Bitcoin Purchase with Customs Revenues on the Agenda
Bo Hines, director of US President Donald Trump’s digital asset advisory board, said in a statement at the White House that the US is evaluating creative ways to increase Bitcoin reserves, such as customs duty revenues and gold revaluation. Hines said, “Everything is on the table,” indicating that Bitcoin has risen to a priority position in strategic reserve plans.
One of the prominent proposals is Senator Cynthia Lummis’s 2025 Bitcoin Reserve Act bill. According to this plan, gold certificates in the Treasury will be revalued at the market price of $ 3,223 instead of the current fixed value of $ 43. This difference in value can be used to purchase Bitcoin without any new debt. Hines also emphasized that revenues from taxes can also be a source for Bitcoin purchases. The White House’s goal of establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve shows that digital assets have become a serious agenda not only in the private sector but also at the public policy level.
CyberKongz Cleared SEC Investigation
Ethereum-based NFT and Web3 game project CyberKongz announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s investigation, which has been ongoing for more than two years, has ended without a result. The project team was investigated for token launches and contract migration in 2021 and received a Wells notification in December 2023. However, this process was eventually closed without any sanctions decision.
The CyberKongz team announced the development with the words, “We are proud to be a small but passionate team fighting for Web3,” and similarly, the fact that projects such as Yuga Labs and OpenSea were recently cleared of SEC investigations paints a positive picture for the sector. CyberKongz hopes that this result will be a guide for token-based projects in the Web3 gaming and NFT space.
VanEck Proposes Bitcoin Bonds for US Debt
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, proposed a Bitcoin-linked treasury bond called “BitBond” as a solution to the US’s $ 14 trillion refinancing needs. 90% of these hybrid bonds with a maturity of 10 years will consist of traditional US Treasury bonds and 10% will consist of Bitcoin investments. According to Sigel, this structure aligns investors’ demand for protection against inflation with the Treasury’s need for low-cost borrowing.
In the Bitcoin structure, investors will receive both the fixed-income treasury payment and the value gain of Bitcoin at the end of the maturity. While the Bitcoin yield remains with the investor up to 4.5%, gains above this level will be shared between the investor and the government. If Bitcoin provides high returns, bonds can offer investors returns of up to 282%. However, in low-coupon bonds, there are losses exceeding 40% if Bitcoin loses value. On the treasury front, the potential for saving billions of dollars per year thanks to low-interest borrowing stands out. Sigel’s thought on this subject was, “In the worst case scenario, cheap funding, in the best case scenario, asymmetric returns on Bitcoin.”
Mantra CEO Plans to Burn 300 Million OM Tokens
Mantra CEO John Mullin announced that he plans to burn 300 million locked OM tokens allocated for the team in order to regain the trust of the community after the sudden crash in the OM token on April 13. These tokens correspond to 16.88% of the total supply and are worth approximately $236 million. Mullin stated that a vote by the community could decide whether to burn the tokens.
However, while some community members welcomed the decision, others expressed concern that it would hurt team motivation in the long term. Mullin announced that he made plans for a buyback and token burn with the $ 109 million Mantra Ecosystem Fund after the crash. He also argued that the price drop was not caused by the team, but by high-volume cross-chain liquidations.
Semler Scientific Settles with DOJ, Prepares for New Bitcoin Purchases
Semler Scientific, a health technology company and major Bitcoin investor, has reached a preliminary settlement of $ 29.75 million with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve allegations of federal fraud statutes violations. The company will secure a loan from Coinbase using its Bitcoin assets as collateral to cover this payment. The deal has not yet been finalized, but has been submitted for court approval.
In addition, Semler is preparing to continue purchasing Bitcoin. The company announced on Tuesday evening that it has launched a new $500 million securities issuance (ATM offering) and that these funds will be used largely to purchase BTC. The company’s president, Eric Semler, tweeted after the deal was announced, “We are ready to buy Bitcoin again.”
Janover Makes $21 Million Solana Move
Public real estate finance platform Janover continues to purchase Solana (SOL) as part of its digital asset strategy. The company has purchased SOL for the third time as part of its plan, which went into effect on April 4, bringing its total to 163,651 Solanas and approximately $21.2 million in assets. CEO Joseph Onorati described the move as, “We are the first publicly traded company in the U.S. to implement a digital asset treasury strategy.”
Janover announced that it will immediately start staking the Solanas it purchased and plans to run its own validator nodes in the future. The move is seen as a variation on the crypto treasury model pioneered by Michael Saylor’s Strategy firm. Other companies like Janover, including Fathom Holdings, Cosmos Health and DeFi Technologies, have recently taken similar steps and started holding digital assets in their reserves.
CleanSpark Moves to Self-Funding with Bitcoin Sales
American Bitcoin miner CleanSpark is starting to self-fund its operations by selling a portion of the Bitcoin it produces each month. The company also secured a $200 million loan secured by Bitcoin through an agreement with Coinbase Prime. CEO Zach Bradford said that with this step, CleanSpark has “reached escape velocity” and can now continue its operations without the need for external resources.
