Markets Tumble As Trade War Intensifies, Circle Files for IPO

TL;DR

Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support despite U.S. equities suffering record losses due to escalating trade war fears.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund sets a new record with $4.17 million in March dividends, marking the highest monthly payout for a tokenized Treasury fund.
Trump pardons BitMEX co-founders, including Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, amid continued intervention in crypto-related legal affairs.
Circle files for IPO, aiming for a $5 billion valuation as it seeks to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CRCL

Bitcoin Holds $80K Support Amid Record U.S. Equity Losses and Trade War Fears

Bitcoin bulls are fighting to maintain the $80,000 support level as U.S. stocks face unprecedented losses tied to escalating trade war fears. Despite the turbulence, Bitcoin managed to hold above $82,000 during the April 4 Wall Street open, showing resilience against the broader market downturn.

U.S. equities suffered severe losses as fears of a prolonged trade war intensified, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index both dropping 3.5% shortly after the trading session began. According to The Kobeissi Letter, the situation represents the “World War 3” of trade wars, with the S&P 500’s two-day losses exceeding 8%, wiping out approximately $3.5 trillion in market capitalization—the largest drop since the pandemic crash of 2020. The Nasdaq 100 also recorded its biggest single-day points loss in history the day prior.

Market speculation around Federal Reserve interest rate cuts continues to build, with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showing a 40% probability of a rate cut at the central bank’s May meeting. While Bitcoin has managed to sidestep the worst of the market panic so far, analysts warn that its correlation with equities could still drag the asset lower if macroeconomic conditions continue to deteriorate.

BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund Sets Record with $4.17M in March Dividends

BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), issued by Securitize, paid a record $4.17 million in dividends during March, marking the highest monthly payout achieved by a tokenized Treasury fund. According to a Friday disclosure from Securitize, the onchain money market has generated approximately $25.4 million in returns for investors since launching in March 2024.

BUIDL provides 24/7 access to real-world assets like U.S. government debt through blockchain networks, addressing limitations associated with traditional markets such as restricted trading hours and slow settlement. Unlike conventional money market funds that typically offer monthly payouts, BUIDL delivers daily returns, enhancing liquidity and capital deployment for institutional investors. “It’s a clear example of how tokenization is not just making traditional financial products more accessible—but fundamentally better,” said Michael Sonnenshein, Securitize COO and former Grayscale CEO.

Ethereum remains the dominant platform for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, hosting 53% of all RWAs as of now. BUIDL itself holds $1.9 billion in deposits on Ethereum, comprising roughly 37% of the nearly $5 billion held in the tokenized Treasury sector. The fund is also available on other networks including Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Solana, but over 90% of its dividends have been paid out to Ethereum users, underscoring the network’s continued dominance in the RWA space.

Trump Pardons BitMEX Co-Founders, Including Arthur Hayes

U.S. President Donald Trump has granted presidential pardons to three co-founders of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange: Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, according to CNBC. The pardons also extend to Gregory Dwyer, BitMEX’s former head of business development, all of whom previously pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act due to failures in maintaining adequate anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programs.

BitMEX had faced intense legal scrutiny for allegedly operating as a “money laundering platform” while presenting a false image of withdrawing from the U.S. market. Last July, the exchange settled its multi-year legal battle with a $100 million fine after admitting to inadequate AML compliance between 2015 and 2020. CNBC reports that Trump issued the pardons on Thursday, marking another high-profile intervention into crypto-related legal affairs.

The BitMEX pardons are part of a broader pattern of Trump’s increasing involvement in the crypto space. Previous high-profile pardons include Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht. More recently, the Trump administration has been connected to various industry figures, with some reports alleging that the families of Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao have sought clemency—though Zhao has denied such claims. Trump's latest actions continue to reinforce his administration’s evolving relationship with the crypto industry.

Stablecoin Issuer Circle Files for IPO as Public Markets Open to Crypto

Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has officially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CRCL. The prospectus, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, signals Circle’s renewed ambition to become a publicly traded company after a previous SPAC merger attempt collapsed in 2022 due to regulatory hurdles.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are serving as lead underwriters for the offering, with Circle reportedly aiming for a valuation of up to $5 billion. The company reported $1.68 billion in revenue for 2024, up from $1.45 billion in 2023 and $772 million in 2022. However, net income decreased to approximately $156 million last year from $268 million the previous year. The IPO would make Circle one of the most prominent pure-play crypto firms to go public, following in the footsteps of Coinbase, which listed through a direct offering in 2021.