Meme coin Slot In January 2025, a futuristic $TRUMP coin is being launched on the Solana blockchain, which has generated considerable interest in the UK and beyond, partly due to its connection with controversial former US President Donald Trump and a viral meme-based call to action of FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.

The market cap of $TRUMP exceeds 2.5 billion pounds, with a price of approximately 7.18 pounds, rendering it a speculative asset due to its social media attention and alignment with the current political zeitgeist.

To participate in the madness of this investment, UK investors must enter regulated exchanges, secure their wallets, and comply with anti-money laundering rules. The article serves as a guide, explaining how to purchase $TRUMP in the UK and highlighting one of the risks associated with regulatory oversight of meme coins.

How to Buy $TRUMP in the United Kingdom

Select the Best Bitcoin Exchange

To buy $TRUMP, you first need to select a reliable, FCA-registered cryptocurrency exchange, the activity of which will not cause any problems with the legal jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. Such platforms as eToro, Coinbase, Kraken, and CoinJar are the most common and popular amongst the UK clients as they are perceived as safe and convenient to use.

eToro operates as a network under the Financial Conduct Authority, offering a trading pair that includes GBP and charging a 1 percent fee on crypto transactions. Coinbase can help you monitor the price in real-time and accepts GBP deposits through Faster Payments, whereas Kraken makes it possible to purchase up to £10 and use PayPal and card payments.

CoinJar is another platform regulated by the FCA that has been described as having low fees and the facilitation of GBP deposits. You should always ensure that the exchange carries the listing of $TRUMP because the availability will differ. Examples of which are eToro and Kraken, confirming the eTRUMP trading pairs, and some, like Gemini, may not support it.

If $TRUMP fails to trade on centralized exchanges, consider decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Meteora or Raydium. You’ll also want a Solana-compatible wallet, such as Phantom. Nonetheless, DEX is more difficult and riskier due to the lack of regulation; therefore, new entrants should focus on centralized platforms for simplicity and security.

Registration and Verification

After picking the exchange, the next step is to register through email and an AZA password. According to the regulations in the UK, anti-money laundering regulations require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. You will be asked to produce a government issued identity document, preferably driving licence or passport and a document of settling place like recent utility bill or bank statement.

Such platforms as CoinJar impose a 24-hour cooling-off period and a compliance quiz on residents of the UK, which reflects the requirements of the FCA. The process of verification typically lasts between a few hours and a few days, depending on the processing speed of the platform. It is critical to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect your account against an attack.

Put Money into Your Account

Once confirmed, go to your exchange account to input/deposit GBP, where you can use available payment options such as credit cards, wire transfer, etc. The majority of platforms registered with the FCA, including Coinbase and Kraken, offer bank transfers (using Faster Payments) at no or minimal costs, with any significant delays occurring within hours.

Quicker, but can be up to 3-percentage-point expensive, deposits include debit or credit card deposits that are present in eToro and CoinJar. Other services accept PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, especially at lower amounts (such as Kraken), but some need expanded KYC at larger quantities. Make sure to enter a deposit reference code adopted by the exchange to associate your payment properly so that you do not have any delays. Please note that conversion charges may apply if the platform uses GBP to USD or USDT for trading pairs involving $TRUMP.

Purchase $TRUMP

On the trading platform, go to the trading section and type in $TRUMP, which is usually found under TRUMP/GBP, TRUMP/USD, or TRUMP/USDT, among others. You could also choose to use a market order to purchase the $TRUMP now at the current price, which at the time of 19 July 2025, was priced at 7.18 pounds, on Coinbase.

Otherwise, a limit order enables you to set a particular price that can be utilized to purchase $TRUMP as soon as the market attains your set target, which comes in handy when controlling expenses in times of volatility.

Now, add the amount you want to exchange, e.g., 100 on eToro will get you about $ 13.93 at the current GBP rates. Compare the transaction charges across platforms and confirm your purchase. Such platforms as Revolut provide 0% fees to users with premium plans, which makes such systems cost-efficient for active traders.

In your case, you will have a Solana wallet, such as Phantom, topped up with SOL or USDC, in case you are using a DEX, such as Meteora. Set up the wallet and connect it to the DEX. Find $TRUMP and make an exchange. Don’t forget to set slippage to reflect a varying price. This approach is more technical and dangerous, making it advisable only for users who are already familiar with the process.

With a Sure Fire Way to Save $TRUMP

Once you have bought the $TRUMP token, determine where to keep your tokens. Leaving them on the exchange’s wallet is more convenient during active trading, but it also poses a greater risk of hacking attempts or exchange failures. To enhance security, consider moving your $TRUMP to an individual wallet. Solana implements tokens that can be stored in hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano S or Nano X; you can opt to have in-person custody of your tokens and limit your exposure to cyberattacks.

