Altcoin pig-out widens

A pre-dawn perusal of the largest 20 cryptos over the last 24 hours led our eyes straight to the surges in the back fourth section, and particularly to the 25% jump by EOS (EOS). The 19th-largest digital asset, per CoinGecko, has risen 100% over the past three days.

Another crypto that could be considered lesser known – but big and alt enough to ring in the altcoin season – would include TRON (TRX) which rose 12% over the 24 hours ending Friday at 8 a.m. (EST).

Looking at the front-end of the Big 20 ...

A glance at the five largest cryptos (quickly, so as to purge such negativity): Bitcoin fell 2.6% in 24 hours since 8 a.m. Thursday morning. Ethereum in that same period is flat. Binance Coin declined 3.6%. XRP lost 4.4%. And Dogecoin was up slightly.

Bitcoin custodian NYDIG, in a partnership with Fidelity National Information Services, is working to expand a program allowing customers of major U.S. banks to buy/hold/sell Bitcoin through their existing accounts.

Patrick Sells, NYDIG's head of bank solutions, told CNBC that hundreds of small banks are already enrolled in the program, while discussions with some of the biggest U.S. banks are underway. Customers who use mobile applications to conduct banking through their existing relationships will now be able to include BTC in those activities, Sells said.

Suncrest, a California-based community bank with seven branches, is an example Sells cited of a first-mover trying, via participation in the NYDIG program, to make it easier for ordinary people to engage with BTC, part of a broader tug-of-war between old-school institutions, fintech platforms and crypto exchanges.

The seven-part docu-series "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” was a huge hit during the height of last year’s pandemic lockdown, a fraught time when the world, already more than sufficiently horrified, got introduced to a cruel and unusual tiger breeder named Joe Exotic.

Then came the inevitable backlash – the directors drew flack from animal rights groups for glossing over animal abuse and also for enabling it – and now here comes the milk-it-for-as-long-as-possible phase, with the show’s other central figure, tiger sanctuary operator Carole Baskin, having just released (you guessed it) her own crypto.

The new $CAT coin, a fan token launched on the Ethereum-powered Rally network, is said to be part of a broader initiative to raise awareness around animal captivity, connecting with Baskin's non-profit organization, Big Cat Rescue.

Of rumors (explored in Episode 3) that she killed her ex-husband – and fed him to her tigers – Baskin has painstakingly rebutted them, in a long blog, which delves into her portrayal on the show, based around her feud with Mr. Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage), currently incarcerated after being found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin. Additionally, Maldonado-Passage was charged with violating several wildlife laws.

“Tiger King” viewers were subjected to his knack for disturbing the laws of nature, such as in the scene when he holds a photo shoot with cubs too young to even open their eyes. Of the tiger abuse enabling/skirting accusations, co-director Eric Goode has said he tried to thread a needle such that the net result of the Netflix series was a naturally achieved awareness of animal rights issues.