By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
Exciting Developments in the Crypto Space
In a highly anticipated move, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. This initiative, which many expected to boost Bitcoin (BTC) prices, has surprisingly led to a more than 2% decline in the cryptocurrency’s value since the announcement. This reaction mirrors the initial market response when the SEC approved Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last January, where BTC saw a 20% drop over the subsequent two weeks. However, history shows that the bulls may return; following the initial ETF approval, BTC surged to an all-time high just a couple of months later.
Understanding the “Digital Fort Knox”
The newly coined “Digital Fort Knox” initiative aims to create a structured framework for the accumulation of Bitcoin. A significant aspect of this order is the authorization given to the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to devise budget-neutral strategies for acquiring Bitcoin without incurring additional costs for American taxpayers. Potential methods include selling U.S. gold reserves, liquidating government-seized cryptocurrencies, or issuing Bitcoin bonds that resemble the convertible bonds utilized by publicly traded Bitcoin companies.
Anticipating Upcoming Jobs Data
As the crypto market reacts to the new executive order, investors are also gearing up for important jobs data that will be released soon. Non-farm payrolls are expected to show an increase of approximately 160,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate is projected to remain steady at 4%.
In the backdrop of these developments, there remains a cloud of macroeconomic uncertainty characterized by tariff-related issues, rising global bond yields, a strengthening yen, and a weakening dollar. This environment calls for vigilance from traders and investors alike.
What to Watch in the Coming Days
Upcoming Crypto Events:
– March 7, 1:30 p.m.: President Trump will host the inaugural White House Crypto Summit, featuring prominent figures from the crypto industry including founders and CEOs.
– March 11: The Bitcoin Policy Institute and U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis will co-host the exclusive, invitation-only event “Bitcoin for America” in Washington.
– March 12: Hemi, an L2 blockchain operating on both Bitcoin and Ethereum, will launch its mainnet.
– March 14: Pi Network (PI) will transition from its enclosed mainnet to an open mainnet.
– March 15: Athene Network (ATH) will launch its mainnet.
– March 16, 6:00 p.m.: CME Group’s Solana (SOL) futures will begin trading.
Upcoming Macro Data Releases:
– March 7, 7:00 a.m.: Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) will publish February consumer price inflation data.
– March 7, 8:30 a.m.: Statistics Canada will release February employment data.
– March 7, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Labor Bureau of Statistics (LBS) will announce February employment data, with non-farm payrolls expected to increase by 160,000 and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4%.
– March 7, 12:30 p.m.: Fed Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech on the economic outlook at the 2025 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York.
– March 8, 8:30 p.m.: The National Bureau of Statistics of China will release consumer price inflation data (CPI) and producer price inflation data (PPI).
Token Events to Keep an Eye On
Governance Votes & Discussions:
– GMX DAO will vote on decentralizing and automating the fee distribution process within the GMX ecosystem.
– Sandbox DAO is deliberating on establishing a Grants Program to streamline funding distribution to projects.
– Balancer DAO will decide on the deployment of Balancer V3 on the Avalanche network.
– Kusama DAO is considering approving the Web3 Foundation’s allocation of 10 million DOT to Kusama.
Scheduled Community Meetings:
– March 7, 10 a.m.: Maple two will host an X Spaces event to announce exciting news.
– March 7, 10 a.m.: Tezos will hold a Town Hall meeting on protocol upgrades and current developments.
– March 7, 12 p.m.: Avalanche will host a deep dive into the expansion of its platform and DeFi ecosystem.
– March 13, 11 a.m.: Mantra will conduct a Community Connect call with its CEO to discuss major updates.
Unlocks and Token Listings:
– March 9: Movement (MOVE) will unlock 2.08% of its circulating supply valued at $25.62 million.
– March 12: Aptos (APT) will unlock 1.93% of its circulating supply worth $70.12 million.
– March 15: Starknet (STRK) will unlock 2.33% of its circulating supply valued at $11.99 million.
– March 15: Sei (SEI) will unlock 1.19% of its circulating supply valued at $12.73 million.
– March 16: Arbitrum (ARB) will unlock 2.1% of its circulating supply worth $37.74 million.
– March 18: Fasttoken (FTN) will unlock 4.66% of its circulating supply valued at $80 million.
