The latest US core Consumer Price Index (CPI) print, a measure of inflation, came in lower than expected at 3.1%, beating expectations of 3.2%, with a corresponding 0.1% drop in headline inflation figures.

According to Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, the cooling inflation data adds to the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, injecting much-needed liquidity into the markets and sending risk-on asset prices higher. Mena added:

“Rate cut expectations have surged in response — markets now price a 31.4% chance of a cut in May, up over 3x from last month, while expectations for three cuts by year-end have jumped over 5x to 32.5%, and four cuts have skyrocketed from just 1% to 21%.”

Despite the better-than-expected inflation numbers, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) declined from over $84,000 at the daily open to now sit around $83,000 as traders grapple with US President Donald Trump’s trade war and macroeconomic uncertainty.

A majority of market participants believe the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by June 2025. Source: CME Group

Related: Bitcoin’s ‘Trump trade’ is over — Traders shift hope to Fed rate cuts, expanding global liquidity

Is President Trump crashing markets to force rate cuts?

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on several occasions that the central bank is not rushing to cut interest rates — a view echoed by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller.

During a Feb. 17 speech at the University of New South Wales in Syndey, Australia, Waller said the bank should pause interest rate cuts until inflation comes down.

These comments were met with concern from market analysts, who say that a lack of rate cuts might trigger a bear market and send asset prices plummeting.

On March 10, market analyst and investor Anthony Pompliano speculated that President Trump was intentionally crashing financial markets to force the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.

The US government has approximately $9.2 trillion in debt that will mature in 2025 unless refinanced. Source: The Kobeissi Letter

According to The Kobeissi Letter, the US government needs to refinance roughly $9.2 trillion in debt before it reaches maturity in 2025.

Failure to refinance this debt at lower interest rates will drive up the national debt, which is currently over $36 trillion, and cause the interest payments on the debt to balloon.

Due to these reasons, President Trump has made interest rate cuts a top priority for his administration — even at the short-term expense of asset markets and business.

Magazine Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle

Video-sharing platform Rumble says it had purchased more than $17 million worth of Bitcoin as part of a previously announced investment strategy.

In a March 12 notice, Rumble said it had added 188 Bitcoin (BTC) to its treasury for roughly $17.1 million. The investment, suggested by CEO Chris Pavlovski in November following Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, was touted as a hedge against inflation and part of a broader move to deepen ties to the crypto industry.

The platform hinted it could make additional Bitcoin purchases depending on market factors. Though Rumble did not specifically mention Trump or his attempts to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile at the federal level, Pavlovski’s social media posts suggested strong support for the US president’s policies. 

Rumble’s cloud currently hosts Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — the president’s primary method for public communications — and entered into an agreement with El Salvador’s government in January to provide services. Cointelegraph reached out to Rumble for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Related: Tether pours $775M into video-sharing platform Rumble

With Bitcoin on its balance sheet, Rumble joins a list of companies that have invested in crypto following the November election, including AI firm Genius Group and software company Semler Scientific. The share price of Rumble stock has fallen roughly 34% since Jan. 1. 

US government could soon hodl Bitcoin

Since Jan. 20, the Trump administration has deepened ties between the US government and the crypto industry through executive action and policies. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the biggest financial regulators in the country, announced it would be dropping investigations and enforcement actions against many crypto firms over allegations of unregistered securities offerings. Trump also hosted many crypto executives and CEOs at the White House on March 7 as part of a summit to discuss a proposed national Bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile.

Trump’s proposed Bitcoin reserve — which could be codified into law if Congress moves forward with legislation — could see all BTC seized by US authorities HODLed rather than sold at auction. It’s unclear how this action may affect the price of the cryptocurrency.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

Video-sharing platform Rumble says it had purchased more than $17 million worth of Bitcoin as part of a previously announced investment strategy.

In a March 12 notice, Rumble said it had added 188 Bitcoin (BTC) to its treasury for roughly $17.1 million. The investment, suggested by CEO Chris Pavlovski in November following Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, was touted as a hedge against inflation and part of a broader move to deepen ties to the crypto industry.

