Compiled by: Tao Zhu, Jinse Finance
For the cryptocurrency market, this was a turbulent Spring Festival: Trump launched a tariff war, causing the cryptocurrency market to plummet; Deepseek was released, the market reacted violently; El Salvador revoked Bitcoin's status as official currency; the Federal Reserve continued to maintain its decision not to cut interest rates...
Jinse Finance has compiled the top 10 cryptocurrency news events that occurred during the Spring Festival, taking you through this unforgettable Spring Festival.
1. Trump Launches Tariff War
Trump vs. Canada & Mexico
On January 31 local time, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a briefing that the US would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada starting February 1. On January 30 local time, US President Trump said he planned to fulfill his promise to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada on February 1.
Trump also posted on the "Truth Social" platform that if Canada becomes the 51st state of the US, it will be "tariff-free!" The president wrote: "So Canada should be our cherished 51st State. Canadians will then get far lower taxes and be able to trade freely with the United States - no tariffs!"
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said at a press conference that Canada will impose a 25% tariff on $155 billion worth of US goods, including an immediate 25% tariff on $30 billion worth of goods starting Tuesday, and further tariffs on $125 billion worth of US products within 21 days.
Trump vs. China
Around 8pm Eastern Time on February 1, the White House released a fact sheet announcing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports to the US on the grounds of fentanyl and other issues.
China strongly disapproves of this and firmly opposes it. The US's unilateral tariff increase seriously violates WTO rules and not only fails to solve its own problems, but also disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US. Regarding the US's wrong actions, China will file a lawsuit with the WTO and take corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its own interests.
On February 4, the State Council Tariff Commission announced that starting February 10, 2025, tariffs will be imposed on certain imported goods originating in the US. A 15% tariff will be imposed on coal and liquefied natural gas, and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement vehicles, and pickups.
Trump vs. EU
On February 2 local time, US President Trump said he "definitely" will impose new tariffs on the EU. He again complained about the US trade deficit with the EU and believes the EU's imports of US cars and agricultural products are insufficient. Trump did not specify the tariff level or timetable. "I won't say there's a timeline, but it will be very soon," he told the media.
In response, the EU said that if the US imposes tariffs on the EU, the EU will "respond firmly", which is the latest expression of dissatisfaction with Trump's trade policy, the impact of which is spreading globally. The use of tariffs "is harmful to all parties" and the EU regrets Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
In addition, Trump said the US will impose tariffs on imported goods such as computer chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil and natural gas as early as mid-February.
But on February 3, Trump temporarily put down the tariff stick.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said after a call with US President Trump that the US will suspend the additional tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days. Earlier on February 3 local time, Trump spoke with Mexican President Obrador. After the call, both sides announced that the US and Mexico have agreed to immediately suspend the implementation of the tariff measures for one month and continue negotiations.
2. "Tariff War" Shocks the Market
After the news of the US imposing a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico was announced, the US dollar index DXY rebounded from the day's low by as much as 69 points to 108.48, and the USD/CAD exchange rate erased its previous decline and turned higher again. Spot gold briefly fell to $2,795.34 per ounce. Bitcoin fell below $103,000 per coin during the day, down 1.67% on the day. US and Brent crude oil pared their declines and were close to flat, at $72.89 per barrel and $77.02 per barrel respectively.
Subsequently, the cryptocurrency market continued to fall, and by February 3, BTC had fallen to around $92,876.12, the lowest level in more than two weeks, down 12.29% from $105,893 on January 30. ETH performed even worse, falling to as low as $2,460.55, down nearly $1,000 from $3,422 on February 1, a 28.10% drop.
The selloff of Altcoins was even more intense. DOGE recorded a new low of $0.2237, down 34% from $0.3398 on January 1. Altcoins such as XRP, ADA, AVAX and LINK all fell more than 10%.
