US President Donald Trump hosted El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele at the White House on April 14, with talks centered on trade and immigration, excluding Bitcoin from the public agenda.

Pressing issues of migration and bilateral security cooperation set the tone of Bukele's first official meeting at the White House during Trump's second term. 

According to a livestream shared by Bukele’s office on X, Trump raised the possibility of transferring US citizens convicted of crimes to prisons in El Salvador, urging Bukele to expand the country’s prison system to house more prisoners. “I said homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places.” 

Since taking office, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of alleged foreign criminal individuals to El Salvador under a $6 million deal between the countries.

Trump also addressed the ongoing trade war unleashed by his administration on April 2, suggesting a potential temporary exemption for automakers aimed at easing the transition of their supply chains.

“I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” Trump told reporters present at the meeting, adding that the US auto industry “need[s] a little bit of time” to relocate production to the country. 

The meeting did not touch on digital assets and Bitcoin (BTC) policy — a flagship initiative of both presidents’ administrations. 

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, pioneering the Bitcoin strategic reserve approach later followed by Trump.

The US president positioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate during the 2024 election. On March 6, Trump signed an executive order to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve and digital asset stockpile in the United States.

The US holds nearly 198,000 BTC, valued at over $17 billion as of March. The reserve is primarily formed of Bitcoin seized in criminal and civil cases, including significant amounts from the Silk Road and Bitfinex hack cases.

Related: How much Bitcoin does the US hold, and where did it come from?

El Salvador's BTC plans face IMF opposition

El Salvador signed off in December a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which included commitments to unwind Bitcoin-related initiatives and reduce public sector involvement with digital assets.

While the Salvadoran Congress amended its Bitcoin laws in January to comply with the deal, the government has continued its daily purchases of BTC. The country’s National Bitcoin Office’s tracker shows it currently holds 6,147.18 BTC, worth about $520.7 million at this writing. 

Related: Tether will relocate HQ to El Salvador after securing license

Escalating trade wars are rattling cryptocurrency markets — but they are also creating new use cases for blockchain networks, Truebit executives told Cointelegraph. 

On April 2, President Donald Trump announced plans to charge sweeping tariffs on US imports, prompting other nations to threaten retaliatory measures. Trump later paused the tariff rollout for certain countries — but the possibility of a global trade war still looms, especially after Trump reiterated his commitment to taxing Chinese goods.

If high tariffs materialize, blockchain technology can play an important role in ensuring governments apply them fairly, according to the executives. Blockchain can “really help you prove provenance [...] proving the chain of custody,” Federico Kattan, Truebit’s chief technology officer, told Cointelegraph. 

For example, a company might “assemble or do some packaging in a low-tariff country and then import into the US at 10% instead of 58%... [but] blockchain can help establish where the product actually came from,” Kattan said.

Blockchain networks can enhance supply chain transparency by recording every transaction on an immutable public ledger, greatly limiting the scope for fraud across trillions of dollars worth of imported goods.

Trump’s proposed tariffs would impact $2.4 trillion worth of imports, according to a report by the Tax Foundation. Retaliatory measures by other countries could add to that figure.

Truebit is a blockchain network specializing in helping users add trustless verification to a wide variety of applications.

It is already in talks with software vendors servicing the US government and has been working on a European Union-funded project exploring Web3’s potential role in global supply chains, the executives said.

"We’re not yet talking directly to governments, but to the software vendors trying to interface with them — because that’s where we want to be,” Jason Teutsch, Truebit’s CEO, said.

Related: Trade tensions to speed institutional crypto adoption — Execs

Truebit was launched in 2017 and launched its TRU token in 2021. The token has a fully diluted market capitalization of $20 million, according to CoinGecko.

Trade war risks

However, several other crypto executives cautioned that tariffs pose serious risks to blockchain networks’ integrity and accessibility to users.

Worsening trade wars threaten to disrupt networks’ physical infrastructure, fragment regulatory regimes, and censor users, they said.

“Aggressive tariffs and retaliatory trade policies could create obstacles for node operators, validators, and other core participants in blockchain networks,” Nicholas Roberts-Huntley, CEO of Concrete & Glow Finance, told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Güney Kore dijital varlık firmalarına yasağı genişletiyor & rsquo ; Vatandaşlarına hizmet veren başvurular. 11 Nisan'da, ülke & rsquo ; Finansal Hizmetler Komisyonu (fsc ) ilan edildi Apple mağazasında 14 kripto borsasının engellendiğini. Etkilenen borsalar arasında Kucoin ve Mexc.

