On April 17, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, marking the seventh rate cut in the past year, with traders anticipating three more cuts from the ECB this year. Trump continues to speak out, harshly criticizing Powell's interest rate policy as 'always too late and wrong,' stating that firing Powell is urgent, and the market is watching whether Powell will adjust policy under pressure.

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that it will re-examine a practice: how to compensate investors at a price below the current market value after digital assets are seized in cases involving fraud and theft. Many of these cases have led to investor losses in digital assets due to 'fraud and theft.' The DOJ pointed out that the value of these digital assets has increased significantly in the following years, and current U.S. bankruptcy regulations stipulate that seized assets should be returned to victims at the dollar value at the time of the fraud. Federal Reserve Chair Powell stated in an interview with the Chicago Economic Club that there may be a relaxation of regulatory restrictions on U.S. banks engaging in cryptocurrency business in the future, promoting moderate innovation, and noted that the current industry environment has become mainstream, having previously implemented quite conservative regulatory guidelines on banks, while other banking regulatory bodies were even stricter. The two chambers of the U.S. Congress are rapidly advancing the legislative framework for stablecoins. Related bills in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed committee review, and Trump expressed hope for a quick signature to make them law. The BTC reserve bill HB 92 in North Carolina has been passed by the House Pension and Retirement Committee. Before a full vote, the bill still needs to pass through three committees: Rules, Agenda, and House Operations.

According to analyst ali_charts, over 15,000 BTC have flowed out of CEX in the past week. On April 18, ETH Gas fees dropped to 0.352 Gwei. In March 2025, BTC's search popularity on Google reached 34, the highest level for 2025 so far. The search popularity in January and February was only 31 and 27, respectively, indicating a month-on-month increase of 26% in BTC search volume, reversing the downward trend that had persisted since November 2024. In March, ETH's search popularity on Google reached the highest level of 2025 so far, recording 19, a slight increase from 16 the previous month. The widespread theory behind the rising interest may be the newly announced tariffs in the U.S., reigniting the narrative of BTC as a store of value. Analyst BitBull stated that the dollar index (DXY) is falling at the fastest rate since 2023, and BTC's performance is similar to that time; in early 2023, BTC and altcoins rebounded from the lows of 2022. At that time, BTC had already bottomed out in Q4 2022 and had risen over 200% within a year. Barry Silbert, founder of Grayscale's parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG), stated that the best thing he has gained is holding BTC, rather than investing in crypto startups. When he discovered BTC in 2011, the price was around $7 to $8. As prices began to rise, he shifted his investment focus to emerging cryptocurrency companies and used BTC to fund them. In hindsight, simply holding BTC is better than anything else.

On April 18, U.S. BTC spot ETF saw an inflow of $106.9 million. The inflow/outflow for ETH spot ETF was zero. On April 17, the ECB cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, marking the seventh rate cut in the past year, with this decision unanimously approved, lowering the deposit facility rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, and traders expect three more cuts from the ECB this year. Federal Reserve Chair Powell stated on Thursday that the Fed will wait and observe the impact of Trump's tariff policy on the economy and inflation, willing to take time to gain more clarity before advancing further rate cuts. Trump continues to speak out, harshly criticizing Powell's interest rate policy as 'always too late and wrong,' stating that firing Powell is urgent, and the market is watching whether Powell will adjust policy under pressure. Trump stated: he believes Powell will eventually cut rates; Powell's only expertise is in cutting rates; costs have already decreased, and there is almost no inflation, so the Fed has a responsibility to lower interest rates, and Powell will face significant pressure; if Europe cuts rates, it will put the U.S. at a disadvantage; the Fed's people are not very smart, and Powell is terrible; rates should be lowered now; Powell is the 'Mr. Always Late' of the Fed, slow to respond and act; it would not be too fast to fire Powell.

Whether Trump has the authority to fire Powell is legally controversial. Previously, Powell stated that he would not resign (his term lasts until the contract expires in May 2026). Charles Schwab strategist Kathy Jones stated: investors should not overlook the possibility that Trump wants to fire Powell and lower rates; it is very clear that Trump very much wants to fire Powell and lower rates. The Atlanta Fed expects U.S. GDP to shrink by -2.2% in the first quarter, down from a previous expectation of -2.4%. A Reuters survey shows that the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next year is 45%. Trump stated that he does not want tariffs to continue to rise, as at a certain point, people will stop buying. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the Fed is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at the FOMC meeting in June and a total of 100 basis points by the end of the year. Trump's arbitrary tariffs have caused the dollar and U.S. Treasuries to lose some of their traditional safe-haven appeal, with the dollar index falling from 110 points in January to 99 points. Citigroup expects gold prices to rise to $3,500 per ounce in the next three months (previously estimated at $3,200), with an average price of $3,250 per ounce in the second quarter of 2025. BTC's safe-haven attributes are weaker than gold and still need to be demonstrated. This week, Trump has been relatively calm, and the market has also been stable, with Trump directing his focus towards the Fed, calling for rate cuts. The U.S. economy is weakening further, and Trump is putting pressure on Powell; can he withstand not cutting rates? Currently, the market believes that a rate cut in June is highly probable. Next week, the U.S. enters earnings season, and subsequent financial and employment data need attention. U.S. Treasuries are waiting for the Fed to step in, while the cryptocurrency market has been waiting for a turnaround. A Fed rate cut could alleviate many issues, improve fundamentals, and drive the market. There is hope that the next phase of rate cuts can be realized in June, and currently, the market predicts that the Fed will cut rates by a total of 100 basis points by the end of the year.