The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started the crypto week by releasing major updates, which triggered market changes. According to Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the staff re-evaluated crypto guidance during the Trump deregulation period as per Executive Order 14192. The SEC supports the stance that covered stablecoins such as USDT and USDC do not qualify as securities provided they maintain full conversion into USD with 1:1 backing and strict dollar-pegged operations. Algorithmic or yield-chasing coins? Not so lucky. X users divide themselves over this regulatory move because they see it as either too little or just right. Stablecoins got a prudent recognition from the SEC that they differ from risky investments, but the agency chose to ignore deeper application issues at this time.
Markets reacted to Trump’s introduction of a 10% tariff on all imports, together with a 25% tariff on foreign automobiles, just like a speeding train would. The value of Bitcoin and its altcoins reports negative movement as BTC trades at $84K-ish with a 0.55% price drop, and altcoins suffer further losses during this period. Market funding rates experienced below 0.005% levels on Friday, April 4, and exchange trading volumes plummeted by 22.71% down to $247.6 billion. Market participants remain calm during this period because liquidations have decreased by 42% while trading activities have almost stopped. Nansen’s take? Markets expect stagflation to strike over the next months with negative economic growth and rising inflation. This dark atmosphere is mainly caused by the ongoing tariff complexities, which make investors doubt their risk exposure.
Circle’s IPO Dreams Face a Tariff-Tossed Curveball
Circle invoked the IPO filing process during the week to seek a NYSE listing under “CRCL” and enlisted JPMorgan and Citigroup among its sponsors. Circle took a significant step when it decided to go public because USDC represents a $32 billion stablecoin, which would gain more institutional trust from such a move. The experts from Crypto.news predict this move will increase stablecoin adoption while inspiring competition from stablecoins, including Tether, to advance their services. The Wall Street Journal reports that Circle remains unclear about its timing for an Initial Public Offering because Trump’s trade war created market turmoil that hurt stocks alongside cryptocurrencies. U.S. equities lost more than $2 trillion during the market crash on April 3rd. The VIX indicator, which measures the “fear index”, touched past 41 marks while financial professionals warn about an upcoming recession.
I get why Circle is hesitating. An initial public offering requires long-term stability, which this market cannot guarantee. Such a successful IPO would potentially advance crypto development by transforming USDC into a prominent financial institution. The company might opt for patience if market sentiment suffers from tariff effects. According to my instincts, Circle K plans to wait until summer because people do not want to launch their product during stormy conditions.
CLS Global Sting Caps a Wild Week
The Boston federal court handed CLS Global criminal charges related to its non-native NexFundAI token scheme in “Operation Token Mirrors” March operations. The police operation brought down fraudulent manipulators whose attempts to deceive government officials functioned like a blockbuster scene. The crypto market paid little attention to this regulatory action because it had to avoid trade sanctions. Still, the move serves as a warning that regulators are active and monitoring cryptocurrency activities. The move represents a minor trust-building victory because wash trading remains a destructive practice but it may intimidate some dishonest participants. Rules at the SEC, along with new trade barriers, weaken the impact of this revelation despite its minor importance among major market developments.
