Gold Empire

According to recent news, the Trump family crypto startup known as World Liberty Financial (WLFI) sold a significant portion of its Ethereum #ETH , despite recommendations from Eric Trump, who expressed a positive outlook on the prospects of this cryptocurrency. This information has sparked interest in the crypto community, as Eric Trump recently publicly supported Ethereum, stating its potential for growth.

Just about a decade ago, Ethereum was hailed as the world’s most innovative blockchain, and even its developer, Russian programmer Vitalik Buterin, became so loved by the crypto community that they called him Nakamoto 2.0. Years later, the second-largest crypto by market cap is crumbling under the weight of its own ambitions. We might know why.

Ethereum’s problems didn’t start with the Ethereum Foundation’s executive director, Aya Miyaguchi; as a matter of fact, we could argue she’s not to blame at all. At the center of it all is Ethereum’s founder, the de facto “board” or “sole decision maker” of the Ethereum Foundation, Buterin. 

Unlike Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who wrote the Bitcoin whitepaper, built the network, and then simply let it go, Buterin has always been largely influential on what happens in the network. He just didn’t wear the tag on his sleeve until he made one X post on January 21. 

No. This is not how this game works.

The person deciding the new EF leadership team is me. One of the goals of the ongoing reform is to give the EF a "proper board", but until that happens it's me.

If you "keep the pressure on", then you are creating an environment that is…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 21, 2025

Is it bad that he is the only one who decides who leads EF? Well, the programmer doesn’t give off Sam-Bankman Fried energy, so he wouldn’t want to harm the Ethereuj network in any way. But, after ETH’s recent performances, Buterin could be living in the “centralization” tale he sought to rewrite.

A one-man foundation: Community not happy with EF 

The Ethereum Foundation was always supposed to be a decentralized force driving the blockchain’s evolution, beyond what Bitcoin could achieve. Instead, it has become an entity whose decisions seem to revolve around a no “winning” policy that is honestly not working at all. 

Don’t take our word for it; the crypto market went on a bull run in the last two months of 2024 following the US election victory of President Donald Trump. Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark for the first time ever in December, surging 45% within 30 days. How much profit did Ethereum holders collect? 

What’s more is that every decision affecting the Ethereum blockchain, whether it’s the shift from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) or the sale of ETH to fund operational costs, has Buterin’s fingerprint all over it.

Bitcoin operates under a completely different model than Ether – what the crypto community on social media brand as true decentralization. There is no “Bitcoin Foundation” that dictates network decisions or sells BTC that it holds. Miners work independently to secure the network, and they choose whether to hold or sell their rewards. 

On the flipside, the latter constantly tinkers with its protocol, and it sometimes feels more like an experimental software project than a decentralized financial system. The Ethereum Foundation has sold over $13 million worth of ETH in 2025 alone, according to Lookonchain monitoring. 

What are the sales for? To reportedly remunerate developers and pay operational costs. But wouldn’t it make sense to use the coin to make the payments instead? Well, Buterin is telling you that this would cause “regulatory concerns.” Does the Ethereum Foundation not believe in the very network they are trying to improve? Guess not. 

ETH maxi admits and acknowledges Ethereum Foundation controls the entire roadmap

Vitalik admits he is the dictator of Ethereum Foundation

Hence: the entire roadmap of ethereum is in the hands of single person

lol pic.twitter.com/KF8oBdIvM7

— Crypto Crystal Baller (@CryptoCrystal_B) January 29, 2025

How decentralized can Ethereum really be if a single entity can impact its price and liquidity this much? We wouldn’t be taking it far to say EF, led by Buterin, is making Ethereum centralized.

Has the PoS transition worked?

Vitalik and his team of developers told the community that Ethereum’s move from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) was the best move for the network. The transition began with the Byzantium and Constantinople upgrades between 2017 and 2019, followed by the launch of the Beacon Chain in 2020. 

In 2021, EIP-1559 introduced fee burns, which paved the way for “The Merge” in 2022, which officially saw Ethereum move to PoS. 

