US House Financial Services Chairman French Hill has commented on the negative impact that the TRUMP coin has on the proposed crypto legislation. This came as he described the president’s involvement in crypto as a distraction from the work that the US Congress has put into creating a regulatory framework for the industry. French Hill Describes TRUMP Coin as a Distraction From Crypto Legislation According to a Bloomberg report, the US congressman said that President Donald Trump’s involvement in crypto, through the TRUMP coin and other ventures, has complicated the work in Congress, which they have made to pass legislation that has been in the works for years. French Hill explained that the Trump family’s engagement has made the work more complicated because it has distracted those in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, from what they need to do. He noted that they have worked for five years, especially in… Read More at Coingape.com
Metaplanet, popular as Japan’s MicroStrategy, announced its decision to issue its 13th Series of Ordinary Bonds, and raise a total of $25 million for fresh Bitcoin purchases. Through its EVO FUND, the company has been periodically issuing bonds by drawing a leaf from Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin playbook. The announcement led to a quick 12% surge in the stock price during today’s trading session, moving closer to 500 JPY.
Metaplanet Prepares for Massive Bitcoin Purchases
Via its ordinary bonds, Japanese firm Metaplanet announced raising $25 million at 0% earmarked for the acquisition of Bitcoin. Redemption of the bonds will be funded through proceeds generated from the exercise of the 15th to 17th Series of Stock Acquisition Rights, reported the firm.
Furthermore, company CEO Simon Gerovich announced the company’s latest Bitcoin acquisition, revealing the purchase of 555 BTC for approximately $53.4 million at an average price of $96,134 per coin.
This addition brings the firm’s total Bitcoin holdings to 5,555 BTC, acquired at a cumulative cost of around $481.5 million, averaging $86,672 per Bitcoin. Since the beginning of 2025, Metaplanet has been on an aggressive BTC acquisition spree, moving fast and close to its target of having 10,000 BTC in treasury by the end of 2026.
Additionally, the firm is quick in its overseas expansion, opening a Miami office last week. Today’s announcement of Bitcoin purchases has led to a 12% surge in the Metaplanet stock price, which is already up by 33% since the beginning of 2025.
The crypto market is expected to experience high volatility as the crucial US CPI and PPI data are scheduled for this week. If the inflation rates come in higher than expected, it may trigger a sharp downturn in the crypto market, potentially sending Bitcoin’s price to significant lows.
Notably, the timing of these reports is crucial, as they precede the Federal Reserve’s meeting on March 18-19, influencing the central bank’s decision on interest rates. Let’s examine how the upcoming reports will shape the Fed’s decision and the potential fallout for the crypto market.
Crypto Market Braces for Impact: US CPI Report Looms
Significantly, the US CPI and PPI reports are slated for release this week, with the CPI report arriving on March 12 and the PPI report following on March 13. This has sparked anxiety among crypto traders and enthusiasts as these macroeconomic indicators could possibly evoke high market volatility.
According to a Reuters poll, the US CPI for February is expected to have climbed 0.3%. Wall Street expects that the CPI data will come at 2.9%. If the data showcases a surge in the inflation rate, a crypto market downfall could follow. Bryant VanCronkhite, the senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, stated,
A hot CPI print will likely scare the market. The market still wants the Fed to come to the rescue… Until inflation and inflation expectations come down, the Fed is handcuffed.
How Will CPI & PPI Data Impact Fed Rate Cut?
Interestingly, the Federal Reserve’s meeting comes following the US CPI and PPI data release. These reports could have a significant impact on the central bank’s decision on the interest rate as well as the crypto market.
The Fed is likely to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 4.25%-4.5% during the upcoming meeting, according to CME FedWatchtool Data. But, market expectations suggest further easing is on the horizon, with around 70 basis points of cuts anticipated by December, as indicated by Fed funds futures data from LSEG. If the PPI and CPI reports reveal a hot inflation rate, the Fed may opt to keep interest rates unchanged or even consider a hike.
Our policy stance is now less restrictive than it had been, and the economy remains strong. We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.
Will Bitcoin Price Explode or Correct?
In February, following the US CPI data release, the crypto market experienced a severe selloff. This led to the market’s massive fall of 3.3% to $3.1 trillion. As the CPI data marked a higher-than-expected inflation rate, Bitcoin plummeted to $94,000, down 3%.
Considering this, the crypto market is expected to face another downturn next week. In addition, Bitcoin ETFs marked significant outflows, recording a total of $409 million. 21Shares’ ARKB experienced the largest outflow of $160 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $154.9 million outflows.
However, analyst Crypto Caesar identifies the bearish sentiment as the last bear trap before entering the bull market.
Source: Crypto Caesar, X
Meanwhile, analyst Ali Martinez revealed that 63.13% of traders on Binance Futures have opened long positions on Bitcoin. This implies that the traders are optimistic about the Bitcoin price’s bullish ascendance in the future.
Ethereum price has surged nearly 8% in the past 24 hours and has caused notable trading activity among both retail investors and whales. On-chain data from Lookonchain reveals a case of “buy high, sell low, then buy back even higher” behavior from one trader.
Ethereum trader makes a FOMO move
Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain has identified what they describe as a “peak FOMO trader” whose Ethereum trading history shows classic emotional decision-making in volatile markets. According to their tweet, this trader initially purchased 1,805 ETH for $6.42 million at a price of $3,559 approximately six months ago.
Peak FOMO trader: buy high, sell low, then buy back even higher.
6 months ago, he bought 1,805 $ETH for $6.42M at $3,559.
As Ethereum’s price dropped, the trader held their position until about two weeks ago, when they sold their entire holding at a substantial loss of $3.6 million. This is a 56% decrease from their initial investment. The selling decision proved poorly timed, as it came shortly before the current price rally.
Following ETH’s recent price increase, the same trader has now purchased 1,734 ETH worth $3.11 million at a price of $1,792. While this entry point is significantly lower than their original purchase price of $3,559, it is higher than the price at which they recently sold.
This pattern of buying at market highs, selling during downturns, and then repurchasing as prices begin to rise again typifies emotionally-driven trading that often results in poor outcomes. As per the latest data, Ethereum whales accumulated $100 million in ETH recently.
Whales begin accumulating as ETH pumps
Despite the overall price rally, on-chain data reveals different behaviors among Ethereum whales. Lookonchain reports that some large holders are actively accumulating during the price increase. A particular wallet has withdrawn 5,531 ETH (valued at $9.8 million) from Binance within a single hour.
Similarly, another address identified as 0x2088 spent 4.61 million USDC to purchase 2,568 ETH at an average price of $1,794 over a 40-minute period. But not all that the whales have been doing is positive. In another move, Lookonchain found a large holder who was borrowing 15,000 ETH ($24.9 million worth) from lending platform Aave, likely with the aim of selling.
As per their tweet analysis, this wallet also withdrew another amount of 35,754 ETH ($64.13 million worth) from Aave and sold all the last bits within three hours at an average sale price of $1,794. Technical analyst Cas Abbé has emphasized the importance of recent price action in a recent tweet.
According to him, ETH has posted a “much needed breakout” of its long-term trend by closing above the trendline for the day. In the case of the market continuing to move higher, the analyst predicts that ETH could go up to $2,300 to $2,500 in May.