The platform hinted it could make additional Bitcoin purchases depending on market factors. Though Rumble did not specifically mention Trump or his attempts to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile at the federal level, Pavlovski’s social media posts suggested strong support for the US president’s policies. 

Rumble’s cloud currently hosts Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — the president’s primary method for public communications — and entered into an agreement with El Salvador’s government in January to provide services. Cointelegraph reached out to Rumble for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Related: Tether pours $775M into video-sharing platform Rumble

With Bitcoin on its balance sheet, Rumble joins a list of companies that have invested in crypto following the November election, including AI firm Genius Group and software company Semler Scientific. The share price of Rumble stock has fallen roughly 34% since Jan. 1. 

US government could soon hodl Bitcoin

Since Jan. 20, the Trump administration has deepened ties between the US government and the crypto industry through executive action and policies. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the biggest financial regulators in the country, announced it would be dropping investigations and enforcement actions against many crypto firms over allegations of unregistered securities offerings. Trump also hosted many crypto executives and CEOs at the White House on March 7 as part of a summit to discuss a proposed national Bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile.

Trump’s proposed Bitcoin reserve — which could be codified into law if Congress moves forward with legislation — could see all BTC seized by US authorities HODLed rather than sold at auction. It’s unclear how this action may affect the price of the cryptocurrency.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

Video-sharing platform Rumble says it had purchased more than $17 million worth of Bitcoin as part of a previously announced investment strategy.

In a March 12 notice, Rumble said it had added 188 Bitcoin (BTC) to its treasury for roughly $17.1 million. The investment, suggested by CEO Chris Pavlovski in November following Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, was touted as a hedge against inflation and part of a broader move to deepen ties to the crypto industry.

The platform hinted it could make additional Bitcoin purchases depending on market factors. Though Rumble did not specifically mention Trump or his attempts to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile at the federal level, Pavlovski’s social media posts suggested strong support for the US president’s policies. 

Rumble’s cloud currently hosts Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — the president’s primary method for public communications — and entered into an agreement with El Salvador’s government in January to provide services. Cointelegraph reached out to Rumble for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Related: Tether pours $775M into video-sharing platform Rumble

With Bitcoin on its balance sheet, Rumble joins a list of companies that have invested in crypto following the November election, including AI firm Genius Group and software company Semler Scientific. The share price of Rumble stock has fallen roughly 34% since Jan. 1. 

US government could soon hodl Bitcoin

Since Jan. 20, the Trump administration has deepened ties between the US government and the crypto industry through executive action and policies. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the biggest financial regulators in the country, announced it would be dropping investigations and enforcement actions against many crypto firms over allegations of unregistered securities offerings. Trump also hosted many crypto executives and CEOs at the White House on March 7 as part of a summit to discuss a proposed national Bitcoin reserve and crypto stockpile.

Trump’s proposed Bitcoin reserve — which could be codified into law if Congress moves forward with legislation — could see all BTC seized by US authorities HODLed rather than sold at auction. It’s unclear how this action may affect the price of the cryptocurrency.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

New US regulatory guidance allowing banks to become validators for blockchain networks is a major step for institutional adoption but worsens centralization risks, Bohdan Opryshko, chief operating officer of staking service provider Everstake, told Cointelegraph. 

On March 7, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto, including permitting banks to participate “in independent node verification networks,” the regulator said. 

Opryshko said US banks’ increased involvement in proof-of-stake (PoS) networks, such as Ethereum and Solana, could be a “double-edged sword.” 

“If banks become dominant validators, power could become concentrated, reducing the decentralized nature of PoS networks,” Opryshko told Cointelegraph on March 12.

The additional financial inflows into PoS networks could also suppress staking yields, potentially undermining smaller validators, he added.

“If major institutional players, such as banks, enter the staking market and suddenly stake large amounts, […] it could cause a sharp reduction in staking rewards for all other participants,” Opryshko said. 

Staking yields as of March 12. Source: Staking Rewards

Related: OCC lays out crypto banking after Trump vows to end Operation Chokepoint 2.0

As of March 12, Ether stakers earn approximately 5.5% APR, and Solana stakers earn close to 8%, according to data from Staking Rewards. 

