Markets tumble on tariff shock

Hola folks!

Welcome back to our weekly crypto newsletter, which provides the latest buzz, major market moves, and key updates from the crypto world.

The crypto market wrapped up a volatile week as Bitcoin dipped and the total crypto market cap shrank, triggered by US President Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs. Altcoins such as ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA too saw double-digit losses.

However, it was not all red, with DeFi protocols like Maple Finance and Sonic surging and Ethereum reclaiming the DEX volume crown from Solana. Meanwhile, Ripple’s new stablecoin integration, Circle’s IPO filing, and CoinList’s US return signaled strong institutional momentum amid the chaos. Read on to learn more.

The crypto market had a turbulent week. BTC traded between $74,600 and $83,100 before ending the week down 8.50%, while the overall crypto market cap dropped close to 12% to $2.45 trillion. The downturn was triggered by US President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs on several countries, which spooked global investors and led to the steepest decline in US markets since 2020. 

On Sunday evening, S&P 500 futures fell 2.8%, Nasdaq futures dropped 3.7%, and Dow Jones futures plunged 900 points. BTC briefly dipped below $78,000, reflecting the broader risk-off sentiment. Futures markets, which signal investor expectations before market openings, indicated rising caution across asset classes. Amid the volatility, GameStop raised $1.5 billion through a private convertible note offering, with plans to buy BTC.

In DEX activity, Ethereum regained its dominance in early April, reclaiming the top spot from Solana, with $64.88 billion in March trading volume compared to Solana’s $52.61 billion. 

On the stablecoin front, Ripple’s integration of its USD-backed stablecoin RLUSD into Ripple Payments helped push its market cap to $293 million, up 21% following the announcement. Circle, the issuer of USDC, filed for an IPO, signaling growing confidence in compliant crypto infrastructure. 

Following a five-year break, token launch platform CoinList is re-entering the US market, capitalizing on the renewed regulatory support from the crypto-friendly Trump administration.

Altcoins bore the brunt of last week’s market decline, with major tokens like ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA plunging 18.9%, 18.3%, 22.2%, and 19.7%, respectively. 

However, within the DeFi ecosystem, bright spots emerged. Maple Finance, a lending protocol, hit a new all-time high with $333 million in active loans and nearly $800 million in TVL, both metrics soaring 33% above their previous November 2024 highs and marking a more than 300% increase since March 2024. Meanwhile, Sonic, formerly Fantom, continued its momentum, with its TVL crossing the $1 billion threshold, making it the 11th-largest chain by TVL.

Weekly price movement: 

• BTC $76,441 ⏬ 6.97% (7d)

• ETH $1,499 ⏬16.80% (7d)

• SOL $100  ⏬19.77% (7d)

• ADA $0.54 ⏬15.22% (7d)

• S (prev. FTM) $0.40 ⏬ 15.11% (7d)

(All data here as of 2:30 p.m., 7 April 2025)

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

• The House Financial Services Committee voted to advance a monumental bill to regulate stablecoins on April 2. The bill, called the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, passed out of that committee with 32 in favor and 17 opposed. Committee Chair French Hill urged the bill’s passage during an hours-long hearing and said regulations were essential for “global competitiveness,” according to The Block.  

• Fidelity Investments rolled out an IRA plan that invests directly in crypto, giving investors another method for tapping this asset class. The brokerage firm offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin to any US citizen over 18. The assets are custodied by Fidelity Digital Assets and held in a cold wallet. The crypto IRA product has no fees, and customers can invest in a Roth IRA, traditional IRA, or rollover IRA, according to CoinDesk.

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

See you later, folks! 👋

Loving the newsletter? Make sure to spread the love and hit share!