In case of a software wallet such as Phantom, this also implies that you should generate a seed phrase and store it somewhere safe, without sharing it. The FCA cautions that any losses on cryptoassets are not compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and secure storage is imperative should you wish to have your money safe.

Track and Manage Your Investment

Track the price of $TRUMP by using such services as Coinbase or Revolut, where one can use live charts and gain both current data and longer-term trends. The cost of the coin has been very volatile, with a hit of around 59.30 ($74) in January 2025 and a dip of 7.18 in December 2024, according to CoinGecko.

It might be worth creating repeat purchases on exchanges such as Kraken to dollar-cost average, which should help in reducing the effect of volatility by averaging purchases across time. Follow the news on the market, since the news such as £79 million ($100 million) purchase of $TRUMP by Justin Sun in July 2025 or World Liberty Financial alignment of Eric Trump can affect the tendency to rise or fall.

Regulatory Risk: Potential for Market Manipulation

One regulatory risk associated with purchasing $TRUMP in the UK is the potential for a pump-and-dump scheme. Meme coins are vulnerable to manipulation, as highlighted by the FCA, because they rely on social media craze and guesswork trading. A coin like the TRUMP is an example.

Of the 80 percent of the $TRUMP coin supply controlled by Trump-related organisations, such as CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, the Reuters publication addressed issues of centralisation of power and insider trading. This high concentration may enable large buyers to artificially increase the price as a takeoff, causing retail investors to suffer dramatic drops. This volatility is evident in the 10,000 percent spike and subsequent 50 percent crash the coin experienced just days after its release in January 2025.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) of the FCA forbids any manipulative activities, and the penalties may include a fine or prohibited trading. Additionally, the SEC’s suspicion of Trump, including its demand for an explanation of Justin Sun’s presence, may lead to closer regulation by the FCA, potentially restricting the token’s use on UK exchanges. The risks highlighted in CoinJar’s disclosure caution investors against potential fraud through token contract addresses and advise caution against price surges driven by speculation.

Staying Safe and Informed

Suppose you want to purchase $TRUMP safely. In that case, you should firstly use platforms registered by the FCA, secure again, the exact connection of the token, and finally, do not invest large amounts that you can not lose, since unlike the United Kingdom, cryptocurrencies are unregulated and very risky.

Learn more about the tokenomics of Research $TRUMP: 200 million tokens of the total supply are 1 billion, and follow the news on X or CoinGecko to learn of any changes in whale behavior or regulatory changes. The Capital Gains Tax might be charged on profits, and hence it is essential to consult a financial advisor to know what to do.

To sum up, buying $TRUMP in the United Kingdom is available on eToro, Coinbase, Kraken, or CoinJar. The process involves creating and verifying an account, depositing funds, and storing them securely. Market manipulation risk under regulation, however, must be considered, with the volatility and highly concentrated ownership of $TRUMP posing a danger. UK investors can be more confident in the $TRUMP meme coin when they keep abreast of trends and transact on the secure and regulated platforms.

The native cryptocurrency of Ripple, XRP, is a digital currency that facilitates low-cost, instant cross-border payments, making it one of the most sought-after assets among UK investors looking to utilize blockchain technology efficiently. XRP is one of the leading cryptocurrencies with a market capitalisation of more than 183 billion Pounds sterling and a price of about 2.32 by July 2025.

Nevertheless, when purchasing XRP in the UK, one must consider regulatory policies, exchange usage costs, and safety. This article describes how to acquire XRP safely and presents one of the key regulatory risks of the purchase, which should be followed to make sure that the acquisition of the XRP will comply with the laws of the UK and help to optimise your investment strategy.

How to buy XRP in the UK: Step-by-step

1. Find a Reliable Exchanger of Cryptocurrencies

To purchase XRP, choose a reputable, FCA-registered exchange to ensure compliance with UK regulations. CoinJar: Enables fast payments and allows for trading crypto XRP at low monitoring and trading fees, licensed by the FCA.

• Coinbase: offers an easy user interface and accepts GBP deposits via bank transfer or debit card.
• eToro: allows trading multiple assets, and crypto trades are associated with a fee of 1%, making it an excellent option for beginners.
• Kraken: Has a minimum purchase level of a pound, and its charges are comparable; it uses PayPal and card payments.
• CoinJar: Regulated by the FCA, it can transfer money promptly, with a reasonable fee for trading XRP.
• Revolut: An inclusive application to purchase XRP using British Pounds (GBP) with zero fees on premium subscriptions. Compare the fees charged, two-factor authentication (2FA) security, and user reviews to identify the best platform to use.

2. Sign in and Hello to Your Account

Sign up for your desired exchange using your email, create a password, and verify through Know Your Customer (KYC). Typically, this involves:

• A government identity (e.g., a passport or driving licence).
• Duplicates of place of residence as denoted (e.g., utility bill and bank statement).As an illustration, CoinJar sets a 24-hour cooling-off period and a quiz for those in the UK to adhere to the rulings made by the FCA. Verification requires that the rules on anti-money laundering (AML) are met and can take a couple of hours to days, depending on the platform.

