Author: Stephanie Bedard-Chateauneuf

El Salvador is leading the way for other nations to follow, with President Nayib Bukele announcing plans to purchase one bitcoin daily until it becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies. This initiative has boosted the country’s bitcoin holdings to a substantial 5,690 BTC, valued at approximately $400 million.

In addition to its cryptocurrency efforts, El Salvador has made a significant statement in the global investment arena by eliminating income tax for international investments and money transfers, aiming to attract foreign investors and stimulate economic growth.

This week, the country took a major step in its bitcoin strategy by transferring over 5,000 BTC into a cold wallet. President Bukele revealed that a large portion of these assets, worth $400 million, has been moved to an offline device stored in a physical vault within the nation’s territory. This move to secure the digital assets in a “Bitcoin piggy bank” signifies a strong belief in the cryptocurrency’s future and enhances its security.

El Salvador’s decision to transfer funds to a cold wallet came after its bitcoin treasury unexpectedly swelled, nearly doubling its previously known stash. The country has been acquiring bitcoin through various means, including daily purchases, passport sales, currency conversions for businesses, mining, and government services.

El Salvador made headlines in September 2021 when it became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Since then, the cryptocurrency’s value has experienced significant fluctuations, recently reaching a record high of $73,800. The country’s ongoing daily bitcoin purchases and the establishment of a tax-free crypto haven powered by geothermal energy from a volcano demonstrate its innovative approach to using cryptocurrency for economic development.

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Bitcoin’s recent surge to a new record high has been followed by a pullback, but crypto enthusiasts remain confident in the digital currency’s future.

After reaching nearly $74,000, Bitcoin has dropped by as much as 13%, trading around $68,000 recently. This correction is not unusual in the volatile crypto market, and Bitcoin is still up by about 50% for the year, largely driven by excitement surrounding the SEC’s approval of 11 spot ETFs in January.

The recent sell-off is attributed to profit-taking, as investors lock in gains from the sustained rally. Other cryptocurrencies, like Ether and Solana, have also seen declines, with Ether down 8% and Solana down 12% in recent days.

Despite short-term fluctuations, some analysts remain bullish on Bitcoin, especially with the upcoming “halving” event expected in April. During this event, the reward for mining new blocks of Bitcoin will be halved, reducing the token’s supply and potentially driving up its price.

Past halving events have led to significant price increases for Bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency surging from under $9,000 to about $60,000 in less than a year after the 2020 halving. Analysts believe that Bitcoin’s increased mainstream acceptance this time around could lead to sustained demand and further price growth.

While some market observers warn of potential risks, such as an economic slowdown prompting investors to sell riskier assets like Bitcoin, others see the current environment as supportive of further gains. The combination of halving and the rise of spot Bitcoin ETFs could create an “explosive set-up,” according to some analysts, potentially pushing Bitcoin into uncharted territory.

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Cryptocurrencies swiftly rebounded from their recent pullback as the Federal Reserve’s comments restored risk appetite in global markets, attracting buyers back to the crypto space. Within 24 hours, the total market capitalization surged by 7.7% to $2.55 trillion. While Bitcoin showed a similar growth pattern, Ethereum and Solana saw even stronger gains, adding around 10%.

Bitcoin maintained levels above 61.8% of its rally, staying around $60.3K, indicating resilience in the face of recent volatility. If the current positive sentiment persists, the next major target for Bitcoin could be a return to its previous highs above $73K.

Ethereum’s price reversed upwards after briefly touching the 50-day moving average, confirming that the recent correction was a temporary setback rather than a trend reversal. Solana, which experienced a more significant dip of over 22% between March 18th and 20th, falling from $210 to $162, has also recovered, currently trading around $190.

Technical indicators for all three cryptocurrencies suggest a bullish trend, with a strong recovery following the recent pullback. The market sentiment was buoyed by weakness in the Fed and other central banks, prompting active buying.

In Other News

S&P Global Ratings issued its ninth “stability assessment” of major stablecoins, rating USDC, USDP, and GUSD as “strong,” while Mountain Protocol’s USDM received an “adequate” rating. USDT, DAI, and FDUSD were rated “limited.” Four stablecoins had their ratings downgraded due to transparency and risk-related concerns.

BlackRock, the largest asset management company, filed to launch a USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, marking its first fund with tokenized assets.