14 Nisan'da halka açılan rapor, yasaklanmış borsaların kayıt dışı denizaşırı sanal varlık operatörleri olarak faaliyet gösterdiği iddia ediliyor. Rapor ayrıca, finansal bilgi analiz kurumunun (fiu ), para aklama ve kullanıcı hasarını önlemek için bu tür operatörlerin uygulamalarının ve internet sitelerinin engellenmesini teşvik etmeye devam edeceğini belirtiyor. hrefu003d"https://cointelegraph.com/news/google-play-blocks-17-unregistered-crypto-exchanges-south-korea" relu003d"null" targetu003d"null" textu003d"null" titleu003d"null">blocked access to several unregistered exchanges on March 26. Kucoin ve MEXC de Google Play uygulamalarının engellenmesi sırasında hedeflendi. FSC, ülkede faaliyet gösteren 22 kayıtsız platformun bir listesini yayınladı ve bunlardan 17 tanesi zaten Google'da engellendi

Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $84,500 level on April 14, and the recovery appears partially fueled by the announcement of partial import tariff relief by US President Donald Trump. However, traders’ optimism faded on April 13 when it became apparent that the relaxation was temporary and that tariffs on the electronics supply chain could be revisited.

Uncertainty surrounding the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China impacted Bitcoin markets, causing traders to lose some of their regained confidence. This explains why Bitcoin’s price failed to break above $86,000 and why BTC derivatives showed limited short-term potential, potentially setting the tone for the next few days.

The premium on Bitcoin monthly futures contracts peaked at 6.5% on April 11 but has since dropped to 5%, which is near a neutral to bearish threshold. Sellers typically require a 5% to 10% annualized premium for longer settlement periods, so anything below this range indicates reduced interest from leveraged buyers.

Bitcoin sentiment dims as stock market ties dent bullish momentum

Traders’ brief excitement can be linked to President Trump’s April 13 announcement that tariffs on imported semiconductors would be reviewed during the week. This suggests that exemptions for smartphones and computers are not final, according to Yahoo Finance. Trump reportedly said: “We want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country.”

Bitcoin traders experienced emotional swings during this period of fluctuating expectations. The performance of broader markets, particularly large technology companies reliant on global trade, appears to have influenced Bitcoin sentiment. The strong intraday correlation between Bitcoin and stock markets has dampened bullish enthusiasm, leaving open questions about whether this effect is limited to BTC futures.

To determine whether Bitcoin traders’ sentiment is merely mirroring trends in the S&P 500, it is helpful to examine the BTC options markets. If professional traders anticipate a significant price drop, the 25% delta skew indicator will rise above 6%, as put (sell) options become more expensive than call (buy) options.

On April 13, the Bitcoin options delta skew briefly dipped below 0%, signaling mild optimism. However, this momentum did not hold on April 14, reinforcing data from Bitcoin futures that show no significant bullish sentiment despite prices recovering from the $74,440 lows.

Weak spot Bitcoin ETF inflows also behind traders’ limited optimism

Another way to gauge market sentiment is by analyzing stablecoin demand in China. Strong retail interest in cryptocurrencies usually pushes stablecoins to trade at a premium of 2% or more above the official US dollar rate. In contrast, a premium below 0.5% often indicates fear as traders move away from crypto markets.

Related: Crypto markets ‘relatively orderly’ despite Trump tariff chaos: NYDIG

Between April 6 and April 11, Tether (USDT) in China traded at a 1.2% premium, reflecting moderate enthusiasm. However, this trend reversed, with the premium now at just 0.5%, suggesting that the earlier excitement has dissipated. Hence, traders remain cautious and show little confidence in Bitcoin surpassing $90,000 in the near term.

The announcement of Strategy’s $286 million Bitcoin acquisition at $82,618 failed to boost sentiment, as investors suspect that the recent temporary decoupling from stock market trends was largely driven by this purchase. Similarly, Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw $277 million in outflows between April 9 and April 11, further weakening any potential improvement in trader confidence.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set to launch in Canada on April 16, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. 

In an X post on April 14, the analyst shared a private client note from TD Bank, a Canadian financial institution, claiming the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) greenlighted asset managers Purpose, Evolve, CI and 3iQ to issue ETFs holding Solana (SOL).

