Trump’s CFPB Chairman Russell Vought Cuts Funding and Halts Inspections
Russell Vought, the new chairman of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has cut funding and suspended all inspections and investigations. Vought, who announced that he would not request new funding from the Federal Reserve, argued that the current budget of $711.6 million is excessive. The CFPB is known as an agency that oversees financial institutions, including banks and crypto asset service providers. The move could weaken the CFPB’s influence and increase regulatory gaps in the financial sector. Opponents argue that the decision will leave consumers unprotected.
Trump’s Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Shook Markets
US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports led to a brief decline in Bitcoin and the general crypto markets. Bitcoin fell to $94,000 after the news, but quickly recovered to $97,000. Ethereum also exhibited a similar move, falling to $2,537 before rising to $2,645. The total value of the crypto market fell from $3.15 trillion to $3.10 trillion, but later recovered to $3.13 trillion. Trump’s plans to impose new taxes that will deepen the trade war with the EU and other countries are increasing uncertainty in the markets.
SEC Postpones BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF Options Decision Until April
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on whether to allow options trading for BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust until April 9, 2025. The SEC said it needed additional time to further evaluate the issue. The SEC also requested public input on allowing options trading for Fidelity’s spot Ethereum ETF. Organizations such as Better Markets argued that options carry risks for individual investors and should be approached with caution.
CFTC Chair Caroline Pham Announces Stablecoin-Backed Tokenization Pilot
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Interim Chair Caroline Pham plans to launch a pilot program for stablecoin-backed tokenization. The forum will bring together the CEOs of major digital asset companies such as Coinbase, Ripple and Circle.
Pham aims to increase the use of non-cash collateral using distributed ledger technology. The initiative, which she previously proposed, was not supported by the previous administration. While the date of the forum has not yet been determined, Pham aims to ensure that the US leads the way in digital asset markets, in line with the Trump administration’s vision for economic leadership.
BlackRock Increases Stake in Strategy to 5%
BlackRock has increased its ownership in Strategy (MSTR) shares to 5% with its latest 13G filing. This represents a 0.91 percentage point increase from the company’s 4.09% stake on September 30, 2024. Such filings are made when an investor acquires a 5% or greater stake without intending to control the company. In addition, Strategy’s preferred stock, codenamed STRK, which started trading on Nasdaq, closed up 2% after its debut and gained another 5% in pre-market transactions.
Strategy Prepares for New Bitcoin Purchase
While the fluctuations in Bitcoin prices continue, Strategy’s co-founder Michael Saylor gave signals that the company could make a new Bitcoin purchase. The company has so far invested approximately $30 billion, accumulating 471,107 BTC and has earned $15 billion in unrealized gains with these assets. It was also stated that the company aims to invest $42 billion worth of Bitcoin within the scope of the ’21/21 Plan’ and has used $20 billion of this budget so far. Despite falling revenues and increasing market uncertainty, Strategy is expected to stick to its Bitcoin buy strategy.
Ondo Finance Announces New L1 Network
The Cosmos ecosystem is becoming a major hub for Real World Assets (RWA) with Ondo Finance’s new Layer 1 blockchain, Ondo Chain. Announced at the Ondo Summit in New York, Ondo Chain is designed as an omnichain network that supports institutional-grade RWA, collateral verification, and native margin features.
In addition, projects such as Mantra and Noble continue to expand their RWA solutions in the Cosmos ecosystem. Mantra’s OM token has gained 68% in the past 14 days, despite the market crash triggered by Trump’s new tariff decisions. With increasing institutional interest, the Cosmos ecosystem is expected to continue to grow in RWA-focused financial products and services.
