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Few things in crypto are as elusive and misunderstood as the concept of an “altcoin season.” Traditionally, this term referred to a brief window — usually 2–3 months — following a Bitcoin (BTC) price rally, where altcoins outperform BTC in cumulative returns. That pattern held in the 2015–2018 and 2019–2022 cycles, but the verdict is not yet in on whether the current bull market has had its altcoin season. 

The Blockchain Center defines an altcoin season as a period when 75% of the top 50 altcoins outperform Bitcoin over a rolling 90-day timeframe. Its Altseason Index registered upticks in March 2024 and again in January 2025 — but neither lasted long enough to qualify as a full-fledged altseason.

Some analysts argue that memecoins drained liquidity from the broader altcoin market. Others blame the oversaturation of crypto investment products — particularly ETFs — which cater to institutions and spotlight only the largest altcoins. A third explanation calls for a deeper rethink of what altcoins actually are. Within this view, altcoins are perceived as a unified asset class but are a diverse collection of crypto assets with different functions, value structures, and growth potential.

Memecoins stole the spotlight

For the crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, the launch of Pump.fun is directly correlated to the destruction of the altcoin market vs BTC.

“The reason we’ve seen no major “altseason” across majors is because the speculative capital that would’ve once poured into top 200 assets, instead decided to jump the gun and flood into onchain low caps instead.”

Deutscher notes that the early birds and insiders got insanely rich from this, but most retail investors who entered late lost. This was also the case in previous altcoin cycles. However, unlike 2022, where the losses were mainly limited to CEX altcoins with solid liquidity, they got stuck into illiquid onchain memecoins, which quickly retraced 70%-80%. This led to a “wealth destruction event greater than the early 2022 bear (LUNA aside),” even though BTC (and some majors) are still in a macro bull trend.

Politics in the United States added fuel to the memecoin craze. For example, President Donald Trump’s public embrace of memecoins sparked momentum — but the results quickly disappointed. TRUMP and MELANIA tokens have dropped 83% and 95%, respectively, since launching at the end of January, delivering another hit to retail sentiment.

Related: Will new US SEC rules bring crypto companies onshore?

Institutional investors and ETFs shifted the tide

Another factor impacting the strength of the current bull market’s altcoin season was the arrival of Wall Street. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 brought $129 billion in inflows as investors rushed into familiar structures with custody, regulation, and easy access. BlackRock’s IBIT became a dominant vehicle, and the introduction of ETF options in July 2024 added even more depth. 

Some analysts believe that the safety and scalability of spot BTC ETFs sucked capital away from speculative assets. With the ability to hedge through options and futures, the incentive to gamble on illiquid, low-volume altcoins diminishes significantly. 

But this explanation has limits. Crypto is not a zero-sum market — global liquidity is growing, and capital entering the space can flow in many directions. If anything, institutional demand could expand the total crypto pie.

Furthermore, some altcoins already have their ETFs as well. Spot Ether ETFs debuted in July 2024 and have since registered a modest net inflow of $565,000, according to CoinGlass. Such a drastic difference in scale with spot BTC ETFs suggests that the ETF structure alone isn’t enough; investor conviction still matters.

Altcoin’s function and their rallies became more nuanced

The term “altcoin” emerged when any non-Bitcoin token was novel. But in today’s ecosystem, the term lumps together wildly different assets: blockchain-native coins, governance tokens, stablecoins, memecoins, DApp tokens, and real-world asset protocol tokens — each with distinct functions and investor profiles. Just as it wouldn’t make sense to group gold, Nvidia stock, and the US dollar into a single index in traditional finance, it makes little sense to treat all altcoins as one unified category.

A closer look at price action supports this idea. According to CoinGecko data, major altcoin categories have diverged sharply this cycle. Real-world asset (RWA) tokens surged 15x. GameFi, by contrast, lost half its market cap. This shows that narratives play a growing role in driving investors’ capital allocation decisions.

Even core blockchain tokens have started to specialize. Ethereum remains the hub for DeFi. Solana dominates memecoins. Tron now holds second place in stablecoin transfers. ImmutableX is carving out its territory in the gaming space. In each case, token performance is increasingly tied to ecosystem activity. This means that we might want to abandon the term “altseason” and start to pay more attention to specific narratives within the crypto space.

