The post AI Crypto Market Crash as US-China Trade War Escalates appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News On Feb 4th, China retaliated aggressively against the US’ move to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, imposing a 15% counter-tariff on selected US goods. The development affected the cryptocurrency sector, especially the AI crypto segment, severely. Today, the situation has touched a new low, as local reports have revealed the Asian superpower’s plan to reopen its antitrust investigation into US tech giants, including Google and NVIDIA. In the last 24 hours alone, the total market cap of the AI coins segment has declined by over 9%. US-China Tensions Spark AI Crypto Sell-Off NVIDIA’s GPU production is heavily reliant on Chinese semiconductor components. Notably, the US’ tariff plan against China also includes a 10% tariff on Chinese semiconductor components. Naturally, the development will make it expensive for NVIDIA to produce GPUs. It will also slow down the company’s AI hardware production. If this scenario occurs, the biggest victim will be AI projects requiring high-performance computing capabilities. Undoubtedly, this is not favourable news for investors backing AI companies heavily dependent on NVIDIA’s GPUs. Clearly, the unfavourable development may discourage institutional investment in the AI sector. Unsurprisingly, the total market cap of the AI coins segment has decreased by at least 9% in the last 24 hours. Major AI Cryptos Hit Hard In the last seven days, almost all the top ten AI tokens have shown bearish performances. NEAR Protocol has slipped by 24.3%, Internet Computer by 19.2%, Bittensor by 24%, Render by 21.5%, Artificial Superintelligence Alliance by 22.3%, The Graph by 20.1%, Virtuals Protocol by 29.2%, Arweave by 19.9%, and AIOZ Network by 33.8%. In the last 24 hours, some AI tokens, such as NEAR, AIOZ, and AI16Z, have suffered severe declines. NEAR has dropped by 2.2%, AIOZ by 4.3%, and AI16Z by 3.2%. NVIDIA Market Performance Overview The NVIDIA share price has recorded a decline of 20.60% in the last 30 days. Its YTD change stands at -14.21%. In the last five days alone, the market has reported a fall of 6.14%. Certainly, the US’ tariff action against China and Beijing’s counter-actions, especially the decision to reopen its antitrust investigations into US tech giants, have affected the NVIDIA market severely. Surprisingly, contrary to the general trend, in the last 24 hours, the market has surged by 1.71%. What’s Next for AI Crypto? Experts believe that if the US and China trade crisis eases, the AI crypto sector will recover quickly. However, most experts think that if the economic war between the top two global economies worsens, the AI crypto segment could face more losses. There are rumours that China will launch investigations into Intel and Qualcomm as well. In conclusion, the AI crypto market is under pressure due to the US-China trade war. Tariffs and legal actions have shaken investor confidence, causing major declines in AI tokens and tech stocks like NVIDIA. While recovery is possible if tensions ease, prolonged disputes may bring more losses.
On February 5th, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, weighed in on the current tariff dispute, indicating that President Trump’s erratic behavior could lead to increased short-term market volatility.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund , setting off excitement among Bitcoin supporters. The order directs the Treasury and Commerce Departments to develop a plan within 90 days to create the fund, aimed at boosting financial security, reducing taxes, and strengthening the US economy. Sovereign wealth funds are government-controlled investment funds that manage surplus money, often from trade or resource revenues. These funds invest in stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets to secure long-term financial stability. While the order does not specifically mention Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, it has fueled speculation due to the response from Senator Cynthia Lummis, a known advocate for digital assets. She reacted to the news on social media with the Bitcoin symbol, leading some to believe the fund might include Bitcoin in the future. The market’s anticipation of Trump creating a Bitcoin reserve saw a brief increase but later dropped. Previously, Trump had signed another executive order regarding a national digital asset stockpile, which defined digital assets broadly without naming Bitcoin directly. This has left many wondering about the government's stance on crypto. At the same time, several US states are pushing their own cryptocurrency-friendly laws. Oregon, New Jersey, Mississippi, and Indiana have introduced bills to encourage blockchain technology and digital asset adoption. Oregon’s proposal protects blockchain users from restrictions and removes certain regulatory requirements. New Jersey’s legislation creates a regulatory framework and an enforcement fund for overseeing digital asset businesses. Mississippi’s bill prohibits central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), ensures self-custody rights, and offers tax benefits for small crypto transactions. Indiana’s proposed law protects the right to use digital assets, prevents local bans on crypto, and classifies mining as an industrial activity. These state-level efforts indicate growing momentum for crypto in the US. While Trump’s executive order does not confirm any direct involvement with Bitcoin, many in the crypto community remain hopeful. The coming months will be crucial in determining whether digital assets play a role in the country’s financial future.
