Between Oct. 25, 2024, and Jan. 16, 2025, XRP (XRP) had one of the best rallies of the current bull market, gaining 600% as investors piled in with the hope that a pro-crypto presidency would benefit Ripple and its cryptocurrency.

During this time, the quarterly average of daily active addresses jumped by 490% and XRP price hit a 7-year high.

XRP’s 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Fast forward to the present, and data shows that the speculative interest surrounding XRP is declining. Holders are increasingly facing losses rather than gains, which is dampening their risk appetite.

“Retail confidence in XRP may be slipping”

Since bottoming in 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP have gained 500% to 600%, but the bulk of XRP’s gains came from a parabolic price increase. Data from Glassnode shows that XRP daily active addresses jumped by 490%, whereas the same metric for Bitcoin increased by 10% over the past four months.

XRP’s new investor realized the cap. Source: Glassnode

This retail-driven surge pushed XRP’s realized cap from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion, with $30 billion of that inflow coming from investors in the last six months. The share of XRP’s realized cap held by new investors (less than six months) jumped from 23% to 62.8%, signaling a rapid wealth shift. However, since late February 2025, capital inflows have dipped significantly.

XRP realized profit/loss ratio. Source: Glassnode

The primary reason is that investors are currently locking in fewer profits and staring at higher losses. This can be identified by the realized loss/profit ratio, which has constantly declined since 2025. Glassnode analysts said,

“Given the retail-dominated inflows and largely concentrated wealth in relatively new hands, this alludes to a condition where retail investor confidence in XRP may be slipping, and this may also be extended across the broader market.”

Besides weakening confidence among newer investors, the distribution of XRP among whale addresses reflects a similar trend. Data shows a steady increase in whale outflows since the start of 2025, suggesting that large holders have been consistently trimming their positions. Over the past 14 days, over $1 billion in positions were offloaded at an average price of $2.10.

Whale flow 30-day moving average. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: How many US dollars does XRP transfer per day?

Can XRP hold the $2 support?

XRP has found support at $2 multiple times over the past few weeks, but the chance of the altcoin dropping below this level increases with each retest.

XRP 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, on the lower time frame (LTF) of the 1-hour and 4-hour charts, a bullish divergence can be observed for XRP. A bullish divergence occurs when the price forms a lower low and the relative strength index (RSI) forms a lower high.

With a fair value gap between $2.08 and $2.13, XRP might see a relief rally into this range, especially if the wider crypto market undergoes an oversold bounce. On the higher time frame chart, XRP appears bearish due to the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, with a measured target near $1.07.

There is a chance that the altcoin finds support from the 200-day moving average (orange line) around the $1.70 to $1.80 mark, but XRP price has not tested this level since Nov. 5, 2024.

XRP 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Related: Bitcoin drops 8%, US markets shed $2T in value — Should traders expect an oversold bounce?

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Between Oct. 25, 2024, and Jan. 16, 2025, XRP (XRP) had one of the best rallies of the current bull market, gaining 600% as investors piled in with the hope that a pro-crypto presidency would benefit Ripple and its cryptocurrency.

During this time, the quarterly average of daily active addresses jumped by 490% and XRP price hit a 7-year high.

XRP’s 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Fast forward to the present, and data shows that the speculative interest surrounding XRP is declining. Holders are increasingly facing losses rather than gains, which is dampening their risk appetite.

“Retail confidence in XRP may be slipping”

Since bottoming in 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP have gained 500% to 600%, but the bulk of XRP’s gains came from a parabolic price increase. Data from Glassnode shows that XRP daily active addresses jumped by 490%, whereas the same metric for Bitcoin increased by 10% over the past four months.

XRP’s new investor realized the cap. Source: Glassnode

This retail-driven surge pushed XRP’s realized cap from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion, with $30 billion of that inflow coming from investors in the last six months. The share of XRP’s realized cap held by new investors (less than six months) jumped from 23% to 62.8%, signaling a rapid wealth shift. However, since late February 2025, capital inflows have dipped significantly.

XRP realized profit/loss ratio. Source: Glassnode

The primary reason is that investors are currently locking in fewer profits and staring at higher losses. This can be identified by the realized loss/profit ratio, which has constantly declined since 2025. Glassnode analysts said,

“Given the retail-dominated inflows and largely concentrated wealth in relatively new hands, this alludes to a condition where retail investor confidence in XRP may be slipping, and this may also be extended across the broader market.”