Altcoins aren’t moving as a pack anymore, and that might be the biggest signal of how the crypto market is maturing.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member Paul Atkins disclosed combined employment assets of at least $327 million with his wife before a scheduled confirmation hearing with the US Senate Banking Committee.

According to a financial disclosure report made public by the US Office of Government Ethics on March 25, Atkins and his spouse, Sarah Humphreys, held up to a combined $327 million worth of assets, in part through their respective stakes in the prospective SEC chair’s consulting firm Patomak Global Partners and Tamko Building Products.

Sarah and her family members reportedly control a 75% stake in the roofing business founded by her grandfather.

Atkins personally disclosed up to $78.8 million in total employment assets — many of them up to $15,000 each — between $25,000,001 and $50 million in membership interest at Patomak, between $250,001 and $500,000 in call options at the real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize, and between $50,001 and $100,000 at financial technology company Pontoro.

If confirmed as an SEC commissioner, Atkins stated he would resign as CEO of Patomak and divest his membership interest, as well as divest his stock options at Securitize. 

The financial disclosure was made public before Atkins was scheduled to answer questions from US lawmakers in the Senate Banking Committee on March 27 for his nomination as an SEC commissioner. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member on the committee, called on Atkins to be prepared to answer questions related to his “deep involvement with FTX and other high-paying crypto clients.”

Related: What to expect at Paul Atkins’ SEC confirmation hearing

Atkins could also have some Republican allies on the committee and face some softball questions during his hearing. The prospective SEC commissioner previously met with Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, who told Cointelegraph she expected he would “work quickly to provide regulatory certainty for the digital asset industry.”

Conflicts of interest regulating digital assets?

In addition to Atkins saying he would divest interests potentially causing conflicts of interest regulating the crypto industry, other government officials in the Trump administration have claimed to take similar steps. David Sacks filed a notice on March 5 suggesting that his venture capital firm sold more than $200 million in crypto and related stocks ahead of assuming his role as the White House AI and crypto czar.

President Donald Trump also faces criticism from lawmakers and figures in the crypto industry due to his family’s involvement with the firm World Liberty Financial and the launch of his memecoin in January.

Atkins’ March 27 hearing will mark the first time US lawmakers will consider his nomination since Trump put his name forward as a potential replacement to former SEC Chair Gary Gensler in December. Commissioner Mark Uyeda became acting chair of the agency following Gensler’s departure on Jan. 20.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member Paul Atkins disclosed combined employment assets of at least $327 million with his wife before a scheduled confirmation hearing with the US Senate Banking Committee.

According to a financial disclosure report made public by the US Office of Government Ethics on March 25, Atkins and his spouse, Sarah Humphreys, held up to a combined $327 million worth of assets, in part through their respective stakes in the prospective SEC chair’s consulting firm Patomak Global Partners and Tamko Building Products.

Sarah and her family members reportedly control a 75% stake in the roofing business founded by her grandfather.

Atkins personally disclosed up to $78.8 million in total employment assets — many of them up to $15,000 each — between $25,000,001 and $50 million in membership interest at Patomak, between $250,001 and $500,000 in call options at the real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize, and between $50,001 and $100,000 at financial technology company Pontoro.

If confirmed as an SEC commissioner, Atkins stated he would resign as CEO of Patomak and divest his membership interest, as well as divest his stock options at Securitize. 

The financial disclosure was made public before Atkins was scheduled to answer questions from US lawmakers in the Senate Banking Committee on March 27 for his nomination as an SEC commissioner. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member on the committee, called on Atkins to be prepared to answer questions related to his “deep involvement with FTX and other high-paying crypto clients.”

Related: What to expect at Paul Atkins’ SEC confirmation hearing

Atkins could also have some Republican allies on the committee and face some softball questions during his hearing. The prospective SEC commissioner previously met with Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, who told Cointelegraph she expected he would “work quickly to provide regulatory certainty for the digital asset industry.”

Conflicts of interest regulating digital assets?