The OSC did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Canada does not have a federal securities agency, with its territories and provinces applying their own securities laws. Toronto’s securities exchange is regulated by Ontario’s OSC.

The ETFs are permitted to stake a portion of the SOL holdings for added yield, Balchunas said, adding that the upcoming listings are “our first look at the alt coin race.” 

Related: SEC approves options on spot Ether ETFs

Waiting on US approval

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged dozens of applications to list ETFs holding alternative cryptocurrencies, or “altcoins,” but so far has only approved funds holding spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) for trading. 

Staking is still off limits for US crypto ETFs. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said Ether ETFs could be greenlighted to start staking as soon as May, but the process may take months longer. 

However, investors’ demand for altcoin ETFs may be weaker than for funds holding core cryptocurrencies, Katalin Tischhauser, crypto bank Sygnum’s research head, told Cointelegraph in August.

“[T]here is all this frothy excitement in the market about these ETFs coming, and no one can point to where substantial demand is going to come from,” Tischhauser told Cointelegraph. 

In March, asset manager Volatility Shares launched the first ETFs to track Solana’s performance using financial derivatives. 

Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) has seen a lukewarm reception, attracting only around $5 million in net assets as of April 14, according to its website. 

“FWIW, the 2 solana ETFs in US (which track futures so not a perfect guinea pig) haven't done much. Very little in aum. The 2x XRP already has more aum than both the solana ETFs and it came out after,” Balchunas said. 

Balchunas added that he “[w]ouldn't read a ton into it” as a predictor for spot SOL ETFs. 

Magazine: Bitcoin eyes $100K by June, Shaq to settle NFT lawsuit, and more: Hodler’s Digest, April 6–12

ABD İç Güvenlik Bakanlığı

The US Treasury has injected $500 billion into financial markets since February by drawing liquidity from its Treasury General Account (TGA), funding government operations after a $36 trillion debt ceiling was hit on Jan. 2, 2025.

Macroeconomic financial analyst Tomas said that this liquidity surge boosted the net Federal Reserve liquidity to $6.3 trillion, and it may support Bitcoin’s (BTC) price in the future, even though risk assets have reflected minimal growth so far.

The TGA represents the government’s checking account at the Federal Reserve, holding capital for daily operations like paying bills or collecting taxes. A decrease in TGA capital means the balance has been deployed into the broader economy, boosting available cash in the markets.

Tomas explained that The TGA drawdown commenced on Feb. 12, following the exhaustion of "extraordinary measures" after the debt ceiling was reached. The TGA balance has dropped from $842 to roughly $342 billion, releasing liquidity into the system, and the targeted liquidity is expected to rise up to $600 billion by the end of April.

The analyst added that the current tax season will temporarily drain liquidity, but the drawdown is expected to resume in May. If debt ceiling talks extend to August, net liquidity could hit a multi-year high of $6.6 trillion, which could cause a bullish tailwind for Bitcoin.

According to a study by financial analyst Lyn Alden, Bitcoin has historically moved 83% of the time in line with global liquidity in a given 12-month period. The research termed “Bitcoin a Global Liquidity Barometer” compared Bitcoin to other major asset classes such as SPX, gold and VT, and BTC topped the correlation index with respect to global liquidity.

Past TGA drawdowns in 2022 and 2023 have fueled speculative assets like Bitcoin. Thus, a $600 billion boost, plus billions more added over Q2-Q3, could lift BTC’s value if market conditions remain stable.

Related: Bitcoin traders target $90K as apparent tariff exemptions ease US Treasury yields

Bitcoin eyes $137,000 by Q2-Q3, says analyst

Anonymous crypto trader Titan of Crypto shared a bullish outlook for Bitcoin, predicting that BTC could surge to a new all-time high of $137,000 by July-August 2025. In a recent X post, the analyst pointed out a bullish pennant pattern on the daily chart, with the price potentially heading toward a positive breakout.

However, before pushing chips into a long conviction play, BTC must break and retain a position above its 200-day exponential moving average (EMA). As illustrated in the chart, Bitcoin faces resistance from all three key EMAs, namely, the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day indicators.

A collective reclaim above each moving average on a higher time frame chart could further strengthen the bullish case, allowing the crypto to retest its six-figure targets.

Related: Bybit integrates Avalon through CeFi to DeFi bridge for Bitcoin yield

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.