Trump criticizes Powell for playing politics BTC and ETH Google's popularity is getting better
Reprinted from jinse
04/18/2025·12DHeadlines
▌Trump criticized Powell for playing politics, saying that the president has the right to dismiss the Federal Reserve Chairman
U.S. President Trump expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Fed's delay in cutting interest rates and publicly denied the institution's "independence", saying that he had the ability to get Fed Chairman Powell to step down. When asked about earlier comments blasting Powell's slow rate cuts on social media, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, "If I let him go, he will have to leave. I'm not satisfied with him and have told him clearly." In that earlier social media post, Trump said: "The sooner Powell stepped down, the better!" A Fed spokesman declined to comment on Trump's remarks. In the Oval Office, Trump did not respond to questions about whether he tried to remove Powell. He said Powell's performance has been "terrible".
▌ " Bitcoin" and "Ethereum" Google search popularity improved slightly in March, reaching the highest level of the year
In March 2025, "Bitcoin" had a search popularity on Google of 34, the highest level so far in 2025. Search popularity in January and February was only 31 and 27, respectively. This marks a relative increase in the volume of searches for "Bitcoin" by 26% month-on-month, and also marks a shift in the indicator's continued decline since November 2024.
Similarly, the search popularity of "Ethereum" on Google in March also reached its highest level so far in 2025, recording 19. It's slightly higher than last month's 16.
Although still far from reaching previous cycle highs, the rise in Google's search interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum in March may reflect a rekindling of retail curiosity, at least better than it has performed so far in 2025, analysts said. A broader theory of rising Bitcoin interest in March could be the newly announced U.S. tariffs, which could reignite the long-standing narrative of “digital gold” and “store of value” associated with Bitcoin, especially in the context of increased geopolitical or macroeconomic tensions. This theory is backed by the BTC to SPX ratio, which has risen by more than 8% since the “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced on April 2.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
BTC's recent transaction price is US$84,955.26, with an intraday increase of +1.1% ;
ETH's latest transaction price is US$1,582.61, with an intraday increase and decrease of +0.2 % ;
BNB's recent transaction price is US$589.93, with an intraday increase and decrease of +1.2% ;
SOL's latest transaction price is US$134.67, with an intraday increase and decline of + 2.5% ;
DOGE's recent transaction price is US$0.1557, with an intraday increase and decrease of +0.5 % ;
XPR's recent transaction price is US$2.06, with an intraday increase and decrease of -1.0 % .
policy
▌Slovenia ' s Ministry of Finance proposes a proposal to tax individual income of cryptocurrencies
The Slovenian Ministry of Finance is seeking comments to impose a 25% tax on individuals’ profits from disposal of crypto assets.
The proposal was released on Thursday to fill loopholes in the country's tax system, which taxes commercial income from crypto asset transactions but is exempt from natural persons' behavior as investments to buy and sell crypto assets.
The deadline for soliciting opinions for the proposal is May 5. If approved by parliament, it is expected to take effect on January 1, 2026.
Blockchain application
▌Kyrgyz President pushes "Digital Som" toward reality
Kyrgyz President Sadir Zaparov signed legislation on Thursday to give the “Digital Som” legal status, taking the country a step forward in issuing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). Kyrgyzstan is still deciding whether to issue CBDCs, and Thursday's amendment to the Kyrgyz Republic's constitution ensures that "digital som" will be regarded as fiat currency if the central bank continues issuing CBDCs.
"The purpose of the Constitution is to launch a pilot project for the national digital currency 'Digital Somme' prototype and to establish a legal basis and status," a statement on the president's website said.
Under the new regulations, the Kyrgyz Republic National Bank will be able to formulate and approve rules for making payments on the digital Somme platform.
Cryptocurrency
▌Crypto exchange eXch announced it will be closed on May 1 over money laundering allegations
Crypto exchange eXch announced that it will cease operations on May 1. Previous reports said that the platform was used to clean up some of the stolen funds from the Bybit exchange. In an April 17 announcement, eXch said most members of its management team voted to "stop operations and exit" in response to allegations that North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group cleaned about $35 million of funds through the platform - a funding that stemmed from a $1.4 billion hacker attack suffered by Bybit. The exchange said it has become the target of a "Transatlantic Joint Law Enforcement Operation" that aims to shut down its business and potentially file criminal charges.
"Although we resisted multiple attempts to shut down infrastructure and maintain operations, we believe it is meaningless to continue operating in a hostile environment where signal intelligence surveillance targets, just because some people misinterpret our purpose," eXch said in a statement. The exchange initially denied allegations from blockchain detectives about its helping Lazarus Group with money laundering, but admitted to handling a "small portion of the funds" from the February hack.
▌Trump Media and Technology Group call on SEC to investigate whether Qube participates in illegal shorting of DJT stocks
Truth Social parent Trump Media & Technology Group alleges that the UK-based Qube may short DJT stock without properly disclosing its holdings.
Trump Media & Technology Group accused in an open letter to SEC acting chairman Mark Uyeda that British company Qube may have been involved in “illegal short selling of DJT stocks.” TMTG accused Qube of disclosing a 6 million short position in Germany on April 10, worth $105 million, but did not inform the position of the regulator in its jurisdiction. Trump media also quoted third-party sources as saying that Qube's holdings have almost doubled since then to 11 million shares.