In addition to Atkins saying he would divest interests potentially causing conflicts of interest regulating the crypto industry, other government officials in the Trump administration have claimed to take similar steps. David Sacks filed a notice on March 5 suggesting that his venture capital firm sold more than $200 million in crypto and related stocks ahead of assuming his role as the White House AI and crypto czar.

President Donald Trump also faces criticism from lawmakers and figures in the crypto industry due to his family’s involvement with the firm World Liberty Financial and the launch of his memecoin in January.

Atkins’ March 27 hearing will mark the first time US lawmakers will consider his nomination since Trump put his name forward as a potential replacement to former SEC Chair Gary Gensler in December. Commissioner Mark Uyeda became acting chair of the agency following Gensler’s departure on Jan. 20.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Cboe BZX Exchange, a US securities exchange, has requested permission to list a proposed Fidelity exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Solana (SOL), according to March 25 filings. 

The request now sits with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which must approve the filing before trading of the Fidelity Solana Fund can commence on the exchange.

This is the latest in a spate of filings with the federal agency by exchanges and fund sponsors seeking to launch ETFs holding SOL and other cryptocurrencies. 

On March 12, Cboe filed to list another spot SOL ETF sponsored by asset manager Franklin Templeton.

Related: Solana CME futures tip impending US ETF approvals — Exec

Numerous filings

Cboe’s filing comes after asset manager Volatility Shares launched an ETF using financial derivatives known as futures to track the performance of spot SOL. 

Launched in March, Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT) are the first ETFs providing US investors with exposure to Solana’s native token. The SOLT ETF tracks SOL’s performance with 2x leverage. 

Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence peg the odds at 70% that US regulators approve a spot SOL ETF this year, according to a February post on the X platform. 

Other asset managers seeking to list spot SOL ETFs include Grayscale, VanEck, 21Shares, Canary and Bitwise, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

On March 17, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the US’s largest derivatives exchange, launched SOL futures contracts. Experts say this is further indication that spot SOL ETFs will soon be approved in the US.

Roughly a dozen asset managers are seeking the SEC’s approval to launch altcoin ETFs in the US. The proposed ETFs for altcoins range from Litecoin (LTC) and XRP (XRP) to Dogecoin (DOGE) and Official Trump (TRUMP).

Issuers are also asking for the SEC to approve changes to existing ETFs, including allowances for staking, options and in-kind redemptions. 

The SEC eased its stance on cryptocurrency after US President Donald Trump began his second term in January. 

Under former President Joe Biden, the SEC brought upwards of 100 lawsuits against crypto firms, alleging various securities law violations. In 2024, the regulator greenlighted spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs but stymied proposed ETFs tied to other cryptocurrencies.

Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge

Brazil’s data protection agency has upheld its decision to restrict cryptocurrency compensation tied to the World ID project, citing user privacy concerns. 

The National Data Protection Authority (ANDP) rejected a petition by World ID developer Tools For Humanity to review its ban on offering financial compensation to users who provide biometric data through iris scans, the agency said in a March 25 announcement.  

ANDP will “maintain the suspension of the granting of financial compensation, in the form of cryptocurrency (Worldcoin – WLD) or in any other format, for any World ID created by collecting iris scans of personal data subjects in Brazil,” a translated version of the announcement reads. 

The company faces a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian reais ($8,800) if it resumes data collection activities. 

Cointelegraph reached out to Tools for Humanity but had not received a response at the time of publication.

ANDP’s investigation into World, formerly known as Worldcoin, began in November of last year amid concerns that financial rewards could compromise users’ ability to consent to offering sensitive biometric data. 

The controversial “World ID” is created when users agree to iris scans, which generates a unique digital passport that can authenticate humans online. 

As Cointelegraph reported, Tools For Humanity was ordered to stop offering services to Brazilians as of Jan. 25. 

Related: Blockchain identity platform Humanity Protocol valued at $1.1B after fundraise

Race for digital identity solution heats up

Although World ID has run afoul of Brazilian law, the use of digital identification methods is growing in other markets due to the rise of AI deepfakes and Sybil attacks.

The rise of bots and AI is also watering down online discourse on social media platforms such as X and Facebook. As Cointelegraph reported, up to 15% of X accounts are believed to be bots. 

