ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, U.S. President Trump stated that he has instructed the Secretary of Commerce to impose an additional 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum products from Canada, bringing the total tariff level to 50%. This will take effect tomorrow morning.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, although Bitcoin has recently taken a hit, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that this drop is just a minor episode before Bitcoin's valuation skyrockets to between $1 trillion and $5 trillion.In a report on Monday, Hougan wrote: "If it weren't so volatile, it would be a footnote in history, fluctuating only below $150,000, supported only by a small group of libertarians, crypto-punks, and speculators."In short: "Bitcoin is either going to be significant globally or it will be worthless." As Hougan made this prediction, Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, and the broader world markets are being impacted by multiple factors including Donald Trump's escalating trade war, disappointing earnings, scandals, hacking attacks, and the threat of a recession in the U.S.Traders' reactions were muted, seemingly disappointed that Trump did not announce large-scale purchases of Bitcoin. The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets continued to decline over the weekend. But for Hougan, this reaction misses the point. To him, "strategic reserves are a significant step forward, and the market's disappointment is absurd."He pointed out that the executive order explicitly states that the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce "should develop strategies" for reserve purchases of Bitcoin. Hougan wrote: "Note that the order uses 'should,' not 'may' or 'might'; the wording in the official statement is carefully chosen."

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, European Stability Mechanism (ESM) President Pierre Gramegna stated at a press conference following the Eurogroup meeting on Monday that the support for cryptocurrencies by the U.S. government under President Trump could undermine Europe's monetary sovereignty.Gramegna said: "The U.S. government's supportive stance on cryptocurrencies, especially dollar-denominated stablecoins, may raise certain concerns in Europe. U.S. support could ultimately lead to American and foreign tech giants launching popular payment solutions based on dollar stablecoins—its success could undermine Europe's monetary sovereignty and financial stability. The ESM supports the European Central Bank's efforts to realize a digital euro to maintain Europe's strategic autonomy. Today, digitizing Europe is more necessary than ever."It is reported that the ESM is an intergovernmental institution that provides financial assistance to member countries facing financial crises, aiming to maintain the long-term financial stability of the eurozone.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Wednesday, which will be the first inflation report during President Trump's term. If there are signs of cooling inflation, it could increase the likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates and boost the confidence of risk asset investors who have been hit hard recently.Market predictions indicate that the overall inflation rate (CPI) will decrease from 3% to 2.9%, while the core inflation rate, excluding volatile items like food and energy, is expected to drop from 3.3% to 3.2%.A slowdown in inflation typically increases the chances of interest rate cuts, thereby enhancing investor interest in risk assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. Over the past four months, the CPI has accelerated continuously. Recently, the S&P 500 has fallen nearly 10% from its all-time high, while Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped about 30% from its peak, to around $80,000.Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have both emphasized the need to lower the 10-year Treasury yield to facilitate a reduction in the federal funds rate. Currently, this strategy seems to be showing initial results.

ChainCatcher message, AJBell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth stated: "The sell-off in the U.S. market is starting to look bad. For some time now, many have been concerned about the overvaluation of the U.S. stock market and are looking for a catalyst for a market correction. Concerns over the trade war, geopolitical tensions, and uncertainty about the economic outlook may be that catalyst.Trump was once seen as the savior of the market, promising tax cuts and deregulation. Now his actions have turned into a harbinger of doom. As people ponder whether trade tariffs might backfire, leading to a recession rather than a flourishing U.S. economy, the word starting with R (Recession) is back on everyone's lips.During Trump's first term, he often pointed to the stock market's rise as a representation of his success. Therefore, he may not want to see a complete market collapse just a few months into his second term."

According to ChainCatcher news and data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, since the last trading day before Trump's inauguration on January 17, several attending billionaires have seen their fortunes significantly shrink, with the total market value of their companies dropping by $1.39 trillion.Among them, the personal wealth losses of the five top billionaires are particularly notable:Elon Musk's personal wealth decreased by $148 billion;Jeff Bezos's fortune shrank by $29 billion;Google co-founder Sergey Brin's assets decreased by $22 billion;Meta's stock decline caused Mark Zuckerberg to lose $5 billion;LVMH's stock pullback resulted in Bernard Arnault's wealth decreasing by $5 billion.In the seven weeks following the start of Trump's second term, the companies behind these billionaires became the biggest losers in the market, with significant wealth retraction.

ChainCatcher news, Federal Reserve mouthpiece Nick Timiraos published an article in the Wall Street Journal stating that over the past year, U.S. economic policymakers have focused on achieving a so-called soft landing, which means reducing inflation without causing an economic recession. Now, a group of "new pilots" is considering changing course, and they themselves admit that this could lead the economy toward a hard landing.In recent days, President Trump and his senior advisors have shown indifference to the rising risks of trade uncertainty hampering private sector investment. They believe that a detox may be needed in terms of spending and hiring, that falling stock values are not concerning, and that inflation may rise in the short term. Some analysts warn that Trump's messaging may reflect a strategic effort to improve the country's bargaining position with trade partners, leaving bond investors and the Federal Reserve stunned, thereby maintaining a tendency to cut interest rates.Trump's impulsive behavior has prompted European authorities to take measures to increase economic stimulus and defense spending. Analysts say that the situation over the past two weeks indicates that Trump is unlikely to change course due to a market downturn, which will help reset Wall Street's expectations. Andy Laperriere, head of U.S. policy research at Piper Sandler, said: "Everything he is doing tells us he is not joking. He fundamentally believes this on tariffs."