The crypto market on Wednesday again illustrated a volatile movement after showing signs of recovery recently. Bitcoin (BTC) price slipped back to the $98K level over the past day, whereas altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP have mainly mirrored a declining trend. Amidst this backdrop, data from Santiment reveals a surge in whale activity focused on select crypto coins, signaling renewed investor interest in these assets. These Crypto Coins Are Making Waves Among Whales Dai (DAI), Minotaurus (MTAUR), Floki (FLOKI), Aave (AAVE) and Chintai (CHEX) have experienced nearly 4X growth in whale transactions this week, according to Santiment . This reflects heightened interest and activity among big investors. 1. Dai (DAI): A Stablecoin Making Big Waves Whale Transaction Growth: 400% Market Cap: $5.36 billion Segment: Stablecoin As one of popular cryptos to buy on the Binance Smart Chain (BNB), Dai token has gained considerable attention this week. Whale transactions exceeding $100K skyrocketed by a notable 400%, highlighting increased trading activity. Although its price remains steady at $0.9997, Dai maintains a market cap of $5.36 billion, showcasing its strong status as a preferred stablecoin for traders and investors dealing with fluctuating market environments. 2. Minotaurus (MTAUR): A Crypto Coin Transforming the Gaming Sector Presale Price: 0.00010502 Segment: Gaming, Gaming Minotaurus (MTAUR) is the latest entrant catching the attention of whales. Its presale has surpassed the 300K USDT mark, reflecting growing enthusiasm. Priced at 0.00010502 USDT—approximately 70% markdown from its upcoming listing price of 0.00020 USDT—buyers with a preference for early-stage cryptocurrencies have already seen nearly 50% growth. MTAUR’s unique utility in the Minotaurus gaming ecosystem, referral incentives, and a structured vesting program make it an attractive choice. With a 100,000 USDT community giveaway and rising influencer endorsements, Minotaurus is quickly positioning itself as one of the most promising new cryptocurrencies to watch. 3. Floki (FLOKI): The Meme Coin with Serious Momentum Whale Transaction Growth: 286.49% Market Cap: $961.11 million Segment: Gaming, Binance Pausing as one of the best meme coins to buy on the Binance Smart Chain, Floki has seen its whale transactions spike by 286.49%. This increased activity is linked to its growing utility and visibility in the gaming and DeFi sectors. Trading at $0.0001 with a market cap of $961.11 million, the sharp rise of this crypto coin highlights its potential to attract serious capital despite its origins as a meme-inspired token. 4. Chintai (CHEX): The Rising Star of Real-World Asset Tokenization Whale Transaction Growth: 256.25% Market Cap: $638.41 million Segment: Ethereum, RWA (Real World Assets) Chintai, a RWA token based on the Ethereum system, has seen a 256.25% growth in whale transactions. With a focus on Real-World Assets (RWA), CHEX price has gone up by 28.9% to $0.6395, with a market cap of $638.41 million. This strong showing points to more interest in blockchain answers that connect old-school finance with decentralized platforms. Chintai (CHEX) price chart 5. Aave (AAVE): : The DeFi Crypto Coin with Renewed Interest Whale Transaction Growth: 216.67% Market Cap: $4.03 billion Segment: Lending, DeFi Aave, a prominent crypto coin in DeFi, has seen whale transactions jump by 216.67%. This lending and borrowing platform runs on the Polygon network. Its value went up 9.91% to $270.04, with a market cap of $4.07 billion. This growth shows that Aave remains a key player in the DeFi world. Final Thoughts These “whale magnets” are more than just tokens—they’re shaping the next wave of crypto innovation. Whether it’s stablecoins powering DeFi, meme coins evolving into serious contenders, or projects like Chintai bridging the gap between blockchain and traditional assets, these five crypto coins, including the rising star Minotaurus (MTAUR), are worth watching closely. Will the momentum continue? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear: whales are making their moves, and the crypto community should take notice. The post 5 Crypto Coins Whales Are Betting Big On This Week appeared first on CoinGape .