Research from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis also showed that generative AI is making crypto scams more profitable by enabling the creation of fake identities. 

Some companies are attempting to create digital identity solutions without triggering privacy concerns and regulatory crackdowns. Earlier this year, Billions Network launched its own digital identity platform that doesn’t require biometric data. 

The platform is based on a zero-knowledge verification technology known as Circom and has already been tested by major financial institutions such as HSBC and Deutsche Bank.

Magazine: 9 curious things about DeepSeek R1: AI Eye

Bitcoin (BTC) price opened the week with strength, rallying to a daily high at $88,804, which was met by praise from analysts who have identified the $90,000 to $92,000 zone as the key price level to hit in the short term. 

The market found strength on March 24 after US President Donald Trump suggested that his April 2 “tariff number” announcement could be softer than expected after cars and microchips were removed from the list. 

According to Ben Yorke, the vice president of ecosystem at WOO, “The White House’s decision to walk back the threat of broad tariffs and to deploy a more targeted approach suggests Trump is wary of an economic backlash.”

Proof of the market’s positive response to the tariff news can be seen in the increase in Bitcoin futures open interest, where the general assumption is that traders used leverage to open new margin-long positions. 

The return of the Coinbase Premium — a measure of the percentage difference between BTC price at Coinbase Pro and Binance — and a 7th consecutive day of spot BTC ETF inflows are also signs that spot demand is returning to the market and could signal an improvement in sentiment as Bitcoin’s last few weeks of price action had been defined by selling and the use of perpetual futures to drive price action within the current range. 

Data from SoSoValue shows US spot Bitcoin ETF net flows of $84.17 million. 

Is a rally to $100K back on the cards?

While the return of the Coinbase premium and positive net flows to the spot BTC ETFs is a sign of improving sentiment, the question of whether the current bullish momentum has enough energy to push Bitcoin back above $100,000 remains unanswered. 

Lingling Jiang, a partner at DWF Labs, said, “We’re witnessing the alignment of both structural and narrative factors driving this upward trend of the movement of Bitcoin.”

Jiang told Cointelegraph, 

“At the micro level, we can see a pattern: the resurgence of ETF inflows, the expanding stablecoin market, and breakout patterns across alternative cryptocurrencies collectively signal confidence and perhaps even renewed institutional participation. While market liquidity is strengthening, we notice that volatility remains subdued, and onchain metrics reveal long-term investors accumulating rather than divesting.”

Related: Bitcoin sets sights on ‘spoofy’ $90K resistance in new BTC price boost 

From a technical point of view, Bitcoin continues to trade below the range that had defined its price action from November 2024 until February 2025. While the price trades above the 20-day and 200-day moving average, it remains capped at the descending trendline resistance, which is also aligned with the 50-day moving average ($89,500 – $90,000). 

According to independent market analyst Scott Melker, Bitcoin’s 4-hour relative strength index indicator has shown a “clear bullish trend, with a series of higher lows and higher highs.” 

In a March 24 X post, Melker said, 

“All of this preceded by [an] oversold RSI with bullish divergence at the bottom on daily and below. Which I was screaming about.” 

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Opinion by: Michael Amar, co-founder of Chain of Events and general partner at v3nture

Once upon a time, in 1848, a man could walk into the wilderness on the brink of poverty and emerge, caked in mud, dust and days-old sweat, a multimillionaire. The discovery of gold in California in the mid-19th century ignited a fuse, causing explosive ripples that transformed the American economy.

In 2025, a relatively new resource, less shiny but no less brilliant and scarce, looks set to reshape the global economy and spark another race for accumulation. Only this time, there won’t be pickaxes and pans. There will be ASICs, algorithms and distributed ledger technology. 

Of course, this refers to Bitcoin (BTC), also known as digital gold.

Just as the gold rush spurred on banking, financial systems, lending, trading and changes to monetary policy, history is repeating itself with Bitcoin, digital payments, asset tokenization and crypto-politicians. Laws, regulations and culture changed to accommodate gold. They’re now doing the same for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at large.

Exploring the historical parallels

The gold rush created wealth “out of thin air,” and Bitcoin is doing the same. With around $2 trillion in market value, those who adopted early and took the most risk are now millionaires (in fact, over 85,000 are confirmed) and, in some cases, billionaires (there are thought to be 17 of them). 

