Crypto Hustler

Everyone asks: “Which crypto should I buy?” But there’s another question that might matter just as much: Where is it going to sit after I buy it? That question feels a lot more real in India now. Last year, WazirX reported a cyberattack involving more than $230 million in digital assets. Then in July 2025, CoinDCX reported a security incident involving an internal operational account, with around $44 million in exposure. CoinDCX said customer funds were not affected and that the exposure was covered from its own reserves. Two very different incidents. But both point to the same bigger conversation: Buying crypto is one decision. Deciding where to keep it is another. That’s where self-custody becomes interesting. With self-custody, you don’t rely on an exchange to hold your private keys for you. You hold the keys. That’s one reason I’ve been looking into Tangem. Here’s what caught my attention: 1️⃣ Your private key stays inside the card Tangem uses a secure element chip certified at EAL6+. The private key is generated inside the chip and isn’t exposed outside it. 2️⃣ No seed phrase by default This is probably one of the more interesting parts for people who find self-custody intimidating. Instead of writing down a 12 or 24-word seed phrase, Tangem’s default setup uses multiple physical cards as backups. You can keep those cards in separate secure locations while still accessing the same wallet. A seed phrase is also available as an optional setup if you prefer it. 3️⃣ Security isn’t just based on trust Tangem says its firmware has been independently reviewed by security firms including Kudelski Security and Riscure. Its firmware is also non-updatable, and the Tangem mobile app is open source. 4️⃣ Your crypto isn’t sitting on an exchange And this is the bigger picture. With self-custody, you’re not depending on an exchange to hold your private keys or provide access to those particular funds. But there’s a trade-off. You become responsible. Your cards. Your access code. Your backups. Your security. There’s no setup where you can completely forget about security. That’s actually the part I think deserves more attention. Self-custody doesn’t remove risk. It changes where the responsibility sits. Before choosing any wallet, ask yourself: 🔹 How are my keys created? 🔹 Where do they stay? 🔹 Can they leave the device? 🔹 What happens if I lose access? 🔹 How does recovery work? For me, that’s what makes Tangem worth looking into. Not because everyone needs the same wallet. And definitely not because any wallet is completely risk-free. It’s simply a different approach to holding crypto, built around keeping control of your keys while making self-custody easier for people who don’t want to deal with traditional seed phrases. So if you’re holding crypto for the long term, maybe don’t just ask: “What am I buying?” Ask: “Where am I keeping it?” Because buying crypto can take a few clicks. Protecting it is a completely different conversation. #Tangem #SelfCustody #CryptoIndia

BTC, liquidity & the bigger picture One thing I’m still watching closely is the relationship between BTC and global M2 liquidity. The correlation has looked messy this cycle, but if history is any guide, liquidity should eventually start mattering again. The question is really when, not whether it matters. Meanwhile, the macro side is getting interesting 👀 ⚠️ Markets are now pricing in a much higher probability of a 25 bps Fed rate hike, with odds reportedly around 86%. A few weeks ago, traders were much more divided. The latest economic data seems to have pushed expectations heavily toward a hike. That said, if most of this is already priced in, I wouldn’t automatically expect some massive BTC move just because the decision comes out. And then there’s the part I find even more interesting: 🚨 $10K invested around the start of the US-Iran conflict would reportedly be worth: ETH → $13,056 BTC → $11,762 S&P 500 → $11,270 Gold → $8,200 Silver → $7,310 ETH leading that comparison is definitely worth noticing. 📊 At the same time, the total crypto market cap is still roughly $460B higher than last month. So despite all the macro noise, crypto hasn’t exactly been sitting still. And on the AI side, Sam Altman has also hinted at discussions between AI companies around dealing with safety risks. A lot happening at once. Personally, I’m less interested in reacting to every headline and more interested in watching liquidity, rates, and where actual capital is flowing. That’s usually where the bigger story shows up.

