There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin

$82,222.22



4.29%

Ethereum

$2,062.66



5.33%

Tether

$1.00

陋

0.02%

XRP

$2.20



5.53%

Solana

$127.28



8.01%

USDC

$1.00



0.00%

See the latest prices

MARKET BYTES

Crypto prices surge and fall following Trump’s crypto, tariff announcements

Buckle your seatbelts, because a wild week of headlines has resulted in another rollercoaster ride for crypto prices. Here’s what you need to know…

How did Trump’s “Crypto Strategic Reserve” plan and tariff strategy impact markets?

After bitcoin closed out February down 19% — the worst monthly decline since 2022 — markets got a boost on Sunday when President Trump announced his intention to launch a strategic crypto reserve that would hold bitcoin, ether, Solana, XRP, and Cardano. 

In the immediate aftermath of the president’s social media posts, prices for a wide range of tokens spiked — with BTC rising from below $80,000 to more than $95,000. 

On Tuesday, however, as the Trump administration’s new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China went into effect, BTC returned almost all of its gains; ETH fell to its lowest level since November 2023; and Solana declined to pre-election prices. By Wednesday morning, all three had regained ground on hopes that the U.S. could reach a tariff compromise with Canada and Mexico.

• Why didn’t the announcement drive a more durable rally? One factor analysts pointed to was uncertainty around how the crypto reserve would be funded and how it would function — questions that could potentially get some answers this Friday at the first meeting of the new White House Crypto Summit. (More on the crypto industry’s response to Trump’s plan in the main story below.)

The SEC ruled that most memecoins aren’t securities 

For years, the crypto industry has sought greater regulatory clarity from the U.S. government. On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided an important piece of guidance, noting that memecoins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or Official Trump are not securities and are instead “more akin to collectibles.”

“A meme coin does not constitute any of the common financial instruments specifically enumerated in the definition of ‘security’ because, among other things, it does not generate a yield or convey rights to future income, profits, or assets of a business,” read the statement from the agency’s Division of Corporation Finance.

• Meme scene… The decision could offer additional insight for how U.S. exchanges list memecoins, while also providing clarity to consumers, said SEC commissioner Hester Peirce. “It's also useful for Congress, as Congress is thinking about what legislation should look like,” Peirce noted. 

Crypto investment products saw record outflows  

The biggest single-week decline of crypto investment products saw outflows totalling $2.9 billion last week, with BTC ETFs making up $2.6 billion of that number, according to CoinShares’ latest report. 

After 19 straight weeks of inflows, outflows have grown over the last three weeks to $3.8 billion. According to CoinShares’ Head of Research, James Butterfill, major factors include fallout from the recent $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange, “a more hawkish Federal Reserve,” and traders selling for profit after the long period of inflows boosted prices. 

• Shiny future… A new forecast from State Street Capital predicts that crypto ETFs as a category will soon surpass precious metals, with ETFs for new tokens set to emerge and crypto ETFs becoming more popular with investment advisors. “Such a move would install digital token ETFs as the third-largest asset class in the rapidly growing $15 trillion ETF industry,” notes the Financial Times, “behind only equities and bonds and ahead of real estate, alternative, and multi-asset funds.”

TAKES

How the crypto industry is reacting to Trump’s “Crypto Strategic Reserve” announcement

In a series of social posts on Sunday, President Trump announced that he was planning to create a “Crypto Strategic Reserve” for the U.S. government that would hold bitcoin, ether, and three other tokens.

Following the news, bitcoin, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA all clocked double digit gains, before dipping again to start the week. In the days since, initial reactions to the plan’s details have begun to roll in. 

Here’s a look at what Trump announced, and what some crypto industry leaders had to say about Trump’s plan. 

What is a strategic crypto reserve?

Many governments have built “strategic reserves” of assets deemed to be critical resources. Here in the U.S., for instance, our Strategic Petroleum Reserve and gold reserve are both the largest stockpiles of their kind in the world. 

A crypto reserve would work the same way — as a government-controlled stockpile of assets that could be liquidated or used in times of crisis. In his social posts announcing the plan, Trump called crypto a “critical industry,” and restated his claim to make the U.S. the “Crypto Capital” of the world.

What specifically is Trump proposing?

Initially, much of the conversation around the government owning crypto centered around Bitcoin. To the surprise of some industry leaders, however, Trump has now proposed a fund that would buy and hold BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and ADA. 

