟧 Economist Timothy Peterson says there's an 88% chance Bitcoin will be higher in December — but not everyone's buying the optimism.

🟧 IoTeX confirmed suspicious activity involving one of its token safes, with analysts estimating losses of around $4.3 million from a suspected private key compromise.

🟧 Robinhood's head of crypto says investors are treating the dip as an opportunity, diversifying well beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum into a wider range of crypto assets.

Trump Cranked Tariffs Up to 15% and Crypto Laughed in His Face

President Donald Trump decided that 10% just wasn't chef's kiss enough and promptly cranked the global tariff rate up to 15%, effective immediately.

Taking to Truth Social (naturally), Trump doubled down on his stance, declaring that countries had been "ripping" the US off for decades and that he was simply doing what needed to be done. He also took a moment to air his frustrations with the Supreme Court, which recently struck down his authority to levy tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — basically the legal tool he had been leaning on pretty hard.

Not one to be deterred by a little thing like a court ruling, Trump pivoted to alternative legal routes, specifically the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974, under which he had already announced a 10% global tariff on Friday. The 15% bump is built on top of that foundation.

But before anyone crowns him Tariff King indefinitely, pro-crypto attorney Adam Cochran threw some cold water on the situation, noting that the laws being used limit tariffs to countries the US runs a deficit with, cap the percentage, and restrict the duration to 150 days. So this may not be the forever era of tariffs some fear.

Now here's the twist that had crypto folks doing a double take — markets didn't melt down. Bitcoin held steady around $68,000, Ether barely blinked, and the Total3 indicator (tracking the broader crypto market cap minus BTC and ETH) dipped less than 1%, sitting at roughly $713 billion.

Previous tariff announcements had sent markets into full panic mode, so this relative calm is being widely noticed across the industry.

Trump raised the global tariff rate from 10% to 15%, citing alternative legal authority after the Supreme Court limited his powers under IEEPA

Pro-crypto attorney Adam Cochran believes the new legal route also has limits — capped percentages, restricted countries, and a 150-day window

Despite the drama, Bitcoin held at ~$68K, Ether stayed firm, and the broader crypto market dropped less than 1%

One Economist Is Betting Big That Bitcoin Will Be Higher by December and Here Is Why

Timothy Peterson just delivered one. According to Peterson, 50% of the past 24 months have been positive for Bitcoin — and using that metric, he's calculated an 88% probability that Bitcoin will be trading higher than its current price by December 22, 2026. Bold claim. We respect it.

Peterson uses this month-counting method as a way to identify potential inflection points in Bitcoin's price cycle — essentially, if enough months are green over a two-year window, the odds historically favor continued upside. In 2025 specifically, Bitcoin posted gains in January, April, May, June, July, and September, while the remaining six months ended in the red.

Now, Bitcoin is currently sitting at around $68,173 — roughly 25% below where it started this year. So Peterson is essentially saying, "trust the process." The market, however, is a little more emotionally complicated right now.

Over on prediction platform Polymarket, traders are giving December a 17% chance of being Bitcoin's best month of 2026, just behind November at 18%. Historically, November has been Bitcoin's strongest-performing month since 2013, averaging a whopping 41.13% return, per CoinGlass.

Analyst opinions are all over the place. MN Trading Capital's Michael van de Poppe is feeling cautiously optimistic, expecting next week to be green for BTC. Meanwhile, veteran trader Peter Brandt is considerably less cheerful, speculating that Bitcoin's "real bottom" won't hit until October 2026. Yikes.

To top it all off, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index clocked an "Extreme Fear" score of 9 on Sunday — which is about as nervous as crypto Twitter gets without a full-blown meltdown.

Economist Timothy Peterson calculates an 88% chance Bitcoin trades higher by December 22, based on 50% of the past 24 months being positive

Bitcoin is currently ~$68,173, sitting about 25% below its January 2026 starting price

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit a score of 9 (Extreme Fear), though Santiment suggests declining social media hype may actually be a healthy reset

Someone Just Walked Off With 4.3 Million Dollars Worth of IoTeX Tokens and They Are Not Happy About It

Nothing ruins a weekend quite like waking up to find your token safe has been raided. That's the situation IoTeX, the decentralized identity protocol, found itself in after onchain analysts flagged some very suspicious wallet activity tied to one of its token safes.

