ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Professor Yu Xiong, Dean of the School of Blockchain and Metaverse Applications at Surrey University, conducted an in-depth analysis of the inclusion of cryptocurrencies in national-backed reserves, calling it a "double-edged sword" with clear advantages and disadvantages.Xiong pointed out that the main advantage of a multi-asset reserve is the provision of more diverse options, reducing over-reliance on Bitcoin, which currently accounts for about half of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. "The DeFi ecosystem of Ethereum (with a total locked value of about $50 billion) and the high-speed transactions of Solana (65,000 TPS) represent technological diversity." He added that the inclusion of altcoins also acknowledges the broader application scenarios of blockchain, such as Ukraine raising $135 million in crypto donations through coins like ETH and SOL after being invaded by Russia in 2022.However, Xiong emphasized several potential risks. The first is regulatory uncertainty, as the SEC is still in litigation with Ripple, "the government holding these tokens may face opposition." The second is liquidity risk; due to the low trading volumes of these coins, government purchases or sales could lead to significant price surges or drops. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin's trading volume was $54.8 billion, while ETH was $23.4 billion, XRP was $5.5 billion, SOL was $5.4 billion, and ADA was $3.6 billion, which may indicate that some altcoins "lack the depth for large-scale reserves."Regarding concerns about market manipulation, Xiong stated, "The market disruption caused by the U.S. Treasury's sale of 30,000 Silk Road Bitcoins in 2014 was minimal, but today, selling 3% of the Bitcoin supply (about $5.5 billion) could lead to a 15% price drop."On the potential impact of U.S. crypto reserves, Xiong believes it will provide strong support for the crypto and blockchain industry, marking an increase in institutional acceptance and accelerating the adoption of traditional financial companies, similar to how BlackRock attracted $18 billion in assets under management within six months after launching a Bitcoin ETF. He stated, "U.S. reserves may mimic the role of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in energy security, positioning cryptocurrencies as geopolitical tools."Xiong also warned that the crypto market remains fragile, with Bitcoin's annualized volatility fluctuating between 30% and 60% over the past year, while oil volatility is below 35%. Higher volatility raises concerns about manipulation or unintended market distortions.Regarding the impact of U.S. crypto reserves on the crypto and blockchain industry, Xiong summarized it as "short-term optimism, long-term caution," believing it could provide "cover" for institutional investors like pension funds. "If the U.S. government deems it appropriate, then corporate treasuries and institutional investors may also find it appropriate. The $50 trillion managed by pension funds and insurance companies globally may increase their allocation to cryptocurrencies," Xiong stated, similar to the situation after the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024.

ChainCatcher news, according to a research report by Kaiko, the market slump in February triggered several waves of liquidations, significantly reducing the leverage levels of the top ten altcoins. Analysts believe that this position reset has created a healthier foundation for the cryptocurrency market, potentially paving the way for a more sustained upward trend in the coming weeks.The report notes that with the U.S. announcing the establishment of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve plan, although Bitcoin's reaction was relatively muted, overall market volatility surged, especially among altcoins. The intra-day volatility, which had been below 200% since the tariff sell-off in February, skyrocketed after the announcement, with ADA's volatility breaking 600%, marking the largest increase among major altcoins.Kaiko's analysis indicates that the inclusion of specific altcoins in the U.S. strategic reserve may accelerate the rotation of capital among altcoins, reinforcing the trend of concentrated gains in altcoins. Since last November, trading activity on U.S. exchanges has increasingly been dominated by large-cap assets. A year ago, the top ten altcoins accounted for 58% of altcoin trading volume on U.S. platforms, and 50% on offshore exchanges; as of last week, these shares have risen to 77% and 66%, respectively.

ChainCatcher message, encrypted KOL Ansem tweeted, "The bullish view on Bitcoin is that the $70,000 area should be a strong support level for Bitcoin, and after this drop, there are also some movements among altcoins that may start their own trends. There could be significant volatility over the weekend, so be cautious about being bearish."

ChainCatcher news, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju posted on social media, "Altcoins expected to perform well in 2025: 1. Potential ETF approvals; 2. Sustainable attention drivers; 3. Revenue-generating projects. The era of all crypto assets rising is over. It is now a selective altcoin season ------ most altcoins will not succeed."

ChainCatcher news, QCP Capital's latest analysis points out that the term structure of the Ethereum options market has shown a significant distortion around the March expiration date, which may be related to the anticipated Pectra upgrade set to launch in early April.Looking back at history, the September 2022 merge upgrade followed the "buy the rumor, sell the news" pattern, with ETH surging before the upgrade and then retreating; while the initial performance of the Shanghai upgrade in April 2023 was pessimistic due to supply concerns, ETH rose 30% after selling pressure did not materialize. The current market may be positioning for the Pectra upgrade, with options volatility leaning bullish after March 28, indicating potential upward expectations.However, the weakness in the altcoin market poses a restraining factor, with the LIBRA collapse, SOL and ETH retreating to pre-election levels, and Bitcoin's market cap nearing historical highs. The continued recovery of altcoins relies on substantial progress in real applications and network development, rather than just speculative funding.

