Bitcoin holds firm as stocks lose $5T in record Trump tariff sell-off

Bitcoin is gaining renewed attention as a hedge against financial instability after holding relatively steady during a record-breaking stock market downturn that saw $5 trillion wiped from the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 posted a $5 trillion loss in market capitalization over two days, its largest drop on record, surpassing the $3.3 trillion decline in March 2020 during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 5 report by Reuters.

The record sell-off occurred after US President Donald Trump announced his reciprocal import tariffs on April 2. The measures aim to shrink the country’s estimated trade deficit of $1.2 trillion in goods and boost domestic manufacturing.

S&P 500 record $5.4 trillion loss. Source: Zerohedge

Bitcoin’s (BTC) dip after the tariff announcement was significantly smaller than

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-outperforms-stock-market-during-trump-tariff-selloff?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.

The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.

While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.

According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.

Source: Web.archive.org

Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.

The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto,

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/satoshi-nakamoto-50-bitcoin-becomes-us-reserve-asset?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund explained: Why it matters for crypto and TradFi

What is BlackRock’s BUIDL fund?

BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Fund, BUIDL, is BlackRock’s first tokenized money market fund. It enables these traditional financial products to be traded as cryptographic tokens on blockchains. 

A money market fund is a mutual fund that invests in high liquidity, short-term debt instruments. These funds aim to provide investors with a place to park money temporarily, returning a level of income without massive capital appreciation. They typically include cash, cash equivalents and high-credit rating debt securities like US Treasurys.

Blackrock is the world’s largest asset manager. It now provides blockchain-based money markets via blockchains like Solana and Ethereum. Essentially, the firm has taken the idea of traditional money market funds and combined it with the distributed ledger and payment characteristics of blockchains. 

The fund has reported explosive growth, rocketing from $667 million to $1.8 billion of assets under management in

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/explained/blackrocks-buidl-fund-explained-why-it-matters-for-crypto-and-tradfi?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.

On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.

Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”

Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.

The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/united-states-stock-market-decline-market-cap-crypto-wall-street?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

SEC paints 'a distorted picture' of USD-stablecoin market — Crenshaw

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner and vocal crypto critic Caroline Crenshaw has accused the US regulator of downplaying risks and misrepresenting the US stablecoin market in its newly published guidelines.

However, many in the crypto industry see the SEC’s decision as a step in the right direction.

In an April 4 statement, Crenshaw said that the SEC’s statement on stablecoins — issued on the same day — contained “legal and factual errors that paint a distorted picture of the USD-stablecoin market that drastically understates its risks.”

Crenshaw disagrees, crypto industry applauds

Under the new SEC guidelines, stablecoins that meet certain criteria are now considered “non-securities” and are exempt from transaction reporting requirements.

Crenshaw disputed the accuracy of the analysis made by the SEC in arriving at that decision. She pushed back on the SEC for reiterating issuer actions “that supposedly stabilize price,

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sec-stablecoin-guidelines-challenged-caroline-crenshaw?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Bitcoin traders prepare for rally to $100K as ‘decoupling’ and ‘gold leads BTC’ trend takes shape

Bitcoin (BTC) price could head back toward the $100,000 level quicker than investors expected if the early signs of its decoupling from the US stock market and gold continue.

Source: Cory Bates / X

The “gold leads, Bitcoin follows” relationship is starting

Bitcoin has shrugged off the market jitters caused by US President Donald Trump’s April 2 global tariff announcement.

While BTC initially dropped over 3% to around $82,500, it eventually rebounded by roughly 4.5% to cross $84,700. In contrast, the S&P 500 plunged 10.65% this week, and gold—after hitting a record $3,167 on April 3—has slipped 4.8%.

BTC/USD vs. gold and S&P 500 daily performance chart. Source: TradingView

The fresh divergence is fueling the “gold-leads-Bitcoin narrative,” taking cues from price trends from late 2018 through mid-2019 to

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-traders-prepare-for-rally-to-100-k-as-decoupling-and-gold-leads-btc-trend-takes-shape?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Crypto stocks down, IPOs punted amid tariff tumult

Cryptocurrency firms felt the heat from US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout this week as market turbulence sent share prices tumbling and foiled initial public offering (IPO) plans. 

From exchanges to Bitcoin (BTC) miners, crypto stocks suffered as much, if not more, than shares of other companies — despite the industry’s warm relationship with the US president. 

On April 2, Trump announced he was placing tariffs of at least 10% on practically all imports into the United States and adding additional “reciprocal” tariffs on some 57 countries. 

Since then, major US stock indices — including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — tumbled by roughly 10% as traders braced for a looming trade war. 

Bitcoin miners sold off on Trump’s tariff news. Source: Morningstar

Related: Bitcoin ‘decouples,’ stocks lose $3.5T amid Trump tariff war and Fed warning of ‘higher

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-stocks-down-ipos-punted-amid-tariff-tumult?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Brazilian court authorizes crypto seizure for debt collection — Report

Brazilian judges have been authorized to seize cryptocurrency assets from debtors who owe money and are behind on their payments, signaling a growing recognition that digital assets can be both a form of payment and a store of value.

According to local media reports, the Third Panel of Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice unanimously authorized judges to send letters to cryptocurrency brokers informing them about their intent to seize an account holder’s assets to repay creditors.

The report was confirmed by the Superior Court of Justice, which issued a notice on its website.

The decision was reached unanimously by the Third Panel, which reviewed a case brought forward by a creditor.

“Although they are not legal tender, crypto assets can be used as a form of payment and as a store of value,” a translated version of the Superior Court of Justice’s memo read.

Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/STJnoticias/status/1907851665945858201" rel="null" target="null"

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/brazilian-court-authorizes-crypto-seizure-debt-collection-report?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

SEC lays out guidelines for stablecoins, excludes algorithmic tokens

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a statement on April 4 establishing guidelines for stablecoins.

In an April 4 statement, the agency minted a new term, “covered stablecoins,” classifying them as non-securities and exempting such tokens’ transactions from reporting requirements.

According to the SEC’s definition, a “covered stablecoin” is fully backed by physical fiat reserves or short-term, low-risk, highly liquid instruments and is fully redeemable at a 1:1 ratio with US dollars.

The definition precludes algorithmic stablecoins that maintain their US dollar peg using software or an automated trading strategy, leaving the regulatory status of algorithmic stablecoins, synthetic dollars, and yield-bearing fiat tokens uncertain.

Current stablecoin market overview. Source: RWA.XYZ

Industry leaders and executives are currently pushing for regulatory changes that would allow stablecoin issuers to share yield opportunities with stablecoin holders and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null"

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/united-states-sec-covered-stablecoins-not-securities?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Bitcoin ‘decouples,’ stocks lose $3.5T amid Trump tariff war and Fed warning of ‘higher inflation’

As stock markets crumbled for a second day on April 4, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the Trump administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” could significantly affect the economy, potentially leading to “higher inflation and slower growth.”

Addressing the public at a conference on April 4, Powell maintained a cautious approach and noted that tariffs could spike inflation “in the coming quarters,” complicating the Fed’s 2% inflation target, just months after rate cuts indicated a soft landing. Powell said,

“While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent.” 

Moments before Powell’s speech, US President Donald Trump called out the Fed chair to “CUT INTEREST RATES” in a post on the Truth Social, taking a jab at Powell for being “always late.”

Source: Truth Social

Currently, the Fed

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-decouples-stocks-lose-3-5-t-amid-trump-tariff-war-and-fed-warning-of-higher-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound