🤔 Crypto Is No Longer Like 2021?

The U.S.-China Trade War 2.0

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We are expecting a recovery like in 2021, but is it possible? Bitget's CEO gives us a new perspective, aka a trading tip (I think so). We’ll show more below.

Here’s what we got for you today:

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ℹ️ Crypto Sources From The Crypto Fire ℹ️

🔙 Ethereum's Comeback: Can It Hold Off Solana's Pressure?

Ethereum ( $ETH.X ( ▲ 3.2% ) ) just saw a nice price bump on April 21, 2025, despite some serious worries from the community.

1️⃣ Ethereum's Recent Struggles
For a while, Ethereum wasn’t looking too hot:

  • Transaction Fees: Dropped to their lowest level since 2020 (5 years). Why? Fewer users on the network meant fewer smart contracts and less activity, according to Santiment.

  • Staking Pressure: Solana ( $SOL.X ( ▲ 4.97% ) ) had surpassed Ethereum in staking value as of April 20, 2025. Solana’s 8.31% staking yield was looking way better than Ethereum’s, drawing some serious attention.

  • Exchange Rate Shift: The SOL/ETH exchange rate increased almost tenfold, from 0.0088 to 0.0866 since June 2023.

→ Is It Over for Ethereum? Not Quite
Here’s the thing — Ethereum is still the dominant player in the DeFi and smart contract worlds. So even though there’s some real competition from Solana, this might just be a bump in the road. In fact, competition from Solana might actually be pushing Ethereum to speed up its improvements.

2️⃣ The Pectra Upgrade: Ethereum's Big Move 🚀
Let’s talk about Pectra - Ethereum’s upcoming upgrade that’s aiming to put the network back in the lead.

  • Phase 1 (Launch Date: May 7, 2025):

    • Double the layer-2 (L2) blob capacity from 3 to 6.

    • Lower transaction fees and reduce network congestion.

    • Pay fees in stablecoins like $USDC.X ( ▼ 0.0% ) and $DAI.X ( ▼ 0.01% ) - much more user-friendly.

  • Phase 2 (Late 2025/Early 2026):

    • New data structures to improve storage efficiency and scalability.

These upgrades could really boost Ethereum's performance and make it more competitive with Solana and other rivals.

3️⃣ Vitalik’s Vision: Faster and Smarter 

Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, is also pushing for major improvements. His proposal is to replace the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contract language with RISC-V architecture. This would speed up the execution layer, making Ethereum faster and more efficient.

This is crucial for Ethereum’s ability to stay competitive, especially when investors are looking at Solana, Sui, and other newer platforms.

4️⃣ Why Ethereum’s Price is Rising 📈

So, why is ETH’s price going up? It’s all about confidence in Ethereum’s future. These upcoming upgrades - like Pectra and the RISC-V proposal - are showing that Ethereum isn’t just sitting back and letting Solana take the lead. Ethereum is innovating, and that’s exactly what investors want to see.

Trader Take: 

Ethereum might be facing tough competition, but it’s far from done. The combination of upcoming upgrades and technical improvements will likely help it bounce back stronger than ever. If Ethereum delivers on these plans, we could see ETH rise even more in the coming months.

Trader Take: Ethereum isn’t going anywhere. Yes, Solana is putting up a good fight, but Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade and technical proposals show a real commitment to improving the network. If these upgrades succeed, Ethereum could continue its reign as the number 1 platform in crypto — and ETH price could soar even higher. 🚀

💥 The U.S.-China Trade War 2.0: A Game of Tariffs and Timing

The U.S.-China trade war began in 2018, and while it sounded intense, the reality was more like a slow burn than an explosive crash. Instead of immediately slapping massive tariffs, both sides raised them gradually:

  • U.S.: Imposed a 30% tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

  • China: Hit back with a 25% tariff on $110 billion worth of U.S. products.