Financial markets in South Korea and Japan were also hit hard: the KOSPI index in South Korea closed down 64.04 points or 2.54% at 2,453.33 on February 3 (Monday). The Nikkei 225 index in Japan closed down 1,052.40 points or 2.66% at 38,520.09 on February 3. Affected by the US tariff order, in the Japanese bond market, the yield on the 10-year new government bond, a major benchmark for long-term interest rates, briefly rose to 1.260%, the highest since April 2011.
On this, many institutions or industry insiders have expressed their views:
Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said in an interview that Trump's tariff policy is contrary to economic logic. This means higher prices for consumers and much higher input costs for US producers. Summers questioned: Why among so many countries in the world, are we now deciding to wage an economic war against Canada? Canada's minimum wage, basic wage is higher, and the protection of workers by unions is also greater than in the US. I just don't understand the logic of these policies, and there is no doubt that this is a regressive tax on US consumers.
Citi said we believe further tariff escalation will lead to a rise in gold to $3,000 per ounce and silver to $36 per ounce within 6-12 months; we also see copper prices falling to $8,500 per tonne in the next three months.
JPMorgan said that due to US tariff policy, it is bearish on base metals in the short term and reinforces its bullish view on gold. Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) may face severe downward pressure recently due to growth concerns, receding macro risks, and a stronger dollar.
JPMorgan analysts Eric Beinstein and Nathaniel Rosenbaum said that unless high tariffs are imposed on the EU or economic conditions force the Fed to raise interest rates, the tariffs proposed by Trump are unlikely to have a significant impact on investment-grade credit risk or spreads.
Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" tweeted that with Trump's new tariff policy taking effect, gold, silver and Bitcoin may crash. But the price crash will also bring more buying opportunities. The real problem is debt, which will only get worse.
BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler said: "Trump's tariff policy is impacting the entire market, with concerns about a trade war and stagflation-induced recession spreading to the Altcoin and Bitcoin markets."
Bitwise Alpha Chief Strategist Jeff Park said that tariffs may only be a temporary tool, but the long-term conclusion is that Bitcoin will not only rise, but will rise faster, because both sides of the trade imbalance equation want Bitcoin, so the end result is the same: higher prices, faster speed.
Mercuryo CEO Petr Kozyakov pointed out that after Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on Friday, the Altcoin market was hit by a wave of FUD, and the prospect of long-term interest rate hikes shook all global markets. Although Bitcoin has fallen below the $100,000 mark, the king of Altcoins has once again proven its uniqueness, in stark contrast to the across-the-board decline of Altcoins. Bitcoin plunged overnight to just above $91,000, with a maximum drop of nearly 10%, before rebounding to around $95,000. The declines of other major Altcoins were even greater, with Ethereum falling about 20% and Solana performing relatively better than Ethereum, falling only 6%.
3.Deepseek Released, Shocking the Tech and Crypto Markets
On January 27, Deepseek became the #1 app in the Apple US App Store, surpassing ChatGPT. Deepseek has recently performed impressively, attracting the attention of tech giants including Meta with its low-cost strategy of 0.1 RMB per million Tokens and outstanding performance.
On Monday, January 27 (Eastern Time), Deepseek triggered a massive sell-off in AI concept stocks, with the market capitalization of European and American tech stocks evaporating $1.2 trillion. European and American semiconductor manufacturers and companies across the entire industry chain that power AI and data centers all fell. Nvidia's stock price plunged 16.97% at the close, with its market value evaporating $592.658 billion (about 43 trillion RMB) in a single trading day, setting the largest scale in US stock market history.
The release of Deepseek's competitive AI model has raised market concerns about its threat to the United States' technological leadership, causing a significant drop in Japanese semiconductor stocks. Nvidia supplier Advantest fell 8.2%, Disco Corp fell 2.9%, SoftBank Group fell 5.4%, and data center cable manufacturers Furukawa Electric and Fujikura Ltd all fell more than 8%. Market participants pointed out that the huge investments of large tech companies in the AI field are in doubt, and Deepseek may be a key factor triggering the tech stock correction.
The Altcoin market also reacted violently.
