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David Sacks Responds to U.S. Crypto Reserve Conflict of Interest Allegations

President Trump’s announcement on Sunday that he plans to establish a federal cryptocurrency reserve sent digital asset markets soaring. However, it also reignited concerns over potential conflicts of interest, this time involving David Sacks, the venture capitalist who serves as Trump’s crypto and artificial intelligence czar.
The president said on Sunday that a future U.S. crypto reserve will hold tokens including XRP, SOL, ADA, ETH and BTC. ADA soared by 60% within minutes of the announcement, and all of the other listed tokens experienced double-digit price bumps.
The market response immediately drew attention to the range of ways in which Trump and his inner circle could stand to benefit from his crypto policies.
Among the most obvious potential beneficiaries was Sacks, whose venture firm, Craft Ventures, is invested in Bitwise—a crypto index fund manager with holdings in all the digital tokens named in Trump’s statement—and other crypto startups. In the past, Sacks also disclosed personal investments in some of the tokens listed by the president.
Following Sunday’s announcement, Sacks stated on X, “I sold all my cryptocurrency (including BTC, ETH, and SOL) prior to the start of the administration.» In response to a community note on X about Craft Ventures’ investment in Bitwise, Sacks added, «I had a $74k position in the Bitwise ETF, which I sold on January 22. I do not have ‘large indirect holdings.'»
It is unclear if Sacks retains a direct stake in Bitwise through Craft Ventures, where he remains a partner. Sacks led Craft Ventures’ 2017 seed investment into Bitwise, and the venture firm still lists Bitwise in its portfolio.
A representative for Craft Ventures declined to share anything beyond Sacks’ X posts. The firm told the Financial Times on Sunday that it still has stakes in some cryptocurrency companies.
Bitwise operates a series of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including a «10 Crypto Index Fund,» which contains all of the tokens slated for Trump’s reserve. The firm has also submitted applications to operate ETFs for XRP and SOL, among other tokens. If these applications are approved, Bitwise would benefit from heightened interest in the assets if they’re included in a U.S. crypto reserve.
Bitwise did not respond to a request for comment.
Courting crypto
Sacks will host a first-of-its-kind White House cryptocurrency summit on Friday, during which more details about the administration’s plans for the industry are expected to emerge.
Trump has worked hard over the past year to court supporters in the cryptocurrency industry — one of the largest corporate donor groups to the 2024 election. While the president’s anti-regulatory posture has been welcomed by some in the industry, even some of his pro-crypto supporters have begun to fear that highlighting particularly volatile assets like cardano (ADA) and XRP (XRP) risks delegitimizing the sector.
The president’s own cryptocurrency businesses have added to concerns around potential conflicts of interest.
In January, Trump launched a meme coin, TRUMP, on the Solana blockchain — the network behind the SOL token. Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) — a decentralized finance venture backed by the president and his sons — has built its own treasury of crypto assets. The treasury includes some of the same tokens listed for inclusion in the federal crypto reserve, meaning any boost in price could ostensibly benefit Trump directly.
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Chart of the Week: ‘Dire Picture’ for BTC Miners as Revenue Flatlines Near Record Low

Hashprice, a key metric used to gauge miner revenue, is currently hovering near a five-year low, according to HashRate Index—a stark reminder of how difficult the mining business has become.
In simple terms, the metric is the income miners can expect per unit of computing power, denoted by per petahash (PH/s). It can be denominated in U.S. dollars or BTC, although it’s most commonly quoted in USD for practical comparison.
At present, hashprice sits at $44.00 PH/s, only slightly above its August 2024 low, when bitcoin reached $49,000 amid the yen carry trade unwind. Currently, bitcoin is trading around $84,000.
Despite the higher BTC price, miner revenue is dwindling, which paints a dire picture of the mining industry as a whole after the recent halving event cut the rewards by half. Rising competition, higher mining difficulty, lower transaction revenue, and spiking energy costs have added more pressure to the revenue.
However, it’s not all bad. At around $44.00 PH/s levels, depending on what type of mining machines miners are using, miners can still be near or at breakeven, although far from 2021’s mining bull run.
Looking ahead, deteriorating market conditions, stagnant bitcoin prices, and geopolitical uncertainty, such as potential tariffs affecting mining operations, could create further headwinds for the industry.
This is reflected in the performance of the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), which is down 50% year-to-date while BTC fell about 10%, underscoring the challenging environment facing the mining sector.
It makes sense that miners are increasingly pivoting into other revenue streams, such as reallocating computing power for artificial intelligence.
Read more: Bitcoin Mining Stocks Plunge as Revenue Craters Amid Market Carnage
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XRP Resembles a Compressed Spring Poised for a Significant Price Move as Key Volatility Indicator Mirrors 2024 Patterns

The price action for XRP and bitcoin (BTC) resembles a tightly compressed spring on the verge of uncoiling with a sudden release of energy.
That’s the message from a key volatility indicator called Bollinger Bandwidth. Bollinger Bands are volatility bands set at plus two and minus two standard deviations above and below the 20-period moving average (SMA) of an asset’s market price. The bandwidth measures the space between these bands as a percentage of the 20-day moving average.
In the case of XRP, the Bollinger bandwidth has narrowed to its lowest level since October 2024 on the 4-hour chart, where each candle represents price action for a four-hour period. The 4-hour chart interval is quite popular in the 24/7 crypto market, allowing traders to analyze and predict short-term price movements. Bitcoin’s 4-hour chart mirrors the Bollinger bandwidth pattern in XRP.
The long-held belief is that tighter Bollinger bandwidth, reflecting a quiet period in the market, is akin to a compressed spring ready for significant movement.
During these calm phases, the market accumulates energy that is eventually released once a clear direction is established, often leading to dramatic rallies or sharp price declines/ Both XRP and bitcoin surged in November-December following an extended range-bound period that left their bandwidth at levels comparable to those observed today.
That said, tighter bands do not always indicate a bullish volatility explosion; they can also foreshadow a sell-off. For example, the bands tightened in October 2022, signaling a significant move ahead, which materialized on the downside after FTX went bust.
It remains to be seen whether this latest spring compression will trigger bullish volatility or lead both tokens into a tailspin. The recent hawkish comments from Federal Reserve’s Chairman Jerome Powell and selling by some whales favor the latter.
Stay alert!
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Trump’s Official Memecoin Surges Despite Massive $320 Million Unlock in Thin Holiday Trading

TRUMP, the memecoin tied to U.S. President Donald Trump, gained more than 9% in the past 24 hours following a $320 million token unlock. The price now sits around $8.40, still down more than 88% from its peak above $71 on Jan. 18.
The recent unlock may spell further trouble for investors, who are estimated to have lost a total of $2 billion after purchasing the token earlier this year.
Token unlocks typically flood the market with new supply and tend to depress prices. But in this case, the market appears to have priced in the release beforehand, potentially explaining the price uptick. Still, the $320 million unlock raises the risk of a large sell-off, especially given TRUMP’s thin liquidity.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that just $1.3 million could move the token’s price by 2% on major exchanges. The move also comes during the Easter holiday weekend, when trading volumes are subdued and price swings can be more pronounced.
On social media, rumors are swirling about a possible event for large token holders, supposedly being organized by Trump himself. These claims remain unverified and highly speculative.
Data from Dune analytics shows there are currently 636,000 TRUMP token holders on-chain, with just 12,285 wallets having more than $1,000 worth of the cryptocurrency.
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