15% Tariffs, an Impeachment Timer, and Meta-Coins
U.S.: 15% Tariffs, Political Turbulence, and a Spike in Risk
Trump raised the global tariff from 10% to 15%.
For markets, that means more expensive trade and a more anxious inflation path.
Against that backdrop, impeachment talk got louder: Democrats are reportedly just a couple of votes short of launching removal proceedings before the end of March. If this starts moving in Congress, markets could see a solid relief rally.
At the same time, geopolitics intensified at the southern border: after the reported killing of the Jalisco New Generation cartel leader, Mexico saw major clashes and attacks on infrastructure across multiple states. Crypto’s reaction was predictable: BTC dipped to around ~$64k, triggering $473M in liquidations.
Meta-Coins
Meta is discussing stablecoin payments integration as early as H2 2026 — specifically inside WhatsApp / Instagram / Facebook. The company is in talks with third-party providers, and Stripe is mentioned as the most likely partner.
Meta’s ecosystem is 3B+ users. If stablecoin payments become a default feature, stablecoins could shift from a “crypto tool” to a mainstream payment rail.
With stablecoin transfer volumes already reaching up to ~$10T per month, this would accelerate their role as core financial infrastructure.
Nvidia and the AI Sector
This week, markets watched Nvidia’s Q4 and FY2025 report closely. It often sets the tone not only for AI equities, but also for broader risk-on/risk-off sentiment — which eventually spills into crypto.
Strong AI capex = more appetite for growth; weak numbers = investors rotate into defense.
ETF Rotation
Hedge funds cut BTC-ETF exposure in Q4 (including due to shrinking premiums and the breakdown of the basis trade) and rotated into gold. Meanwhile, another class of large investors kept increasing Bitcoin exposure.
Who’s buying what hedge funds sold
- Investment advisers: +145% YoY
- Abu Dhabi (Mubadala): +46% in IBIT in Q4
- BlackRock: +328% IBIT
- Morgan Stanley, LPL Financial: added quarter after quarter
The market is gradually splitting into those who came for the spread and left when the spread disappeared — and those buying as a long-term allocation.
The First Bitcoin Country
Tourists in El Salvador have started receiving Bitcoin passports. The country continues to build a Bitcoin-jurisdiction brand and weave BTC into public infrastructure.
El Salvador also updated its national education program: Bitcoin Diploma 2.0 — more visuals, animation, and real cases to explain BTC to students more clearly.
Incidents of the Week
- On Feb 26, ZachXBT published an investigation into Axiom: according to his findings, employees may have shared users’ wallet addresses and registration data with third parties since 2025 and used that information for insider trading.
- IoTeX reportedly suffered a private key leak and a $4.3M drain from the project’s token vault.
This is the part of the market many people ignore — until it becomes personal.