According to GMGN market data, on January 27, the market capitalization of the Deepseek-themed meme coin SEEK was $40 million, with a price of 0.0376 USDT, up 70% in 1 hour. On January 28, the AI project VVV based on Deepseek rose above $17, with a 24-hour increase of 103.7%.
Other tokens were not so fortunate, especially Altcoins related to AI, which were greatly impacted. The total market capitalization of Altcoins in the field of artificial intelligence fell 10%, from $47.54 billion on January 26 to $42.5 billion. Trading volume grew by more than 42% in 24 hours, reaching $3.55 billion, intensifying selling pressure. In addition, the crypto market downturn was accompanied by a wave of deleveraging. Leverage allows traders to borrow funds to increase their trading positions, thereby amplifying potential gains and losses. The latest data shows that the crypto market has seen nearly $860 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours, of which $794 million were long liquidations. 260 million dollars of Bitcoin long positions have been liquidated.
US President Trump said at a Republican conference in Miami, Florida that the rise of the Chinese AI startup Deepseek should sound an "alarm bell" for American companies, and American companies "need to focus on competition to win."
Nvidia (NVDA.O) called Deepseek "an outstanding AI advancement". An Nvidia spokesperson said Deepseek's work demonstrates how to create new models using widely available models and limited computing power.
Ejaaz Ahamadeen, former Global Digital Asset Architect at Ethereum developer ConsenSys, wrote on X that "Deepseek has just accelerated all timelines. We had previously accepted the 'fact' that building these products would cost $100 billion, and they would be closed-source, meaning they would form monopolies. Then Deepseek surpassed all leading models at an extremely low cost and open-sourced the technology, so now any AI builder can access the most powerful model. Why isn't anyone talking about how we're going to see 'better agents'? The fat application theory is becoming more real. This is great for open-source AI."
The founder of Black Myth: Wukong evaluated Deepseek: It may be a national-level technological achievement.
ai16z founder Shaw commented on large models like Deepseek. He pointed out that the AI field is experiencing an open-source revolution, with breakthroughs in benchmarks and capabilities from Google, OpenAI, Claude, and now Deepseek. Shaw particularly emphasized that open-source models like Deepseek are a major boon for the entire industry, as they allow developers to scale AI applications to millions of users at a lower cost. As AI models become more commoditized, this technology is moving towards being free, open-source, and zero-cost to run on home computers.
Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, Head of Consumer and Internet at Aletheia Capital, said that Deepseek's products seriously undermine the argument that the best way to address the AI trend is to invest huge amounts of capital and operating expenses, as it makes people doubt the large resources invested in AI.
Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said that Deepseek's progress challenges the view that the West is significantly ahead in the field of artificial intelligence.
4.Crypto Czar David May Change the Crypto Industry
Recently, the Crypto Czar has been very active, making many positive comments about the crypto industry:
On February 5, Crypto Czar David Sacks reiterated his goals of "defining a clear crypto regulatory framework", "ensuring crypto innovation happens on US soil", and "creating a golden age for digital assets" at a press conference starting at 3:30 am Beijing time, but did not announce any new content.
Crypto Czar David Sacks also said he is studying the feasibility of Bitcoin reserves. He views NFTs and Memecoins as "collectibles" rather than securities or commodities. Collectibles have different tax procedures compared to securities and commodities.
In a Fox News TV interview, when asked when the US will announce a strategic Bitcoin reserve, David Sacks said: "Trump has asked us to look into this, and it is one of the things we are currently examining." He also praised former President Donald Trump's executive order on cryptocurrencies, which aims to clarify regulations, define digital assets, and strengthen the dominance of the US dollar through stablecoins. According to Sacks, the newly formed Digital Assets Working Group will oversee regulatory developments. It will categorize digital assets into securities, commodities, and collectibles. The government also seeks to expand the use of stablecoins, believing it can drive demand for US Treasuries and lower long-term interest rates.