Besides weakening confidence among newer investors, the distribution of XRP among whale addresses reflects a similar trend. Data shows a steady increase in whale outflows since the start of 2025, suggesting that large holders have been consistently trimming their positions. Over the past 14 days, over $1 billion in positions were offloaded at an average price of $2.10.

Whale flow 30-day moving average. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: How many US dollars does XRP transfer per day?

Can XRP hold the $2 support?

XRP has found support at $2 multiple times over the past few weeks, but the chance of the altcoin dropping below this level increases with each retest.

XRP 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, on the lower time frame (LTF) of the 1-hour and 4-hour charts, a bullish divergence can be observed for XRP. A bullish divergence occurs when the price forms a lower low and the relative strength index (RSI) forms a lower high.

With a fair value gap between $2.08 and $2.13, XRP might see a relief rally into this range, especially if the wider crypto market undergoes an oversold bounce. On the higher time frame chart, XRP appears bearish due to the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, with a measured target near $1.07.

There is a chance that the altcoin finds support from the 200-day moving average (orange line) around the $1.70 to $1.80 mark, but XRP price has not tested this level since Nov. 5, 2024.

XRP 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Related: Bitcoin drops 8%, US markets shed $2T in value — Should traders expect an oversold bounce?

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Between Oct. 25, 2024, and Jan. 16, 2025, XRP (XRP) had one of the best rallies of the current bull market, gaining 600% as investors piled in with the hope that a pro-crypto presidency would benefit Ripple and its cryptocurrency.

During this time, the quarterly average of daily active addresses jumped by 490% and XRP price hit a 7-year high.

XRP’s 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Fast forward to the present, and data shows that the speculative interest surrounding XRP is declining. Holders are increasingly facing losses rather than gains, which is dampening their risk appetite.

“Retail confidence in XRP may be slipping”

Since bottoming in 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP have gained 500% to 600%, but the bulk of XRP’s gains came from a parabolic price increase. Data from Glassnode shows that XRP daily active addresses jumped by 490%, whereas the same metric for Bitcoin increased by 10% over the past four months.

XRP’s new investor realized the cap. Source: Glassnode

This retail-driven surge pushed XRP’s realized cap from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion, with $30 billion of that inflow coming from investors in the last six months. The share of XRP’s realized cap held by new investors (less than six months) jumped from 23% to 62.8%, signaling a rapid wealth shift. However, since late February 2025, capital inflows have dipped significantly.

XRP realized profit/loss ratio. Source: Glassnode

The primary reason is that investors are currently locking in fewer profits and staring at higher losses. This can be identified by the realized loss/profit ratio, which has constantly declined since 2025. Glassnode analysts said,

“Given the retail-dominated inflows and largely concentrated wealth in relatively new hands, this alludes to a condition where retail investor confidence in XRP may be slipping, and this may also be extended across the broader market.”

Besides weakening confidence among newer investors, the distribution of XRP among whale addresses reflects a similar trend. Data shows a steady increase in whale outflows since the start of 2025, suggesting that large holders have been consistently trimming their positions. Over the past 14 days, over $1 billion in positions were offloaded at an average price of $2.10.

Whale flow 30-day moving average. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: How many US dollars does XRP transfer per day?

Can XRP hold the $2 support?

XRP has found support at $2 multiple times over the past few weeks, but the chance of the altcoin dropping below this level increases with each retest.

XRP 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, on the lower time frame (LTF) of the 1-hour and 4-hour charts, a bullish divergence can be observed for XRP. A bullish divergence occurs when the price forms a lower low and the relative strength index (RSI) forms a lower high.

With a fair value gap between $2.08 and $2.13, XRP might see a relief rally into this range, especially if the wider crypto market undergoes an oversold bounce. On the higher time frame chart, XRP appears bearish due to the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, with a measured target near $1.07.

There is a chance that the altcoin finds support from the 200-day moving average (orange line) around the $1.70 to $1.80 mark, but XRP price has not tested this level since Nov. 5, 2024.

XRP 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Related: Bitcoin drops 8%, US markets shed $2T in value — Should traders expect an oversold bounce?

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Economic uncertainty and a major crypto exchange hack pushed down the total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to $156 billion in the first quarter of 2025, but AI and social apps gained ground with a rise in network users, according to a crypto analytics firm.

