This Week in Crypto: Trump’s Tariff Rollercoaster, SEC’s New Sheriff, XRP ETF Debuts, and More

On the evening of April 9, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs. The decision triggered a sharp rise in stock markets. The move came as a surprise as Trump had previously insisted on continuing the policy of high tariffs, especially on trading partners. However, he said in his statement that all countries that were subject to reciprocal tariffs, except China, would see them reduced to a universal rate of 10%.Immediately after Trump’s tariff decision was announced, stocks began to surge. The Dow Jones index added almost 3000 points (7.87%), the S&P 500 index jumped by 9.5%, and the Nasdaq index increased by 12.2%. As a result, April 9 was the best day for the S&P 500 index since October 2008, and for the Nasdaq since January 2001. Shares of companies such as Amazon, Nike, and Tesla reacted most actively to the positive news.A comparison of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq’s reaction to Trump’s tariff decision on Apr 9. Source: TradingViewFollowing the stock market, crypto also moved into the green zone. Bitcoin rose in price by more than 12% in 24 hours on April 9. Following Bitcoin, the crypto market as a whole showed positive dynamics.However, despite the positive reaction of the markets, not all issues have been resolved. In particular, the growth of tariffs for China remains a pressing issue, due to which there is still a high level of uncertainty for investors. On Thursday, Bitcoin began with a slight price correction, dipping below $80,000, but is now steadily climbing and currently trading at $82,427.The US Senate voted to confirm Paul Atkins’ nomination to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).52 senators spoke in favor, 44 House members voted against, and four did not participate in the proceedings.President Donald Trump nominated Atkins to head the SEC in December 2024. Many crypto industry participants saw him as a suitable candidate, given his experience in the industry.Atkins served as SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 and later founded the consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, whose clients included cryptocurrency exchanges and DeFi projects.Atkins’ nomination was approved by the Senate Banking Committee in late March. Before the hearing, journalists found out that the potential head of the regulator owns stakes in three cryptocurrency companies: Securitize, Anchorage Digital, and Off the Chain Capital.During the debate, some Democratic senators criticized Atkins over ties to the collapsed FTX exchange. According to the media, Patomak Global Partners signed a consulting contract with the crypto platform in early 2022.In November 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy. The exchange’s co-founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty of seven felonies. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.Republican Senator Tim Scott expressed hope at the hearing that under Atkins, “the SEC will return to its core mission and ensure that our markets remain the envy of the world.”    The previous head of the agency, Gary Gensler, retired on Jan. 20 and returned as a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.Mark Uyeda became acting chairman of the agency on an interim basis. Under his leadership, the SEC created a cryptocurrency task force headed by Hester Peirce. The commission halted investigations and litigation against a number of companies, including Ripple, and softened its stance on the regulation of digital assets and DeFi applications.Ethereum researcher and developer Virgil Griffith is out of jail, according to a report from his former Ethereum Name Service (ENS) colleague, Brantley Millegan.VIRGIL GRIFFITH IS OUT OF PRISON!!!

just released this morning! he’ll be in a halfway house for a few weeks, and parole after that with work restrictions (so a pardon is still important), but HE IS OUT 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/Q4jRZmryGkMillegan shared a photo of the released man with his parents in front of the prison buildings and noted that he got it from the programmer’s father.He will spend a few more weeks in a “halfway house” – an institution for rehabilitation and reintegration into society. After that, the developer will be released on parole with “work restrictions”.Griffith – a former Ethereum Foundation employee and one of the creators of ENS – was arrested in late November 2019 on charges of violating U.S. sanctions. The reason was the programmer’s trip to North Korea to participate in a blockchain conference, where he allegedly told DPRK representatives about the use of cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions and make cross-border transfers. At the same time, Griffith did not receive special authorizations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to visit North Korea and provide any services or goods.In September 2021, the programmer pleaded guilty. Six months later, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison and a $100,000 fine. In July 2024, the sentence was reduced to 56 months.DeFi project the Trump family World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has published an advisory proposal to distribute a “small” amount of stablecoins USD1 to token WLFI holders via airdrop.🦅 We just posted a new governance proposal:

To test our airdrop functionality by distributing USD1 to all $WLFI holders — rewarding our earliest supporters and preparing for future growth.

Join the discussion 👇https://t.co/NDg5yMYUrMAccording to the statement, the move has three objectives:All wallets with any number of WLFI’s will be eligible. Additional eligibility criteria will be set later.The current phase involves a survey of users to provide feedback on the feasibility of airdrop. Then the project team will determine the exact amount of the distribution, clarify the details of the process and open voting on the governing proposal.”Even if approved, World Liberty Financial reserves the right to terminate, suspend, modify or discontinue the test airdrop at any time, as well as set any additional requirements for participants.”Alternative asset manager Teucrium Investment Advisors introduced the first exchange fund in the US based on the XRP token from Ripple.Seeking amplified exposure to #XRP? $XXRP offers 2x daily leverage for traders focused on short-term moves.https://t.co/BCMVD0E8Nm pic.twitter.com/9TIALnBxuQThe Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (ticker: XXRP) began trading on April 8 on the NYSE Arca exchange. The initial offering will bring 80,001 shares to the market.According to the description, the fund “seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (2x) the daily price performance of XRP.” Leverage allows investors to access the asset with less capital and amplifies the impact of daily price fluctuations on the token, effectively doubling market exposure.Bloomberg exchange analyst Eric Balchunas called the decision “very strange.” He confirmed that XXRP is the first U.S. ETF based on Ripple’s coin.A 2x XRP ETF is launching tmrw in US, the first-ever XRP ETF on the market. Very odd (maybe a first) that a new asset’s first ETF is leveraged. Spot XRP still not approved, altho our odds are pretty high. Story via ⁦⁦@isabelletanlee⁩ pic.twitter.com/Eg4Wq5Y1QiA Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the tax evasion case against crypto exchange Binance until April 30.The court granted the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) additional time to prepare a response to the platform’s request on the legality of serving court documents by email.Binance’s lawyers pointed out that the exchange operator does not have a physical office in the country and is registered in the Cayman Islands. On this basis, they consider the court’s authorization received by the fiscal authority in February to send documents over the Internet as improper. Nigerian authorities accuse Binance of tax evasion, citing a “significant economic presence” in the country. The claims amount to $2 billion, with another $79.5 billion the government intends to recover from the exchange for economic damages caused by its activities. Authorities blamed Binance for the instability of the Nigerian currency and detained two of its top executives in 2024. Nadeem Anjarwalla managed to escape to Kenya, while Tigran Gambarian spent eight months in Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja. In October, the Nigerian government dismissed all charges against him.Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved three initiatives to investigate the role of government officials in the LIBRA meme-coin case.They include establishing a commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issuance of the token, gathering testimony from a number of members of the executive branch and requesting a government report on the case.Among the officials scheduled to be questioned are the head of the presidential administration, the economy and justice ministers, and the head of the National Securities Commission.”It is time for Congress to verify whether any damage has been done to Argentina: we seek the truth,” said Pablo Juliano, a lawmaker from the Democracia para Siempre bloque.Another parliamentary representative, Nicolás Majoras of the La Libertad Avanza party, called the investigation an interference and emphasized that it violates the principle of separation of powers.Get Started on Kraken