A newly established wallet has made the news with a striking transaction that involved moving an immense amount of stablecoins and a deliberate play in the market. On-chain data reveal that the wallet took just under $10 million worth of USDC out of Binance, and that it then moved the bulk of that into a series of purchases that it made across various tokens. This has all the appearances of a very serious retail investor or institutional player making a bet, or a series of bets, in the market. And it is drawing considerable attention in crypto Twitter, especially thanks to a series of not-so-light purchases that have been made. Whale’s Strategic Moves Across Exchanges The first step of the operation was to spend $2 million USDC to buy 1,383,722 $MELANIA tokens. This purchase took place on an undisclosed exchange, thus drawing attention when the whale wallet was noted to have acquired a relatively large amount of tokens. The whale’s behavior seemed consistent with the kind of right-before-the-sunken-place-sinking strategy that some investors use. However, this wasn’t the last we saw of our dolphin. Following that, the wallet concentrated on JupiterExchange, where it deployed another $2 million USDC and used dollar-cost averaging to acquire more assets, thereby layering on more risk and increasing its exposure. Spreading out orders over time, at varying price levels, is something that many seasoned investors do to manage the risk that comes with making a large purchase all at once. By DCA-ing into more assets on top of what it had already acquired, this particular wallet seems to be positioning itself for a longer-term play in the market. The next part of the transaction is probably the most intriguing. The wallet, which still contained $6 million of the original USDC, used the whole amount to procure a colossal holding of $MELANIA tokens at the price of $1.496 per token. This meant that the wallet bought another 6,688,916 $MELANIA tokens, bringing the total amount held by the wallet to an impressive 6,688,916.4 $MELANIA. The purchase’s massive scope and the ability of the whale to shift that much capital have sent ripples through the crypto community, eliciting expressions of interest and a fair amount of speculation about what it all means. The Role of $MELANIA Token in the Market The $MELANIA token, which has received growing interest of late, seems to have secured the attention of this whale for its probable upward trajectory. Although the large-scale purchase was not accompanied by a specific statement of intent, there are several reasons that could explain why the whale is now in possession of a hefty stack of $MELANIA tokens. For starters, the $MELANIA token is often talked about as one of several nascent projects within the decentralized finance (DeFi) space that are well-positioned for growth. And a big investment like this one certainly seems to endorse that narrative. In light of the growing interest in DeFi tokens and new cryptocurrency projects, it’s possible that the whale views $MELANIA as an undervalued token. Whale behavior is typically aligned with that of high-net-worth individuals and even institutional investors. These folks tend to make sizable bets on relatively under-the-radar assets. They often seem to be front-running the next big thing in terms of asset appreciation. Furthermore, the shift might indicate that the whale is angling to enjoy a possible market transition. While the overall crypto market shows wild fluctuations, reasonable buys like this one could set a wallet-holder up very nicely for some unexpected returns when the token they hold surges in price. A newly created wallet has withdrawn 10M $USDC from #Binance . It spent $2M $USDC to buy 1,383,722 $MELANIA and sent another $2M $USDC for DCA on @JupiterExchange . The wallet currently holds 1,705,873 $MELANIA and retains $6M $USDC , which can be used to buy more $MELANIA or… pic.twitter.com/AkLSnBi6nT — Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) February 4, 2025 The Potential Market Impact and Future Outlook The crypto market can feel the ripple effects of whale activity. When a big crypto transaction happens, it can stir up a whole lot of buying interest that moves the price of the asset around. This wallet executed a large transaction that had the potential to do exactly that with $MELANIA. If you saw this trade and thought, “The whale just bought $MELANIA; I should probably buy some too,” then you’d be an example of a crypto investor following the whale’s lead. The new token’s market can be unpredictable. Even with a large investment from a whale, unpredictability can still reign. Will Melania’s token ride the same wave that propelled the “whale of Wall Street” to his current office, or is that wave a different one? Which makes us ask: Who really is Melania? I mean, who is she really, in terms of just Enceladus? Valentine’s Day—February 14—is a day dedicated to Melania. By which I mean, by a Valentine’s Day card I send to a pre-Reformation Church priest. This is as close to “who Melania is” as I get. And in less than 40 pages, I will memorialize this state of affairs. The whale now possesses 6.6 million $MELANIA tokens, which means that this latest acquisition is almost certainly going to have a major impact on the token’s liquidity and price moves in the near term. If the whale keeps making these kinds of moves, we could start to see the $MELANIA token developing a deeper presence in the market. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: loft39studio/ 123RF // Image Effects by Colorcinch
Travala has made a significant leap in cryptocurrency adoption by partnering with Trivago, making over 2.2 million hotels accessible for booking with crypto. This alliance enables travelers to pay in
Though most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies have taken a severe beating lately—many of them down more than 20%— Mantle (MNT) is emerging as one of the market’s strongest performers. Just in the last 24 hours, MNT has surged by 27%, which makes it one of the top five fastest-recovering tokens. Mantle has not only managed to reclaim its price before the market downturn but has also surpassed its pre-trade war levels. Currently trading at $1.33, Mantle has moved beyond its earlier price of $1.20, showing remarkable resilience and stability at a time when much of the crypto market remains in turmoil. What Sets Mantle Apart? In contrast to numerous other cryptocurrencies that stay extremely unstable and grapple with recovering from steep drops, Mantle has forged a path as a tokenthats not only stable but also decides when it wants to bounce back. This kind of performance is making a lot of people pay attention to MNT. Mantle’s ongoing migration to ZK Rollups with OP Succinct is one of the biggest reasons for its strength. This move is expected to significantly boost scalability and transaction speeds. But what are ZK Rollups, and why are they so good at achieving these two ends? ZK Rollups, or zero-knowledge rollups, afford far more efficient transactions. They group together a great many rollups and send them off as a single entity to the blockchain. By doing this, they greatly reduce congestion—layer-1 congestion, that is. And they also lower transaction fees to a level that makes Mantle more attractive to developers and users. Mantle is aiming for something much more substantial: overall integration of DeFi with the traditional financial system by 2025. That would be no small feat—it would certainly entail a revolution of sorts—and it could bring Mantle-based financial services to a much broader audience. It’s hard to imagine many blockchain projects pulling this off, and not just because most of DeFi’s current “customers” are already crypto natives. Mantle is achieving these ends through institutional partnerships and by deepening its integration with “trend-setting” financial