– March 7: Story (IP) will be listed on BTSE.
– March 7: Mint Blockchain (MINT) will be listed on multiple exchanges, including BitMart and Gate.io.
Conferences Worth Attending
Mark your calendars for these upcoming conferences:
– CoinDesk’s Consensus in Toronto on May 14-16—use code DAYBOOK for a 15% discount on passes.
– March 8: Bitcoin Alive in Sydney.
– March 10-11: MoneyLIVE Summit in London.
– March 13-14: Web3 Amsterdam ‘25.
– March 19-20: Next Block Expo in Warsaw.
– March 25-27: Mining Disrupt in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
– March 26: DC Blockchain Summit in Washington.
– March 27: Building Blocks in Tel Aviv, Israel.
– March 28: Solana APEX in Cape Town.
Token Talk and Market Trends
A recent incident involving X’s AI bot Grok sparked the creation of several GROK tokens on Solana and other blockchains. The bot humorously suggested the name “GrokCoin” for a memecoin, leading to one token reaching a market cap of $27 million within five hours, although it has since decreased to $11 million. Despite xAI, the parent company of Grok, focusing on AI advancements, the interaction with AI models like Grok often results in the temporary emergence of memecoins.
Market Positioning and Sentiment
Current derivatives positioning indicates that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) perpetual funding rates are barely positive, reflecting disappointment regarding the lack of a solid buying plan for the new U.S. digital asset stockpile. Additionally, Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and SUI are experiencing negative funding rates, signaling a bias toward short positions. Overall, major tokens, except Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and CMR, have seen net selling in the past 24 hours.
Market Movements
As of the latest updates, Bitcoin (BTC) is down 0.49% at $89,310.83, with a 24-hour change of -2.42%. Ethereum (ETH) has decreased by 0.67% to $2,197.46, marking a 24-hour drop of -4.39%. The CoinDesk 20 index is down 0.58% at 2,910.34, with a 24-hour decline of -3.22%. The Bitcoin funding rate on Binance is reported at -0.0042%, reflecting a bearish sentiment.
Market Overview
– BTC Dominance: 61.37% (-0.30%)
– Ethereum to Bitcoin Ratio: 0.02467 (0.73%)
– Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 802 EH/s
– Hashprice (spot): $52.4
– Total Fees: 5.17 BTC / $468,726
– CME Futures Open Interest: 144,815 BTC
Technical Analysis Insights
Ethereum is currently navigating a downward trending channel and is testing support levels established in August and September of the previous year. A close below $2,100 could signal a breakdown, potentially leading to lows near $1,500.
Crypto Equities Update
Recent stock performances include:
– MicroStrategy (MSTR) closed at $304.11 (-1.44%) and is trading at $300.25 in pre-market.
– Coinbase Global (COIN) closed at $214.17 (-3.72%) and is currently at $215.62.
– Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) finished at C$18.82 (-7.47%).
– Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) closed at $15.09 (-0.2%) and is at $14.84 in pre-market.
– Riot Platforms (RIOT) ended at $8.11 (-8.67%) with no pre-market change.
– Core Scientific (CORZ) finished at $7.85 (-18.23%) but is up at $8.04 in pre-market.
– CleanSpark (CLSK) closed at $8.15 (-4.68%) and is at $8.12 in pre-market.
– CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) closed at $15.8 (-8.14%) and is up at $16.00.
– Semler Scientific (SMLR) finished at $36.1 (-5.92%) and is trading at $35.85 in pre-market.
– Exodus Movement (EXOD) closed at $29.30 (+1%) with no pre-market change.
ETF Flows and Market Snapshot
Spot BTC ETFs have recorded a daily net flow of -$134.3 million, bringing cumulative net flows to $36.62 billion. The current total BTC holdings stand at approximately 1,129 million. Spot ETH ETFs show a daily net flow of -$10 million, with cumulative net flows reaching $2.75 billion and total ETH holdings at around 3.605 million.
In Conclusion
As market sentiment fluctuates amid the latest executive order and job data anticipation, investors are advised to stay informed and agile. The evolving landscape of the cryptocurrency market continues to present both challenges and opportunities for traders and stakeholders alike.