From the hundreds of thousands that descended on California, those who struck real gold used their newfound wealth to build railroads, telegraph lines and entire towns. Bitcoin’s early success stories used their financial muscle to stake further claims by developing applications, growing infrastructure businesses and nurturing the industry. Michael Saylor founded MicroStrategy, which had rebranded to Strategy. This business intelligence company holds over $48 billion worth of Bitcoin, while Changpeng Zhao founded the world’s biggest crypto exchange and is worth over $57 billion. 

Recent: Coinbase, Gemini CEO throws support behind Bitcoin-only US crypto reserve

Today’s business analysts and market experts should look into the American gold rush, where they’ll find striking similarities. Just as gold mining once attracted workers and investors, Bitcoin attracts institutions, startups, talent, governments and capital inflows. Gold-backed reserves changed global economics and drove gold demand. Will a US strategic Bitcoin reserve do the same?

Men started the gold rush with pickaxes and pans and ended it with hydraulic mining equipment. The earliest Bitcoin users mined with their home computers, whereas now there are enormous energy-efficient Bitcoin mining facilities, cutting-edge cooling apparatus and the Lightning Network. Scalability and efficiency have leaped forward.

Broader implications for international finance

Beyond instant wealth, infrastructure, monetary policy and economic ripples, there’s monetary sovereignty. Any country that establishes Bitcoin reserves as a hedge against inflation or geopolitical stability takes the future into its own hands. This is identical to gold, which has been used as a reserve for a long time. Since “The Nixon Shock” in 1971, however, the US dollar has decoupled from gold, creating an overdue opportunity for a new resource to fill its large gilded shoes.

Monetary sovereignty is also a major driving force for retail adoption, with Bitcoin offering protection against inflation and government policy through economic decentralization.

Addressing skepticism from different audiences

Widespread enthusiasm among tech leaders, libertarians, celebrities, businesses and popular political figures has met with years of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) from regulators, skeptics and some of the world’s most prominent investment managers. They say that Bitcoin has no real value, but let it be said that gold is just a shiny, semi-scarce rock.

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock — the world’s largest investment company with $10 trillion in assets under management — once called Bitcoin “an index of money laundering.” Over the years, he has gone from the messiah of the skeptics to purchasing 2.7% of the global Bitcoin supply and publicly stating his belief that it could reach $700,000 per BTC. “As I became a student of crypto, it was very clear to me that crypto is a currency of fear,” Fink said. “But that’s OK. If you’re frightened of the debasement of your currency or the economic or political stability of your country, you can have an international-based instrument called Bitcoin that can overcome those local fears.” 

If Fink can change his mind, so can other skeptics. 

In the run-up to his election win, Trump was quite vocal about a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and has continued to be. Things also seem to be taking shape in terms of individual states moving toward building their own reserves.

Gold has had a transformative effect on the world. Bitcoin is now here to relieve it of its duties.

Opinion by: Michael Amar, co-founder of Chain of Events and general partner at v3nture.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin (BTC) passed $88,000 after the March 25 Wall Street open as risk assets stayed highly sensitive to US trade tariffs.

BTC price gains anticipate classic April comeback

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD tightly clinging to the daily open.

US stocks opened modestly higher, building on a comeback that provided traders some long-awaited cause for optimism.

A key ingredient in stemming the risk-asset rout were cues from the US government and President Donald Trump over their planned round of trade tariffs set to begin on April 2. 

“Risk assets staged one of their strongest sessions of the year, helped by a temporary easing of fears around the April 2nd tariff deadline,” trading firm QCP Capital summarized in its latest bulletin to Telegram channel subscribers. 

“Trump signalled twice on Monday that trading partners might secure exemptions or reductions, offering a reprieve that helped soothe market jitters.”

QCP noted that others were coming to believe that the worst of the equities setback had come and gone, including JPMorgan.

“Q2, and April in particular, has historically been one of the best periods for risk assets, second only to the festive December rally,” it added. 

“The S&P 500 has delivered an average annualised return of 19.6% in Q2, while Bitcoin has also recorded its second-best median performance during this stretch – again, trailing only Q4.”