And yet, despite all these upgrades, Ethereum has not completely succeeded in the one area that truly matters: scalability. At times, the gas fees in the network are prohibitively high, you’d actually be required to spend as much as $12 dollars just to send $10 worth of ETH. One would argue that the reoccurring fee spikes negate the whole point of the transition.

This is the harsh reality Ethereum refuses to acknowledge. While the network spent years implementing complex protocol changes, Bitcoin, which still suffers from issues due to the size of its network, has quietly continued to scale efficiently while maintaining its core principles. 

Not among the winners, but leading losses

In a February 3 X post, financial markets analysts in the Kobeissi Letter pointed out that Ethereum fell by more than 35% since the Trump trade war headlines mid-day last Friday. The coin is down 15% in the last 24 hours, now changing hands at $2,580, per Coingecko data.

Even though the whole market is in a bloodbath, Bitcoin and most altcoins initially saw massive gains from the end of 2024 upward market charge, which ETH was not exactly part of.

If there were ever a bigger neon light sign that Ethereum is failing, it would be on the ETH/BTC ratio chart. Ethereum has now broken below 0.029 BTC, hitting a four-year low. 

ETH/BTC finally breaks below .029 to a 4-year low.

No one is stockpiling ETH – no nations, no companies, no Saylors, not even Ethereum Foundation. It's not money, it's just a fee for a dead chain. Wallets are removing it and it will be gone by year-end. There is no second best. pic.twitter.com/jr065c1fKI

— TechLead (@techleadhd) February 2, 2025

The narrative that ETH could be “ultrasound money” is collapsing, and aside from the President Trump family-linked entity World Liberty Financial’s accumulation, not many “popular” companies hold it on their balance sheets. The community has also been singing the same song for years now, the Ethereum Foundation itself is not stockpiling ETH, it’s selling it.

Bitcoin is being adopted as legal tender and kept as a federal reserve in nations like El Salvador and Bhutan. It is held by corporations like MicroStrategy and proposed as a global reserve asset by policymakers. Ethereum, on the other hand, is just a fee token for a network that fewer and fewer people want to use. 

Should Buterin go the Satoshi Nakamoto way?

Satoshi Nakamoto, like any other programmer, had his shortcomings when creating Bitcoin. But he gave the public a network that governments and institutions trust wholeheartedly.

Ethereum supporters like to claim that PoS is a superior system because it conserves energy. But efficiency means nothing if the network isn’t secure, scalable, and, most importantly, affordable. Ethereum is almost three times the size of Bitcoin in terms of network capabilities, yet it still hasn’t crossed Bitcoin’s market cap since its inception.

Bitcoin has no Vitalik Buterin, no single person calling the shots, and no foundation dumping BTC into the market. Ethereum was never going to be “the next Bitcoin,” and without a radical change in governance any time soon, it might not be in the crypto conversation at all. 

Not long ago,Elon Musk announced that he will takeDogecoin (DOGE) to the moon. Fast forward to two weeks later, and the price of DOGE has lost 40% in a less than three-day span.

The price collapse came amid a broader $2.2 billion liquidation event, largely driven by ongoing tariff tensions. The sell-off dragged down multiple assets, but for many, the focus landed on Dogecoin. Investors wanted answers. Some turned to Musk. Others looked toBilly Markus - better known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto - one of DOGE’s original creators, alongside Jackson Palmer.

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Markus had no interest in explaining. His response was short and direct: market dynamics are not magic, and people should know that by now.

That was it. No further breakdown, no attempt to calm investors. Just a blunt dismissal.

learn how any market works? it ain’t magic

— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) February 3, 2025

Not surprising. Markus, despite being a key figure in Dogecoin’s creation, has distanced himself from the project for years. He often reminds people that he has no control over the coin’s price, direction or adoption. Yet, when things go south, questions still find their way to him.

Meanwhile, DOGE showed some resilience. After hitting an intraday low of $0.20, it bounced back 26%. A small recovery, but not enough to erase concerns about the overall market trend.

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For now, the meme coin has stabilized. The broader sentiment? Still shaky. But if history is any indication,Dogecoin thrives on unpredictability.

In the end, it seems that Musk and Markus are content to let the market do its thing — no explanations needed. Whether or not Dogecoin’s future remains bright is still up in the air.

