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Bitcoin’s (BTC) reputation as digital gold has come under scrutiny following investors’ reaction to the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and other countries. Market experts anticipated a scenario where participants would flock to the leading cryptocurrency as macro conditions affect stocks; however, the opposite has been the case. Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, insisted in an X post that, against popular opinion, bitcoin is not yet digital gold. However, he sees a silver lining in this situation. Bitcoin has been named digital gold because of its security, limited supply, and generally believed role as a store of value. These characteristics are similar to gold’s, which has a finite supply that enhances its value as a long-term store of wealth. As global economic tensions, triggered by trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, began in February, many market experts believed BTC would record a significant inflow of capital due to investors leaving the stock market for cryptocurrencies. Even Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of the crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, thinks the economic chaos stemming from Trump’s tariffs would lead to a monetary easing cycle that will be bullish for BTC. While the market awaits the manifestation of such predictions, cryptocurrencies have been hit just as hard as stocks in the past two months, with BTC recording its deepest correction in this cycle. Ju said tariff experts on X have been “playing 6D chess” since the macro issues began. He explained that uncertainties like this drive demand for safe-haven assets, insinuating that BTC is not seen as such yet. Proof of the CryptoQuant founder’s opinion is that gold has surged by 11% since Trump returned to the White House, while BTC is down more than 25% over the same period. Despite bitcoin’s questionable status as digital gold, Ju believes the good news is that BTC will eventually surpass gold’s $20 trillion market cap. The cryptocurrency’s market cap currently sits at $1.6 trillion. Additionally, the CryptoQuant CEO insisted that BTC has entered a bearish phase but is still bullish about the asset’s long-term potential. Ju’s short-term bearish bias for BTC substantiates his claim that the cryptocurrency has wrapped up its bull run for this cycle. Less than a month ago, he said every on-chain metric signals that BTC is in a bear market, so investors should expect 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action, especially with fresh liquidity drying up.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has continued his big Bitcoin push as he attempts to make the city a Bitcoin-friendly city. According to reports, Sim mentioned that the push is a hill he is willing to die on, as he awaits the city staff report on whether digital assets could be integrated into the financial strategies and systems of Vancouver one day. Since he introduced the motion to the council in December, the Vancouver mayor has been on the move, trying to make people understand the motivation behind his obsession with what many will describe as a complex concept. He has done media rounds, appeared on podcasts and other events within the confines of the crypto industry, and even appeared as the keynote speaker at the Virgo Crypto Summit. The Vancouver Mayor gave his speech at the Sheraton Wall Center on April 4, a day before the council bye-election. ABC Vancouver, Sim’s party, had set up in the lobby right outside the ballroom where the event took place, with the party’s candidates–Jaime Stein and Ralph Kaisers–getting time to speak. Sim introduced both of them as supporters of the crypto community after asking, “Is it the end of the world if these two incredible individuals don’t get elected?” “No, but I’ll tell you what’s at stake: We put the industry behind by at least a year-and-a-half, and as we know in this industry, things are moving at the speed of light.” The comment was quite odd considering ABC Vancouver held seven of the 11 seats on the council before the bye-election. The reference to the year and a half is the remaining time until the 2026 general civic election. SIM, who is originally a chartered accountant and former investment banker has keyed into his push for digital assets. He mentioned that no matter what the staff recommends in the report, he will ensure more work is done on digital assets. “If they miss the mark, if they come up with recommendations that are factually incorrect or based on the wrong data, I will be personally filing an amendment to correct those discrepancies, and then we’ll vote on that as well, and then it will pass,” he told those present at the event. Stein and Kaisers fell short, ending up in sixth and seventh place among 13 candidates. The race was eventually won by Sean Orr of COPE and Lucy Maloney of OneCity, who share the thought that Sim has been wasting time on Bitcoin when issues like affordable housing, homelessness, and childcare need his attention. According to reports, the mayor’s motion in December directs staff to explore options to make Vancouver Bitcoin-friendly by carrying out a deep analysis of the potential to integrate BTC into the city’s financial strategies. One of the aspects that Sim included in his directive was to accept taxes and other fees in Bitcoin. The