3. Deposit Funds

Bank Transfer is free, but quite pricey per transaction via Faster Payments (CoinJar, Kraken, amongst others).

• D/C Card: The most convenient, which may incur more costs (1% on eToro, 3DS-supported cards on Kraken).

• Debit/Credit Card: Already exists on specific sites (e.g., Kraken / Changelly), but other sites may not support it / KYC is required with larger transactions on some sites (in some cases). E.g.. Coinbase accepts GBP bank transfers, but you will need a reference code so that it can track your account.

• Paypal/ Apple Pay/ Google Pay: Available on some platforms (e.g., Kraken, Changelly), but not potentially available / KYC needed on bigger transactions (in some cases). For example, Coinbase handles GBP bank transfers and provides a reference code to identify your account. Be aware of conversion fees when converting GBP to EUR or GBP to USD.

4. Buy XRP

Go to the trading platform, select GBP/XRP, and provide the type of purchase to be made:

• Market Order: Immediately purchase XRP at the best possible cost right now (2.32, at the time of writing, July 2025).
• Limit Order: Enter the price at which you want to buy XRP. This is best suited for cost averaging. Enter the dollar amount you wish to spend (attempting this using Kraken at current rates would be 42.55 XRP to exchange 100 pounds). Check the costs of the review and close the deal. Apps such as Uphold can be purchased at a low rate starting at only 5 pounds, which caters to small investments.

5. Keep Your XRP Safe

Remember that you should always keep your XRP in a safe wallet:

• Exchange Wallet: It is convenient to trade, but it is less secure as they can be hacked. Cold storage is the case in exchanges such as CoinJar and Kraken.
• Hardware Wallet: Holding XRP in devices that support these coins, such as Ledger Nano S or Nano X, with offline storage, is the right choice to make over a long-term period. Moving XRP to a personal wallet minimizes the risks associated with exchange functionality, which is highly important given the Financial Conduct Authority’s warning that cryptoassets lack protection by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

6. Observation and Control of Your Investment

Monitor the price of XRP through live charts on Coinbase or Revolut and consider setting up recurring purchases (e.g., auto-trade on Kraken), as this will effectively average your costs over the long term. Note that the market is volatile; the price of XRP has been below its peak of 2.87 pounds to 2.32 pounds in the recent past.

SEC Suits and Deadly Regulatory Risk: Regulatory Risk

Being in the legal grey area, XRP is currently promoted as a possible security due to the lawsuit Ripple Labs is under with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a suit launched in 2020, the SEC has claimed that XRP is a security that was not registered per the law, and that was only partly solved in August 2024, when Ripple was made to pay a penalty of 195 million pounds (225 million U.S. dollars), a significantly lower amount compared to that demanded by the SEC (1.5 billion pounds).

Volatility may be rekindled in January 2025 when an appeal brief is expected, as whatever happens could affect the whole world’s understanding of the regulatory position of XRP. The FCA in the UK values XRP as an unregulated token, but the use of the same in a financial transaction exposes it to the AML and counter-terrorism financing requirements.

In April 2021, the SEC appeal reclassified XRP as a security, which could introduce stringent reporting requirements and delisting risks for UK exchanges, potentially impacting liquidity and accessibility. Additionally, inspecting an instance with CoinJar reveals that the FCA’s strict KYC and cooling-off regulations are designed to protect consumers.

However, these regulations can also cause delays in product acquisition, potentially leading to missed opportunities for time-sensitive investments. Investors must stay sensitive and updated on all regulatory developments to avoid the consequences of such breaches.

Safe XRP Investment Tips

Investigate: Knowledge of XRP and how it can be used to facilitate cross-border payments and its contribution to RippleNet.

• Transaction & Withdrawal Fees: Which platforms have the best fees (e.g., on eToro, the transaction and withdrawal fee is 1 percent, on Revolut, it is zero, but only in the Premium version).
• Lock Down Account: By enabling 2FA and strong passwords, you will lock down your exchange account.
• Stay Updated: monitor the SEC case and FCA statement regarding Ripple, as changes in XRP supply and value regulation are possible.

Conclusion

With Coinbase, eToro, Kraken, CoinJar, or Revolut (the last of which is registered with the FCA), it is easy to buy XRP in the UK. You can invest with confidence by following these steps: selecting the platform, verifying your account, depositing GBP, obtaining XRP, and safely keeping the tokens.

Nonetheless, the risks associated with the ongoing SEC litigation and FCA involvement, which are not yet fully resolved when it comes to XRP, should be considered. The price of XRP remains high at 2.32 pounds, and due to its use case in the international payment system, it is an appealing investment, but do not invest more than you can afford to lose because all cryptocurrencies are risky and are not regulated in the UK.

On 16 May 2025, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a massive transfer of 50 million XRP with an approximate value of 95 million pounds (120.8 million USD), between two still unknown wallets of the whales, according to the blockchain tracker, Whale Alert. This off-exchange trade where money transferred to a wallet where it had lain dormant since late 2024 has raised a lot of speculation on what it was and what effect it may have had on the price of XRP, which has recently stabilised around the 1.60p or more (currently selling at $2.02) mark.

The presence of this kind of whale activity comes as increased regulatory attention towards cryptocurrencies in the UK is combined with similar efforts globally. The whale activity here highlights the key regulatory risk associated with XRP, which is the risk of associated market manipulation via larger, potentially less transparent transactions. In this paper, the author investigates the regulatory issues, the market conditions, and the high-level concerns of such transfers of whales.

What Happened to the 120 MILLION XRP Transfer?

Whale Alert states that the transfer of 50 million XRP, which involved one transaction, took place on 16 May 2025, as the funds were transferred between two anonymous wallets that had not been active for months before. This was after a similar move of the same amount of money was moved via XRP between other whale addresses yesterday, in an indication of great off-exchange movement.

In sharp contrast to exchange to transaction, which can frequently foretell an eventual sell-off, the movement of these wallets presages a tactical reposition, potentially in pursuit of security of personal wealth, institutional rebalancing, or the precursor to a market move of an immense scale. Nonetheless, even amid such volumes of transactions, the price of XRP remained constant at close to its current rate of 1.92 pounds sterling ($2.40), and only 2.92% down over 24 hours, according to the information available on CoinMarketCap.

The speculation has been fuelled by the fact that the wallets behind them are anonymous and do not have an immediate impact on pricing. Other analysts, as written in TradingView, believe this may be a tactic to create hype and add bullish sentiment to the market. In contrast, some believe that it is an ordinary exercise by the high-net-worth individuals or institutions in portfolio management. Nevertheless, the prohibitive aspect of such transfers is that they are shrouded in mystery, and this poses a major regulatory issue, especially when it comes to transparency in the marketplace.

Reg Risk: The Market Manipulation Risk

The main regulatory risk of large whale transfers of XRP is the possibility of market manipulation. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has keen eyes on cryptoassets to see the manipulative activity occurring contrary to its regulations issued under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), including instances of pump-and-dump schemes or wash trading. The intentions of big players can be challenging to reveal by regulators, as major purchases and sales by anonymous wallets may hide that big players intend to manipulate the price or the amount of XRP on the market artificially.

XRP is classified as an unregulated token under the Financial Services and Markets Act (known in short as the cryptoasset framework) by the FCA in 2023. However, its usage in a financial transaction will fall within the regime of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations.

The anonymity of whale wallets also hinders compliance with such regulations, as the authority requires transparency in suspicious activities to prevent illegal activities. Should regulators believe that these transfers are part of collusion with other traders in an attempt to either falsely inflate trading volume or artificially create an upward momentum in trading, then issuers like Ripple Labs and those who deal with it may find themselves under investigation, fined, or prevented.

There are also similar issues in other countries. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been locked in a court challenge against Ripple Labs, and one of the most crucial appeal briefs is expected on 15 January 2025. SEC has already claimed that it was possible to manipulate the market by using significant XRP transactions, which has raised the prospect of it being an unregistered securities offering. Off-exchange transfers, the latter being worth 120 million dollars, could be a subject to even more investigation, with the US currently insistent on cracking down on crypto regulations.

Wider Market Connotations

The whale transaction of XRP coincides with an optimistic sentiment in the market due to the 2024 court case victory of Ripple against the SEC, and the speculation of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. Analyst Ali Martinez has identified a bullish flag pattern and believes a potential rise to 3.20 bucks (3.4 pounds) is likely if XRP holds above 2.72 pounds (3.4 dollars).

The fact that the transfer occurs when XRP is in the process of consolidation above the price of 1.60 pounds ($2) has revealed some theories that XRP whales are preparing to push the price to a breakout above 2.40 pounds ($3) or even more. Nevertheless, the volatility also comes with the movement of large whales. Although the transfer on 16 May did not affect XRP price instantly, the historical data indicates that whale activity may go first and can be followed by considerable price fluctuations.

An example is that on 9 May 2025, a transfer of XRP worth 69.5 million (695 million) to Coinbase instigated a sell-side panic, yet the prices continued to show sustained bullish momentum. The fact that the last transfer was off-exchange suggests it may not be due to selling pressure, making it unlikely to have a significant effect. However, if the recipient wallet transfers to an exchange in the future, it could potentially drive the price back down.

Considerations of the Consumer and Investors

To UK investors, regulatory risks associated with XRP whale transfers serve to remind them to be cautious. FCA has also cautioned against crypto investment and urged people to understand that such investment is precarious and is not under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The uncertainty that large and anonymous transactions can create could negatively impact markets, and therefore, it is pivotal that an investor carries out comprehensive research before acting on mere hype. The optimism of the XRP community that has been escalated on X reflects how critical verifying on-chain information and tracking the activity involving whales is.