“Broader economic uncertainty and lingering aftershocks from the Bybit exploit” were the main contributing factors to the DeFi sector’s 27% quarter-on-quarter fall in TVL, according to an April 3 report from DappRadar, which noted that Ether (ETH) fell 45% to $1,820 over the same period.

Change in DeFi total value locked between Jan. 2024 and March 2025. Source: DappRadar

The largest blockchain by TVL, Ethereum, fell 37% to $96 billion, while Sui was the hardest hit of the top 10 blockchains by TVL, falling 44% to $2 billion.

Solana, Tron and the Arbitrum blockchains also had their TVLs slashed over 30%.

Meanwhile, blockchains that experienced a larger volume of DeFi withdrawals and had a smaller share of stablecoins locked in their protocols faced extra pressure on top of the falling token prices.

The newly launched Berachain was the only top-10 blockchain by TVL to rise, accumulating $5.17 billion between Feb. 6 and March 31, DappRadar noted.

Market fall didn’t stunt AI and social app user growth

However, the number of daily unique active wallets (DUAW) interacting with AI protocols and social apps increased 29% and 10%, respectively, in Q1, while non-fungible token and GameFi protocols regressed, DappRadar’s data shows.

The monthly average of DUAWs interacting on the AI and social protocols rose to 2.6 million and 2.8 million, while DeFi and GameFi protocols fell double-digits. 

DappRadar said there was “explosive growth” in AI agent protocols, stating that they’re “no longer a concept.”

“They’re here, and they’re shaping new user behaviors,” said the firm. 

Change in DeFi total value locked between Jan. 2024 and March 2025. Source: DappRadar

Related: Avalanche stablecoins up 70% to $2.5B, AVAX demand lacks DeFi deployment

Meanwhile, NFT trading volume fell 25% to $1.5 billion, with OKX’s NFT marketplace taking in the most sales at $606 million, while OpenSea and Blur saw $599 million and $565 million, respectively.

Pudgy Penguins NFTs were the most sold collectibles at $177 million, while CryptoPunks NFTs netted $63.6 million from just 477 sales, DappRadar noted.

“When analyzing top collections, CryptoPunks remains a staple — its prestige remains intact even as price fluctuations make it largely inaccessible for the average user.”

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

EigenLayer plans to start “slashing” restakers on April 17, resulting in the Ethereum restaking protocol’s “first feature-complete iteration,” it said in an April 2 announcement. 

Implementing slashing will mark EigenLayer’s final step toward establishing the protocol as “infrastructure for a new generation of verifiable apps and services built on the Verifiable Cloud,” it said in a post on the X platform.

In 2024, EigenLayer started distributing rewards — including emissions of its native EIGEN token — to incentivize restakers. However, slashing has so far been limited to EigenLayer’s testnets.

Once slashing is live, node operators and restakers will be able to voluntarily “opt-in,” resulting in a gradual transition for users, EigenLayer said in a blog post.

Slashing starts on EigenLayer’s mainnet soon. Source: EigenLayer

Related: EigenLayer eyes consumer adoption post EIGEN unlock, founder says

Gradual roll-out

Launched in 2023, EigenLayer secures third-party protocols — dubbed actively validated services (AVSs) — against a pool of “restaked” cryptocurrencies used as collateral. 

Restaking involves taking a token that has already been staked — posted as collateral with a validator in exchange for rewards — and using it to secure other protocols simultaneously. 

Slashing is the primary method for securing proof-of-stake protocols — including Ethereum as well as “restaking” protocols such as EigenLayer — and involves penalizing a network’s node operators for poor performance or misbehavior.

“If Operators do not meet the conditions set, the AVS may penalize them. But, if the Operator runs the service successfully, AVSs can reward the Operator’s performance and incentivize specific activity,” EigenLayer said in an April 3 blog post. 

This “allows for a free marketplace where Operators can earn rewards for their work and AVSs can launch verifiable services,” the post said. 

EigenLayer’s total value locked (TVL) over time. Source: DeFILlama

Growing ecosystem

Upward of 30 AVSs are already live on EigenLayer’s mainnet, and dozens more are being developed.

They include EigenDA — run by EigenLayer developer Eigen Labs — and ARPA Network, a protocol specializing in trustless randomization.