As Cointelegraph reported, expectations for April among Bitcoin market participants are also high, given historical tendencies for strong price performance.

Statistics from monitoring resource CoinGlass put average returns for BTC/USD for both March and April at just under 13% over the past eleven years.

Bitcoin stares down major seller liquidity

Analyzing short-timeframe BTC price action, traders increasingly focused on the $90,000 mark on the day.

Related: Bitcoin flips ‘macro bullish’ amid first Hash Ribbon buy signal in 8 months

“$BTC Is still trading at a solid spot premium during this bounce,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades acknowledged in one of his latest X posts. 

“If it can maintain that while slowly making its way back into the previous range ($90K+), I’d be confident we’re due for a move back to new highs. For now it still remains a big resistance and price has been correlated to equities.”

Meanwhile, CoinGlass showed ongoing sell-side liquidity just below $90,000 — previously attributed to market manipulation by a high-volume trader dubbed “Spoofy the Whale.”

Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, who coined the phrase, said that this entity alone would keep price trapped at around $87,500 going forward.

This week, Alan said that another important level to flip to support is the yearly open at just above $93,000. Failure to do so, he warned, could still trigger a return to multimonth lows.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Bitcoin (BTC) has swung from a record high of $109,000 to below $78,000 as major tariff announcements from the US and retaliatory moves from trade partners shaved off chunks of cryptocurrency market value and rattled global markets.

“The back-and-forth on tariffs, with Trump sometimes tough and sometimes accommodating, has left markets in a limbo state, where few people are willing to be decidedly bullish but just as few are willing to part with their assets, fearing to be left on the side-lines at the next rally,” Justin d’Anethan, head of sales at Liquify, told Cointelegraph.

By mid-March, investors began regaining confidence as White House messaging pointed to a more measured approach. But mixed signals remain, and with a second wave of “reciprocal tariffs” looming on April 2 — dubbed Liberation Day — market jitters haven’t fully subsided.

Colombian tariff standoff and DeepSeek disruption shakes Bitcoin

Bitcoin hovered above $100,000 until Jan. 26, when Trump threatened 25% tariffs on all Colombian imports after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to accept US military aircraft carrying deported migrants. Petro accused Trump of mistreating immigrants and retaliated with tariffs of his own.

Colombia quickly reversed course — agreeing to accept deportees — after facing pressure over its dependence on US trade. Bitcoin reclaimed $100,000 shortly after. But market sentiment was further shaken by the sudden rise of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, whose budget-built model sparked fears of disruption in the tech sector and contributed to risk-off sentiment across markets.

Tariff war begins and Bitcoin racks losses

On Feb. 1, Trump signed an executive order to impose 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports and 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods, effective Feb. 4, citing national emergency over immigration and fentanyl. China, Canada and Mexico all threatened retaliation.

Bitcoin tumbled below $93,000, rebounding only after Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on the Canada and Mexico tariffs on Feb. 3. But the Chinese tariffs took effect as scheduled on Feb. 4 — and that was the last time Bitcoin traded above $100,000.

Bitcoin remained volatile through mid-February. On Feb. 10, Trump announced the removal of steel and aluminum tariff exemptions, raising all metal tariffs to 25%, effective March 12. He then unveiled a “reciprocal tariffs” plan to match foreign import taxes.

Bitcoin held steady around $93,000 and briefly rallied to $99,000. But on Feb. 21, the momentum collapsed following the Bybit hack — the largest crypto breach in history — sending Bitcoin back below $90,000.

Related: In pictures: Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4B hack

On Feb. 25, Trump added to bearish pressure by ordering a review of potential tariffs on imported copper, citing national security. Bitcoin dipped below $80,000 for the first time since November.

March shows signs of relief for Bitcoin

March kicked off with Trump issuing another order reviewing tariffs on lumber and timber. But crypto briefly rallied after the White House unveiled plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and digital asset stockpile — including XRP, SOL, and ADA.

On March 4, Trump followed through with 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and doubled Chinese tariffs to 20%. All three countries vowed to retaliate. The next day, Trump granted a one-month exemption on tariffs for US automakers importing from Canada and Mexico. A day later, the White House extended the tariff pause on many imports that qualify under the USMCA, while still threatening reciprocal tariffs on April 2.

