Decentral Block Post

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH) has lost almost half its value two months after Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, told his 5.7 million followers that it was a “great time” to add the biggest altcoin to their portfolios.

Source: X/Eric Trump

President Trump spoils son’s bullish ETH outlook

As of March 31, Ether was trading for as low as $1,820, down approximately 40% since Eric Trump’s bullish tweet.

ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Meanwhile, Ether’s crypto market share has plunged from 10.28% at the time of Eric Trump’s X post to 8.39% as of March 31, the lowest since 2020.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought nearly $2 billion of Bitcoin, taking advantage of a recent price dip despite growing market concerns tied to US President Donald Trump’s upcoming tariff announcement.

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, acquired 22,048 Bitcoin (BTC) for $1.92 billion at an average price of $86,969 per Bitcoin.

The company now holds over 528,000 Bitcoin acquired for $35.63 billion at an average price of $67,458 per BTC, announced Saylor, the co-founder of Strategy, in a March 31 X post.

Source: Michael Saylor

Strategy is the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder and surpassed the 500,000 Bitcoin holdings milestone on March 24, days after Saylor hinted at an upcoming Bitcoin buy as the company announced the pricing of its latest tranche of preferred stock on March 21.

Metaplanet — a Japanese firm following in Strategy’s footsteps by focusing on accumulating Bitcoin — issued 2 billion Japanese yen ($13.3 million) of bonds to buy more BTC.

According to a March 31 filing, Metaplanet issued the zero-interest bonds by allocating them via its Evo Fund to fuel its Bitcoin purchases. Investors will be allowed to redeem the newly-issued securities at full face value by Sept. 30.

The firm’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, wrote in an X post that the company was taking advantage of the recent downturn in Bitcoin prices. The announcement comes as Bitcoin changed hands for about $82,000 at the time of writing, down 25% from its all-time high of over $109,000.

Related: Metaplanet share price rises 4,800% as company stacks BTC

Source: Simon Gerovich

Cryptocurrency investors are increasingly moving capital into stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) in a bid to avoid volatility ahead of US President Donald Trump’s widely anticipated tariff announcement on April 2.

Increasingly, more capital is flowing into stablecoins and the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector, which refers to financial products and tangible assets such as real estate and fine art minted on the blockchain.

“Stablecoins and RWAs continue to see steady inflows of capital as safe havens in the current uncertain market,” crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock wrote in a March 31 X post.

“However, because these assets reside on-chain, even slight shifts in sentiment can trigger significant price movements, driven by the lower barriers to reallocating capital in real time,” the firm noted.

Stablecoins, total market cap. Source: IntoTheBlock

Cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) continued to see modest inflows last week, extending a reversal from a record-breaking streak of outflows.

Global crypto ETPs posted $226 million in inflows in the last trading week, adding to the prior week’s $644 million inflows, CoinShares reported on March 31.

Despite the two-week positive trend after a five-week outflow streak, total assets under management (AUM) continued to decline, dropping below $134 million by March 28.

Weekly crypto ETP flows since late 2024. Source: CoinShares

Last week’s inflows suggest positive but cautious investor behavior amid core Personal Consumption Expenditures in the US coming in above expectations, CoinShares’ head of research James Butterfill said.

Several members of US President Donald Trump’s family are backing a new venture to launch what aims to become the world’s largest Bitcoin mining firm.

Hut 8, a digital asset mining and infrastructure company, announced on March 31 that it is acquiring a majority stake in American Bitcoin, formerly known as American Data Center. The firm was founded by a group of investors, including Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

Related: Bitcoin miner Hut 8 argues to toss ‘short and distort’ shareholder suit

As part of the deal, American Bitcoin will take ownership of Hut 8’s Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware. Donald Trump Jr. said that the entrepreneurs behind American Data Centers have backed their conviction in Bitcoin personally and through their businesses.

The new venture “aims to become the world’s largest, most efficient pure-play Bitcoin miner while building a robust strategic Bitcoin reserve,” the announcement said. Mining operations will remain under Hut 8’s compute segment but will operate through the American Bitcoin brand. Donald Trump Jr. added:

Key takeaways

US crypto investors must file their 2024 tax returns by April 15, 2025, ensuring all crypto transactions are accurately reported to the IRS.

Crypto held for less than a year is taxed as ordinary income (10%-37%), while holdings over a year qualify for lower capital gains rates (0%, 15%, or 20%).

Selling, trading, or spending crypto triggers taxes, while holding or transferring between wallets does not.

Mining, staking, airdrops, and crypto payments are taxed as income at applicable rates.

