Weekly Update – April 4th 2025

On April 2, 2025, Donald Trump renamed the day “Liberation Day” – a new “liberation day. In a speech, he announced that the US will henceforth impose hefty import tariffs on products from abroad. That means: foreign products will become more expensive in the US. For example, there will be a 10% tax on almost everything, but from some countries even more. Products from China will get 34% extra tax, from Europe 20%, and British goods 10%. Foreign cars will become 25% more expensive. Trump calls this a way to make America independent again. Instead, people fear inflation and rising tensions with other countries.

Trump’s plans also caused turmoil in the crypto market. Initially, markets reacted positively: investors assumed that the 10% import tax was the full plan, which briefly caused optimism and a slight rise in Bitcoin’s price. But when Trump announced additional, stricter tariffs later in his speech – particularly on products from China and Europe – sentiment quickly reversed. Bitcoin lost 7% of its value and other currencies, such as Ethereum and Ripple, also went down.

The Bitcoin network has hit a new record: never before has so much computing power been active. This so-called hashrate – a measure of how secure and powerful the network is – is generated entirely by the miners themselves. They provide the computing power needed to process transactions and secure the network. The price of Bitcoin has fallen, and that makes it harder for miners – the people who keep the network running – to make a profit. They use a lot of energy and expensive equipment, and are now getting less in return. In short: the network is stronger than ever, but behind the scenes there is a big fight to survive. It’s especially tough for smaller miners.

Franklin Templeton, a large U.S. asset manager, wants to offer a new Bitcoin investment product in Europe. This is a so-called ETP, which is similar to a stock market fund that allows you to easily invest in Bitcoin – without having to buy or store Bitcoin yourself. They already offer this in the U.S., and that product is now worth hundreds of millions. Europe is now the next step. The goal: to make crypto investing easier and safer for investors large and small. Franklin Templeton is closely monitoring the rules in Europe to soon be able to launch a reliable product that is accessible to everyone.