KEYTAKEAWAYS
- Bitwise analyst predicts Trump's trade policies will ultimately accelerate Bitcoin adoption despite causing short-term turmoil, as 72% of Wall Street leaders now find his economic plan ineffective.
- Global markets suffer historic losses with $4.9 trillion in stock value evaporated in two days, while 91,900 BTC were withdrawn from exchanges last month amid rising mining difficulty.
- Major token unlocks approach for CHEEL ($161M), APT ($53.7M), and SAGA ($35.1M) as FTX extends verification deadline to June 1 for upcoming $11B creditor repayments.
CONTENT
1. Bitwise Analyst: Trade War Will Accelerate Bitcoin Adoption
According to Cointelegraph, Bitwise analyst Jeff Park said that Trump’s trade policy may trigger global macroeconomic turmoil and short-term financial crisis, but will ultimately accelerate the widespread adoption of Bitcoin as a store of value.
Park believes the uncertainty caused by the trade war will prompt governments to adopt more inflationary fiscal and monetary policies, leading to further depreciation of fiat currencies and encouraging global funds to flow into inflation-resistant, non-sovereign assets like Bitcoin.
2. Crypto Game Developer Neon Machine Faces Financial Crisis
According to Blockworks, Neon Machine, developer of crypto shooting game Shrapnel, is facing serious financial difficulties after spending nearly $86.9 million in operating funds.
Despite $21.7 million in 2024 revenue, high operating costs of about $33 million resulted in a net loss of $11.4 million. The company’s monthly burn rate is $2-3.5 million, it has outstanding debt to suppliers, and a planned financing round failed to materialize.
Staff has dropped from nearly 100 people to only a dozen, with at least three rounds of layoffs and voluntary salary reductions. The Seattle office closed in March, yet the company still claims it will launch Shrapnel globally by the end of 2025.
3. Web3 Social App Phaver Shuts Down, Token Drops 99%
According to DeFi researcher Ignas, Web3 social media application Phaver has ceased operations, with its token price falling 99% since the Token Generation Event (TGE) in September 2024.
Phaver team members cited technical problems with the TGE and airdrops, over $1 million spent on exchange listings, and insufficient operating funds due to low market sentiment preventing token sales.
Some former team members are now developing SocialDAO to find new uses for SOCIAL tokens.
4. World’s 500 Richest People Lose $536 Billion in Two Days
According to The Kobeissi Letter, citing Bloomberg data, the world’s 500 richest people experienced the largest two-day net worth loss in history between April 3-4, losing $536 billion – $83 billion more than during March 11-12, 2020.
5. HashKey Group CEO: Public Chains Will Become Financial Infrastructure
At the Web3 Festival, Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, delivered an opening speech stating that public blockchains will become the infrastructure of the future financial market system.
HashKey Chain, the group’s independently developed public blockchain, is accelerating development around asset issuance, clearing, and settlement, focusing on RWA, MMF, and stablecoin applications.
The chain has already partnered with traditional financial institutions like China Pacific Insurance and Bosera Fund to support on-chain financial asset issuance.
6. 72% of Wall Street Leaders Say Trump’s Economic Plan Ineffective
Forbes surveyed 50 top Wall Street leaders including billionaire investors, major institutional asset managers, and wealth advisors, finding that 72% believe Trump’s economic plan has been ineffective, and 66% do not support his economic policies.
Among previous Trump supporters, more than one-third no longer back his policies, and 54% say he’s failing in execution.
When rating specific policies on a 1-5 scale, Wall Street gave Trump’s tariffs just 1.86, with stock market policy at 1.96. Only deregulation (3.08) and the cost-cutting DOGE agency (2.96) received somewhat positive scores.
7. Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits Record High
Cloverpool data showed that Bitcoin mining difficulty was adjusted at block height 891,072 on April 5, increasing by 6.81% to a record high of 121.51 T.
8. Global Markets Lose $4.9 Trillion as Trump Urges Patience
According to Xinhua News Agency, Trump’s “reciprocal tariff” policy has caused turbulence in global stock markets, with AJ Bell analysts estimating that about $4.9 trillion has been wiped from global stock values. The Financial Times reported that the US stock market alone has shrunk by $5.9 trillion in two days.
Trump reposted a video titled “Trump is causing a stock market crash… but he does it on purpose” and later admitted the tariff policy had caused global shock, but urged Americans to “remain patient,” calling it an “economic revolution” with “historic” final results.
9. UBS: Tariffs to Add 2% to US Inflation by Year-End
A UBS report forecasts that Trump’s tariffs may increase US consumer prices by about 2 percentage points by the end of this year, assuming only partial pass-through to consumers.
Despite the inflation challenge for the Fed, UBS believes a sharp slowdown in economic growth and potential labor market weakness will lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 75-100 basis points through the remainder of 2025.
10. Bill Ackman Predicts Trump May Pause Tariff Implementation
Crypto-friendly billionaire investor Bill Ackman suggested that President Trump may pause or push back the implementation of his controversial tariffs.
“I would not be surprised to wake up Monday with an announcement from the President that he was postponing the implementation of the tariffs to give him time to make deals,” Ackman posted on X on April 5.
Ackman, who famously stated “crypto is here to stay” after FTX’s collapse, noted that a pause would be logical to allow time for potential deals and for companies to prepare, warning that “the risk of not doing so is that the massive increase in uncertainty drives the economy into a recession.”
11. Major Token Unlocks Coming Next Week
Token Unlocks data showed that several tokens will undergo significant unlocks next week:
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Cheelee (CHEEL): 20.81 million tokens ($161 million) on April 13
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Aptos (APT): 11.31 million tokens ($53.7 million) on April 12
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Saga (SAGA): 133 million tokens ($35.1 million) on April 9
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Axie Infinity (AXS): 9.09 million tokens ($24.5 million) on April 12
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Movement (MOVE): 50 million tokens ($18.5 million) on April 9
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Tensor (TNSR): 120 million tokens ($15.1 million) on April 8
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Neon (NEON): 53.91 million tokens ($6.1 million) on April 7
12. FTX Extends User Verification Deadline to June 1
According to Cointelegraph, FTX has extended its user verification deadline from March 3 to June 1, 2025, giving users another opportunity to verify their identity and apply for eligibility.
Users who miss the new deadline may be permanently disqualified. The next round of FTX creditor repayments is scheduled for May 30, 2025, expected to distribute more than $11 billion to creditors with claims exceeding $50,000.
13. ZachXBT: “Will Not Recommend Coinbase to Anyone”
On-chain investigator ZachXBT posted on X: “Coinb has locked my account twice for no reason in the past month (and again today), and Coinbase’s customer data has been leaked but has not been transparently disclosed (leading to theft), so I will not recommend Coinbase as an exchange to anyone (even though Coinbase offers a good APR).”
14. Michael Saylor: Bitcoin “Made in USA” Will Reach $1 Million
In response to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen’s post that an iPhone made in the United States could cost $10,000, Strategy founder Michael Saylor replied that Bitcoin “made in the United States” would reach $1 million.
Saylor had previously stated that Bitcoin was not “afraid” of tariffs and provided resilience during the U.S. stock market crash because “traders only sell what they can, not what they want to sell” during market panics.
15. 91,900 BTC Withdrawn from Exchanges in Past Month
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported on X that 91,900 BTC were withdrawn from exchanges in the past month, indicating a significant shift toward long-term holding or self-custody.
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