The Path Ahead: Oversight and Disclosure

Ripple Labs and all the crypto platforms should make large transactions more transparent to reduce the manipulation risks of regulation. The wallet activity is traceable using blockchain analytics infrastructure such as Whale Alert and Bithomp, although some authorities may demand the disclosure of large transfers as a binding requirement.

The UK is in the process of implementing a comprehensive crypto financial setting, to be developed in the next 5 years, which may involve increased regulations on whale-related transactions to ensure their integrity in that market. Internationally, regulating crypto through harmonisation would eliminate the risks associated with whale activity across different jurisdictions.

Consistent standards have been promoted by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) regarding market manipulation and AML concerns, and this has the potential to stabilise such assets as XRP. In the meantime, investors are advised to be cautious, as reasons to remain optimistic regarding XRP include both solid fundamentals, e.g., the possibility of using it in cross-border payment transactions through the XRP Ledger, and technical reasons, i.e., potential growth progress over a long time horizon.

Conclusion

The recent transfer of $120 million of XRP by the whale on 16 May 2025 highlights the risk of regulatory struggles against market control due to the anonymity and magnitude of such operations. Although the price of XRP has managed to hold up, the whale activity is highly questionable to regulators across the UK and the rest of the world.

With speculative investments in ETFs and changing policies, investors should be aware of the crypto market challenges and be cautious about the attractive, but risky, properties of 1) XRP and 2) the fear of investors losing everything. The combination of whale action, regulatory scrutiny, and the market mood will determine the direction that XRP takes in the next couple of months.

The case of the popular pet and social media personality, the Squirrel Peanut, who had millions of fans on Instagram, with more than 700,000 followers, has caused a furor and resulted in many discussions after the New York authorities impounded and euthanized the animal on October 30, 2024. The squirrel, along with a raccoon named Fred, was stolen from the house of Mark Longo in Pine City, New York, following complaints about illegal possession of wildlife.

The event that led to the subsequent euthanasia of the two wild animals to determine whether they had rabies or not brings out some serious regulatory risks behind having wild animals as pets, and this has sparked off demands for change in the way such incidents are tackled. In this article, the author explores the control risks, people’s response, and the further consequences of this tear-jerking incident.

Birth of Peanut the Squirrel

Peanut’s voyage started 7 years back in New York City when a content creator, Mark Longo, found the orphaned squirrel after the same had been hit by a car, killing her mother. Peanut was unable to live in the wild when a bad injury took place to his tail, and Peanut became a permanent roommate of Longo at his home, and with time, his wife Daniela and their cat, Chloe, joined him.

Social media posts of the couple, in which they can see Peanut eating waffles, jumping through hoops, and wearing small hats, made this squirrel a worldwide sensation. They also advertised PNuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit in Pine City, which has been featured on TV because of the social media fame of Peanut, to rescue neglected animals.

The sanctuary, established in 2023, is home to hundreds of animals, including horses, pigs, and alpacas, which incur a monthly maintenance cost of 15-20,000 pounds, with half of that revenue attributed to Peanut’s online profile. Longo had even been in the process of getting an educational animal certificate for Peanut that would have legally regularised his status. Still, this work was left unfinished due to the authorities’ abrupt action.

Regulatory Risks: Wildlife Laws and Public Health

The main regulatory risk associated with the Peanut case is that keeping wild animals as pets, especially without a license, may be strictly prohibited. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in New York has laws that compel every holder of wild animals in their possession to have a licence to keep them on the grounds of risks due to disease infections like rabies.

After several anonymous tips against Peanut and Fred, the DEC, led by at least six officers, broke into Longo’s house on 30 October 2024 and spent five hours searching the premises. According to the agency, the seizure was because living in the proximity of wild animals is a “potential human exposure to rabies,” especially when, according to the agency, Peanut allegedly bit an officer amid the investigation.

Peanut and Fred were both put down to test for rabies since the process needs brain cell samples, according to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By 12 November 2024, Chemung County Executive Chris Moss made clear that the two animals were rabies-free, prompting further criticism of the DEC’s actions.

Longo, who said he did not see the suspected bite, termed the raid as heavy-handed, and he claimed that an alternative might have been quarantine instead of immediate euthanasia. The absence of transparency and due process in the treatment of the case by the DEC is a significant indication of one of the principal regulatory risks, as the balance between the concerns of animal welfare and the safety of people lacks clear guidelines.

Public Outcry and Political Backlash

The euthanasia of Peanut and Fred sparked a criticism firestorm as over 28,000 signatures were gathered on a Change.org petition, and a GoFundMe was raising approaching C 6,000 to file legal action to continue the legacy of Peanut rather than have her killed. Other figures in the public domain, such as Congressman Nick Langworthy and Vice President-elect JD Vance, criticized the DEC, citing it as improperly prioritizing resources.