К сожалению, я не могу точно предсказать, какая криптовалюта будет самой прибыльной в 2025 году, так как рынок криптовалют крайне волатилен и зависит от множества факторов, включая технологические изменения, регулирование, рыночные тренды и глобальные экономические условия.

Однако можно выделить несколько факторов, которые могут повлиять на успех той или иной криптовалюты:

1. **Технологические инновации**: Криптовалюты с уникальными технологическими преимуществами, такими как высокая масштабируемость, низкие комиссии или улучшенная конфиденциальность, могут привлечь больше внимания.

2. **Принятие и использование**: Криптовалюты, которые активно используются в реальных приложениях (например, для платежей, децентрализованных финансов (DeFi) или смарт-контрактов), могут иметь больше шансов на успех.

3. **Регулирование**: Изменения в законодательстве могут как способствовать, так и препятствовать развитию определенных криптовалют.

4. **Рыночные тренды**: Общий интерес к криптовалютам, инвестиции институциональных игроков и рыночные циклы также играют важную роль.

Например, Bitcoin (BTC) и Ethereum (ETH) традиционно считаются лидерами рынка, но такие проекты, как Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) или Polkadot (DOT), также могут показать значительный рост благодаря своим технологическим особенностям.

Перед инвестированием важно провести собственное исследование (DYOR — Do Your Own Research) и учитывать риски, связанные с высокой волатильностью криптовалют.

Текущий обвал крипторынка и особенно альткоинов - это очень жёсткая реакция на новую экономическую политику команды Трампа
Она очевидно вызвала панику и эта паника может быть продолжена сегодня ночью на Азиацких рынках а завтра на Американском рынках акций.
За 2 дня падение множества альткоинов составило 30+%. Биткоин потерял с пика пятницы 10%. А эфир упал на 20%.
Очевидно тарифы введённые Трампом против Канады Мексики Китая и возможные тарифы против ЕС - являются шоками в глобальном масштабе и означают эскалацию новой волны торговых войн.
А сегодняшнее заявление Илона Маска что USAID должен умереть - показывает решимость DOGE резать проекты по внешней помощи, которые вымывали большой объем денег.
Конечно это шок. А спекулятивные рынки не любят шоки.
Но станет ли от этого экономика США и государство слабее?
Ведь по сути Трамп начал проводить жёсткий протекционизм в экономической политике, который в среднесрочной перспективе должен принести бенефиты Американским компаниям. Прежде всего реального сектора экономики.
Кроме того я точно знаю что резать по живому Бюджет - это такой же шок как было год назад у Миллея - когда в Аргентине была куча демонстраций, а СМИ - пестрели уничтожительными заголовками.
Но для меня среднесрочный прогноз Американской экономики - выглядит позитивным. Выкорчевывание Социализма, Бюрократии и кормушек это жёсткий процесс ломания через колено который необходим чтобы излечится от вируса социализма. Поэтому я приветствую подобные меры.
В среднесрочной перспективе Американская экономика от этого только выиграет. А значит и фондовые рынки несмотря на текущие шоки могут обновить в Будущем новые рекорды. Хотя я не исключаю панику и текущую значительную просадку.
Поэтому если есть деньги - покупаем на падении и ждём перемен когда паника пройдет и прагматизм что текущие меры необходимы для выздоровления - взрастит свои плоды и это даст новые поводы для оптимизма в будущем!

The aggressive policies of Donald Trump are putting the sovereignty of the US dollar at risk, to the point of fueling the risks of a de-dollarization.

First with the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and now with the threats to the BRICS member countries, the new USA President is creating a climate of tension that is not very reassuring for the American economy.

How does all this impact the financial markets, and in particular the cryptocurrency market?
Let’s see all the details below.

Trump pressures BRICS countries not to move away from the US dollar 

Trump has exerted pressure on the countries of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to continue using the US dollar in their international transactions. However, this rigid approach has led to diplomatic tensions and has pushed some of these countries to seek alternatives to the dollar, increasing the risk of a de-dollarization.