IoTeX moved quickly to address the chaos, posting on X that its team was "fully engaged, working around the clock" to assess and contain the damage. The project also stated it had coordinated with major exchanges and security partners to trace and freeze funds linked to the suspected attacker. Bold move. Whether it's enough is another story.

Onchain investigator Specter believes the incident stemmed from a compromised private key, which was used to drain the wallet of several assets including USDC, USDT, IOTX, and wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). Total estimated losses? A painful $4.3 million. The stolen funds were reportedly swapped into Ether (ETH), with roughly 45 ETH bridged over to Bitcoin — a classic move to complicate any recovery efforts by hopping across chains.

IoTeX's native token IOTX took the news about as well as you'd expect, sliding more than 8% in 24 hours to around $0.0049.

Here's the sobering reality check though — according to previously reported data, nearly 80% of crypto projects hit by major hacks struggle to recover. And it's not always the financial hit that kills them. Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador has noted that mismanaged responses, delayed decisions, and poor communication during the critical early hours often do more damage than the exploit itself. Kerberus CEO Alex Katz echoed this, warning that reputational damage from serious exploits tends to linger long after the technical fixes are in place.

IoTeX says the situation is contained. The community, understandably, will be watching closely.

IoTeX confirmed suspicious activity on one of its token safes, believed to involve a compromised private key

Onchain analyst Specter estimates losses at roughly $4.3 million, with stolen funds reportedly converted to ETH and bridged to Bitcoin

IOTX dropped over 8% following the incident, and historically, ~80% of hacked crypto projects struggle to fully recover

Crypto Investors Are Done Crying About the Dip and Started Buying Everything in Sight

While the broader market is busy stress-eating and refreshing price charts, Robinhood's head of crypto Johann Kerbrat is seeing something a little more interesting on his end — investors are actually leaning in.

"They actually see it as an opportunity," Kerbrat told Cointelegraph, noting that Robinhood customers are treating the current downturn as a buy-the-dip moment. And not just on the usual suspects. According to Kerbrat, investors are going "pretty wide" — diversifying beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum into a much broader range of crypto assets. Apparently, when prices drop, curiosity spikes.

This behavioral shift could signal that retail investors are becoming increasingly comfortable with crypto's notorious volatility — treating market swings less like catastrophes and more like, well, sales.

On the institutional side, MidChains CEO Basil Al Askari noted that large asset managers are entering the space with big block trades, though they're sticking predominantly to top 20 assets for now. "Baby steps," as he put it — not quite diving into DeFi or smaller cap altcoins yet, but the door is opening.

Interestingly, Coinbase Asset Management president Anthony Bassili had previously noted that beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, there's still no clear consensus on what the third must-own crypto asset is. Solana is "maybe" on the radar, he speculated — but the community remains undecided.

Back at Robinhood, Kerbrat says holders aren't just sitting on their tokens either. Staking has gained "very strong traction" since launching in December, and more users are exploring DeFi despite market uncertainty.

All of this is happening while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index sits firmly in "Extreme Fear" territory and US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded five straight weeks of net outflows, shedding roughly $3.8 billion in that period. Yep — complicated times out here.

Robinhood's Johann Kerbrat says investors are buying the dip and diversifying well beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum into a wider crypto basket

Institutional players are entering with large block trades but staying cautious, focusing on top 20 assets — "baby steps" per MidChains CEO

Despite the optimism, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw ~$3.8 billion in outflows over five consecutive weeks, with Fear & Greed Index deep in "Extreme Fear"

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope today's edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe just a little less anxious about your portfolio. Whether you're buying the dip, staking your tokens, or just watching the tariff drama unfold from the sidelines with popcorn — just know that Mochi has always got you covered.

Stay curious, stay sharp, and for the love of Satoshi, keep your private keys safe. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

🍨📰 Catch you in the next issue! 📰🍨