mayor has also called for the conversion of some part of the city’s financial reserves into Bitcoin, which he said is “to preserve purchasing power and guard against the volatility, debasement and inflationary pressures of traditional currencies.” He described Bitcoin as a decentralized, digital currency that acts as a hedge against the ups and downs of the central monetary systems. The Vancouver mayor added that the asset has been recognized by experts as the best bet against inflation and currency debasement, highlighting that it represents the best store of value due to its supply, which is capped at 21 million. Sim also pointed to the growing adoption of the asset across global economies, noting cities like Zug in Switzerland, Seoul in South Korea, and El Salvador that have fully adopted the digital asset. In his speech at the event, he touched on various areas of discussion while noting that they have the responsibility to do what is best for Vancouver. “This is a hill that I’m willing to die on because it’s the right thing to do. And from a purely selfish perspective, I want my boys to [continue to] live here,” the Vancouver mayor said. He also mentioned the rise in crimes associated with the crypto sector, noting that it is the way the criminals have decided to use the assets to launder funds. Sim added that his interest in Bitcoin is to protect the purchasing power of Vancouver in the years to come. “It is becoming mainstream. Nation states, ETFs, pension funds, family offices, investment advisors —they’re all starting to add it to portfolios. I would love to see Vancouver set up for the next 100 years. That’s my opinion,” he said. While he plans to seek re-election next year, he knows being the only mayor of a major city in Canada pushing Bitcoin could hurt his chances. “Most politicians wouldn’t even bring up the conversation for fear that it may hurt their election chances,” he said. Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More

Janover, a fintech company specializing in commercial real estate, has officially made a breakthrough by purchasing around $4.6 million in Solana (SOL). This decision is part of the company’s latest financial management strategy to store crypto assets for the long term. Interestingly, Janover’s move also marks their first investment after successfully raising fresh funds of around US$42 million. If you think about it, Janover’s decision to buy Solana is quite unique. Usually traditional companies are more comfortable playing it safe with stable assets such as gold or bonds. However, Janover is eyeing SOL, which is known to be volatile but promises high growth potential. Janover’s future plans do not stop at just piling up SOL in their digital vault. The company will soon start staking its Solana assets. So, instead of just sitting idle, their SOL funds can generate additional profits while helping to maintain the stability of the Solana network. In fact, Janover also plans to run several of its own Solana validators. This method is similar to renting out an empty room in your house—generating passive income while supporting the community ecosystem. On the other hand, Janover’s bold move is not alone. PayPal, the online payment giant, is also actively supporting crypto assets. On April 6, 2025, PayPal officially introduced support for Solana and Chainlink (LINK) in the United States. Of course, PayPal’s move is not arbitrary, considering that this company has more than 434 million active users. With that much influence, it’s no wonder that their decision will encourage wider adoption of Solana. Meanwhile, as we previously reported , the Polymarket platform has also previously chosen Solana to expand its user base. With this integration, users can fund their accounts with SOL. The hope is that as more transactions occur on Polymarket, the liquidity will improve. This is similar to a coffee shop that introduces digital payment alternatives to increase traffic. Apart from Janover and PayPal, it turns out that there are still other companies that are interested in Solana’s potential. Call it Sol Strategies , a Canadian company that earlier this year received a credit facility of US$17 million for Solana blockchain investment, of which US$4 million was specifically allocated for staking. Similar to Janover, they also know that crypto assets are not enough to be stored, but must be rotated to produce income. Looking back, last year two big players from Wall Street, Franklin Templeton and Citibank, also announced their interest in Solana. Franklin Templeton even plans to develop mutual funds directly on the Solana blockchain. Citibank itself is exploring this technology for money transfer services. If you think about it, Solana is starting to look like a “favorite toy” that always attracts the attention of big players in the traditional financial world. At the time of writing this article, the price of SOL itself is still around $115.21. In the last few hours, the price has increased slightly, but over the past week SOL has been more stagnant. However, its position as the seventh largest crypto asset with a market cap of around $59.43 billion is certainly not something to be underestimated. With the various bold steps taken by these big companies, it is interesting to see what Solana’s fate will be in the following years. Will it shine even brighter or become a “joker card” in their strategy?

