Trump's recent announcement that he planned to add an additional 25% tariff on imports into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico has triggered market pandemonium as investors bet on whether he's playing 5D chess or is in over his head. Mexico and Canada both responded by implementing tariffs on goods imported from the U.S., but Trump later agreed to 30-day pause on any action. The damage was already done in crypto – prices dropped across the board, with Bitcoin falling as low as $92K and Ethereum taking a drastic dive, wicking down just above $2.1K.
2️⃣ Trump Signs EO to Create Sovereign Wealth Fund
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a Sovereign Wealth Fund for the U.S.. While no official outline has been released on what will be invested in through the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Commerce will allegedly put together a plan in the next 90 days for the formation of the fund. After signing the executive order, Trump hinted at big plans. “We're going to be doing something, perhaps with TikTok,” he told reporters.
3️⃣ Alexey Pertsev on Conditional Release
Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev announced on his Twitter that he had been released from prison but will remain on house arrest. He was initially sentenced to 64 months in prison last year, but this week, a Dutch court opted to release him temporarily ahead of his appeal on the condition that he would be electronically monitored. While Pertsev leaving prison sets him up to prepare his appeal, the fight is far from over.
4️⃣ Berachain Finally Goes Live
Berachain went live this week after a handful of years teasing the release of the L1 chain. BERA, the gas token for Berachain is currently trading at a fully diluted value of $3.2 billion. The Berachain Foundation airdropped around 15% of the total token supply to the community, while around 50% of the token supply is allocated to core contributors and investors. While the launch seemed to have gone smoothly, concerns were raised over CT regarding tokenomics and token allocations.
Gemini, the crypto exchange led by the Winklevoss twins, is considering going public as early as this year. Sources tell Bloomberg that the crypto firm is talking with advisors about a potential listing. While the crypto market has not sustained the pace of its post-election euphoria, it is no surprise to see crypto firms like Gemini and Circle wanting to go public, given the softened regulatory environment. Over the past year, Coinbase's stock is up around 125%, outperforming the majority of publicly traded companies.
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The episode delves into market dynamics including SEC moves led by Hester Peirce, MicroStrategy’s rebrand, and the impact of U.S. tariff actions on global trade.
This week on Bankless Weekly Rollup, we explore major crypto updates from Berachain’s mainnet launch and the rollout of its BERA token, to Uniswap V4’s new features and hooks that are shaking up decentralized trading. We also unpack Ethereum’s scaling upgrades and discuss the innovative strategies behind emerging DeFi protocols. Tune in for an in-depth look at the evolving crypto landscape and the key developments driving the space.
It's been an interesting week on the crypto and political fronts, let's break it down!
Not financial or tax advice. Bankless content is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
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