Companies are going through a difficult period due to the general stock declines in the mining sector in the first quarter and the Bitcoin halving in April 2024. Bradford stated that they are now completely moving away from the HODL strategy and will use some of the Bitcoin they produce for operational needs. The company has also established an institutional trading desk to facilitate Bitcoin sales.
Another MP Calls for Bitcoin Reserves in Sweden
Swedish MP Dennis Dioukarev has officially called on the Minister of Finance to include Bitcoin in his country’s national reserves. Citing the steps taken by the US to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve with confiscated digital assets, Dioukarev argued that Sweden should also develop a similar strategy. This proposal follows another MP, Rickard Nordin, who made a similar call last week.
While some political figures in Europe have begun to see Bitcoin as a geopolitical asset and a guarantee of financial freedom, figures such as ECB President Christine Lagarde still maintain their staunch opposition. However, public institutions and private sector moves towards Bitcoin in countries such as the US, Czech Republic and Italy are signaling a transformation despite Europe’s anti-crypto stance.
Stablecoin Supply Could Reach $2 Trillion by 2028
Standard Chartered predicts that the stablecoin supply could increase by nearly 10 times to $2 trillion by the end of 2028, thanks to the GENIUS Act, which is expected to come into force in the US. According to the bank’s analysts, this growth could lead stablecoin issuers to invest $1.6 trillion in US Treasury bonds. This amount would be enough to cover all new T-bill issuance expected during Trump’s second term.
Analysts say the bill would officially recognize the industry and Circle’s short-term reserve model would become the industry standard. These developments are expected to increase demand for the US dollar and maintain its dominant position in global trade. However, in the long term, the development of stablecoin baskets based on different currencies could pose a threat to the dollar’s dominance.
Solayer Offers Direct Spend with Crypto
Solana-based blockchain network Solayer has introduced the Emerald Card, a new non-custodial (self-controlled) crypto debit card that allows users to spend crypto assets without converting them into fiat. The card will run on Solayer’s high-speed InfiniSVM infrastructure and will initially support funds transferred only from SVM wallets. EVM-based chains are also planned to be supported in the future.
Emerald Card, which will be compatible with Apple Pay and Android Pay and can be used in more than 100 countries, will also offer its “Emerald Rewards” rewards program that will give its users access to airdrops and token pre-sales. Solarer also offers a growing ecosystem with financial products such as the sUSD stablecoin and the sSOL liquid staking token.
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BITCOIN (BTC)
BTC is trading at $83,814 as of the morning hours, gaining 0.20% in value. With the rejection from the $86,388 level, it entered a downward trend and retreated to $83,742. It is currently trying to hold on to the horizontal support of 83,858. If sustained below this level, the price could drop to the $80,000 region and there is a risk of a pullback towards the main demand zone of $76,600-$78,000. Above, for a positive momentum again, the 86,388 resistance must be broken and maintained.
ETHEREUM (ETH)
ETH is priced at $ 1,592 with a 0.20% gain as of the morning hours. It failed to overcome the major resistance at $ 1,768 and started to retreat with the sales from here. The price is currently at 1,590 levels and this downward trend may continue towards the demand zone indicated in blue (approximately 1,620 – 1,680). Since this zone is an area of strong buyer interest, a recovery may be seen here. Otherwise, a new downward wave may begin towards $ 1,500. In upward recoveries, the first resistance should be monitored as 1,680 and then 1,768.
RIPPLE (XRP)
XRP is trading at $ 2,088 levels with a 0.20% gain as of the morning hours. It was rejected several times from the horizontal resistance at 2.14 and faced selling pressure as it could not overcome this region. It is currently trading around 2.08. The 2.00 support is quite critical and the price is likely to pull back towards this level. If the 2.00 level is lost, the 1.87 region, which is the Fibonacci 0.5 retracement, may be the next target. In order to talk about a positive outlook above, the 2.14 resistance must be broken.
AVALANCHE (AVAX)
AVAX is trading at $ 18.94 levels with a 0.37% loss in value as of the morning hours. It entered a downward trend after being rejected from the 19.95 resistance. For AVAX, which is currently trading around 18.90, the 17.74 level is the first strong support. Since this level has previously worked as both resistance and support, the price may react from here. However, declines can be seen below this region to the 17.00 – 16.47 range. For the continuation of the upward movement, the 19.95 level must be broken and maintained above it.
SOLANA (SOL)
SOL is trading at $ 126.30 with a 0.13% gain as of the morning hours. After testing the strong resistance area in the $ 136 – $ 140 band, it started to retreat by receiving a clear rejection from this area. The inability to hold on above $ 132 increased the selling pressure, pulling the price down to $ 126. It is currently priced just above the critical support level of $ 124. If this level is broken, the first downward target will be the $ 112 – $ 110 range. However, if there is a reaction from the 124 level, the $ 132 resistance can be tested again. Daily closes above $ 136 are required for the continuation of the rise.
