Today's news tips:
Web3 social app Phaver has ceased operations, and its token price has fallen 99% since TGE
Forbes survey: More than a third of Wall Street leaders oppose Trump's economic policies
CME Fed Watch: The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in May is 33.3%
Analysis: There are no winners in a trade war, and Bitcoin prices will soar as a result
Regulatory/Macro
The US' announcement of the so-called "reciprocal tariff" policy has caused turbulence in US and global stock markets. Analysts at AJ Bell estimate that the value of global stock markets has evaporated by about $4.9 trillion. The Financial Times reported that the US stock market has shrunk by $5.9 trillion in the past two days.
US President Trump recently reposted a video posted by his supporters on social media. The video begins with "Trump is causing a stock market crash... but he does it on purpose." The video was originally posted by an Internet user in March, and Trump reposted it on the social media platform "Real Social" on April 4.
Trump admitted on April 5 that the tariff policy had caused global shock, but he urged the American people to "remain patient." Trump posted on the "real social" platform that day: "We have been foolish victims in the past, but not anymore. We are revitalizing jobs and businesses in an unprecedented way." He wrote: "This is an economic revolution, and we will win. Although it is not easy, we must hold on, and the final result will be historic."
Mark T. Uyeda, acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), directed the agency's staff on Saturday to review several previously issued staff statements on cryptocurrency investments and the application of digital asset securities laws. The directive was issued pursuant to Executive Order 14192, entitled "Promoting Prosperity through Deregulation," and in response to recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Uyeda said the statements will be reviewed to determine whether they need to be "modified or rescinded" to align with the SEC's current priorities.
Specific statements reviewed include: the 2019 guidance on whether digital assets constitute securities, which involves how to assess whether digital assets are securities through the "Howey Test"; the 2021 statement on Bitcoin futures, which advises investors to be particularly cautious when investing in mutual funds involved in the Bitcoin futures market, emphasizing the speculative nature, market manipulation risks, liquidity constraints and volatility of this market, especially in mutual funds; the 2022 guidance on the aftermath of cryptocurrency bankruptcy events, which requires crypto companies to transparently disclose the risks associated with the crypto market, emphasizing the impact on investors, including custody risks, liquidity issues, reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny.
Uyeda also directed a review of a risk alert issued in February 2021 warning investors of the “unique risks” of digital asset trading, as well as a 2020 announcement that Wyoming would allow state-chartered trust companies to custody digital assets.
Speaking at the State Duma on April 3, Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the Central Bank of Russia, reiterated that the use of cryptocurrencies in the domestic economy should be restricted and advocated for stricter penalties for violations of the ban. Nabiullina is an important ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and currently leads the Russian Central Bank's sovereign digital currency (digital ruble) project. She pointed out that although the central bank supports exploring the cross-border application of crypto assets under a specific "regulatory sandbox" framework, it firmly opposes its penetration into the country's monetary system and settlement activities.
Russia has banned payments in cryptocurrencies since 2020, but enforcement is currently lax and there is a lack of a clear legal framework for related transactions. Nabiullina called for increased legal liability for payments made using cryptocurrencies in Russia, saying: "Our position has not changed. We cannot allow cryptocurrencies to penetrate domestic currency circulation and domestic settlements. We suggest simultaneously seeking investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies and increasing liability for the use of cryptocurrencies in domestic settlements."
Nabiullina also supports allowing "high net worth qualified investors" to invest in crypto assets in the "sandbox" and proposed that some derivative investment rights could be extended to ordinary qualified investors. She stressed that retail investors should be protected from the risks of the highly volatile crypto market.
According to The Kobeissi Letter, citing Bloomberg data, the world's 500 richest people have just experienced the largest two-day net worth loss in history. Between April 3 and 4, these people lost $536 billion in net worth. This figure is $83 billion more than on March 11 and 12, 2020.
