Coinbase made the list… now what?

Plus: CPI cools down, but markets don’t care

GM. We juiced the market, and what came out? A little pulp, a little sparkle, and just enough drama. Here’s what’s floating at the top.

📈 Coinbase gets added to the S&P 500.

🍋 News drops: why you shouldn’t trust the website of Curve Finance and the X accounts of ZKsync and Matter Labs + more

🍍 Market flavor today

The consumer price index (CPI) data dropped today, and inflation came in a bit cooler than expected for April.

CPI – which tracks the cost of everyday stuff like food, gas, and rent – rose 0.2% last month. That puts the annual inflation rate at 2.3%, the lowest it’s been since February 2021.

The monthly number matched expectations, but the yearly figure came in just below the 2.4% forecast.

What that means: the Fed might finally be able to exhale a little. The yearly rate coming in under the forecast gives them some room to maybe think about rate cuts – if this trend keeps going.

That kind of news is usually bullish for crypto… but Bitcoin and alts barely reacted.

Why? Because everyone’s still waiting to see what the Fed actually does.

Even though April’s inflation numbers were chill, there’s still the Trump tariff wildcard. Depending on how the trade talks go before this summer, inflation could pick back up again.

As for rate cuts, we might get more clues on Thursday when Jerome Powell speaks. But expectations are low – at least according to CME FedWatch, which says most traders are betting rates will stay put at the June 18 FOMC meeting.

I guess we’ll see 👀

🥝 Memecoin harvest

These tokens might’ve skipped leg day, but they surely DID NOT skip pump day 💪

Data as of 08:30 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

If you’ve been investing for a while, think back to when you first started. One of the first things you prolly discovered – right after “what’s a stock?” – was the S&P 500. It’s basically the starter pack for anyone entering the stock market.

The S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest public companies in the US (so like, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, basically – the biggest dawgs).

You’ll hear it mentioned in just about every beginner investing guide. Warren Buffett loves it (and he’s done alright for himself).

Why so?

1. Because it’s stupidly simple. Instead of trying to guess which company is gonna blow up next, you can just buy into an S&P 500 index fund and own a piece of hundreds of America’s most successful companies. If one goes down, the rest can help make up for it;

2. It also has a great track record – for decades, it’s returned somewhere between 7% and 10% a year on average. Nothing flashy, but it works. You just put your money in, let it chill, and check back every once in a while;

3. Oh, and it’s cheap. The fees are tiny compared to those funds that try to beat the market (and often fail).

That’s why it’s the go-to for beginners and plenty of experienced investors, too.

Now, the exciting part: starting May 19, Coinbase is joining the S&P 500. So anyone investing in the fund will automatically get a piece of COIN.

Ohhh yeeeeaaaah, baby 😎

Right after this was announced, COIN jumped nearly 11% in after-hours trading.

Getting added to the S&P 500 means a company is now officially one of the 500 biggest public companies in the US.

The index is weighted by market cap, so the bigger the company, the more influence it has in it. Coinbase will likely be somewhere in the lower 400, where companies usually make up 0.01% to 0.2% of the total index.

But that’s still huuuge.

This means that all the funds and ETFs tracking the index will now have to buy Coinbase stock = a whole lotta institutional money coming in.

It’s not just about money, tho’ – being in the S&P 500 is a major stamp of approval. Think about it – one of the most respected stock indexes in the world now includes a crypto company. For anyone who still thought crypto was just a tech bro side hustle, this might change some things.

And the more Coinbase gets attention, the more it shows the world that crypto is maturing.

Coinbase CFO, Alesia Haas, put it like this:

“This is a major milestone, not just for Coinbase, but also for the entire crypto industry. Joining this prestigious index reflects how far Coinbase and the industry have come and is a signal of where the world is heading.”

Damn straight.

🍋 News drops

🚨 Curve Finance told everyone to STAY AWAY from the curve(.)fi website – it got hacked and sends people to a fake site that can steal your crypto. They’ve moved everything to curve(.)finance, and they might actually stick with that domain name for good.

👎 Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed two bills that would’ve given the state a bigger role in crypto. But she did sign off on a new law that makes Bitcoin ATMs follow stricter rules.

⚠️ The X accounts for ZKsync and Matter Labs got hacked. The attackers used them to post fake news and phishing links to trick people.

⚖️ SEC Chair Paul Atkins says blockchain could change how financial markets operate in ways old-school laws never saw coming. He also said that the SEC’s gonna focus on making clear rules instead of the whole “sue first, explain later” vibe we had before. Somewhere out there, Gary Gensler is prolly rage-punching the wall…

😩 Tired of crypto Telegram groups that feel like spam traps? Here’s a list of ones that don’t suck.

🍌 Juicy memes