Countries Won’t Be Dancing for Long — Trump
U.S.: Geopolitics, Liquidity, Stablecoins
This week’s tone was largely set by Donald Trump’s remarks. On February 19, he said a decision on a potential strike on Iran would be made within 10 days — markets read this as a geopolitical risk premium.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs, ruling they were unlawfully imposed under a national-emergency statute.The administration signaled in advance it would look for alternative mechanisms to keep tariffs in place and introduce new ones.
Trump imposed a 10% tariff on the entire world on top of other tariffs.
“I can do anything I want — I can destroy any country. Other countries have been ripping us off for years, and they’re thrilled the tariffs were struck down. They’re dancing in the streets, but I assure you, they won’t be dancing for long,” Trump said in response to the Supreme Court’s decision.
U.S. Q4 GDP came in at 1.4%, well below expectations of 3.0%. That adds to the slowdown narrative and increases market sensitivity to any fiscal or monetary-policy signals.
The U.S. is also pushing the idea of large tax refunds to citizens (media estimates run into the hundreds of billions, with average payments of a few thousand dollars per filer). Some of that liquidity will inevitably flow into equities and crypto.
On CLARITY, a March 1 deadline has been set. Markets remain jumpy over any hint of whether the bill is moving forward, stalling, or getting amended.
Wall Street Adds BitMine Exposure
Major players (including BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Vanguard, and others) have notably increased their positions in BitMine shares — the largest corporate holder of ETH.
In total, 457 institutional holders control 136.7 million BitMine shares worth $2.86B.
This is not a call to buy BitMine — it’s a signal that institutions are actively looking for additional regulated ways to hold crypto exposure in portfolios.
Ethereum: Three Priorities for the Year Ahead
The Ethereum Foundation published its roadmap for the next year, centered on three priorities:
- Scale — higher throughput (including discussions around raising the gas limit) and preparation for more parallel processing.
- Improve UX — protocol-level smart wallets and a smoother experience across L2s.
- Harden the L1 — stronger security, censorship resistance, and preparation for future threat classes.
Markets like simple theses: speed + usability + security — the kind of combo that typically translates into real adoption.
Major Token Unlocks This Week
Hodl as a Stable Portfolio Layer
When the news cycle is packed with political and institutional noise, it helps to keep predictable income streams that don’t require panic-watching headlines.
Your capital stays liquid (withdraw anytime), while continuing to generate steady returns as the market digests events. Markets don’t have to be convenient — but they are cyclical. The noise will pass, and prepared capital can meet the next impulse with a steady hand.