Feb 25 – Will Crypto Recover? Trump Tariff Impact, Bitcoin Sell-Off & Pi Network Price Fluctuations

Bitcoin broke out of its range, falling below $90K for the first time in a month and now hovering just under that level. This decline comes amid market pressure following Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico and efforts to curb Chinese investment. Institutional demand, primarily from players like MicroStrategy using equity-linked note issuances, has supported BTC, though that financing avenue appears to be nearing saturation.

Crypto exchange Bybit, hit by a $1.4 billion hack on Feb. 21 allegedly by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, borrowed 40,000 ETH (about $104 million) from Bitget to manage customer withdrawals. On Feb. 25, Bybit repaid the full amount—a loan provided without interest or collateral, as confirmed by Bitget CEO Gracy Chen. This repayment is part of Bybit’s broader effort to restore its reserves, having recovered nearly 88% of the stolen funds through loans, whale deposits, and asset purchases.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission suspended some operations of Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, for three months due to rule violations. Dunamu processed transactions with unreported virtual asset operators, failed to meet customer verification requirements, and neglected to report suspicious transactions. As part of the measures, transfers of virtual assets by new customers will be restricted from March 7 until June 6 to strengthen compliance and restore market integrity.

According to Schiff, CEO Michael Saylor could sell some Bitcoin and use the proceeds to repurchase shares, thereby narrowing the discount. However, Schiff argued that such a maneuver would likely trigger a sharp decline in both Bitcoin and MSTR’s share price, making it an unattractive option. As a result, he suggested the discount will continue to widen until bankruptcy forces a sale.

Bitcoin dominance has surged over 60% from a key blue zone identified last year, fueling claims of an endless BTC rally and no alt season. Yet, these extreme views often emerge at market peaks. When dominance eventually reverses and falls below 40%, it could signal the start of a major alt season. Trends are cyclical—what rises must eventually come down.

In the past 24 hours, 366,734 traders were liquidated, resulting in a staggering total of $1.34 billion in losses. Notably, one whale trader was liquidated for $20.80 million, underscoring the intense market volatility and the risks associated with leveraged positions in today’s turbulent crypto market.

Market fear is at record levels as Bitcoin’s trading volume has steadily declined since November. Despite the price drop, exchange volume hasn’t increased, indicating that the next breakout may occur on a bullish bounce. This technical pattern suggests a market bottom could be imminent, setting the stage for an upward reversal. Investors should monitor for the volume surge that signals the bottom soon. This surge could trigger a rapid recovery.

Bitcoin plunged to just over $90,000—the lowest since January 13—erasing more than $9,000 from Friday’s high. Liquidated positions surged past $1 billion, driven mainly by long positions. Bitcoin must fully capture available liquidity to trigger an upward rotation. Analysts suggest that an ultimate bottom range of $83,000 to $87,000 could be reached before the market stabilizes, setting the stage for a renewed upward trajectory.

A whale unstaked 96,155 SOL—currently valued at $13.49M and peaking at $25M—2 hours ago and deposited it to Binance. The same whale had withdrawn 88,493 SOL a year ago at an average price of $101 and staked it. This maneuver nets approximately $4.5M in profit, reflecting a significant strategic move amid changing market conditions.

Whale investors are aggressively buying $HYPE, signaling a significant bullish sentiment. In the past day, a large address (0x9f70…DB0D) deposited 5M USDC into Hyperliquid to acquire $HYPE 15 hours ago. Another whale (0x8AD6…f23D) added 2.07M USDC within the last 24 hours, while a third (0x48F1…359c) injected 1.35M USDC just 8 hours ago. This surge in USDC deposits underscores growing institutional interest in $HYPE. Investors remain strongly optimistic about its future.

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade went live on the Holesky testnet at 21:55 UTC but failed to finalize as expected. Developers are investigating the delay on Discord, echoing a similar issue from the Dencun upgrade on Goerli last January. Pectra bundles 11 key EIPs—including EIP-7702 and EIP-7251—to enhance wallet functionality and staking. The next test is set for Sepolia, with mainnet activation pending.

Crypto majors slid up to 14% over the past 24 hours as a prolonged sell-off extended into Tuesday amid a lack of catalysts and growing macroeconomic concerns. Bitcoin fell below $92,000 for the first time since November, while SOL, DOGE, XRP, and ETH also saw significant losses. Despite bearish sentiment, some traders expect recovery if economic conditions improve and the Fed adjusts its policy stance.

El Salvador resumed Bitcoin purchases following a rare seven-day pause from February 18 to 24, 2025—one of its longest interruptions. The country acquired an additional 7 BTC, raising its total holdings to 6,088 BTC valued at about $562.9 million. This move demonstrates continued government confidence in digital assets amid intermittent buying halts, as El Salvador diversifies its portfolio and reinforces its commitment to cryptocurrency as a strategic economic asset overall.

Chainflip has announced its decision to block the illegal movement of funds linked to the Bybit hack. The protocol team, community, liquidity providers, primary interfaces, and validator providers were consulted before this move. Most of the necessary code has been written and is undergoing testing. The upgraded version is expected to be deployed within the next 24 to 72 hours, reinforcing the platform’s commitment to secure operations for improved trust.

Bitcoin fell to a multi-week low, triggering $950 million in liquidations after President Trump announced a return to 25% tariffs on over $900 billion in Canadian and Mexican imports, raising inflation fears. The announcement sent Bitcoin below $95,000, Ethereum to $2,500, and dragged altcoins into losses. Meanwhile, proposals for Bitcoin reserve bills failed in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and South Dakota, stalling state efforts to invest public funds in crypto.