Staking involves securing blockchains by posting crypto as collateral with validators in exchange for rewards.

Debanking debacle

The OCC’s announcement came after US President Donald Trump vowed to end a prolonged regulatory crackdown that restricted crypto firms’ access to banking services.

Crypto industry outrage over so-called “debanking” reached a crescendo when a June 2024 lawsuit spearheaded by ​​Coinbase resulted in the release of letters showing US banking regulators asked certain financial institutions to “pause” crypto banking activities.

In a Jan. 23 executive order, Trump — who has vowed to make America the “world’s crypto capital” — told agencies to prioritize “fair and open access to banking services” for digital asset firms.

As of March 12, Anchorage Digital is the only federally chartered US bank to offer cryptocurrency staking.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has acquired a key European Union license that will enable the company to offer derivatives products throughout the region, potentially opening the door to a more advanced segment of the trading community. 

In a March 12 announcement, OKX’s Europe CEO, Erald Ghoos, confirmed that the exchange acquired a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) license. The license will allow OKX to launch derivatives trading products for institutional investors across the EU.

Source: OKX

The announcement came less than two months after OKX secured a preauthorization under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which allows the exchange to offer localized services across 28 markets within the European Economic Area.

Although the MiFID II and MiCA licensing regimes are seen as complementary, they serve different purposes. MiFID II applies to all types of financial instruments and requires crypto derivatives platforms to register. 

On the other hand, MiCA applies to crypto-asset service providers dealing with cryptocurrencies that are not considered financial instruments. 

Headquartered in Seychelles, OKX is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges based on daily volume. According to CoinMarketCap, the exchange processed nearly $3.7 billion worth of spot trades on March 12. 

Related: Kraken secures MiFID license to offer derivatives in Europe

Growing demand for derivatives

Demand for cryptocurrency derivatives has been on the rise as more institutional investors enter the digital asset space. A November report by CCData placed the centralized crypto derivatives market at nearly $7 trillion, having climbed 89.4% and surpassing the previous peak in March of last year. 

Crypto derivatives volumes reached all-time highs in the fourth quarter of 2024. Source: CCData

A February 2024 report by EY predicted that the evolution of decentralized finance (DeFi) would continue to catalyze crypto derivatives markets. The report said:

“Despite the high-profile crypto firm bankruptcies in the 2022 crypto recession, which have led to increased calls for greater regulation of the crypto asset industry, including the derivatives-trading sector, it is expected that the crypto derivatives market will continue to grow and evolve with the launch of new products that address market participants’ investment and hedging needs.”

When Kraken secured its MiFID license last month, it cited Europe as “one of the most active regions for crypto derivatives trading.”

Although not referencing solely derivatives trading, CME Group called Europe the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency economy, accounting for nearly 18% of global transaction volumes. 

Magazine: Block by block: Blockchain technology is transforming the real estate market

Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance has crested new highs as altcoins’ short-lived rally fizzles, according to data from Matrixport, a cryptocurrency financial services platform. 

As of March 12, Bitcoin dominance — a measure of Bitcoin’s share of crypto’s overall market capitalization — stands at 61.2%, according to Matrixport. This is up from a cycle low of around 54% in December. 

Rising BTC dominance is “clear evidence that the altcoin rally was short-lived,” Matrixport said in a post on the X platform. 

“It lasted barely a month, from [US President Donald] Trump’s election in November to early December, when a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report shifted market focus toward a more hawkish Federal Reserve,” Matrixport said. 

Bitcoin’s dominance typically wanes near the end of market cycles as capital rotates into altcoins — digital assets besides Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin dominance is back. Source: Matrixport

Related: Bitcoin battles US sellers as CPI inflation sees first drop since mid-2024

Eyeing interest rates

In January, the US Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady instead of starting another round of cuts, citing healthy US jobs data. 