In October, EigenLayer unlocked its native token, EIGEN. It is designed as a more flexible option for securing consensus-based protocols than other proof-of-stake tokens, such as Ether, according to EigenLayer.

EigenLayer is prioritizing onboarding crypto-native apps in segments such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming before expanding beyond Web3, founder Sreeram Kannan told Cointelegraph in October. 

“We’re starting with the inside-out approach, focusing on high-throughput consumer apps like DeFi and gaming, but once we grow a little bigger and have critical mass, we’ll go outside and start targeting broader consumer markets,” Kannan said.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, backed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, plans to move into a Miami-area office space, as US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement case may have reached its end.

According to a March 31 post from Sterling Bay Properties, Gemini signed a lease for an office in Miami’s Wynwood Art District. The move would expand the exchange’s offices from Europe and New York to Florida, where some crypto companies are headquartered.

Bloomberg reported Gemini was expected to move into the Miami office by May. Cointelegraph reached out to the exchange for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Wrapping up regulatory issues?

The move to Florida came amid a federal judge ordering a 60-day stay on the SEC’s lawsuit against Gemini Global Capital “to allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.” The enforcement action, filed in January 2023, alleges the crypto firm offered and sold unregistered securities through its Gemini Earn program. 

Cameron Winklevoss said in February that the regulator had closed an investigation into a separate matter involving Gemini. The firm also agreed in January to a $5 million penalty imposed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission over alleged “false and misleading” statements related to its 2017 bid to offer Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts.

Related: Crypto PAC-backed Republicans win US House seats in Florida special elections

Gemini reportedly filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year. The exchange may have pursued an IPO as early as 2021 before shares of many US-based crypto firms were publicly traded. 

Several crypto firms have regional offices in Miami, possibly due to Florida’s seemingly favorable regulatory environment and the lack of state income tax for residents. Ripple Labs has an office in the Wynwood neighborhood, not far from Gemini’s future location, and BTC miner MARA Holdings is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale.

Magazine: Crypto City: The ultimate guide to Miami

On April 3, yields on long-term US government debt fell to their lowest levels in six months as investors reacted to growing concerns over the global trade war and the weakening of the US dollar. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note briefly touched 4.0%, down from 4.4% a week earlier, signaling strong demand from buyers.

US 10-year Treasury yield (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

At first glance, a higher risk of economic recession may seem negative for Bitcoin (BTC). However, lower returns from fixed-income investments encourage allocations to alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies. Over time, traders are likely to reduce exposure to bonds, particularly if inflation rises. As a result, the path to a Bitcoin all-time high in 2025 remains plausible.

Tariffs create ‘supply shock’ in the US and impact inflation and fixed-income returns

One could argue that the recently announced US import tariffs negatively impact corporate profitability, forcing some companies to deleverage and, in turn, reducing market liquidity. Ultimately, any measure that increases risk aversion tends to have a short-term negative effect on Bitcoin, particularly given its strong correlation with the S&P 500 index.

Axel Merk, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Merk Investments, said that tariffs create a “supply shock,” meaning the reduced availability of goods and services due to rising prices causes an imbalance relative to demand. This effect is amplified if interest rates are declining, potentially paving the way for inflationary pressure.

Source: X/AxelMerk

Even if one does not view Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, the appeal of fixed-income investments diminishes significantly in such a scenario. Moreover, if just 5% of the world’s $140 trillion bond market seeks higher returns elsewhere, it could translate into $7 trillion in potential inflows into stocks, commodities, real estate, gold, and Bitcoin.

Weaker US dollar amid gold all-time highs favors alternative assets

Gold surged to a $21 trillion market capitalization as it made consecutive all-time highs, and it still has the potential for significant price upside. Higher prices allow previously unprofitable mining operations to resume and it encourages further investment in exploration, extraction, and refining. As production expands, the supply growth will naturally act as a limiting factor on gold’s long-term bull run.

Regardless of trends in US interest rates, the US dollar has weakened against a basket of foreign currencies, as measured by the DXY Index. On April 3, the index dropped to 102, its lowest level in six months. A decline in confidence in the US dollar, even in relative terms, could encourage other nations to explore alternative stores of value, including Bitcoin.

