Trump’s 90-Day Tariff Pause Ignites Crypto and Stock Surge

Trump’s 90-Day Tariff Pause Ignites Crypto and Stock Surge

President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs Wednesday, triggering a swift rally in risk assets including cryptocurrencies. This came after more than 75 countries opened talks with the US, prompting Trump to declare a 10% base tariff on non-retaliating nations “effective immediately.”

Bitcoin rebounded sharply, rising from $74,500 to over $83,000 in a matter of hours following the announcement. “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China... to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump added in the same post.

Shares of crypto-exposed companies soared: MicroStrategy jumped 24%, Coinbase rose 19%, and Bitcoin miners MARA and Riot gained 17% and 11%, respectively. Market optimism also lifted U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 posting its best day since 2008 and the Nasdaq seeing its biggest one-day gain since 2001.

Goldman Sachs reversed its recession call within an hour, dropping its U.S. downturn probability from 65% to 45% after Trump’s pause.  Today’s rally was preempted by a Truth Social post made four hours earlier, in which Trump declared, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”.

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ECB Pushes Digital Euro Against Stablecoins

European Central Bank executive Piero Cipollone renewed calls for a digital euro to counter rising adoption of U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. Speaking before the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, he warned of Europe’s growing reliance on non-European payment systems. Cipollone argued a digital euro would preserve monetary sovereignty and reduce exposure to foreign providers.

The ECB says the digital euro would complement cash and be usable offline, aiming to support privacy, resilience, and EU-based service providers. The proposed currency would also integrate with private-sector solutions under a unified rulebook. Cipollone emphasized urgency, citing geopolitical tensions and U.S. stablecoin promotion as growing threats to European financial autonomy.

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Solana Adds Confidential Balance Privacy Tools

Solana developers introduced "Confidential Balances," a set of zero-knowledge (ZK) token extensions that allow encrypted transfers and balance privacy. Built by infrastructure firm Helius, the extensions expand on the privacy features launched with Solana’s Token2022 framework in 2024. These tools allow users to hide token amounts while still ensuring transaction validity using homomorphic encryption and ZK proofs.

The new features target institutional use cases like payroll, B2B payments, and fee privacy, aiming to boost Solana’s adoption. Initially available for Rust-based backends and Solana wallet providers, JavaScript ZK libraries for broader integration will launch later in 2025. The updates build on Solana’s push to enable confidential, compliant finance without sacrificing transaction speed.

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21Shares Launches Dogecoin ETP in Switzerland

21Shares announced it will list a Dogecoin ETP on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker DOGE, marking the first institutional product endorsed by the Dogecoin Foundation. The physically backed ETP offers regulated exposure to Dogecoin and was developed in partnership with the House of Doge. It includes a 2.5% management fee and holds DOGE 1-to-1.

Jens Wiechers of the Dogecoin Foundation said the listing provides institutional credibility and aligns with the project’s "Dogecoin is Money" vision. The move follows a similar Dogecoin ETP from Valour in Sweden and reflects renewed institutional interest following the 2024 U.S. election. 21Shares described the launch as a milestone for meme coin adoption at scale.

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Data of the Day

Since launching in 2015, Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin on only 15% of trading days, according to analyst James Check’s April 8 report. The ETH/BTC ratio has fallen to a five-year low of 0.018, with Ether dropping to $1,400, erasing gains made since 2018. Bitcoin, by contrast, remains 275% above its previous bull market peak.

Ethereum users have voiced concern about stagnation, citing flat wallet growth despite rising activity on Layer 2 networks. Web3 analyst Stacy Muur noted active address counts have barely changed in four years. While Ether’s long-term holders are largely underwater, some analysts suggest it may be approaching oversold conditions near the $1,000 range.

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More Breaking News

• Former Ethereum developer has been released after serving part of a 56-month sentence for violating U.S. sanctions by speaking at a North Korea crypto conference.
• Prediction market Kalshi now accepts Bitcoin deposits, aiming to onboard more Web3 users with crypto-native trading on events like BTC prices and political outcomes.
• Argentina’s Congress has launched an investigation into the LIBRA token scandal, summoning top officials after the Milei-promoted crypto led to investor losses.
• Magic Eden has acquired trading app Slingshot, signaling a major expansion beyond NFTs and into multichain token trading to rival centralized exchanges.
• Hackers are embedding crypto-stealing address-swapping malware into fake Microsoft Office add-ins, with SourceForge listings targeting users through clipboard hijacking.
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $326 million in net outflows on Tuesday as traders reacted to Trump’s tariffs, extending a four-day streak of negative flows.
• Kraken has partnered with Mastercard to launch crypto debit cards across Europe and the UK, allowing users to spend crypto directly from their exchange accounts.

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