In particular, Trump has threatened the members of the BRICS with applying 100% trade tariffs on foreign products if they attempt to replace the dollar with another fiat currency.

The President of the United States has thus thrown down the gauntlet to the rival world superpowers, declaring the following in a recent interview:

“The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER.”.

The threat of economic sanctions and the use of the dollar as a tool of political pressure does not seem, however, to have frightened the BRICS countries. 

These, despite Trump’s harsh tone, have begun to consider adopting other currencies, such as the euro, the Chinese yuan, or the CBDC to reduce their dependence on the United States.

This approach  could lead to a growing decrease in the demand for dollars and a weakening of the role of the dollar as a global reserve currency.

The impact of tariffs on Canada and Mexico: possible increase in inflation 

Trump’s protectionist policies have also affected the United States’ trading partners, such as Canada and Mexico.

Recently, in fact, the Tycoon announced tariffs of 25%  on goods imported from the two neighbors, contributing to further complicate the current macro-economic picture.

The increase in tariffs has led to a rise in the prices of goods imported from these countries, creating a possible vortex of inflation for the US dollar.

This situation has undeniably created greater volatility in the financial markets, with investors trying to adapt to the new global economic balances.

Especially in the more speculative markets, investors have been frightened by how the danger of inflation could affect the interest rate policies of the FED, moving away from the goal of quantitative easing.

This means that, with the higher cost of money, savers would be more incentivized to deposit liquidity in bond products rather than in risky markets like the stock market or cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, there is the consideration of how trade tensions with Canada and Mexico have complicated diplomatic relations, leading to greater economic uncertainty.
American businesses that rely on imports of raw materials and components from neighboring countries have faced higher costs and delays in supplies, negatively affecting their competitiveness in the global market.

All this also has negative effects on the GDP of the United States, which could potentially experience a slowdown from the growth trajectories recorded in recent years.

Will Trump’s policies lead to de-dollarization?

Trump’s tariff policies and his threats towards BRICS countries could likely lead to a phase of de-dollarization.

In a context like this, more and more countries would choose to use other currencies for their international transactions. 

This could have significant consequences for the global economy, reducing the demand for dollars and weakening the role of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. De-dollarization would also impact greater volatility in financial markets, as investors would seek alternatives to the dollar to protect their assets.

Furthermore, the decrease in the demand for dollars would be reflected in an increase in interest rates in the United States, making the financing of public and private debt more expensive.

There would also be diverse geopolitical implications, with a greater competition among the main world economies to establish new alliances and economic influences. Countries adopting alternative currencies might seek to create new economic and financial blocks to reduce the influence of the United States and the dollar in the global economy, leading to a redefinition of international economic and geopolitical balances.

We are talking about very complex scenarios, which should nevertheless be contextualized with the next moves planned by Trump on this front.

We will see how the new president will react in the coming weeks to this well-established risk of de-dollarization.

Trump: the consequences of de-dollarization on the crypto market

De-dollarization could have a significant impact not only on traditional stock exchanges but also on the cryptocurrency market. 

In the first instance, we can state that, with the decrease in confidence in the dollar, more and more investors might seek refuge in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. This could lead to an increase in demand and prices of cryptocurrencies, making them an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional currencies. 

Furthermore, de-dollarization could push governments and financial institutions to consider adopting cryptocurrencies as part of their monetary reserves, further increasing their legitimacy and spread. 

In any case, it should be noted how de-dollarization would also affect the monetary dynamics of the FED, creating less positive traction for risky assets like crypto.

Already in these first days after the announcement of Trump’s tariffs, the more speculative financial markets are losing several percentage points, in the wake of the potential negative effects of the US protectionist policies.

Furthermore, another possible negative effect of de-dollarization on the cryptocurrency market could be the fragmentation of the global financial system. With the decrease in the role of the dollar, new dominant currencies could emerge, creating a more complex and less uniform economic environment. 

This fragmentation could complicate international transactions and increase currency conversion costs, penalizing cryptocurrency users who operate globally.

Investors and financial institutions will consequently have to adapt to a rapidly evolving and constantly changing economic environment, contributing negatively to macroeconomic uncertainty.