Demand for Ethereum ETFs Surpasses Bitcoin
In recent weeks, Ethereum spot ETFs have stood out by recording more net inflows than Bitcoin ETFs. Since January 29, Ethereum ETFs have only seen inflows, while last week they attracted a total of $420.2 million. Despite this, the ETH price remained at $2,600, down 14%. On the other hand, Bitcoin ETFs had a mixed week. Although there were outflows on some days after the Trump administration’s new tariffs, the weekly net inflow was $203.8 million. However, the BTC price fell only 3% on a weekly basis, falling below $92,000. Ethereum ETFs are outperforming Bitcoin ETFs, raising expectations of a possible “flippening” in the market.
Onchain RWAs Rise as Bitcoin Stalls
As Bitcoin’s price falls below the $100,000 psychological level, investors are turning to onchain real-world assets (RWAs) in search of stable and yielding alternatives. With the tokenization steps of financial giants such as BlackRock and JPMorgan, it is predicted that the total locked assets (TVL) of RWAs could reach $50 billion by 2025. There are $450 trillion worth of assets in traditional financial markets, and even a 1% transition holds huge growth potential for RWAs. Institutional investors are showing more interest in RWAs due to the fluctuations in the crypto market, and it is estimated that this segment could turn into a $30 trillion market by 2030.
Kentucky and Maryland Put Bitcoin Reserve Laws on the Agenda
Maryland and Kentucky have put Bitcoin investments on the agenda to strengthen their state reserves. The bill presented in Maryland allows the state treasury to invest in Bitcoin with certain funds, while Kentucky’s bill only foresees investments in digital assets over $750 billion. Thus, Bitcoin stands out. These developments show the interest of states in creating Bitcoin reserves; Utah and Arizona are progressing in the legislative process. North Dakota was the only state to reject such a bill.
——————————————————————————————
BITCOIN (BTC)
BTC is priced at $ 97,000 as of the morning hours with a 0.56% gain in value. It is trading just below the resistance at 97,746 as the day begins. This level must be exceeded in order for the upward movement to continue. If it is sustained above, the 99,510 level can be targeted. For a stronger rise, pricing above 101,248 will gain importance. In downward movements, the 96,113 level is the first support. If this level is lost, the 95,387 and 94,261 levels can be tested. In a deeper correction, the 93,227 level stands out as critical support.
ETHEREUM (ETH)
ETH is priced at $ 2,633 as of the morning hours with a 0.30% gain in value and the 2,678 level is followed as the nearest resistance. If this level is exceeded, the 2,761 level can be targeted. For a stronger rise, pricing above 2,924 will gain importance. In downward movements, the 2,581 level is the first support position. If this level is lost, the 2,523 and 2,399 levels can be tested. In a deeper correction, the 2,260 level stands out as critical support.
RIPPLE (XRP)
XRP is priced at $ 2.3895 as of the morning hours with a 0.11% loss in value. The 2.4665 level is followed as the nearest resistance for XRP. If this level is exceeded, the 2.5506 level can be targeted. Prices above 2.6551 will gain importance for a stronger rise. In downward movements, the 2.3633 level is the first support. If this level is lost, 2.2395, and then in deeper corrections, 2.0470 stand out as critical support.
AVALANCHE (AVAX)
AVAX is trading at $ 25.13 levels with a 1% gain as of the morning hours. AVAX, which retreated to $ 23.93 levels during the night hours, is showing movement just below the $ 25.55 resistance after rapid recoveries. If the positive trend continues, this level is broken and maintained above it, $ 27.64 and then $ 28.90 levels are the next resistance positions. In case of a possible negative trend, the 23.93 support level can be tested again. If selling pressure increases from this level, 22.73 can be expected to work as critical support.
SOLANA (SOL)
SOL is priced at $ 201.70 as of the morning hours with a 0.67% loss in value. SOL is currently moving just below the $ 202.37 resistance. It will be important for this level to be broken and maintained above it for the possible positive trend to continue. Then, the region where the levels of 215.66, 219.195 and 225.78 are located respectively appears as the region where sellers are concentrated. For this reason, these levels can be expected to work as resistance. In case of a possible negative trend, $ 196.03 can be expected as intermediate support and then $ 189.13 as the main support.