Viewpoint
Forbes survey: More than a third of Wall Street leaders oppose Trump's economic policies
Forbes recently conducted an investigation into President Trump's economic policies, contacting 50 of Wall Street's most influential executives, including billionaire investors, heads of large institutional asset management companies, and top wealth advisors in the United States, to understand their views on Trump's economic strategy since he took office.
The respondents were chosen for their extensive influence in the financial community. Among this group of financial heavyweights - more than half of whom supported Trump's economic policies when he returned to the White House in January this year - 72% now express disappointment with his team's economic strategy, and 66% explicitly state that they no longer support his economic propositions. Notably, more than a third of those who were supportive a few weeks ago have changed their positions, with the majority (54%) believing that Trump has failed to deliver on his original promises.
Forbes also asked these respondents to rate Trump's economic policies on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. The overall rating results are not optimistic: in terms of tariff policy, Trump only received 1.86 points, with 27 people giving the lowest score; the stock market policy score was 1.96 points, with 25 people giving the lowest score; the executive order against law firms also received only 2.10 points, which was seen as a direct impact on the rule of law on which American free enterprises rely. In addition, the cryptocurrency-related policy scored 2.00 points, and the inflation control scored 2.16 points, both reflecting the general lack of confidence of the respondents.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman: Trump may delay tariffs
Bill Ackman, a well-known hedge fund manager, wrote on X that although President Trump announced the imminent implementation of large-scale tariffs in a tough manner, there is not enough time to complete substantive negotiations with trading partners because the tariffs are too short to take effect. Therefore, he believes that Trump is likely to announce a postponement of the tariffs on Monday.
Ackman said that the "unfair tariff system" is a critical and urgent problem to be solved, but it cannot be solved in a few days. Suspending tariffs will not only buy the president more time for negotiations, but also give large and small companies the opportunity to adjust their supply chain layout. "Otherwise, great uncertainty may have an impact on market confidence and even drag the US economy into a severe recession."
Analysis: There are no winners in a trade war, and Bitcoin prices will soar as a result
Bitwise analyst Jeff Park said Trump's trade policy could trigger global macroeconomic turmoil and short-term financial crisis, but it would also accelerate the widespread adoption of Bitcoin as a store of value.
Park believes that 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. As economic growth comes under pressure, global funds may flow into inflation-resistant, non-sovereign assets such as Bitcoin for risk aversion. In the long run, this will become an important driving force for the rise in Bitcoin prices.
Xiao Feng: Public chains will become the underlying architecture of the global financial market
At the Web3 Festival which opened today, Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, delivered an opening speech entitled "Public Chain: A New Generation of Financial Infrastructure". He pointed out: "Based on blockchain, the financial market can establish a new governance system that enables large-scale global collaboration." In his view, the public chain will become the infrastructure of the future financial market system, providing open, transparent, decentralized and efficient technical support for the trading, clearing and settlement of global assets.
Dragonfly partner Haseeb: Bitcoin has both gold and Nasdaq attributes
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner of Dragonfly, published an article analyzing the current trend of the crypto market. He said that the stability of Bitcoin prices may be due to its combination of gold and Nasdaq attributes, that is, it "survives in the cracks" between the rise of gold and the decline of technology stocks. MicroStrategy's continued buying power is also providing support.
Haseeb said that the market currently expects interest rate cuts and the resumption of quantitative easing, and as the most risky assets, altcoins are the first to benefit. In addition, unlike stocks and bonds, altcoins are not directly affected by tariffs. He also believes that retail investors were bottom-fishing in the stock market last Friday, while institutional funds were flowing out; since altcoins are dominated by retail investors, the funding side did not fluctuate significantly, so the price remained strong.
Project News
Web3 social app Phaver has ceased operations, and its token price has fallen 99% since TGE
According to DeFi researcher Ignas, the Web3 social media application Phaver has ceased operations, and the price of its token has fallen by 99% since the TGE in September 2024. Phaver team members said that first, there were technical problems with the TGE and airdrops, which prevented users from receiving them in time, causing FUD; second, Phaver paid more than $1 million for the launch of 5 CEXs; third, due to low market sentiment, the team did not sell tokens at the TGE, resulting in insufficient operating funds. As a Finnish company, Phaver also needs to pay employees 1 to 2 months of severance pay. Some former team members are developing SocialDAO to find new uses for SOCIAL tokens.