Langworthy claimed that the agency has to concentrate on vital matters, such as flood mitigation, as opposed to capturing pet squirrels. The uproar even attracted former president Donald Trump, who, according to Vance, was fired up with the death of Peanut and politicized the occurrence, adding to his 2024 presidential run in the US.

Social media increased the outrage, since users such as @LadyFreethinker demanded that protections be granted to the sanctuary animals and that the euthanasia was labeled as madness by users @archwaydefense. The Police Benevolent Association of New York State reported that bomb threats were placed at DEC facilities, which indicated the height of the population’s opinion. The emotional Instagram posts made by Longo, including a tearful video, stated that Peanut had been the best thing that had happened to him and his wife, further uniting support.

Legislative Response: Peanut’s Law

Responding to this, New York State Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz introduced a bill dubbed the Peanuts Law (Jake Blumencranz 2024), which was offered on 4 November 2024 to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.

The bill would propose a 72-hour waiting period to euthanize sanctuary animals, and this would create a DEC review board that would allow the process of emergency appeals. The present legislative initiative outlines the more general issue of regulatory risk, such as obsolete and rigid wildlife legislation that overlooks animals within the sanctuary or animals that are unsuitable to enter the wild.

Animal Sanctuaries and Crypto Ventures Implications

The Peanut saga is also on a collision course with the widely fluctuating cryptocurrency. In the aftermath of his death, unofficial coin memes pegged as $PNUT and $FRED meme rose to a market cap of 80 million pounds, preying on the tragedy and not even helping Longo and his sanctuary.

On 23 July 2025, X, @Kick_Cryptowski posted that there was the introduction of real tokens released through a collaboration with Longo in favor of P, which was published on X, and this shows why there should be some laws to govern the use of crypto, since there will be profiteering in such a situation.

Moving Forward

The euthanasia of the squirrel named Peanut highlights the conflict between wildlife protection policies and the emotional bonds people form with animals they rescue. Licensing is again a big issue for both the sanctuaries and the pet industries, with failure to abide by this resulting in disastrous consequences.

The citizens are faced with a conundrum, as Longo explained to NewsNation: the town has money to kill a squirrel and a raccoon, but it cannot fix the big bridges anywhere near where I am standing. The increased popularity of his appeal to justice shows that people and politicians want more humane and transparent administrative forms of government.

To sum it up, the compliance issue of euthanasia of Peanut the Squirrel (under harsh wildlife regulations, due process, and health-related regulations) has been the genesis of forces to reform. Peanut can be seen in the PNuts Freedom Farm, which carries his legacy, and also in suggested reforms such as Peanuts Law, which reminds us that compassion and regulation should go hand in hand so that the criminal can be labeled a criminal and the good ones remain so.

It is a well-known story of an alleged cryptocurrency meme coin $HAWK developed by a teen girl, called the Hawk Tuah girl, Haliey Welch, in the intensive world of cryptocurrency, innovation, and speculation.

A more recent launch, the $HAWK token, named in honor of Welch going viral on the internet in December 2024, reached a market capitalisation of close to 400 million within the blink of an eye, only to crash to half of that in the next few hours making investors shake their heads and raised allegations of a fraudulent venture. This article discusses the regulatory risks associated with the $HAWK cryptocurrency and their implications for meme coins in the UK and beyond.

Shocked and Humiliated By The U.S.A

Haliey Welch, a native of Belfast, Tennessee, became an overnight sensation in June 2024 after appearing in a viral TikTok video where she used the line “hawk tuah” to make a humorous reference to a sexual act. Her Southern accent and eccentric nature have catapulted her to internet fame, which has seen the creation of a podcast, merchandise, and now, the $HAWK meme coin.

Presented as an opportunity to rally her group of fans together and counter the presence of impersonators selling her name as NFTs, the Solana-powered project received a lot of publicity indeed, with Welch and her associates, including overHere Ltd. and the Tuah The Moon Foundation, promoting the token.

But it was not to be; the coin would top shortly after its launch. In just a few hours of its launch, the value of $HAWK plummeted to a low of under 20 million pounds, INSTEAD of the initial 400 million pound valuation, and investors suffered losses even before the launch, exceeding 120,000 pounds.

Critics such as crypto sleuth Stephen Findeisen (Coffeezilla) said the Welch team had been involved in a so-called pump-and-dump operation where insiders artificially inflate a coin to increase its price, then dump their tokens, leaving retail investors with worthless tokens. Blockchain data revealed that one wallet acquired 17.5 percent of the token supply, then dumped them at a profit of a million pounds within 90 minutes. Furthermore, 96 percent of the supply was controlled by a group of related wallets, indicating potential manipulation.