That said, some of the specifics have not been released yet, and Trump’s proposal does not yet detail how the reserve would be funded, how assets would be chosen to be included in the fund, and how much of the fund would be allocated to each asset. 

What do crypto industry leaders think?

Reactions to the plan have been mixed, especially regarding the specific assets included in Trump’s proposal. Here’s what some prominent crypto voices have had to say…

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase 

While Armstrong said that he was still forming his opinion, he suggested a bitcoin-specific stockpile might be the optimal strategy:

“Just Bitcoin would probably be the best option – simplest, and clear story as a successor to gold,” Armstrong said on X. And if people wanted more variety, “you could do a market cap weighted index of crypto assets to keep it unbiased.”

Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise

Horsley said that he was grateful for the Trump administration’s openness to digital currencies, but added that he’d prefer a BTC stockpile.

"Many crypto assets have merits, but what we're talking about here isn't a U.S. investment portfolio,” wrote Horsley. “We're talking about a reserve, and bitcoin is the undisputed store of value for the digital age.”

James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares

Butterfill also expressed surprise around the inclusion of altcoins in the reserve proposal.

“Unlike Bitcoin, which serves as a fixed-supply asset that can help hedge against a depreciating fiat currency, these assets are akin to tech investments,” said Butterfill. “The announcement suggests a more patriotic stance toward the broader crypto technology space, with little regard for the fundamental qualities of these assets."

Yves La Rose, CEO and co-founder of the EOS Network Foundation

La Rose, who runs the foundation behind the EOS blockchain, was enthusiastic about the proposal and suggested that it sets a “powerful precedent for the future of digital finance.”

“While most expected a ‘bitcoin-only’ approach,”  La Rose said, “this pivot underscores digital assets’ multi-dimensional potential, paving the way for advanced settlement solutions and bridging global finance.” 

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs

Garlinghouse, whose company Ripple Labs uses XRP as part of its digital payment network, praised Trump’s proposal while also signalling support for the White House’s decision to go beyond a “bitcoin only” approach: 

“Maximalism is the enemy of the industry’s progress,” wrote Garlinghouse. “Glad to see POTUS recognizing we live in a multichain world.”

NUMBERS TO KNOW

156 BTC

Amount of bitcoin (worth around $13.4 million) that Japanese investment firm Metaplanet bought on Monday, bringing its total holdings up to 2,391 BTC (about $192 million). As of Monday, Metaplanet was up about $21.3 million on its bitcoin strategy.

70%

Percentage of Ricardo Salinas’ personal portfolio that the Mexican telecom and retail billionaire holds in bitcoin. A vocal bitcoin proponent, Salinas previously announced plans to make his bank, Banco Azteza, the first in Mexico to accept BTC.

24%

The percent decrease that VC investments in crypto startups saw in February, according to data from DefiLlama. Despite the down month, the head of Galaxy Ventures recently told DLNews that "we don’t believe the price action over the last month will have a detrimental impact on the VC landscape over the course of 2025.”

CRYPTO 101

Answering frequently asked questions from crypto beginners

Welcome back to Crypto 101, where we’re answering some of the most common questions we encounter from Coinbase users who are early in their crypto journeys. This week, a frequent question about timing the market.

Question: “When is the best time to buy bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies?"

Answer: Even if you’re brand-new to crypto, you probably know that crypto markets can sometimes be volatile and prices can change quickly. Since last Friday, bitcoin whipsawed from $79,000 up to $ 94,000, and then back down to $82,000 before returning to $90,000 😵‍💫.

So, instead of trying to “time the market” and buying one large amount of crypto all at once at a specific price, many crypto traders use a strategy called dollar-cost averaging (or “DCA”), to buy smaller amounts on a regular schedule. 

This way, traders can choose any amount they’re comfortable setting aside on a weekly or monthly schedule and end up with a larger position over time, without having to worry about the price at any given moment.

Additional benefits of this set-it-and-forget-it strategy include removing the emotional aspect of investing decisions and reducing the impact of market volatility. Regardless of higher or lower prices at any specific moment, the goal is to acquire more of an asset at an average price over time.

If you’re interested in trying this for yourself, you can start using dollar-cost averaging today by selecting “Recurring buy” in the Coinbase app.

TOKEN TRIVIA

The SEC is considering applications for which of the following crypto ETFs?

Find the answer below.

Trivia Answer