5.El Salvador Cancels Bitcoin's Status as Official Currency
On February 2, the El Salvadoran parliament, controlled by the ruling party, quietly approved reforms to the Bitcoin law, making the use of Bitcoin as an official currency ineffective, with users free to decide. This reform was carried out after nearly two years of pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which set the condition of "reducing the risks of Bitcoin" in exchange for approving a much-needed $1.4 billion loan to President Nayib Bukele. If the El Salvadoran government wants to receive this money, it had to amend the law by the end of January. The law, which has been in effect for more than three years, has seen representatives amend six articles and abolish three of the sixteen articles. From now on, Bitcoin will no longer be considered "currency"; its acceptance will change from mandatory to voluntary, and it will not be used for tax payments.
As of February 3, El Salvador holds 6,056.18 BTC, worth about $586 million.
6. President Trump signs executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund
On February 3, local time, US President Trump signed an executive order to create a US sovereign wealth fund. The White House stated that the order directs the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce to begin reviewing the process of establishing a sovereign wealth fund.
US Treasury Secretary Yellen said, "We will launch this matter in the next 12 months. We will monetize the assets on the US balance sheet for the American people." He mentioned that they plan to study the "best practices" of other funds, and the fund will hold a range of liquid assets and other US assets. Trump had mentioned this idea several times during the campaign. He called for the establishment of a fund that "invests in great national causes for the benefit of all Americans," such as infrastructure construction and medical research.
It is currently unclear where the funding for the US sovereign wealth fund will come from. Most sovereign wealth funds are composed of surplus revenue from natural resources, such as the oil-rich Saudi Arabia. However, the US faces significant budget and trade deficits. At the same time, the US also has a strong private market, which allows investors to support the various initiatives that the new fund hopes to invest in, as mentioned by Trump.
Trump also said the fund may acquire TikTok. After signing the executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund, Trump said in a speech, "We'll use it to do some things, maybe acquire TikTok, maybe not... If we make the right deal, we'll do it, if not, we won't... We may put that transaction into the sovereign wealth fund, or we may work with some very, very wealthy people."
Bitcoin advocate and US Senator Cynthia Lummis responded to this news by mentioning Bitcoin, posting on X that "this is a big deal" and using the Bitcoin symbol, exciting cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It is currently unclear how the US sovereign wealth fund will be structured and funded, and according to The New York Times and Financial Times, the Biden administration had also considered establishing such a fund before Trump's election in November last year.
Flexa CEO Danny McCabe pointed out: "Given the US's clear support for digital assets, the sovereign wealth fund is likely to include Bitcoin, and may even include other 'Made in America' digital assets with real economic utility, such as Ethereum. Incorporating these digital assets will not only provide greater stability for the US economy, but will also be a major leap forward in making the US a leader in the digital asset space."
Omni Network co-founder Austin King said that Trump's establishment of a sovereign wealth fund may be an alternative way to acquire Bitcoin without bureaucratic institutions.
7. Federal Reserve decision released: no rate cut
On January 30, the Federal Reserve announced that it will keep the federal funds rate target range unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5%, and continue to reduce its balance sheet at the current pace. The Fed's decision was in line with market expectations.
On February 4, Fed's Collins said the Fed should maintain patience and caution in its policy, and there is no urgent need to adjust interest rates. There is currently no urgent need to cut rates again, the Fed should maintain patience and caution in its policy, and there is no urgent need to adjust interest rates. At some point in the future, further normalization of interest rates is expected.
Trump said the Fed's decision last week to keep rates unchanged was "the right thing to do in the current situation".
Fed's Bostic: Prepared to wait for a period of time before making a rate cut.
Morgan Stanley economists said they no longer expect the Fed to cut rates in March, and now expect a rate cut in June. The speed of tariff increases by the Trump administration has been faster than expected, which may mean that the decline in inflation will stall at a higher level, precluding any near-term rate cuts.