In a landmark move, US President Donald Trump on April 10 signed into law a resolution repealing the IRS’s controversial “DeFi Broker Rule” and effectively blocked expanded tax reporting requirements for decentralized finance platforms. The measure, introduced by Representative Mike Carey (R-Ohio) and supported in the Senate by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), used the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse the IRS rule finalized in late 2024. The law now prevents similar regulations from being reintroduced without new legislation. The IRS rule in question aimed to broaden the definition of a “broker” to include developers of self-custodial wallets and DeFi applications – platforms that allow users to exchange digital assets directly without intermediaries. Originally stemming from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the rule sought to close perceived tax gaps in crypto trading by requiring these entities to report user transaction data to both the IRS and taxpayers. It was scheduled to take effect in 2027. Critics argued that the rule was incompatible with how decentralized platforms operate. Unlike traditional brokerages, DeFi platforms typically do not collect or store personal information, which would make compliance with IRS reporting standards technically unfeasible. Industry experts also warned that the rule could drive innovation offshore, as developers and companies might relocate to jurisdictions with less stringent oversight. Supporters of the rule, including some Democratic lawmakers, maintained that without such requirements, high-income crypto investors could exploit regulatory loopholes to avoid taxation. Representative Carey hailed the repeal as a win for innovation and taxpayer privacy. He also praised President Trump’s support, aligning it with the administration’s broader pro-crypto agenda. “The DeFi Broker Rule needlessly hindered American innovation, infringed on the privacy of everyday Americans, and was set to overwhelm the IRS with an overflow of new filings that it doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle during tax season. I thank President Trump for signing this important bill into law and Crypto Czar Sacks for his leadership in supporting America’s continued place as the global leader in the emerging crypto industry.” Since returning to office, Trump has formed a federal crypto task force and advocated for policies that encourage blockchain development. The bill’s swift passage through Congress – clearing the House on March 11 and the Senate on March 26 – signals growing momentum within the Republican-led legislature to scale back regulatory intervention in crypto markets. The Trump administration has adopted a more supportive stance on cryptocurrency and has signaled a complete shift in regulatory posture by scaling back the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) aggressive approach under former Chair Gary Gensler. Several investigations and legal actions initiated against crypto companies during the Biden era have been dropped, and the securities regulator has started engaging with industry players to reassess its regulatory framework.

The current trade war and the tariff scheme recently paused by the Trump administration have analysts examining the new trade order that will result in the aftermath of these measures. Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, believes that bitcoin, due to its specific traits, will be favored after the normalization of this situation. Read more: Bitcoin Blazes Past $82K as Wall Street Roars on Trump’s 90-Day Tariff Timeout For Hougan, there is only one thing sure after the enactment of these tariffs: the Trump administration wants to fix a series of trade imbalances affecting the competitiveness of U.S. products in international countries. For this, Trump is considering a single solution: a weaker dollar, according to Steve Miran, chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. In the short term, Hougan claims that this will be good for bitcoin, given that a weaker dollar directly implies a stronger bitcoin, having an inverse relation. In the longer term, while devaluing the dollar might have a good effect on making U.S. products more exportable, it will also weaken the dollar’s role as the sole reserve currency. Hougan stated: We will move from a single reserve currency (the dollar) to a more fractured reserve system, with hard money like bitcoin and gold playing a bigger role than it does today. Hougan assessed that bitcoin represents a currency outside any country’s control and a scarce, global, digital store of value, making the case for its adoption alongside gold. Bitwise is still bullish about bitcoin, maintaining the same forecast for the prime cryptocurrency since January. Hougan concluded that $200K per bitcoin is a price that can still be reached this year, even with all the unknowns that can happen. 免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到[email protected]，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。