Regulation Risks in Focus

The saga of the $HAWK highlights a considerable regulatory risk with cryptocurrencies and meme coins, namely, not being registered as a security. Cryptoassets are regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with tokens that can be classified as securities required to operate under the high regulatory standards put in place by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

In December 2024, a lawsuit was filed against OverHere Ltd., its founder and CEO, Clinton So, the Tuah The Moon Foundation, and influencer Alex Larson Schultz in the U.S. District Court in New York, alleging that they had promoted and sold $HAWK as an illegal security. The plaintiffs claimed that, according to the Howey Test, which defined the basics as investment in some common enterprise in anticipation of getting fruits of other people’s efforts, the token qualified as subject to the securities laws.

It is a significant risk to meme coins, which can be hype-driven and may not have underlying worth. The FCA has cautioned that those cryptoassets with little or no obvious utility or backing, as most meme coins have, are very risky to consumers because of their volatility and risk of fraud. The case involving $HAWK is similar to previous events, as in 2021, Kim Kardashian was fined the equivalent of $1 million because she sponsored EthereumMax, failing to disclose that she had an economic interest in it, and reflecting growing UK and US regulatory interest in celebrity crypto endorsements.

Interests of AML and Consumer Safeguarding

The second regulatory threat associated with $HAWK is the lack of adequate consumer protection. Many were left with substantial losses after Welch’s subsequent devastation of the coin, which led newcomers to crypto investments to lose their money, having been lured in by Welch’s pursuit of fame. FCA has reiterated that investors taking up crypto investments are not under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so they are at risk.

Also, anti-money laundering (AML) concerns are raised by the fact that blockchain transactions are pseudonymous. The high level of wallet balancing and pattern of high-speed sell-off in the $HAWK token implies possible insider trading that should interest the FCA investigations within the AML and market abuse compliance.

Jurisdictional Challenges

Regulatory risks are further compounded by the fact that cryptocurrencies are global. Whereas the UK is working on an actual crypto to be put by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the HAWK token was already an addition to Solana, and its creators are based in the US and the Cayman Islands already.

This aspect of jurisdiction fragmentation makes enforcement more problematic, as regulators such as the FCA and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might not approach the subject in the same manner. The fact that she was not even mentioned in the lawsuit against the people who made up $HAWK, even though she was a part of it, can mean that she was not one of its masterminds. Still, her participation makes intermediaries and the idea of accountability in cross-border crypto projects questionable.

Investor and Regulators’ Lessons

The issue of the $Hawk underlines the necessity to have more transparent regulation and vigilance on the side of investors. Welch has even apologized, saying in an interview with Vanity Fair in May 2025, “I hate that it is even a thing. I was especially disappointed when it worked out the way it had.” She mentioned having some knowledge of crypto and is part of a complaint seeking damages of 120,000 pounds against her due to investor losses. As far as meme coins are concerned, the FCA and SEC will likely tighten restrictions, potentially introducing compulsory disclosures, lock-up periods for insider tokens, and more rigorous AML/KYC requirements.

The investor can learn a lesson from the crash of the $HAWK. Meme coins are incredibly risky due to the hype and lack of practical use. Vigorous research and skepticism about the use of celebrities are essential to avoid being tricked by a pump-and-dump scheme or rug-pull. The balance between innovation and regulation will be crucial to ensuring consumer protection and trustworthiness of crypto, and the UK is going to become one of the crypto hubs.

To sum up, regulatory risks facing the Hawk Tuah Girl cryptocurrency, including unregistered securities, omissions, consumer protection, and jurisdictional complexities, characterize the issues in the meme coin environment more broadly. The saga of the $HAWK should leave a lesson: even in the turbulent crypto industry, popularity and buzz can not replace openness and regulation.

The cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, which is effective in terms of holding a steady value, typically by entrenching in an asset such as a fiat currency or a commodity, has gained a massive following as they offer a wide variety of use cases in areas of decentralised finance (DeFi), international payments, as well as trading.

Nonetheless, their high rate of development has attracted the maximum attention of regulators all over the globe, posing a remarkable amount of regulatory risks that may affect their implementation and functioning. These risks are essential to understand by investors, developers, and users of digital assets in the current landscape of change.

Defining Stablecoins and Their Appeal

Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), or Binance USD (BUSD) are stablecoins that help to eliminate critical volatility of cryptocurrencies, e.g., Bitcoin or Ethereum. Their value is pegged to more stable assets, such as the US dollar, providing a stable means of exchange and store of value in the crypto voting industry. Such stability has led to their use in facilitating transactions, remittances, and as a protective tool against the volatility in the crypto market.

Their value lies in combining the advantages of blockchain technology, such as fast, open, and cheap transactions, with the stability of classical currencies. Nevertheless, this hybrid character positions the stablecoins in a regulatory grey area. It can raise concerns about the financial stability of these stablecoins, consumer protection, and compliance with current regulations.