Neon Machine, the developer of the crypto shooter Shrapnel, is facing serious financial difficulties. So far, the company has spent nearly $86.9 million in operating funds, and its revenue in 2024 reached $21.7 million, but the high operating costs of about $33 million have prevented it from making a profit, with a net loss of $11.4 million.
Sources said that Neon Machine's monthly capital consumption is as high as 2 million to 3.5 million US dollars. It is currently in a state of cash exhaustion, has a large amount of outstanding debt, and owes millions of dollars to external suppliers. Neon Machine's new round of financing originally scheduled to be completed in early 2025 has also failed to land. Previously, the company completed a $20 million Series A financing in October 2023, led by Polychain Capital.
Not only that, the company's staff has also dropped sharply from nearly 100 people at its peak to only a dozen people. Currently, only a very small number of people are actually involved in the development of "Shrapnel". In order to extend cash flow, the company has implemented at least three rounds of layoffs and asked high-paid employees to voluntarily reduce their salaries by about 20%. The Seattle-based office was also closed at the end of March.
Despite a 9% drop in SOL prices between March 28 and April 4, key indicators on the Solana chain continue to strengthen. On April 2, the total locked value (TVL) of Solana network decentralized applications (DApps) reached 53.8 million SOL, a new high since June 2022, about $6.5 billion in US dollars, leading BNB Chain by about $780 million. Core DApps such as Jito, Jupiter, and Kamino are the main drivers of growth.
During the same period, Solana's decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume performed strongly, accounting for about 24% of the market share, exceeding BNB Chain (12%) and Base (10%). However, the unlocking of about 1.79 million SOL on April 4 released significant selling pressure, and coupled with the decline in memecoin popularity, the price rebound in the short term still faces uncertainty.
Virtuals Protocol launches a new points system, points will be used to access the upcoming AI agent
Virtuals Protocol recently launched the Virgen Points System, which will be used to access the upcoming AI agents. Ways to earn points include actively participating in Virtuals Trenches, holding VIRTUAL, and other contribution activities.
At the "2025 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival" conference, GMGN co-founder Haze said in his keynote speech "GMGN is born for speed" that GMGN earned about $60 million worth of SOL through handling fee income, which has never been sold and all pledged, and is a "public chain builder." Haze also said that GMGN's Solana transaction chain has now reached 0.58 seconds.
Sonic Networks' TVL exceeds $1 billion, up 21.11% in the past week
According to DefiLlama data, the TVL of the Sonic network has exceeded $1 billion and is now reported at $1.077 billion, with an increase of 21.11% in the past week. The top three protocols in terms of TVL of the network are Aave, Silo Finance and Beets.
Important data
CME Fed Watch: The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in May is 33.3%
According to CME's "Fed Watch" data, the probability that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in May is 33.3%, and the probability of maintaining unchanged is 66.7%.
UBS predicts the Fed will cut interest rates by 75-100 basis points through the rest of 2025
The UBS report pointed out that in terms of inflation, it is expected that by the end of this year, the tariffs announced by the new administration so far may increase US consumer prices by about 2 percentage points, provided that only part of it is passed on to end consumers. "Although higher inflation will pose a challenge to the Fed, we believe that a sharp slowdown in economic growth and possible weakness in the labor market will mean that the Fed will cut interest rates by 75-100 basis points in the remainder of 2025."
Market: GUN price rebounded to $0.068, with a 24-hour increase of more than 60%
According to Coingecko data, as of 1:40 p.m. on April 6, the price of GUN tokens rebounded sharply, reaching a high of over $0.068, with a 24-hour increase of more than 60%.