firms, as the project’s vision document puts it. Big Investors Recognizing Mantle’s Potential Institutional investors have not overlooked the increasing strength and technological progress of Mantle. The project is starting to attract serious attention from big-dollar investors, who see it as potentially leading the next phase of blockchain innovation. Many cryptocurrencies are riding the short-term hype train, but Mantle remains on a steady growth path. Its ecosystem is expanding, and it seems to be acquiring a long-term staying power within the blockchain space. One of the key reasons that makes Mantle a project that investors are excited about is its focus on creating a real-world financial infrastructure. While many blockchain projects work solely on DeFi within the crypto ecosystem, Mantle is focused on something much more versatile — integrating DeFi with traditional finance. In a world that’s moving toward greater blockchain adoption, this is the sort of project that stands to make a significant amount of money. MNT – Token phục hồi mạnh nhất sau cú dump! Trong khi nhiều token trong top 100 giảm 20% hoặc hơn, $MNT là một trong những đồng phục hồi nhanh nhất, thể hiện sức mạnh và độ bền bỉ đáng kinh ngạc: Tăng 27% trong 24h qua – lọt top 5 token tăng mạnh… pic.twitter.com/hNBOYp4Ct1 — Blog Tiền Ảo (@blogtienao_hq) February 4, 2025 MNT: A Fast Recovery and Sustainable Growth The most recent market crash has tested many cryptocurrencies, uncovering flaws in some projects and virtues in others. Although a lot of tokens have had a tough time getting back to their precrash value, Mantle has surprised many observers by not only getting back to where it was before the crash but also appearing to continue growing in a way that a lot of people might describe as sustainable. What differentiates Mantle from competitors is its strong base of support, frantic pace of technological progress, and long-term vision. The ZK Rollups upgrade, an emphasis on on-chain finance, and growing interest from institutions put Mantle firmly in the running as one of the most deceptively promising blockchain ecosystems in development today. The crypto market may be stabilizing, but Mantle continues to show strength. That could set it up nicely as a leading blockchain project if the market truly is recovering. For investors who seek out crypto projects with fundamentals they can believe in and that actually have applications in the real world, Mantle has become one of the more compelling choices in the space. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: stlegat/ 123RF // Image Effects by Colorcinch
The relationship between stocks and crypto markets is likely to weaken in the future, Wall Street bank Citi (C) said in a research report Monday. While equities have been and remain the most important macro driver of crypto markets, the "equity-crypto correlation is likely to fall over time as the nascent asset class matures, the investor base grows, technology advances and adoption progresses," the report said. Still, the speculative nature of cryptocurrency markets means that risk asset correlations may be inflated, especially during risk-off events, the bank said. "A more transparent regulatory regime in the U.S. will also lead to more idiosyncratic price action," analysts led by Alex Saunders wrote. Bitcoin ( BTC ) volatility is expected to continue to fall in the long term as institutional adoption grows, the bank said. Citi noted that crypto was the only asset class whose market cap, as a percentage of U.S. equities, grew during last year. Bitcoin's correlation to gold is also worth tracking as it may be an early sign of the "store of value use case," the report added. Read more: Bitcoin's Outlook Is Bullish With Prices Expected to Remain Elevated: Deutsche Bank
David Sacks, President Donald Trump’s crypto and AI czar, isn’t mincing words—he’s aiming for a “golden age” for digital assets. Speaking at a Capi...