💰 The Investment Perspective

If you’re an investor, the goal isn’t to be politically correct or win an argument - it’s to make money. Sure, the trade war grabbed headlines, but here’s what actually happened:

  • Bitcoin: From $6,600 in 2018 to $11,366 in 2020.

  • S&P 500: From 2,913 points in 2018 to 3,443 points in 2020.

→ Despite the chaos, markets kept pushing forward. So, while the news might have seemed bad, the numbers told a different story.

But this is another view from Bitget's CEO. US institutions: “But let’s be honest: this isn’t 2021 anymore. Even $ETH.X ( ▲ 3.2% ) outperforming $BTC.X ( ▲ 3.0% ) is questionable, because the game has changed. “

When big players start to invest, $BTC.X ( ▲ 3.0% ) and US-listed altcoins are the first to catch their attention. Forget about the short-term speculative coins or meme trends; those are just quick flips for them. They’re more interested in coins with solid foundations, strong revenue, and real long-term growth potential.

A lot of the alts getting listed on Binance recently are just “pump and dump” setups, with no real substance behind them. So, choosing good assets to trade has never been more important. The market’s evolving, and so should your strategy.

The game has changed, and we’ve got to adapt. What coins are you watching right now?

What do you think about Bitget CEO's opinion?

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🤔 Short-Term Panic vs. Long-Term Growth

  • Short-term market reactions are often driven by emotion. Good news? It might not be enough to stop a market drop. Bad news? It could still lead to a rise in prices.

  • Long-term strategy: The real question for investors isn’t about “who’s right?” - it’s about positioning yourself well in the market.

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🏦 Central Banks: The Real Power Players

While Trump and Xi were battling it out in the headlines, the real action was happening at the central banks:

  • China’s PBOC: Actively supported the economy with money injections and interest rate cuts.

  • U.S. Federal Reserve: Took a more cautious approach, “wait and see” for the perfect moment to step in.

💡 Key takeaway: Central banks, not politicians, truly control the market’s direction. Their actions (or inaction) drive asset prices more than any trade war or political tweet.

Trader Take:

Looking to perfectly time the market? Good luck. As we've seen during the trade war, markets don’t always react logically — and timing it right is almost impossible.

The U.S.-China trade war might have seemed like the biggest story, but in the end, it was the market’s long-term reaction that mattered most. Tariffs didn’t change the overall direction of assets — central bank policies did. And the biggest winners? Those who stayed patient and didn’t try to time every market move.

Quick tip: Don’t get caught up in every political update. Focus on your long-term strategy, trust the market cycles, and remember — being early and consistent beats being right every time.

⭐ 5 Things You Shouldn’t Miss

❌ 27.59% of the $1.4 billion stolen from Bybit in a hack has "gone dark" — meaning it is untraceable. These funds flowed into mixers, then through bridges to peer-to-peer (P2P) and over-the-counter (OTC) platforms, making tracking difficult.

🚨 DXY just broke below its 2023–2024 lows… Meanwhile, global M2 money supply? Climbing like there’s no tomorrow. If the Fed finally calls it quits on Quantitative Tightening, all that fresh liquidity could start flowing into risk assets — and yes, that includes crypto.

  • Weak dollar

  • More global money

Just waiting on Powell to blink.

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💡 Bitcoin's price crossed the $87,000 mark on Sunday, hitting its highest point since April 2, 2025. While that's a strong move, analysts are staying cautious, saying it’s too early to call it a full recovery or predict a bull run, especially with ongoing trade talks.

That said, Bitcoin has been showing solid performance this month, even outpacing major stock indices like the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and the U.S. tech giants (aka the Magnificent 7).

👨‍🌾 Farmers are increasingly adopting stablecoins to streamline operations and access global markets. In Africa, traditional banking systems charge 3%-6% in fees, with payments delayed up to 120 days. Stablecoins offer instant transactions and lower costs, saving farmers significant amounts.

🥚 Bitcoin Price on Easter

🤡 Meme Of The Day

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This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Traders should conduct thorough research, understand the risks, and carefully evaluate their decisions before investing in cryptocurrency.


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