Glassnode has published a new report and noted that altcoins were hit the hardest during the recent correction—their market capitalization saw one of the largest declines in recorded history (-$234 billion).

Bitcoin also faced pressure, but the majority of realized losses came from short-term BTC holders.

The market environment is becoming more challenging: high volatility and pressure on altcoins could impact the market’s further dynamics.

Trump Family's Crypto Project to Create a Reserve Fund to Support Cryptocurrencies

▪️The DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLF), associated with Donald Trump’s sons, has announced the creation of a strategic reserve fund to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, which, according to the project's representatives, are "at the forefront of transforming the global financial system."

▪️This reserve, named Macro Strategy, is intended to help the platform diversify assets and mitigate risks.

▪️Last week, Chase Herro, the project's co-founder, hinted at the possibility of such a reserve, but the official announcement does not specify the source of the funds. The project stated that it is in discussions with financial institutions that may contribute tokenized assets to the fund.

▪️"The contributed assets will be held in WLF’s public wallet, ensuring institutional investors have a transparent presence in the crypto community," the platform stated.

▪️Currently, WLF holds around $38 million in various tokens—90% less than a week ago. At that time, the platform managed $360 million in assets but later transferred them to Coinbase Prime addresses, where they may have been either sold or placed in custodial storage.

So far, World Liberty Financial has not launched its promised DeFi platform and is primarily known for making large token purchases, including Ethereum. The project is actively promoted by Trump's sons—Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, who are officially listed as "Web3 ambassadors".

Additionally, WLF and Ondo Finance have announced a partnership to develop the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market and integrate traditional financial instruments into blockchain.

Glassnode: Altcoins Experience One of the Largest Drops, While Bitcoin Holds Its Ground

▪️Analytics firm Glassnode has assessed (source) the impact of the crypto market downturn, recording one of the largest altcoin devaluations in history. Analysts use on-chain metrics for Bitcoin and Ethereum, examining capitalization, investor activity, and fund flows in these networks. A key metric in the report is altcoin volatility over 1,662 trading days since observations began.

▪️Over the past two weeks, altcoin market capitalization has dropped by $234 billion, with the current decline being stronger than in 41 out of 1,662 trading days. The report notes that the entire market was affected, with minimal differences in the performance of individual altcoins, indicating a broad sell-off.

▪️Meanwhile, Bitcoin has shown relative resilience. Last week, its price dropped to $93,000, then recovered to $102,000, and is now fluctuating around $96,000. Analysts attribute this volatility to macroeconomic factors, including the threat of new U.S. trade tariffs and the strengthening of the dollar.

▪️At the $93,000 low, Bitcoin investors recorded $520 million in realized losses, marking one of the largest loss events in the current market cycle. The losses were primarily incurred by short-term holders who bought Bitcoin less than 155 days ago. Glassnode notes that comparable losses were observed in August 2023, when $1.3 billion was lost in a single day.

▪️According to Glassnode’s metrics, the average purchase price for short-term holders is $92,200, which could become a key level determining Bitcoin’s next move.

The chart shows that Bitcoin (yellow line) remains stable, while Ethereum (black line) and all Ethereum-based token sectors are experiencing deep losses.

U.S. SEC Establishes New Unit to Combat Crypto Fraud and Cybercrime

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the creation of a new division, the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU), which will investigate cybersecurity and digital asset violations.

CETU will focus on investigating securities and digital asset-related crimes, including:

▫️ Fraud involving blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence
▫️ Manipulation through social media, the darknet, and fake websites
▫️ Account hacks for insider information
▫️ Attacks on retail brokerage accounts
▫️ Cybersecurity violations by regulated organizations

The new division will replace the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and will be led by Laura D’Allaird. Around 30 fraud specialists and legal experts from various SEC departments will join CETU.

"Under Laura D’Allaird’s leadership, the new unit will complement the work of the Crypto Task Force, headed by Hester Peirce. This will allow the SEC to allocate enforcement resources more effectively, protect investors, and foster innovation at the same time," said SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda.

The SEC is reassessing its approach to crypto regulation following the departure of Gary Gensler. Recently, the commission also launched the Crypto Task Force, which focuses on classifying digital assets and analyzing their legal status.

Bybit Crypto Exchange Hacked for $1.4 Billion – What We Know So Far:

▫️Over $1.4 billion stolen, including more than 400,000 ETH—potentially the largest hack in crypto history;

▫️Bybit claims that user assets are safe, and all wallets except the compromised one remain under control;

▫️Withdrawals are operational, with 70% of requests already processed, but delays are possible due to high demand;

▫️Bybit has sufficient reserves to cover the losses, with over $20 billion in assets under management. If needed, the exchange will secure additional financing from partners to maintain liquidity;

▫️The exchange will not immediately replenish its ETH reserves through direct purchases;

▫️Blockchain analytics firms have flagged known hacker wallets, enabling exchanges to identify and freeze stolen assets if necessary;

▫️Experts suspect the attack may be linked to the North Korean Lazarus Group, which has previously used similar hacking techniques.

The L2 project Linea by ConsenSys developers is postponing its airdrop indefinitely.

The team continues refining the launch based on community feedback. Initially, the TGE was planned for Q1, but the timeline has been revised.