ChainCatcher news, U.S. President Trump stated on social media, "Musk is 'taking risks to stand up' to help our country, he is doing a fantastic job, but those radical people are trying to resist Tesla in an illegal and collusive manner, aiming to attack and harm Musk and everything he represents. I am going to buy a brand new Tesla car tomorrow morning to express my trust and support for Musk."Subsequently, according to The Kobeissi Letter, Tesla's stock price rose more than 6% from an overnight low and turned positive; Trump's post seems to have set the overnight price for Tesla stock $TSLA.

ChainCatcher news, as industry leaders are striving to cope with the uncertainty of widespread tariffs and the market plunge triggered by concerns over economic recession, U.S. President Trump plans to meet with business executives on Tuesday.According to informed sources, Trump's meeting with the Washington "Business Roundtable" will include CEOs from across the country, including heads of Wall Street financial giants. Trump's early victory had sparked optimism among banking leaders, but as tariff policies took effect and concerns about economic slowdown intensified, doubts about his policy path have deepened in the market.Last week, Trump stated that there might be an "adjustment period" after the tariffs take effect. The current chair of the Business Roundtable is Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins, and board members include heavyweight figures from the financial sector such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.

ChainCatcher news, the expectation that Trump's second term would drive market gains has evaporated. At Trump's inauguration, the wealth of many billionaires sitting behind him has astonishingly shrunk.According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the combined wealth of five individuals has evaporated by as much as $209 billion. Compared to the day of Trump's inauguration (January 20), Musk's personal net worth has decreased by $148 billion, Bezos's personal wealth has dropped by $29 billion, Google co-founder Brin has lost $21 billion, and Zuckerberg and Arnault have seen their fortunes shrink by $6 billion and $5 billion, respectively. The total wealth of these five billionaires has decreased by $209 billion. Just yesterday alone, the combined net worth of the five billionaires plummeted by $49.78 billion.

ChainCatcher news, Trump's remarks over the weekend about the U.S. economy facing a "transformation period" weakened investors' confidence in a policy shift amid the backdrop of a market crash, exacerbating economic concerns.According to 4E monitoring, on Monday, all three major U.S. stock indices plummeted, with the S&P 500 index falling 2.7%, marking a new closing low since September last year; the Dow Jones dropped 2.08%, erasing gains since the U.S. elections in November; the Nasdaq fell 4%, recording the largest daily drop since September 2022. Major tech stocks all declined, with Tesla closing down over 15%, the largest drop since September 2020, and its stock price halved from its historical high. The combined market value of the seven major tech companies evaporated by over $830 billion on Monday, setting a record for the highest single-day market value loss.The "Black Monday" in U.S. stocks crashed the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin hitting a low of $76,600, the lowest in nearly four months, essentially returning to the level when Trump won the election last year. At the time of writing, it has slightly rebounded to $79,125, with a 24-hour decline of about 3.5%. Mainstream altcoins, including ETH and SOL, were also severely affected, with Ethereum dropping below $1,800, marking the lowest since October 2023.In the foreign exchange market, risk aversion pushed the dollar index up slightly, while the oil market faced pressure, with international oil prices falling by 1.5%. Affected by profit-taking and a weakening stock market, spot gold dropped by 0.7%.In the past two months, the uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policy has intensified market fears of a U.S. economic recession. An increasing number of viewpoints suggest that to achieve long-term goals of tariffs and reducing government size, Trump may tolerate short-term economic and market difficulties. Currently, the Federal Reserve has entered a quiet period ahead of the March 19 FOMC meeting, and the market cannot gain new policy guidance from officials' statements.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, crypto analyst Anthony Pompliano (Pomp) has proposed a bold theory: the Trump administration may intentionally be creating chaos in the stock market to force the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, in order to avoid refinancing about $7 trillion in U.S. debt.Pomp pointed out that the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has fallen from 4.8% in January to the current 4.21%, indicating that the strategy "is moving in the right direction." Trump previously stated on Fox News: "No one can get rich with high interest rates because people can't borrow money."The market expects the Federal Reserve to maintain the current interest rates at the March meeting, but the possibility of a rate cut in May is approaching 50%. In the game between Trump and Powell, the market continues to be under pressure, with Bitcoin having fallen 27.4% from its historical high, and the global crypto market cap evaporating by over $1.2 trillion.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is seeking a pardon from President Trump. Despite SBF recently launching a series of right-wing media campaigns, including an unauthorized appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show (which led to him being placed in solitary confinement), insiders in the political sphere believe the chances of success for this attempt are very low. A cryptocurrency lobbyist, who requested anonymity, bluntly stated that the probability of SBF receiving a pardon is "zero," adding, "Sorry, in Trump's world... close to zero."Another cryptocurrency lobbyist told Fortune, "Unless the broader crypto community prioritizes SBF like they did with Ross Ulbricht, a pardon may not happen." It is worth noting that Trump expressed support for cryptocurrency during his campaign and pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was linked to a blockchain-driven dark web market, just days after taking office. However, unlike Ulbricht, who is quite popular in liberal crypto circles, SBF remains widely reviled in the crypto industry, especially after the fraud at FTX led to a prolonged downturn in the cryptocurrency sector.