In the past week, both the crypto and stock markets have witnessed a sharp downtrend amid mounting macroeconomic uncertainties, erasing enough value to plunge prices below the ‘Trump bump’—the surge seen when Donald Trump first took office.
Here is what happened and why:
Red Week: BTC and Altcoins Struggle
While some recovery is being seen in the last 24 hours, bitcoin price dropped under $80,000 earlier this week, dragging down the wider crypto market.
In the last 7 days, ETH has lost over 12.5% of its value, XRP over 11%, Solana over 13%, DOGE over 18% and Cardano over 24%. According to CoinMarketCap, the total ETF outflow has been over $129k in the past week.
Trump’s admission of Short Term Pain and Disappointment over the Strategic Reserve:
US President Donald Trump has recently acknowledged that his policies, especially the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China could lead to temporary hardship in the markets.
“…There could be a little disruption,” the President said, adding that:
“If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective… we go by quarters. What we’re doing is building a foundation for the future.”
The enthusiasm post Trump’s victory has tempered as many realise that the President’s economic agenda can cause significant disruption before any benefits from his pro-crypto stance materialise.
The creation of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, for example, is a milestone moment in legitimizing and integrating crypto into traditional financial systems. However, the government’s decision to not buy from the market has disappointed investors.
Inflation, Recession and Institutional Investors:
Due to the economic climate, JP Morgan has raised their recession risk to 40%, from 30% at the beginning of 2025. Goldman Sachs has raised their probability of a recession to 20%, from 15%. Morgan Stanley economists have lowered their economic growth forecasts last week and raised inflation expectations.
Inflation is to be expected, when nationalistic trade policies are being followed, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said. Tariffs are expected to increase inflation, and are thus pushing investors towards investments less risky than crypto.
Notably, amid fears of recession, institutional investors have decreased their exposure to digital assets.
Further, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index plummeted to 10 on March 10, its lowest since July 2022, indicating “extreme fear.”
Where CRO Stands:
CRO, despite its sluggish momentum this year, has not followed the trends of the broader market, gaining over 7% in the past week.
Despite criticism from the Cronos Community over the proposed governance proposal to reverse the 2021 burn, the token has witnessed a price upturn and is currently trading at $0.79.
Voting closes on the 17th of March, only after which one can comment on whether this uptick indicates a wider momentum gain, or is a result of short term excitement.