The world of cryptocurrencies can indeed be an exciting space for investors, but as the tax season approaches, many US investors find themselves grappling with confusion and uncertainty. 

Coinbase users may have lost as much as $46 million to suspected phishing scams over the past two weeks as rising crypto prices continue to attract bad actors to the industry.

Scams such as address poisoning and wallet spoofing involve tricking victims into sending assets to fraudulent wallet addresses that closely resemble legitimate ones.

According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, multiple Coinbase-linked wallets have been targeted this month. A screenshot from blockchain explorer Blockchair shows a suspected 400 Bitcoin (BTC) theft from a single wallet address.

“It is suspected a Coinbase user was scammed yesterday for $34.9M (400.099 BTC),” the investigator wrote in a March 28 Telegram post. “After uncovering this theft I noticed multiple other suspected thefts from Coinbase users in the past two weeks bringing the total stolen this month to $46M+,” he added.

Suspected 400 BTC phishing theft victim. Source: Blockchair

Bitcoin (BTC) limps into the end of Q1 on 13% losses as fresh macroeconomic volatility looms.

BTC price action risks a fresh dip below $80,000 as new US trade tariffs weigh on risk-asset sentiment.

Crypto traders’ tariff woes focus on April 2, dubbed  “Liberation Day” by US President Donald Trump, while gold heads higher.

Despite the doom and gloom, Bitcoin has had a relatively mild March, while Q1 threatens to be its worst in seven years.

Profitability currently points the way to a bull market drawdown with no realistic bottom in sight.

Opinion by: Andrey Sergeenkov, researcher, analyst and writer

Crypto founders love big promises: decentralized finance, banking the unbanked and freedom from intermediaries. Then hacks happen. In some cases, billions vanish overnight. 

On Feb. 21, 2025, the North Korean Lazarus Group stole $1.46 billion from Bybit. They sent phishing emails to staff with cold wallet access. After compromising these accounts, they accessed Bybit’s interface and replaced the multisignature wallet contract with their malicious version. When Bybit attempted a routine transfer, the hackers redirected 499,000 Ether (ETH) to addresses they controlled.

This wasn’t just a human error. This was a design failure. A system that allows human factors to enable a billion-dollar theft isn’t innovative — it’s irresponsible.

People are not protected

In just 10 days, the hackers converted all 499,000 ETH into untraceable funds, using THORChain as their primary channel. The decentralized exchange processed a record $4.66 billion in swaps in a week but implemented no safeguards against suspicious activity.

Crypto exchange users in South Korea have crossed over 16 million after receiving a boost following US President Donald Trump’s election win last November. 

Data submitted to representative Cha Gyu-geun of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party found over 16 million people had crypto exchange accounts out of a total population of 51.7 million, according to a March 30 report from local news agency Yonhap. 

This would be equivalent to over 30% of the population. 

All the data was taken from the top five domestic virtual exchanges in South Korea: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax. Individuals with multiple accounts were only counted once.

Industry officials are reportedly speculating the number of crypto users could hit 20 million by the end of the year, with one unnamed official being cited by Yonhap saying:

Japan’s finance regulator is planning to change the country’s laws to classify cryptocurrencies as financial products as early as 2026, according to the local outlet Nikkei.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to submit a bill to parliament to revise the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act as early as next year after having considered the changes through internal study groups, Nikkei reported on March 30 without citing a source.

The outlet reported that the details are still being finalized, but the change would see cryptocurrencies likely put under insider trading laws that currently apply to other financial products, such as stocks, which outlaw trades based on insider information.

However, cryptocurrencies are likely to be put in a separate category from securities such as stocks and bonds.

If the changes go through and crypto is regulated under the country’s finance laws, companies offering crypto would have to register with the FSA.

A Californian lawmaker has just added Bitcoin and crypto investor protections to a February-introduced money transmission bill aimed at securing crypto self-custody rights for the US state’s nearly 40 million residents.

California’s Assembly Bill 1052 was introduced as the Money Transmission Act on Feb. 20, 2025, but was amended by Democrat and Banking and Finance Committee chair Avelino Valencia on March 28 to include several Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto-related investor protections.

The amendments cross out “Money Transmission Act,” with the legislation now called “Digital assets.”

“California often sets the national blueprint for policy, and if Bitcoin Rights passes here, it can pass anywhere,” Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter said in a March 30 statement.

Source: Satoshi Action Fund

Ethereum-based DeFi protocol SIR.trading, also known as Synthetics Implemented Right, has been hacked, resulting in the loss of its entire total value locked (TVL) — $355,000 at the time of the attack. 