💳 You tap. The payment goes through. But what actually happened to your crypto? This is the part of crypto payments people rarely talk about. We’re used to crypto for trading, swapping, staking, or simply holding. But actually spending it? That’s a different story. So I started looking into Tangem Pay — not just to ask “Can I pay with crypto?” but: 👉 What happens behind that tap? Here’s the simple version 👇 1️⃣ Your crypto starts in your wallet Your main Tangem Wallet remains your self-custodial wallet. For spending, you fund Tangem Pay with USDC on Polygon. Your main holdings stay separate. 2️⃣ USDC becomes your spending balance You’re not sending BTC or ETH directly to a coffee shop. You load USDC into the Tangem Pay payment account, which is held through a smart contract you control. 3️⃣ Then comes the interesting part You tap your phone or use the virtual Visa card. Behind the scenes, the equivalent amount of USDC funds the transaction. Visa handles the payment rails. The merchant receives fiat, not crypto. And that’s the key. You’re using crypto on your side, while the merchant gets something that already works inside the traditional payment system. 4️⃣ The complexity stays in the background Networks. Settlement. Conversion. Payment processing. The user doesn’t need to understand all of it just to buy lunch. And honestly, that’s how crypto payments should feel. The technology can be complicated. The payment experience shouldn’t be. 5️⃣ The real breakthrough isn’t “paying with crypto” That part is easy to say. The bigger challenge is making crypto usable in the real world without forcing everyone to understand blockchain infrastructure. If I can hold USDC, tap my phone, and the merchant gets paid normally… That’s when crypto starts feeling less like a separate financial system and more like actual money you can use. 6️⃣ And this is where Tangem Pay gets interesting It’s trying to close the gap between: “I own crypto” → “I can actually spend it.” That gap has been sitting there for years. Maybe the next phase of crypto adoption isn’t another trading product. Maybe it’s simply making the tap feel normal. ⚡️ Crypto in the wallet. Fiat at the merchant. Blockchain underneath. And that raises the question I’m most interested in: When you tap to pay with crypto, how much of the crypto actually needs to be visible to you? Probably… almost none. That’s the point.

👾 3 SECURITY STORIES YOU SHOULDN’T IGNORE Crypto security is getting interesting for all the wrong reasons. Three very different stories are pointing toward the same bigger issue: How much do we really trust the systems, keys, and messages around us? Here’s the breakdown 👇 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔴 01 | $91B USDT SECURITY QUESTION Hacken’s latest assessment of USDT on TRON raised a serious concern. According to the report, compromising just two signing keys could potentially provide enough administrative control to: • Mint new USDT • Freeze addresses • Modify contract parameters And there’s more: ⚠️ Some operations reportedly execute without a time delay ⚠️ There is reportedly no on-chain issuance limit ⚠️ Some keys are shared across multiple networks Important: this does not mean USDT has been hacked. There are currently no signs of an actual breach. But Hacken gave the setup a 3.3/10 cybersecurity rating. 💡 The takeaway: A system can secure billions of dollars while still having surprisingly small points of failure. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🟣 02 | ETHEREUM VS. QUANTUM COMPUTING Ethereum is already thinking about a threat that doesn't fully exist yet. The Ethereum Foundation is targeting 2029 for making Ethereum resistant to potential quantum-computing threats. Why start now? Because powerful quantum computers could eventually challenge some of the cryptography used by today's systems. The threat isn't necessarily tomorrow. But upgrading infrastructure securing a global blockchain can't realistically happen overnight. 🔐 The takeaway: Good security isn't only about defending against today's attacks. It's also about preparing for tomorrow's technology. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🟠 03 | YOUR “NEIGHBOR” MAY BE THE SCAMMER This one doesn't require blockchain knowledge at all. Scammers are reportedly using a simple psychological trick: “Hey, I think there’s a suspicious person outside your apartment.” Then comes the “proof”: 📹 A video or attachment. Except there may be: ❌ No suspicious person ❌ No real video ❌ No legitimate warning The attachment itself may be the attack. The goal is simple: Create fear → create urgency → get the click. So if someone suddenly sends you a shocking “look what's happening outside” message... 🛑 Pause before opening anything. Curiosity is exactly what the scam is trying to exploit. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🧠 THE BIGGER PICTURE At first glance, these stories have nothing in common. USDT keys. Quantum-resistant Ethereum. A fake neighborhood warning. But underneath, they're all about trust. 🔑 Trusting a small number of keys. 🔐 Trusting cryptography to remain secure. 📱 Trusting a message to be what it claims to be. And that's the part worth remembering: Security doesn't always fail with a dramatic hack. Sometimes it starts with two keys. Sometimes with an old cryptographic assumption. And sometimes... with one innocent-looking click. 👾 Stay curious. Stay difficult to trick. 🔐 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📌 Crypto • Security • On-chain intelligence No unnecessary noise. Just the things worth knowing.