Key reasons:
✔️ Technical improvements
✔️ Enhancing design and user experience
✔️ Focus on the project's sustainable development

The developers believe that thorough preparation will ensure the long-term success of Linea and its zkEVM technology.

Whales continue to sell the MELANIA shitcoin at massive losses:

🔴 A user spent 30 million USDC to buy 14 million MELANIA a month ago and sold it yesterday for 14.32 million USDC, losing $15.7 million.

🔴 Another trader spent 10 million USDC to buy 6.69 million MELANIA and sold it over the past two days, losing $3.73 million.

⚡️Trump Announced a U.S. Cryptocurrency Reserve Including XRP, SOL, and ADA

▪️U.S. President Donald Trump stated that his executive order on digital assets includes the creation of a strategic U.S. crypto reserve, which will consist of XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) tokens. According to him, this initiative aims to strengthen the digital asset industry after "years of corrupt attacks from the Biden administration."

▪️"The executive order on digital assets has directed the Presidential Task Force to advance the U.S. strategic crypto reserve, including XRP, SOL, and ADA. I will make sure the U.S. becomes the crypto capital of the world," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

⚡️ Trump clarified that Bitcoin and Ethereum will also be included in the U.S. cryptocurrency reserve, along with other "valuable" cryptocurrencies.

Donald Trump stated that his cryptocurrency task force must "move forward" with the creation of a strategic digital asset reserve, which will include Solana (SOL), Ripple's XRP, and Cardano (ADA) tokens. Later, the U.S. president clarified that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other "valuable" cryptocurrencies would also be part of the reserve.

"The U.S. cryptocurrency reserve will strengthen this critically important sector after years of corrupt attacks from the Biden administration," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he intends to make the country the "crypto capital of the world."

All the cryptocurrencies mentioned by Trump saw a sharp price increase of 15% or more following his post, with Bitcoin also surging by approximately 3.5%.

Eric Trump Called the Announcement of the Crypto Reserve on a Weekend 'Genius'

😁 Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, commented on the U.S. president's decision to announce the strategic crypto reserve on a Sunday.

🥇"I admire the genius of announcing the strategic reserve on a Sunday, when traditional markets are closed and Wall Street is asleep. For the first time, retail investors are the winners. Traditional finance needs to catch up, or it will quickly go extinct. The world no longer operates on a Monday-to-Friday, 9-to-5 schedule," he wrote on X.

The U.S. plans to introduce liability for "rug pulls" in crypto.

Aave to Allocate $1M Per Week for Token Buybacks

▪️DeFi protocol Aave has introduced a tokenomics update that includes the launch of a buyback program for AAVE tokens. The initial allocation is set at $1 million per week for the first six months, after which the budget will be adjusted based on the project's revenue.

▪️Aave is the largest DeFi protocol for lending and liquidity management, enabling users to earn interest on deposits and borrow funds without intermediaries.

▪️The buyback will be funded by the protocol's surplus revenue, generated through fees and operations within the ecosystem. Aave’s treasury currently holds $115 million—115% more than a year ago—with most of the funds in liquid assets, including stablecoins.

▪️At the same time, Aave will launch Umbrella, a system designed to protect users from debt accumulation during periods of market volatility. This will help maintain a steady income stream and finance future buybacks.

Following the announcement, the price of AAVE surged by 7%, partially recovering from a recent dip. Previously, the token had risen by 15% alongside the broader market after Donald Trump's statements about a crypto reserve but later corrected amid overall volatility.

Most experts have assessed the creation of a Bitcoin reserve as a positive signal for the industry:

▪️ This could push other G20 countries to establish their own crypto reserves.

▪️ The executive order reduces regulatory uncertainty, but a stablecoin law, banking regulations, and clear regulatory frameworks for the SEC and CFTC are still needed.

▪️ In the long term, this is a strong catalyst for BTC, but there is still no clarity on the reserve’s size and mechanics.

▪️ In the short term, a reduction in BTC selling pressure by $18 billion is expected.

▪️ Research suggests that the U.S. crypto reserve could increase BTC’s market capitalization by $460 billion.

Leading U.S. banks are launching their own tokens amid the stablecoin "gold rush," aiming to capture a share of the cross-border payments market, which they expect to be radically transformed by digital currencies — FT.

Crypto Project Linked to Trump’s Sons Denies Ethereum Sale Reports

▪️The crypto project World Liberty Financial, associated with Donald Trump’s sons, has denied reports of selling cryptocurrency. “WLFI has not sold any positions, as is currently being reported. Speculation on this matter is false,” a project spokesperson told CoinDesk.

▪️Earlier, analysts from Arkham reported that a wallet allegedly belonging to WLFI sold $8 million worth of ETH after the project’s unrealized losses exceeded $125 million. WLFI denies this information.

▪️Over the past six months, the project has been purchasing cryptocurrencies in batches, including ETH, WBTC, USDC, TRX, LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, and ONDO, and it remains at a loss on most of these positions. At the time of the alleged transaction, ETH was trading at around $1,465; it is currently priced above $1,550. Back in February, Trump’s son Eric called Ethereum at $2,880 “a great entry point.”

🐳 Top whale transaction growth leaders (in %) over the past 30 days, based on projects with a market cap over $500M USD.

The gap between Wall Street's highest and lowest year-end price targets for the S&P 500 is the widest this century.

OVERVIEW OF TVL ACROSS MULTIPLE BLOCKCHAINS