Related: Does XRP, SOL or ADA belong in a US crypto reserve?

Trump credited Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for “unprecedented” border cooperation. Canada also signaled easing tensions. Bitcoin see-sawed on the $90,000 mark but eventually dipped below on March 7, and it has not reclaimed that level at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, Trump finalized the steel and aluminum hikes. Then on March 13, he threatened 200% tariffs on European wine, champagne and spirits if the EU moved forward with a 50% tax on American whiskey as a retaliation against steel and aluminum tax.

Tone softens and Bitcoin starts rebound but ‘Liberation Day’ looms

By mid-March, the administration’s tone began to soften. On March 18, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariffs would be tailored to each country’s trade practices and could be avoided entirely if partners lowered their own barriers.

Financial markets, rattled for weeks, began to recover. On March 24, Bitcoin rose to $88,474 on reports that Trump’s next round of tariffs would be more targeted than initially feared.

“In the week leading up to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on April 2, expect market volatility, corporate lobbying for exemptions, preemptive price hikes, and global diplomatic efforts to mitigate the impact,” Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research said in a written analysis shared with Cointelegraph.

“After the tariffs take effect, anticipate inflation spikes, supply chain disruptions, and mixed job outcomes, with potential stock market shocks and retaliatory trade measures from partners like China and Canada possibly slowing US economic growth.”

Meanwhile, Liquify’s d’Anethan said investors should continue monitoring traditional market developments, especially with Bitcoin’s rising correlation with traditional indexes.

“With BTC’s correlation to the S&P 500 and other traditional assets, it wouldn’t be silly to discount tariffs and geopolitical maneuvering,” he said.

With April 2 approaching, crypto markets remain fragile — and investors are bracing for what “Liberation Day” might bring. Trump recently hinted while speaking to reporters that tariffs on automobiles, aluminum and pharmaceuticals are under consideration.

Magazine: What are native rollups? Full guide to Ethereum’s latest innovation

US derivatives exchange operator CME Group is piloting solutions for tokenized assets using Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), a new distributed ledger that was designed for traditional financial institutions.

According to a March 25 announcement, CME has already begun integrating GCUL to improve capital market efficiency and wholesale payments. 

CME Group chairman and CEO Terry Duffy said GCUL could “deliver significant efficiencies for collateral, margin, settlement and fee payments as the world moves toward 24/7 trading.”

The announcement did not provide specific details about which assets would be tokenized. CME Group and Google Cloud will begin testing the technology with market participants in 2026.

Before the March 25 announcement, there were no details about GCUL. However, Google Cloud has been expanding into blockchain technology for several years, beginning in 2018 by adding Bitcoin blockchain data to its data warehouse. 

In 2023, Google Cloud added 11 blockchains to its data warehouse. They included Ethereum, Arbitrum, Avalanche and Optimism. 

Related: Google boss expects to spend $75B on AI this year

Tokenization goes mainstream

Tokenization — or the process of converting real-world and financial assets into digital tokens — has generated significant interest from major institutions. 

A March 24 article that was published by the World Economic Forum said the integration of traditional finance with blockchain is “now becoming a reality” and that tokenization was taking center stage. 

“With only $25 trillion of securities currently eligible for collateral use — out of a $230 trillion potential — tokenization could significantly expand liquidity and capital efficiency,” wrote Yuval Rooz, the co-founder of the New York-based company Digital Asset. 

The tokenization industry is expected to take off in the United States under President Donald Trump, who has promised to make America the blockchain and crypto capital of the world.

Tokenized securities platform Tokeny said the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) repeal of SAB 121 would be a boon for the industry by “enabling institutions to provide custody solutions for tokenized securities without unnecessary financial risk. 

Meanwhile, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has also become a cheerleader for the tokenized securities market. In a January CNBC interview, Fink urged the SEC to “rapidly approve” the tokenization of stocks and bonds. 

Related: Tokenized real estate trading platform launches on Polygon

About $13 million worth of cryptocurrency has been drained from decentralized lending protocol Abracadabra.Finance following an exploit targeting pools using GMX tokens.