Crypto self-custody shouldn’t feel like a second job. One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is the difference between owning crypto and actually being able to use it without jumping through hoops. Self-custody gives you control, but the UX can still be unnecessarily complicated. That’s where @Tangem has been doing some interesting things. With Swap, you can exchange assets right inside the wallet instead of sending funds to an exchange first. You can compare the available options, pick what works, and approve the transaction with your Tangem card. And your private keys stay on the card. There’s also Send via Swap, which is a pretty neat touch. You can send someone the asset they want without having to manually swap first and then make another transaction. These sound like small improvements, but they remove a lot of friction. Tangem is also expanding support for Robinhood Chain and Igra Network, which means more networks and assets can be accessed from the same wallet. No single feature is revolutionary on its own. But when these little improvements add up, self-custody starts feeling much more practical. Keep the keys. Keep the control. Just make using crypto easier. That’s the direction wallets should be heading.

Tangem 6.2 is here, and it’s all about putting your crypto to work. ⚡️ This update makes Tangem more than a place to store your assets. • 0% onramp fees for Tangem Plus users • BCH, LTC & DASH can now be swapped through DEXs • Support added for Robinhood Chain and Igra Labs Network • Tangem Pay + supported contactless ATM access make spending and accessing crypto easier The bigger picture? You can do more without constantly moving between different platforms. Fewer steps. Less friction. More utility from the same self-custody wallet. Crypto shouldn't just sit in your wallet. It should be usable. That’s the direction Tangem 6.2 is taking. 🔐

Tangem is becoming much more than just a wallet. A few recent updates show where the ecosystem is heading: → Cash App Pay is now available through MoonPay for eligible US users buying digital assets on Tangem. → Tangem Pay is going beyond payments, adding Visa travel benefits such as lounge access, insurance, and concierge services. → Igra Labs is now live on Tangem, giving users WalletConnect access to its ecosystem. → The Tangem app also offers more control over notifications, including the option to turn off “Offers & Updates.” Different updates, but the same bigger picture: More ways to buy. More ways to use. More ecosystems to connect with. More control in your hands. Tangem is steadily expanding from a hardware wallet into a broader gateway for the digital asset ecosystem. One wallet, an increasingly bigger ecosystem. Tangem is building beyond the wallet.

From Owning Crypto to Actually Using It For years, the focus has been on holding crypto safely. Secure it. Move it. Keep it self-custodied. But the bigger question is: what happens when we start using it in everyday life? That’s the direction Tangem is exploring with Tangem Pay, bringing self-custodied assets closer to real-world spending, including USDC in supported regions. The goal isn’t to change everything overnight. It’s to make the gap between owning crypto and using crypto a little smaller. Because self-custody shouldn’t end with storage. Hold it. Manage it. Spend it. That’s where crypto starts becoming useful beyond the wallet.

The future of crypto might be simpler than we imagined. No complicated setup. No unnecessary hardware. Just a more natural way to own and protect your assets. With @Tangem, self-custody fits into what you already carry every day: 💍 Ring 💳 Card 📱 Phone Simple. Secure. Always with you. Tangem. Self-custody, made simple. #Tangem #SelfCustody #Web3 #Crypto

Crypto Highlights 🔥 🔥 CZ: “I support tokenization on all blockchains.” Yes, fragmented liquidity is a problem. But CZ believes having multiple players building at the same time is the fastest way to grow tokenization. ₿ Bitcoin: Can BTC break $80K today? The rally is getting tested. Are buyers strong enough for another push, or are we running out of steam? 👀 Attention is becoming an asset Trendle is building perpetual markets around narrative momentum, tracking activity across X, Reddit and YouTube. The Monad-based platform has already crossed $3.6M in closed-beta volume. 🇺🇸 Ray Dalio: The US could face a debt crisis within three years if the deficit isn't brought down. His view? Rising debt, weaker Treasury demand and money printing could make gold and Bitcoin more attractive than bonds. 🔥 This week in crypto: Tokenization is expanding, attention is becoming tradable, and macro concerns are keeping Bitcoin in focus. What are you watching most closely?