The Fed’s hawkish tone dealt a blow to stocks and cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s spot price has dropped approximately 20% since the central bank’s Jan. 29 announcement. As of March 12, Bitcoin trades at roughly $82,750. It hit an all-time high of more than $109,000 in December. 

Altcoins are even more sensitive to macroeconomic volatility than Bitcoin. “Savvy traders have rotated out of altcoins and into Bitcoin, which, despite its own decline, has significantly outperformed the broader crypto market,” Matrixport said. 

The next leg of Bitcoin’s rally depends largely on whether the Fed opts to hike interest rates to stave off inflation, Matrixport noted. 

On March 12, the February Consumer Price Index — a measure of US inflation — came in lower than expected at around 2.8%. 

“This marks the first decline in both Headline and Core CPI since July 2024,” The Kobeissi Letter said in an X post. “Inflation is cooling down in the US.”

Data from the CME Group, a US derivatives exchange, indicates that markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed to hold rates steady at its next meeting in March.

Magazine: Ethereum L2s will be interoperable ‘within months’: Complete guide

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed ruling on whether or not to permit Cboe BZX Exchange to list options tied to asset manager Fidelity’s Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETFs). 

The agency has given itself until May 14 to approve or disapprove of Cboe BZX’s request to list options tied to Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), according to a March 12 SEC filing. 

Cboe BZX initially requested to list options on Fidelity’s Ether ETFs in January, the filing said. 

Listing options on Ether funds is an important step in attracting institutional capital to the cryptocurrency.

Ether ETFs by net assets. Source: VettaFi

Related: SEC acknowledges slew of crypto ETF filings as reviews, approvals accelerate

Flurry of filings

In February, the SEC acknowledged more than a dozen exchange filings related to cryptocurrency ETFs, according to records.

The SEC’s acknowledgments highlight how the agency has softened its stance on crypto since US President Donald Trump started his second term on Jan. 20.

On March 11, Cboe BZX asked regulators for permission to incorporate staking into Fidelity’s Ether ETF. Staking is not yet permitted by any publicly traded US Ether fund. 

Staking Ether enhances returns and involves posting ETH as collateral with a validator in exchange for rewards.

Fidelity’s FETH is among the more popular Ether ETFs, with around $780 million in net assets as of March 12, according to data from VettaFi. 

In February, the SEC delayed deciding on similar rule changes proposed by Nasdaq ISE and Cboe’s affiliate, Cboe Exchange — both US-based securities exchanges. 

The agency intends to decide by April if Nasdaq can list options tied to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). 

BlackRock’s fund is the largest ETH ETF, with more than $3.7 billion in net assets, VettaFi’s data shows.

It will rule on Cboe Exchange’s bid to list options on Fidelity’s Ether fund in May. 

Spot Ether ETFs were listed in July 2024 and have proceeded to attract nearly $7 billion in net assets, according to VettaFi’s data. 

Options are contracts granting the right to buy or sell — “call” or “put,” in trader parlance — an underlying asset at a certain price.

Magazine: MegaETH launch could save Ethereum… but at what cost?

The US Securities and Exchange Commission may be preparing to end its enforcement action against Ripple Labs after more than four years.

According to a March 12 X post from Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, the SEC’s case against Ripple was “in the process of wrapping up” after the parties filed an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively, over a $125-million court judgment in August 2024. The civil case against the blockchain firm filed in December 2020 alleged Ripple and certain executives used XRP (XRP) as an unregistered security to raise funds.

Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty told Cointelegraph on March 11 that the SEC civil case was “far more advanced” than many of the others the regulator had dropped following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump and the departure of Chair Gary Gensler. Since January, the SEC has announced it will not pursue enforcement cases against Coinbase, Consensys, Kraken and others.

“We do have a judgment, we are on appeal — that presents some additional complexity,” said Alderoty in regard to the case potentially being dropped. “But we remain optimistic that we’ll get to a resolution with the SEC, and if we don’t, we’ll proceed with the appeal.” 

