Bitcoin, altcoins remain volatile

Hola folks!

Welcome back to our weekly crypto newsletter, where we review the latest market trends and key updates from the crypto world.

The past week saw Bitcoin climb past $88,700 before retreating to below $82,000. Despite short-term turbulence, institutional demand stayed strong, with MicroStrategy adding to its BTC holdings. Meanwhile, the altcoins sector took a hit, stablecoins surged, and the DeFi sector witnessed significant developments. Other developments included Japan’s Bitcoin bond issuance and Celo’s transition to Ethereum Layer 2. 

We will dive deep into these topics. Keep reading to stay on top of everything crypto!

Bitcoin experienced upward momentum and pullbacks over the past week, ultimately declining by 4.40%. The world’s largest crypto asset briefly surged above $88,700, its highest level in over two weeks, before retracing to the mid-$80,000 range and dipping below $82,000 over the weekend. Despite volatility, BTC remained above the 20-day moving average for most of the week before the downturn over the weekend. 

The Relative Strength Index stayed neutral. However, Bitcoin ended Q1 down 11.82%, marking its worst first-quarter performance since 2018. However, institutional demand remains strong. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) acquired 22,048 BTC for $1.92 billion at an average price of $86,969 per Bitcoin, reinforcing confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term potential despite short-term fluctuations.

On the DeFi front, PumpSwap, the native DEX of PumpFun, surged past $2.43 billion in trading volume within just 10 days of launch, generating $5.4 million in fees and capturing 8% of Solana’s DEX market share. The meme economy also saw notable activity, with "Ghiblification," a memecoin inspired by viral Ghibli-themed AI images, hitting a market cap of $38 million just two days after its launch. Meanwhile, BlackRock launched its first Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe, further cementing its presence in digital assets. 

On the infrastructure side, Celo officially transitioned from a standalone Layer 1 blockchain to an Ethereum Layer 2, marking a significant shift in its development nearly two years after the initial proposal. Japan made headlines as Metaplanet issued $13.3 million in bonds to acquire more Bitcoin while regulators signaled plans to classify cryptocurrencies as financial products by 2026. However, security issues persisted in DeFi, with SIR.trading suffering a complete loss of its $355,000 TVL in a hack. 

Meanwhile, a manipulated liquidation event on $JELLYJELLY triggered a short squeeze, slashing HyperLiquid’s HLP TVL from $300 million to $185 million, leading to the delisting of $JELLYJELLY. Binance co-founder CZ donated 500 BNB each to Thailand and Myanmar after devastating earthquakes hit them. Overall, market sentiment remains cautious ahead of April 2, dubbed "Liberation Day" by US President Donald Trump, as investors brace for the potential impact of dollar-for-dollar tariffs.

Last week saw a sharp downturn in altcoins, with ETH, XRP, BNB, and SOL falling 10.2%, 13.5%, 5.6%, and 9.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, stablecoin adoption remained strong, with Ethena Labs' synthetic USDtb expanding 25% to reach a $1.4 billion market cap. 

Weekly price movement: 

• BTC $84,126 ⏬ 3.02% (7d)

• ETH $1,884 ⏬8.63% (7d)

• XRP $2.14 ⏬ 11.57% (7d)

• SOL $129 ⏬ 7.76% (7d)

• BNB $616 ⏬ 3.70% (7d)

(All data here as of 2:21 p.m., 1 April 2025)

Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at some important news from around the crypto world.

• The US SEC Crypto Task Force said it will host four more roundtables on crypto asset regulation. The crypto roundtables are scheduled from April to June, with topics including tokenization and decentralized finance. The upcoming roundtable discussions are expected to promote the SEC’s efforts to bring more clarity to crypto regulation for industry participants, a switch from the “regulation by enforcement” approach taken by former chair Gary Gensler, according to The Block.

• Blockchain firm Ripple Labs’ case with the US SEC may be officially wrapped up after more than four years, subject to court approval. In a March 25 X post, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty wrote, “in what should be my last update on SEC v. Ripple ever,” that Ripple will drop its cross-appeal against the SEC in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, according to Cointelegraph.

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

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