The March 30 hack was initially detected by blockchain security firms TenArmorAlert and Decurity, both of which posted warnings on X to alert users of the protocol.

The protocol’s founder, known only as Xatarrer, described the hack as “the worst news a protocol could received [sic],” but suggested the team intends to try to keep the protocol going despite the setback.

Source: SIR.trading on X 

“Clever attack” targeted contract vault

Decurity described the hack as a “clever attack” that targeted a callback function used in the protocol’s “vulnerable contract Vault” which leverages Ethereum’s transient storage feature. 

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings Inc (MARA) is looking to sell up to $2 billion in stock to buy more Bitcoin as part of a plan that bears a resemblance to Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, said in a March 28 Form 8-K and prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it entered into an at-the-market agreement with investment giants, including Cantor Fitzgerald and Barclays, for them to sell up to $2 billion worth of its stock “from time to time.”

“We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin and for working capital,” MARA added.

MARA’s move copies a tactic made famous by Bitcoin (BTC) bull Saylor, the executive chair of the largest corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, which has used a variety of market offerings, including stock sales, to amass 506,137 BTC worth $42.4 billion.

MARA Holdings falls just behind Strategy with the second largest holdings by a public company, with 46,374 BTC worth around $3.9 billion in its coffers, according to Bitbo data.

Cybersecurity firm Threat Fabric says it has found a new family of mobile-device malware that can launch a fake overlay for certain apps to trick Android users into providing their crypto seed phrases as it takes over the device.

Threat Fabric analysts said in a March 28 report that the Crocodilus malware uses a screen overlay warning users to back up their crypto wallet key by a specific deadline or risk losing access.

“Once a victim provides a password from the application, the overlay will display a message: Back up your wallet key in the settings within 12 hours. Otherwise, the app will be reset, and you may lose access to your wallet,” Threat Fabric said. 

“This social engineering trick guides the victim to navigate to their seed phrase wallet key, allowing Crocodilus to harvest the text using its accessibility logger.” 

Source: Threat Fabric

Around a quarter of firms listed on the S&P 500 would have invested in Bitcoin by 2030, with treasury managers fearing they could lose their jobs if they missed out on potential Bitcoin gains, a partner at a tech-focused financial advisory firm said.

“I anticipate that by 2030, a quarter of the S&P 500 will have BTC somewhere on their balance sheets as a long-term asset,” Elliot Chun, a partner at Architect Partners, said in a March 28 blog post.

Chun said this shift will be driven by treasury managers feeling compelled to at least experiment with Bitcoin (BTC).

Strategy (MSTR) is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder of all 89 public-traded firms that currently have Bitcoin on their balance sheets, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.NET.

One more firm could be added to the list after GameStop's $1.3 billion convertible notes offering on March 26, which the firm intends to use to buy its first batch of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin looks set for a bearish open to mark the last trading day of March and possibly the weakest Q1 performance since 2018. 

Crypto and stock traders’ anxiety over US President Donald Trump’s fresh wave of 25% tariffs on cars imported to the US, the threat of tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry is clearly reflected in BTC’s current downside. Trump’s frequent references to April 2 being “Liberation Day” (the day when an apparent number for “reciprocal tariffs” will be assigned to various countries) also has shaken traders’ confidence. 

At the time of publishing, stock futures have already slipped into the red, with the DOW futures shedding 206 points and the S&P 500 futures down 0.56%. As expected, Bitcoin's (BTC) price moved in tandem with equities markets, slipping to $81,656 on March 30 and locking in a 7th consecutive day of lower lows. 

US futures markets performance on March 30. Source: X / Spencer Hakimian

After a tumultuous quarter, equities markets look set to close down for the month, with the S&P 500 down 6.3% and the Nasdaq and DOW each registering 8.1% and 5.2% respective losses. 

Tracy Jin, the chief operating officer at the MEXC crypto exchange, warns that tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) carries a substantial amount of centralized risks that can lead to censorship, liquidity issues, legal uncertainty, cybersecurity problems, and asset confiscation through state or third-party intermediaries.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, the executive said that as long as tokenized assets remain under the purview of state regulators and centralized intermediaries, then "tokenization will simply be a new version of old financial infrastructure and not a financial revolution." Jin added:

"If the property or company behind the token is local, in a country with an unstable legal environment or high political volatility, the risk of confiscation increases," the executive continued.

RWA tokenization is projected to become a multi-trillion sector in the next decade as the world's assets come onchain, which will increase the velocity of money and extend the reach of capital markets worldwide.

The total market cap of the RWA sector. Source: RWA.XYZ