Ethereum’s DEX market experienced an explosion of trading activity as daily volume skyrocketed to $8.48 billion on February 3, an amount that we haven’t seen since March 12, 2023. And why, you might ask, was our beloved DEX market so active on that February day? Well, it just so happens that the whole crypto market was either shaking or quaking—fluctuating quite nicely, in any case—and this was in turn propelling not just on-chain transactions but also our trusty DEX market toward ever higher trading volumes. Uniswap held 65.78% of the total trading volume on that day. According to DeFiLlama, Ethereum DEX trading volume reached $8.48 billion during the big fluctuation on February 3, the highest point since March 12, 2023, with Uniswap accounting for 65.78%. However, Ethereum DEX is still lower than Solana DEX's daily trading volume of $9.56… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) February 4, 2025 Even with this robust showing, Ethereum’s decentralized exchange trading volume was left behind by Solana, which on the same day put up a figure of $9.56 billion. The competition between the two networks is intensifying, and Solana’s low fees and rapid processing times seem to be drawing more traders to its side. In another development, validators of Ethereum gave their nod to a gas limit increase on the Ethereum network, taking it beyond 30 million gas units for the first time under the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. To be precise, more than half of Ethereum’s validators had to give the go-ahead for this change. And what change? The first adjustment of its kind since 2021 took the gas limit from a solid 30 million units to an ethereal 30-plus million gas unit realm. Ethereum increased the network’s gas limit above 30 million, with over 50% of validators indicating the change. More than half of the validators’ approval was needed for the gas limit adjustment to take effect. This is the first time such a change has been implemented under… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) February 4, 2025 Ethereum DEX Trading Rebounds, But Solana Maintains an Edge Increased market volatility has pushed traders to transact much more aggressively, and this newfound aggression has made its way to DEXs built on Ethereum. Even so, Solana managed to outpace Ethereum: Its DEXs recorded a daily trading volume of $9.56 billion, compared to $8.48 billion for DEXs built on Ethereum. DeFi is still largely an Ethereum phenomenon, with Uniswap as a core piece. But, of late, Solana has been dominating in daily DEX volume, and this installment in our series on Solana’s DeFi moment will try to make sense of what, exactly, is going on with this alternative to Ethereum. In the last 12 months, Solana has gained substantial momentum among traders and liquidity providers, making it a serious competitor to Ethereum. Although Ethereum is a much more decentralized and secure network, Solana’s quick processing times and low fees have made it a darling of the high-frequency trading and institutional investor crowd. Ethereum’s Gas Limit Adjustment: A Major Shift in Network Dynamics Accompanying the increase in trading volume, Ethereum validators signed off on a gas limit increase to beyond 30 million units. This action, which required more than 50% consensus among validators, is a giant step in Ethereum’s evolution under the Proof-of-Stake model. The amount of computational power the Ethereum network can process in a single block is dictated by the gas limit. When you raise the gas limit, the network can process more transactions in a single block. That means it can potentially reduce congestion and overall network inefficiency. The most recent adjustment to Ethereum’s gas limit took place in 2021 and saw the figure raised from 15 million to 30 million units. At that time, the network was still operating under the proof-of-work (PoW) system, where governance was largely in the hands of miners. Today, the shift has occurred to proof-of-stake (PoS), and governance now is in the hands of validators, who must collectively approve any changes to network parameters. Even though increasing the gas limit could improve Ethereum’s scalability, it also brings difficulties. Block size could push more work onto validators and full nodes, increasing the number of transactions that need to be dealt with and — you guessed it — storage and processing power. If the critics are right, and that happens, then could Ethereum’s scalability solutions become part of a centralization problem? Even though there are worries about the changes, the validator community for Ethereum largely backed the adjustment, showing that there really is a unified effort among validators to make the network work better. This decision fits into a larger set of potential upgrades known as the Ethereum roadmap, all of which aim to make the network work better in one way or another. What’s Next for Ethereum? As decentralized exchange trading volume swells and with important governance changes underway, Ethereum is entering a critical time. It remains the dominant player in DeFi. Still, as Solana nips at its heels, Ethereum needs to keep working on its scalability and cost-efficiency if it wants to maintain that status. The latest increase in the gas limit is a sign of Ethereum’s proactive network optimization. Still, it is up for debate whether the actual transaction speeds and fees will see positive results from this change. The Ethereum network’s future success will depend on its ability to keep high trading volumes coming while it does what amounts to an upgrade of the network’s governance mechanisms, bringing decentralization, security, and scalability into better balance. With validators helping to govern the network in the future, Ethereum’s evolution will remain the result of collective decision-making, and its ongoing attempt to stay at the cutting edge of decentralized finance will serve as a real-time test of future-proofing mechanisms. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: nexusplexus/ 123RF // Image Effects by Colorcinch