According to the Ripple CLO, there were several possible outcomes to ending the SEC case if both parties were in agreement that it should wind down. If Ripple and the SEC agreed independently to drop their appeal and cross-appeal in the Second Circuit, then the $125-million judgment in the lower court would stand. If there were a dispute over the monetary judgment, then the blockchain firm and the commission would have to go “hand-in-hand” to request any modification from a judge. 

Related: Why is the Ripple SEC case still ongoing amid a sea of resolutions?

The SEC v. Ripple case involved one of the first significant court rulings favoring the crypto industry when Judge Analisa Torres said the XRP token was not a security under the regulator’s purview — but only in regard to programmatic sales on exchanges. At the time of publication, no filing suggesting the SEC intended to drop the case appeared on the docket for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York or the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

Change of tone at SEC under Trump

Though the SEC filed the Ripple case under Trump’s former chair, Jay Clayton, the commission stepped up the number of enforcement actions following Gensler’s confirmation in 2021.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview aired in December 2024 that the firm may not have gotten as involved in US politics if the commission had been led by someone other than Gensler. Under Garlinghouse, Ripple contributed $45 million to the political action committee Fairshake for the previous election cycle and donated another $25 million in November 2024. 

Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund following his election victory, and both Garlinghouse and Alderoty attended Washington, DC events on Jan. 20 as official guests. The chief legal officer personally donated more than $300,000 to fundraising and political action committees supporting the US president.

The correlation between political contributions to Trump and Republicans and the SEC dropping enforcement actions has many critics pointing to potential conflicts of interest in the administration. Coinbase, another major Fairshake backer that donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, had its SEC civil case halted in February. Its CEO, Brian Armstrong, also attended a March 7 crypto summit at the White House, along with Garlinghouse and others. 

Alderoty suggested that the SEC dropping cases was “independent” of any political donations and more reflective of Acting Chair Mark Uyeda’s perspective on the industry and related regulations.

At the time of publication, the US Senate has not scheduled a hearing to consider the nomination of the potential next head of the commission, Paul Atkins. Commissioner Hester Peirce said in February that the SEC would be more likely to wait on setting a crypto regulatory agenda after a new chair took office.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

In this week’s newsletter, check out non-fungible token (NFT) gaming project Axie Infinity’s new trailer for its upcoming Web3 game, Atia’s Legacy. In other news, luxury fashion giant LVMH has been sued for NFT patent infringement, and NFT sales have tumbled by 63% since December 2024. 

Axie Infinity teases new Web3 game as NFT outlook turns positive

Blockchain gaming project Axie Infinity released a trailer for its new Web3 game Atia’s Legacy. The game is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) video game in the Axie universe. Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis gave a sneak peek of the game’s next chapter, highlighting that the project continues to provide true asset ownership to its players. 

The new development comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped investigations into major NFT projects. In addition, a Trump-owned company registered trademarks for an NFT marketplace. 

In a statement, Sky Mavis co-founder Jeffrey Zirlin told Cointelegraph that these are promising updates because they may further unlock the power of tokens. 

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Luxury fashion giant LVMH sued over NFT patent tech for watches

Smartwatch face design firm Watch Skins sued luxury brand LVMH and accused it of patent infringement. Watch Skins claimed it developed a system that lets users display verified NFTs on smartwatches. 

The company alleged that TAG Heuer, an LVMH-owned watch brand, unlawfully used its patented NFT display tech in a smartwatch. The company claimed that TAG Heuer encouraged its users to infringe on the patents by giving instructions for using the NFT display features. 

Watch Skins requested a trial and compensation for lost royalties and profit and a court order to prevent LVMH from further using the patented NFT tech. 

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NFT trading volume has tumbled 63% since December

Despite some positive regulatory developments and interest in the US, NFT trading volume momentum slowed in the first quarter of 2025. 

NFT trading volumes have dropped by over 60% since December 2024. In December, total trading volumes for blockchain-based digital collectibles hit $1.36 billion but fell 26% in January, according to DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas.

The trend continued through February, with volumes falling 50% month-on-month. Gherghelas attributed the downturn in NFT values to their connection with crypto prices. “While NFTs had been showing signs of a comeback in recent months, their momentum has slowed since the start of the year,” she said. 

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.