The SEC is reportedly looking into designating Ethereum as a security, according to Fortune, citing unnamed US companies subpoenaed for the investigation.

Bloomberg reported that the likelihood of spot Ethereum ETFs being approved in the US in May is diminishing, as regulators appear hesitant.

Since March 12th, the Solana ecosystem has hosted 33 pre-sale fundraising campaigns for token launches, raising a total of 796,000 SOL (~$139 million). The largest pre-sale was for the Book of Meme (BOME) meme token, which has surged in value by approximately 40,000% since its launch.

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As the broader cryptocurrency market experiences a downturn, with Bitcoin and Ethereum seeing declines, Solana’s price has also pulled back significantly. The token has retreated to a critical support level at $164, leading to discussions about whether Solana (SOL) can maintain its upward trajectory or if further declines are imminent.

The potential for a deeper decline in Solana’s price is exacerbated by news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating crypto companies as part of its Ethereum probe. The heightened regulatory concerns could amplify the pullback in SOL price.

Solana has been a focal point for investors recently, especially after its price surged past $200 for the first time since November 2021. Over the weekend, Solana experienced a significant surge in network activity, surpassing Ethereum in total trading volume.

On March 16, Solana’s trading volume reached $3.52 billion, surpassing Ethereum by $1.1 billion. This surge was largely driven by increased demand for Solana-based memecoins, with the newly launched Book of Meme (BOME) memecoin achieving a market capitalization of $1.45 billion in just 56 hours.

Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has also experienced substantial growth, with its total value locked (TVL) increasing by over 80% in the past month. This surge has propelled Solana’s DeFi TVL to its highest point in two years, placing it among the top five DeFi networks by TVL.

Despite the recent decrease in trade volume, Solana’s market capitalization has reached $91.56 billion. The cryptocurrency has also seen a 9.05% rise in open interest to $3.20 billion, although short traders have been dominant in liquidations as they seek to mitigate losses from the ongoing price rally.

In other developments, the Solana community has begun to voice concerns about meme coin presales, which have become more frequent and dubious. In these presales, crypto traders often send large sums of money to unfamiliar individuals in the hope of getting in early on the next big meme coin like BONK, WIF, or BOME.

Following the multi-billion dollar surges of several Solana-based meme coins over the past three months—a trend that has thrust the blockchain back into the spotlight—many crypto influencers are capitalizing on the atmosphere of fear of missing out (FOMO). They are offering early, discounted allocations of certain meme coins before their launch to traders who send SOL to the promoters’ wallets.

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Robinhood has rolled out its crypto wallet for Android users globally, offering a secure way to manage various cryptocurrencies and stay informed about market trends directly from their Android devices.

The launch of the Robinhood Wallet for Android is a strategic move to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies while enhancing Robinhood’s reputation as a trustworthy and user-friendly platform for crypto transactions.

This release is particularly significant given Android’s dominant 70% market share in the global mobile operating system market. Android users can now securely hold their private keys and take full control of their digital assets through the Robinhood Wallet.

With the Robinhood Wallet, users can store, manage, send, and receive a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, and Base.

Moreover, the wallet offers features such as cryptocurrency swapping, direct funding from Robinhood balances or other wallets/exchanges, and access to trending tokens and crypto news.

Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, highlighted the significance of this launch, stating:

“Launching Robinhood Wallet on Android is a significant step forward in our commitment to making crypto more accessible and seamlessly integrated into daily life for millions of people around the world.”

Key Features for Android Users

Android users can now enjoy the following features with the Robinhood Wallet:

Hold private keys and maintain control over digital assets.

Manage a diverse range of cryptocurrencies across multiple networks.

Swap cryptocurrencies on Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum networks.

Fund the wallet directly from Robinhood balances or other sources.

Stay updated on trending tokens and the latest crypto news within the app.

Global Expansion and Future Plans

In December, Robinhood introduced its crypto product for Europe, allowing European customers to trade over 25 tokens, including popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot.

Looking ahead, Robinhood plans to expand its token selection further and introduce features such as staking.

Research firm Bernstein recently issued an “outperform” rating for Robinhood Markets, with analyst Gautam Chhugani predicting a significant increase in cryptocurrency trade volume at the online brokerage over the next two years.

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