"We urge you to immediately investigate this suspicious transaction and report the findings to TMTG and any related civil and criminal authorities," TMTG said in the letter. According to TMTG's financial disclosure, the company's revenue last year was less than $4 million and operating losses were $400 million. TMTG's stock price closed at $22.04 on the same day, down 35% from the beginning of the year.
▌ DCG CEO: If Bitcoin invested in early crypto projects in 2012 is held, the returns will be higher
Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), reflected in the podcast that if he kept holding Bitcoin (the purchase price at the time of the early stage crypto project) in 2012 (the purchase price was $7-8 at the time), the returns would be higher. He also pointed out that most cryptocurrencies currently lack actual monetary value. Meanwhile, Bitcoin minimalists predict that BTC may exceed one million dollars in the next decade. Zach Shapiro, head of the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), said that if the U.S. government announces the purchase of 1 million BTC, it will cause a huge shock in the market. The Trump Crypto Commission is also exploring ways to increase its holdings of BTC through revaluation of gold reserves or tariffs to cope with the U.S. debt crisis. Asset management company VanEck analyzed that BTC-linked bonds could help cut $14 trillion in Treasury bonds.
▌ Coinbase International Exchange 's BTC perpetual contract trading volume reaches US$100 billion
Coinbase International's perpetual contract platform continues to grow in the derivatives market, processing nearly $100 billion in BTC perpetual contract trading volume over the past week. The surge has made Bitcoin perpetual contract the exchange’s largest segment, while all other markets have far below this level of trading volume.
Coinbase International is Coinbase’s Bermuda licensed derivatives exchange, which allows the company to provide complex trading products that are not allowed by U.S. regulation.
Important economic trends
▌People ' s Daily Bell: Economic bullying damages the credibility of the United States
The People's Daily article pointed out that blowing out other people's lamps will not make you brighter; blocking others' paths will not make you go further. The United States' superstitious belief in strength first, indulging in the laws of the jungle, engaging in economic bullying, and putting its own interests above the common interests of all countries is a reversal of history and accelerating the consumption of the United States' national credibility. The US should face up to the opposition of the international community and the rational voices at home in the United States, abandon wrong practices, and return to the track of cooperation. This is the right way to revive the US economy.
▌View : Fed independence may become the market focus in the next few days
"As tariffs penetrate consumer prices, Fed independence will become a focus in the coming days. If you like market chaos caused by tariffs, you will definitely fall in love with the "Fed's loss of independence" transactions." "From multiple perspectives of historical, fundamental and technical analysis, the evidence suggests that a slightly defensive stance should be taken at the moment," Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, wrote in a note to clients and downgraded his rating on U.S. stocks.
▌The Federal Reserve announces reform plans for stress tests for large U.S. banks, planning to postpone the effective date of capital buffer requirements
The Fed is refining its reform plan for stress testing of large banks and submits a proposal for public comment that will calculate the average results over two years. The Fed said it intends to postpone the effective date of the annual pressure capital buffer requirement from October 1 to January 1 next year so banks have more time to adapt to the new capital requirements. The proposal will also “make targeted changes to simplify data collection related to stress testing on the board.” The Fed said the reforms in these planned ones are not intended to have a substantial impact on capital requirements.
▌Ukraine and the United States sign a memorandum on mineral agreement
Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economic minister Sverrikenko said on social media that Ukraine and the United States signed a memorandum on the mineral agreement, which determined the working framework of the two countries' teams and reaffirmed their willingness to end the negotiations and sign the agreement. She said the text of the agreement still needs further revision. Sverycinko wrote: "The text of the agreement will be finalized and signed. It will require approval from the parliamentary committees of the two countries." In addition, the two sides are currently preparing to establish an investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction. US President Trump previously said that the mineral agreement with Ukraine will be signed on the 24th.
▌Trump has privately discussed firing Powell and allowing former Fed director Wash to take over
According to people familiar with the matter, President Trump has been privately discussing firing Fed Chairman Powell for months, but he has not made a final decision on whether to oust him before the end of his term next year, according to people familiar with the matter. At a meeting at Mar-Lago, Trump discussed with former Fed director Kevin Warsh about the possibility of sacking Powell before the end of his term and possibly choosing Wash to take over his position, but Wash advised not to fire Fed Chairman Powell and believed he should be allowed to end his term without intervention, people familiar with the matter said. US Treasury Secretary Bescent also opposed Trump's intention to remove Powell.
Golden Encyclopedia
▌What is compressed NFT?
Compressed NFT is a non-fungible token (NFT) designed to reduce the cost of storing and using NFTs for transactions on the Solana blockchain. Compressed NFT provides several prominent key advantages in the blockchain ecosystem. They are affordable, greatly reducing minting and storage costs, allowing creators and businesses to use blockchain technology without financial obstacles. Furthermore, cNFT contributes to more environmentally friendly blockchain practices by reducing storage requirements and thus reducing energy use. These properties make cNFT a potential game changer for scalable, environmentally friendly and innovative applications.
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