US Dollar Index (DXY). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

This transition does not happen overnight, but the trade war could lead to a gradual shift away from the US dollar, particularly among countries that feel pressured by its dominant role. While no one expects a return to the gold standard or Bitcoin to become a major component of national reserves, any movement away from the dollar strengthens Bitcoin’s long-term upside potential and reinforces its position as an alternative asset.

Related: Trump ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs create chaos in markets, recession concerns

To put things in perspective, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore collectively hold $2.63 trillion in US Treasuries. If these regions choose to retaliate, bond yields could reverse their trend, increasing the cost of new debt issuance for the US government and further weakening the dollar. In such a scenario, investors would likely avoid adding exposure to stocks, ultimately favoring scarce alternative assets like Bitcoin.

Timing Bitcoin’s market bottom is nearly impossible, but the fact that the $82,000 support level held despite worsening global economic uncertainty is an encouraging sign of its resilience.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

On April 3, yields on long-term US government debt fell to their lowest levels in six months as investors reacted to growing concerns over the global trade war and the weakening of the US dollar. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note briefly touched 4.0%, down from 4.4% a week earlier, signaling strong demand from buyers.

US 10-year Treasury yield (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

At first glance, a higher risk of economic recession may seem negative for Bitcoin (BTC). However, lower returns from fixed-income investments encourage allocations to alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies. Over time, traders are likely to reduce exposure to bonds, particularly if inflation rises. As a result, the path to a Bitcoin all-time high in 2025 remains plausible.

Tariffs create ‘supply shock’ in the US and impact inflation and fixed-income returns

One could argue that the recently announced US import tariffs negatively impact corporate profitability, forcing some companies to deleverage and, in turn, reducing market liquidity. Ultimately, any measure that increases risk aversion tends to have a short-term negative effect on Bitcoin, particularly given its strong correlation with the S&P 500 index.

Axel Merk, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Merk Investments, said that tariffs create a “supply shock,” meaning the reduced availability of goods and services due to rising prices causes an imbalance relative to demand. This effect is amplified if interest rates are declining, potentially paving the way for inflationary pressure.

Source: X/AxelMerk

Even if one does not view Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, the appeal of fixed-income investments diminishes significantly in such a scenario. Moreover, if just 5% of the world’s $140 trillion bond market seeks higher returns elsewhere, it could translate into $7 trillion in potential inflows into stocks, commodities, real estate, gold, and Bitcoin.

Weaker US dollar amid gold all-time highs favors alternative assets

Gold surged to a $21 trillion market capitalization as it made consecutive all-time highs, and it still has the potential for significant price upside. Higher prices allow previously unprofitable mining operations to resume and it encourages further investment in exploration, extraction, and refining. As production expands, the supply growth will naturally act as a limiting factor on gold’s long-term bull run.

Regardless of trends in US interest rates, the US dollar has weakened against a basket of foreign currencies, as measured by the DXY Index. On April 3, the index dropped to 102, its lowest level in six months. A decline in confidence in the US dollar, even in relative terms, could encourage other nations to explore alternative stores of value, including Bitcoin.

US Dollar Index (DXY). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

This transition does not happen overnight, but the trade war could lead to a gradual shift away from the US dollar, particularly among countries that feel pressured by its dominant role. While no one expects a return to the gold standard or Bitcoin to become a major component of national reserves, any movement away from the dollar strengthens Bitcoin’s long-term upside potential and reinforces its position as an alternative asset.

Related: Trump ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs create chaos in markets, recession concerns

To put things in perspective, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore collectively hold $2.63 trillion in US Treasuries. If these regions choose to retaliate, bond yields could reverse their trend, increasing the cost of new debt issuance for the US government and further weakening the dollar. In such a scenario, investors would likely avoid adding exposure to stocks, ultimately favoring scarce alternative assets like Bitcoin.

Timing Bitcoin’s market bottom is nearly impossible, but the fact that the $82,000 support level held despite worsening global economic uncertainty is an encouraging sign of its resilience.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Cango, a publicly traded Chinese conglomerate, has agreed to sell its legacy China operations to an entity associated with peer Bitmain in a bid to go all-in on Bitcoin (BTC) mining, according to a report by The Miner Mag. 

Cango agreed to sell its legacy Chinese auto financing business to Ursalpha Digital Limited in a $352 million deal, according to the report.

 Additionally, Bitmain is reportedly transferring 32 exahashes per second (EH/s) to Cango. The deal effectively brings Bitmain’s mining assets to the public market, The Miner Mag said.