In a March 25 X post, crypto cybersecurity firm PeckShield reported that contracts related to GMX and Abracadabra.Money had been compromised, resulting in the loss of about 6,260 Ether (ETH), worth around $13 million.

The news follows Abracadabra.Money losing $6.49 million after its smart contracts were compromised in late January 2024. At the time, this also led to the protocol’s Magic Internet Money (MIM) stablecoin losing its peg to the US dollar.

Related: Pump.fun’s new DEX reaches $1B volume a week after launch

GMX denies contract vulnerability

Despite initial reports, a pseudonymous GMX communications contributor claimed on X that “GMX contracts are not affected.” According to the user, GMX is involved because MIM’s pools are based on GMX v2 pools.

GMX Market (GM) tokens are a core part of the GMX platform, earning fees from swaps and leveraged trading. MIM’s pools, known as cauldrons, are the protocol’s core product and provide isolated lending exposure.

In an official X post, GMX stated that the hack involved MIM’s pools that used GM tokens. The post further claimed that “no issues have been identified with GMX contracts,” adding:

“We believe the issue relates solely to the Abracadabra/Spell cauldrons. These cauldrons allow for borrowing against specific GM liquidity tokens.”

GMX.io and Abracadabra.Money had not responded to Cointelegraph’s inquiry by the time of publication.

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Hackers use Tornado Cash, bridge to Ethereum

Crypto forensics firm AMLBot provided Cointelegraph with a partial reconstruction of how the hack was performed. The hacker’s address was first funded through the Tornado Cash decentralized cryptocurrency mixer, and then those funds were used to pay the transaction fees of the malicious transactions. The stolen ETH was later moved from the Arbitrum network to Ethereum via a blockchain bridge:

“The stolen funds, totaling 6,260 ETH, have been transferred from Arbitrum to Ethereum via a bridge.”

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US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and efforts to ramp up on-shore Bitcoin mining will be a boon for US mining rig manufacturers, which currently only hold a small sliver of market share compared to their major Chinese counterparts. 

The United States accounts for over 40% of the Bitcoin network’s global hashrate but still leans heavily on China-made mining rigs. China-based Bitmain reportedly holds as much as a 90% market share in the Bitcoin mining manufacturing market. 

“Trump’s continued focus to support the US BTC mining industry highlights the urgent need to address US reliance on foreign technology,” Auradine’s chief strategy officer, Sanjay Gupta, told Cointelegraph in a recent interview. 

US Bitcoin firms hit a major supply problem last year, with thousands of Bitcoin (BTC) miners held at ports of entry by the US Customs and Border Protection. 

One of the firms affected believed it was due to a mistaken belief that the chips were illegally imported Chinese radio frequency devices. It took months before they started being released. 

Gupta said that US-China trade tensions have also disrupted the flow of foreign Bitcoin miners. 

“These trade tensions have increased supply chain disruptions with many hardware shipments facing delays and uncertainties,” Gupta said.

The US was already competing with China to win the high-end chip manufacturing market, but the recent trade tensions have only “intensified” these challenges for US-based crypto miners, he added. 

China-based Bitmain is said to hold the majority of the Bitcoin mining manufacturing market. It expanded its production line into the US last December to improve supply chain efficiency.

Gupta said his firm could also stand well-positioned amid Trump’s plan to ramp up onshore manufacturing as a “dramatic increase in demand” for electricity would, in turn, “put a tremendous deal of pressure on the electric grid” — making it more important for Bitcoin miners to operate off-grid. 

Auradine recently announced the launch of its new Teraflux AH3880 hydro-cooled Bitcoin miner, competing with the likes of Bitmain, MicroBT and Canaan.

Related: Bitcoin mining hashprice stays flat despite higher difficulty: Report

Asked whether a further uptick in Bitcoin mining activity in the US could hurt Bitcoin decentralization, Gupta said that securing the Bitcoin network with more energy-efficient solutions in the US would be a “net positive” for Bitcoin but said there could be risks if the increase outpaces technology in sustainability and decentralization. 

Over 95% of the network’s hash power already comes from the US and China alone, according to the Hashrate Index.

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