Galaxy Securities research report shows that considering the performance of the US economy by the end of 2024 and the current economic data, the US economy has shown certain growth momentum and resilience. Since taking office on January 20, Trump has quickly signed a series of executive orders. His policy style emphasizes protectionism and economic nationalism, but he often bypasses Congress to push his agenda through executive orders, so he also faces various political and legal obstacles in the implementation process. Considering these factors, it is expected that the Fed will adopt a relatively cautious rate cut path in 2025, with a total rate cut of 0.25% to 0.50% for the whole year.
Traders have reduced their bets on the Fed cutting rates, and the current probability of two rate cuts in 2025 is 50%.
According to CME Fed Watch data, the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Fed in March is 17%, and the probability of no change is 83%.
8. Progress of Litecoin and Dogecoin ETFs
On January 24, CoinShares filed a registration statement for the "CoinShares Litecoin ETF". In addition, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed a 19b-4 document on behalf of Grayscale (Grayscale) for the "Grayscale Litecoin Trust", which includes terms for converting the trust into a spot ETF.
On January 30, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged Canary Capital's 19b-4 filing for its spot Litecoin ETF.
On February 5, the Litecoin Official Twitter announced that the NYSE has submitted a 19b-4 filing to the US SEC for Grayscale's Litecoin ETF, seeking to convert its Litecoin (LTC) trust into a spot ETF.
On January 29, Bitwise has filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of Dogecoin. According to Bitwise's S-1 filing with the SEC on January 28, the proposed Bitwise Dogecoin ETF will hold DOGE and closely track its price movements.
9. MicroStrategy pauses Bitcoin purchases
MicroStrategy did not sell any Class A common stock under its stock sale plan or purchase any Bitcoin from January 27 to February 2. As of February 2, the company held approximately 471,107 Bitcoins, purchased for a total of $3.04 billion.
Since being recently included in the Nasdaq-100 index, MicroStrategy has been subject to various rules and regulations, such as lock-up periods, to prevent potential insider trading, which may be one reason for the suppression of its continuous accumulation of Bitcoin. Additionally, there is speculation that the decision to pause Bitcoin purchases is due to MicroStrategy changing its strategy based on market conditions, as the company may face a massive tax bill of over $1.9 billion in unrealized Bitcoin gains, and must do financial planning to address the tax liability. However, analysts believe there is currently almost no indication that MicroStrategy is abandoning its Bitcoin-centric strategy.
According to data platform Arkham Intelligence, BlackRock, MicroStrategy, and Fidelity have collectively purchased approximately $94 billion worth of Bitcoin by 2024. Specifically, the world's largest asset manager BlackRock alone has purchased $50 billion, while MicroStrategy has successfully accumulated $24 billion worth of BTC. Fidelity, which has acquired $20 billion worth of BTC, ranks last.
10. Rumors of "Binance Girlfriends"
On February 2, 2024, an anonymous denunciation letter circulated widely on the internet. The letter detailed the alleged misconduct of Dana, the head of Binance Labs' investment department, and Dovey, He Yi's "girlfriend", including price manipulation, extortion for listing, and collusion with overseas entities to "harvest the leeks".
The key figures mentioned in the denunciation, such as Dana and Dovey, are accused of taking advantage of their positions to engage in improper interest exchanges and project operations. If these allegations are true, it will undoubtedly cause serious damage to Binance's reputation and credibility.
In response to the surging questions, He Yi published a long article on social media titled "Reasoning and Caution", providing a detailed response to the rumors. She emphasized:
1. Independent operation and firewall mechanism: He Yi pointed out that Binance Labs has been renamed Yzi Labs, operates independently, and is led by Ella Zhang. There is a strict firewall mechanism between Binance and Labs, with listing and investment decisions being independent of each other.
2. Welcome to supervision and reporting: She reiterated Binance's zero-tolerance policy on bribery and misconduct, publicly supporting any reports of employee extortion or misconduct, and stated that the bounty for reporting has always been effective.
3. Clarification of the "best friend" rumor: He Yi admitted that there have been cases of improper profiteering in the market using her name, but she has no special relationship with the person mentioned in the rumor. Regarding the claim of "He Yi's best friend", she welcomes anyone to establish contact with Binance or the Labs through normal channels.