Exahashes measure a miner’s contribution to the Bitcoin network’s hashrate, the total computing power securing the network.

The Miner Mag said Ursalpha Digital Limited has the same corporate address and founding director as Antalpha, an entity ultimately controlled by the chairman of Bitcoin miner Bitmain. 

Proxies for Cango’s shares on the NYSE are up 25% this month. Source: Google Finance

Related: Analysts eye Bitcoin miners’ AI, chip sales ahead of Q4 earnings

Trump-family connection

Bitmain has experienced US scrutiny after the country blacklisted its artificial intelligence affiliate Sopghgo, Bloomberg reported. 

According to Bloomberg, Bitmain has a working relationship with American Bitcoin, a Trump-family-affiliated mining entity created in March as part of a deal with Hut 8, a provider of power and computing infrastructure. 

On March 31, Hut 8 bought a majority ownership interest in American Bitcoin (formerly American Data Centers), whose founders include US President Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. 

Hut 8 has transferred its Bitcoin mining equipment to American Bitcoin, which is reportedly mulling an initial public offering (IPO), according to Bloomberg. 

The companies said that American Bitcoin will focus on crypto mining, while Hut 8 targets data center infrastructure for applications such as high-performance computing. 

In 2025, Bitcoin mining stocks have struggled amid declining cryptocurrency prices and pressure on business models caused by the Bitcoin network’s April halving, according to a JPMorgan research note shared with Cointelegraph.

Every four years, the amount of BTC mined per “block” — a bundle of transaction data stored on the chain — is cut in half. April’s halving slashed mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.

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

The number of pre-seed funding rounds for Bitcoin (BTC) startup companies has grown by 767% since 2021, according to a report from venture capital firm Trammell Venture Partners (TVP).

Bitcoin pre-seed transactions increased 50% year-over-year in 2024, with a 27.5% year-over-year increase in the number of startup companies funded.

Christopher Calicott, TVP’s managing director, attributed the increased deals to the robust security of the BTC network:

“Many entrepreneurs across crypto are revisiting the Bitcoin stack as the long-term place to build their companies. It makes perfect sense: The objectively most secure, reliable, and decentralized blockchain is the obvious platform of choice.”

However, the capital raised in Bitcoin pre-seed funding rounds declined by over 22% in 2024, with the median funding round size and the median startup valuation steadily declining from 2021 to 2023.

Median valuations for pre-seed Bitcoin startups fail to reclaim 2021 levels. Source: Trammell Venture Partners

The value of funding rounds reclaimed some lost ground in 2024 but failed to reach highs established during the previous bull cycle in 2021, primarily due to unclear crypto regulations in the United States under the previous Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) leadership.

More recently, macroeconomic uncertainty due to fears of a prolonged trade war, relatively high interest rates, and the possibility of a recession in the United States have also eroded the risk appetite for speculative assets like crypto.

Total number of funding deals and unique Bitcoin startup companies has steadily risen since 2021. Source: Trammell Venture Partners

Related: VC Roundup: 8-figure funding deals suggest crypto bull market far from over

Crypto VCs don’t expect 2025 funding to reach 2021-2022 levels

In January, Deng Chao, CEO of institutional asset manager HashKey Capital, told Cointelegraph that pro-crypto regulations in the United States would increase VC investment in the sector in 2025.

However, the executive warned that macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical turmoil could increase price volatility and disrupt the trend brought on by positive regulatory tailwinds.

On April 2, US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping tariff order establishing a 10% baseline tariff on import goods from all countries and a regime of reciprocal trade tariffs on trading partners that sent financial markets tumbling.

Crypto markets took a nosedive amid trade war fears and macroeconomic uncertainty. Source: CoinMarketCap

Risk-on assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies typically suffer during trade wars and macroeconomic uncertainty, as investors flee risk assets for safer alternatives such as cash, government securities, and durable commodities.

Venture capital firm Haun Ventures invested $1.5 billion into crypto firms in 2022 but recently announced it seeks to raise only $1 billion in the first half of 2025, citing changed market conditions.

Similarly, analysts at Galaxy Digital also predicted a 50% year-over-year rise in VC-led crypto investments in 2025 but said that VC funding will fail to reach highs established in 2021–2022.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again