📉Bitcoin Plunges Under $83,000 on Renewed Trump Tariff Threats

gm Defiers!

Crypto markets dropped for a fourth day, with Bitcoin and Ether trading under $83,000 and $2,300, respectively, after President Trump announced that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports would take effect on March 4.

Meanwhile, the SEC continues to relax its grip on the crypto industry, dropping its lawsuit against Consensys just days after abandoning its investigation into Uniswap.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

Crypto markets drop for a fourth day on trade war fears
Consensys says SEC will drop pending lawsuit
Litecoin surges on ETF speculation
Bitwise CIO says memecoins will fizzle out in six months
SEC’s Crypto Task Force seeks industry feedback

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📉Bitcoin Clings to $83,000 after Trump Says Tariffs Will Start Next Week

Crypto markets dropped for a fourth day after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will take effect on March 4.

Bitcoin struggled to hold the $83,000 level on Wednesday after trading as high as $87,000 earlier in the day. ETH and XRP are flat on the day, while SOL gained 3.5% to $136.

⚖️SEC to Drop Consensys Lawsuit

“Subject to the approval of the Commission, the SEC will file a stipulation with the court that effectively closes the case. We were committed to fighting this suit until the bitter end but welcome this outcome,” Consensys said in a blog post.

The SEC charged Consensys in June 2024 with selling unregistered securities through its Metamask staking service.

🚀Litecoin Pops 18% Amid ETF Hype

Litecoin jumped as much as 18% over the past 24 hours, largely on expectations that it’s next in line for an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Bloomberg analysts recently put the odds of a Litecoin ETF being approved at 90%, a stat that has helped the so-called ‘silver to Bitcoin’s gold’ break out of a slump, outperforming the rest of the market.

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🤔Bitwise CIO Predicts End of Memecoin Supercycle

Hougan said the crypto industry is currently witnessing the end of the memecoin boom due to recent events, such as the launch of pump-and-dump tokens MELANIA and LIBRA and the Lazarus Group’s $1.5 billion exploit of crypto exchange Bybit.

📃a16z and The Digital Chamber Send Crypto Regulation Wish Lists to the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new Crypto Task Force is soliciting public submissions on what it needs to do to keep crypto companies in the U.S. and bring back those already offshore.

🌍 ELSEWHERE

Gen Z investors are four times more likely to own crypto than retirement accounts (Fortune)
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Sees Record Daily Outflow as the Basis Trade Starts to Unwind (CoinDesk)
Trump supporters lose $12bn as president’s cryptocurrency collapses (The Telegraph)