The Core Regulatory Risk: Lack of Clear Oversight

The first regulatory risk to stablecoin would be the lack of a uniform regime across world borders. The governments and financial law enforcement organizations are struggling to determine the classification and control of these digital assets. Do they constitute new types of currencies, securities, or commodities, or something distinct altogether? This ambiguity gives hangers-on and regulators as many headaches as it gives issuers and users of the devices, which results in a not-quite seamless patchwork of rules that differ by jurisdiction.

In the United Kingdom, such stablecoins have been categorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as e-money, and issuers are obliged to be regulated in the manner of e-money. But not every stablecoin has fallen into the basket, primarily algorithmic stablecoins as TerraUSD (UST), which ended up in a catastrophic collapse in 2022.

The uncertainty regarding whether stablecoins should be classified as financial instruments subject to the current regulatory framework or subject to a unique set of regulations poses a significant risk to issuers, as they may be forced to comply with rules or sanctions that could be imposed suddenly.

Issue of Financial Stability

The regulators are particularly concerned with the systemic risks that stablecoins pose to financial stability. Stablecoins that are large-scale, like Tether, which as of July 2025 boasted a market cap of greater than 80 billion pounds sterling, maintain large reserves of fiat currencies, treasuries, or other assets that they use to support their peg. A run on a stablecoin could unhinge wider financial markets, especially if these reserves are mismanaged or insufficient to absorb a run, e.g., through fraud, insolvency, or market shocks.

This risk was proved by the collapse of TerraUSD in 2022. Its algorithmic peg collapsed, destroying billions of dollars in value and shaking the faith in stablecoins. The regulators are worried that such incidents may cause cascading effects, particularly in a case where stablecoins have enough entrenchment into traditional financial systems. As a result, governments such as the Bank of England are considering stricter reserve requirements and stress-testing demands that will subject issuers to higher operational costs and restrict innovative efforts.

Anti Money and Consumer Defense

The other regulatory threat is due to the fear of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance. The pseudonymous nature of stablecoins and the fact that they are not restricted to any particular geographic area make them particularly appealing to illicit uses, including money laundering or the financing of terrorism. International regulators such as the FCA and AML laws in the EU, called the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, are increasingly stringent on AML requirements of crypto exchanges. Stablecoin issuers may face heavy fees, bans, or even criminal penalties in case of non-compliance.

The protection of the consumers is also considered. When a stablecoin issuer defaults on its promised reserves or provides false information about its pegs, users may lose a significant amount of money. The FCA has stated that most stablecoins lack the same level of transparency and protection as regulated financial products, thereby increasing the risk of fraud or mismanagement. This has elicited demands for disclosures and audits to be mandatory, and this may increase the hurdles facing the entry of smaller stablecoin projects.

Jurisdictional Fragmentation

Stablecoins present another challenge in that they are global. The UK, EU, and US are currently working on the structure, whereas other jurisdictions can be more or less zealous. As an example, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alluded to its intention to declare some stablecoins as securities, which would afford them stringent oversight. Meanwhile, there is a competition to keep stablecoin innovation in a crypto-friendly environment, such as Singapore.

Such slice-and-dice jurisdiction is a threat to cross-border issuers. Complying with various regulations, some of which are in conflict, makes the process more expensive and complex. Arguably speaking, a stablecoin approved by the EU under its MiCA may not be free of restrictions when it comes to doing business globally due to the US policy.

The Path Forward: Balancing Innovation and Regulation

To mitigate regulatory uncertainty risks, stablecoin issuers are expected to engage proactively with regulators and maintain high compliance attention. The trust and the lack of attention can be obtained through transparent reserve management conduct, periodic audits, and compliance with AML/KYC principles. In the meantime, regulators face the dilemma of creating regulations that safeguard consumers and financial systems without stifling innovation.

The government in the UK is progressing on a bespoke regulatory system to cryptoassets, an aspect that involves stablecoins, with the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. This aims to clarify the UK’s role as a hub for crypto innovations. Internationally, organisations such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB) are calling for harmonised standards to take care of cross-border risks.

Regulatory Risks: Why They Are Important

The risks of stablecoin regulation cannot be viewed as mere bureaucratic concerns; they are also practically significant as they determine the pace of adoption and future growth. The uncertainty can drive institutional investors away and suppress the use of both mainstream and innovative approaches because it is scary. On the other hand, straightforward and proportionate policies can potentially open up a new world of finance, ranging from facilitating high-speed remittance to acting as a backbone to the DeFi strata.

These risks are essential to understand by the users and the investors. To avoid the risks of crackdowns or collapses, it is possible to select stablecoins with clear operations and regulatory approval. Regulatory developments will be an essential aspect of the stablecoin journey, and staying current with these developments should be helpful.

Conclusively, the main regulatory risk with stablecoins is that there is no single, aligned regulatory framework, and there are apprehensions around financial stability, AML compliance, and consumer protection. With governments all over the world ramping up regulatory scrutiny, stablecoin issuers have to grapple with a rapidly evolving landscape to ensure their future survival and the success of their bottom line in the world of the digital economy.