ChainCatcher news, QCP Capital's latest analysis points out that the term structure of the options market has shown a significant distortion around the March expiration date, particularly in Ethereum options. This may reflect the market's positioning for the Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which is currently in the testing phase and expected to go live in early April.Looking back at past upgrades, the September 2022 merge upgrade followed the typical "buy the rumor, sell the news" pattern—ETH fell back after rising over 100% from the June low post-upgrade. In contrast, the Shanghai upgrade in April 2023, which enabled staking withdrawals, faced pessimism due to market concerns about oversupply. However, once the market realized that the selling pressure did not materialize as expected, ETH rose by 30% in the following months.As expectations for the upgrade heat up, traders may be positioning for another volatility event, with options volatility skewed towards call options after March 28—this could lay the groundwork for the next thematic play in the crypto market following the Trump tariff turmoil.One dampening factor is the general weakness in the altcoin market—LIBRA's collapse, SOL and ETH retreating to pre-election levels, and Bitcoin's market cap share nearing historical highs. Beyond market catalysts, altcoins may need to achieve substantial progress in real-world applications and network development to sustain a recovery, rather than relying solely on speculative capital flows.

ChainCatcher message, QCP Capital's latest analysis points out that as the market continues to consolidate, Bitcoin's market dominance has risen to about 60%, nearing a four-year high, while ETH and other altcoins have continued to underperform. The analysis indicates that the recent "runaway" scandal involving Argentina's President Milei and the LIBRA project may impact the development of similar projects and suppress the performance of altcoins and meme coins.The report emphasizes that despite numerous uncertainties in the macro environment, the implied volatility of cryptocurrencies and the VIX remain low, indicating that the options market is waiting for specific policy changes rather than just focusing on positive rhetoric. Currently, most trading is concentrated on recent volatility selling or range trading, rather than betting on significant breakout trends.

ChainCatcher news, Greeks.live macro researcher Adam posted on the X platform that this week's macro aspects worth noting are the news from the US and Europe regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Russia-Ukraine war has been a significant reason for the rise in commodity prices, and any changes in the situation could alter the current overall inflation logic.In terms of cryptocurrency, this week marks the opening of Consensus in Hong Kong, with many related conferences. At the same time, FTX will begin repaying creditors, which is also worth paying attention to. The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has come into full effect, and compliant exchanges like Kraken are gradually delisting stablecoins like USDT in Europe.The cryptocurrency market remains sluggish, with Bitcoin continuing to fluctuate below $100,000. The drama surrounding Milei's token issuance has exacerbated the downturn in altcoins, resulting in a weak wealth effect in the market and a very pessimistic sentiment. In options, the implied volatility (IV) for the full term continues to decline, with the at-the-money IV dropping to 45% this month, mainly driven by large traders adjusting their positions.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated in a report to clients on Wednesday that there is an interesting dichotomy between institutional and retail investors in the cryptocurrency space. On one hand, institutional investors have the most optimistic sentiment towards cryptocurrencies in history, while retail investors are sinking into despair. Investment professionals now view cryptocurrencies as a field where institutional capital is being allocated through ETFs at record amounts, and Washington has transformed from being one of the "biggest threats" to the industry to being one of the biggest supporters under the Trump administration, with nation-states potentially adopting the industry further.However, for retail investors, "it's almost like living in another reality," as Bitwise's own on-chain sentiment score shows one of the lowest readings ever. This index aligns with other sentiment indicators and the overall atmosphere of "crypto Twitter," where retail investors feel disheartened as their investments in altcoins have underperformed compared to Bitcoin, with only a few exceptions.Matt Hougan expressed his strong belief that institutions are correct, noting that so far this year, ETFs and corporations have purchased over 100,000 BTC, while the amount of BTC mined is 18,000. Moreover, in the long term, the allocation to altcoins is "stronger than at any time in history," but the situation for altcoins is more complex. As the regulatory agenda becomes clearer, the U.S. prioritizes stablecoins as a "national priority," and institutional confidence continues to grow, the crypto industry is bound to push DeFi applications to the mainstream, with impacts that are undeniable and unstoppable.

ChainCatcher news, according to Glassnode's on-chain data, Bitcoin's market capitalization reached a peak of $2.1 trillion on January 21, while altcoins (excluding Ethereum and stablecoins) peaked at $1.03 trillion on December 8 last year. Since then, Bitcoin's market capitalization has dropped by 8.2%, while altcoins' market capitalization has decreased by 29.8%, indicating a shift in capital preference.

ChainCatcher news, according to IntoTheBlock, the daily active address count for most altcoins is still far below the peak in 2021, indicating that retail traders have not yet returned to altcoins in large numbers.

ChainCatcher news, Alliance DAO co-founder Qiao Wang stated on his social platform that "perhaps we have already seen the cycle peak of most altcoins, but I believe that sometime this year BTC and a few quality altcoins will still have another significant rise."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, crypto analyst Martinez estimates that there are over 36 million existing altcoins, compared to fewer than 3,000 altcoins during the 2018 cycle, and fewer than 500 altcoins during the 2013-2014 period.According to data from CoinMarketCap, the total number of independent cryptocurrency tokens and coins listed on the platform is about to reach 11 million. The number of newly issued tokens surged during the period from 2024 to early 2025, mainly driven by meme coins issued on the Solana network.Previously, regarding the increasing number of tokens, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated, "Given that 1 million tokens are being created every week and still growing, Coinbase needs to rethink its listing process, as evaluating each token one by one is no longer feasible."

ChainCatcher news, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju stated that currently only a few altcoins have a high correlation with Bitcoin.Among them, infrastructure tokens like ETH are performing weakly, while tokens related to institutional adoption, stablecoins, and memes are performing more actively.

ChainCatcher news, Placeholder partner Chris Burniske posted on social media that the pullback in this bull market is indeed different from previous ones. BTC has hardly dropped and may drop even more, while many altcoins are in deep trouble, with prices returning to bear market lows. But pain will trigger problems, and difficult problems will bring good answers and changes.It is expected that many altcoins with "protocol profitability" will begin to seek token buyback programs or other ways to return these funds to holders, as a resistance and distinction against Meme coins.