Trump Pushes US Crypto Reserve

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Good Morning.

It seems that the onchain crime season is still here. Over the weekend, Trump announced his crypto reserve plan, explicitly mentioning certain tokens such as ADA and XRP. Those tokens pumped hard and XRP’s FDV is now above ETH (maybe $589 is programmed indeed — if you get that reference you’re an OG). Let’s enjoy this week.

In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Trump Pushes US Crypto Reserve 📈 

• Product: BlackRock Adds IBIT to Advisor Portfolios 🪙 

• Charts: $7M in 24 Hours on 50x Leveraged BTC & ETH 💰️ 

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TOGETHER WITH

Aptos: $200M Investment to the Ecosystem & $APT ETF

The Aptos Foundation has unveiled an ambitious initiative aimed at enabling the next generation of unicorn founders on a blockchain built for billion-user scale.

Key highlights include:

Fresh Ecosystem Funding: Over $200M in new DeFi grants and investments to boost ecosystem growth.

Cutting-Edge Technology: Aptos offers industry-leading performance with sub-second finality, parallel execution, and a projected capacity of up to 20K TPS.

Robust Ecosystem & Developer Support: With one of the fastest-growing web3 and Move ecosystems—where native projects have collectively raised over $130M—the foundation is expanding support for builders.

• This includes tailored services for startups (marketing, community building, fundraising, regulatory guidance) as well as global accelerators, hackathons, bootcamps, and matchmaking initiatives.

Ecosystem Objectives: Aptos aims to create a self-sustaining flywheel of liquidity and on-chain value movement. Upcoming initiatives will focus on building world-class spot trading hubs, innovative launchpads, enhanced developer tools for fair token launches, and MEV-powered liquid staking protocols.

Future Vision: Aptos is positioning itself to support the next wave of transformative products and use cases across sectors such as DeFi, SocialFi, GameFi, payments, and decentralized infrastructure.

US Aptos (APT) ETF Update

Meanwhile, Bitwise Asset Management is moving to launch the first Aptos ETF in the US by filing a Delaware trust entity, a preliminary step toward obtaining SEC approval.

This initiative would mark the first US ETF that directly holds Aptos (APT) tokens, building on Bitwise's history of launching spot ETFs and an Aptos Staking ETP on Swiss exchanges in November 2024.

• The filing has already boosted investor sentiment, with APT surging 13% and trading at $6.12.

• Industry leaders highlighted the move as a major step toward institutional adoption of crypto.

• In addition, Bitwise secured $70M in funding from major financial investors, reinforcing the growing interest in regulated crypto investment products, while 21Shares recently launched its own Aptos Staking ETP in Europe.

WHAT MATTERS

Trump Pushes US Crypto Reserve

State of play: President Trump has directed his crypto working group to “move forward” in establishing a crypto strategic reserve. The proposed reserve will include SOL, XRP, and ADA, but Trump later clarified that BTC and ETH would be its core. 

• This move follows his earlier executive order, which mentioned creating a “national digital asset stockpile” from seized crypto, though Trump’s new terminology hints at potential changes in how these assets might be managed.

The announcement has triggered significant market reactions, with notable price surges:

• BTC and ETH rose by ~7% and 5% respectively, while ADA, XRP, and SOL experienced even larger gains.

The crypto community is divided; while Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong suggested that a reserve solely composed of BTC could be the simplest and clearest approach, others, like CZ, see the broader strategy as potentially attracting further institutional interest.

What’s next: These developments come just days before an inaugural White House Crypto Summit, where Trump is expected to further outline his vision for making the US a global crypto capital.

For builders and investors: Industry experts caution that despite the bullish sentiment, regulatory and logistical challenges remain before any large-scale government purchases or concrete reserve formations can be realized.

Take a peek at our referral reward at the bottom of this issue. Share this newsletter and receive our list of 500 crypto VC individuals 👇

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

BlackRock Adds IBIT to Advisor Portfolios

BlackRock is integrating its spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT, into select model portfolios marketed to financial advisors.

• With IBIT currently holding over $48B in AUM, this strategic inclusion could stimulate increased demand despite recent market downturns.

• Recently, the ETF experienced record net outflows of $418M amid a steep decline in crypto prices—Bitcoin is set to close in February with a 21% drop.

• The growing role of model portfolios in channeling massive investment flows could potentially help stabilize or bolster Bitcoin’s price in the near term.

Other cool products:

• UXUY, a next-gen decentralized multi-chain infrastructure.

• Kana Labs, a decentralised trading suite with CEX-like performance.

• HOT Protocol, a chain signature protocol & multiplatform MPC Wallet.

• Growfitter, a health and wellness app that rewards users for being active.

• Sweat Economy, a crypto asset that's powering The Movement Economy.

CHARTS OF THE WEEK

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Post Net Inflows After $20B Loss

State of play: US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs broke an eight-day streak of net outflows on Friday, recording $94M in net inflows.

• This positive shift comes after the funds lost over $20B in overall value amid declining Bitcoin prices and broader market uncertainty.

• The inflows were led by Ark and 21Shares' ARKB, which netted $194M, and Fidelity's FBTC, which added $176M.

• However, BlackRock's IBIT continued to struggle, setting a single-day outflow record of $244.5M on Friday, contributing to a weekly total outflow of $1.175B.

• Overall, despite the slight rebound, the ETFs now collectively hold about $95B.

Our take: This reflects broader market risk aversion and targeted selloffs driven by shifting trends.

Trader Nets $7M on 50x Leveraged BTC & ETH

State of play: A trader on the decentralized platform Hyperliquid used ~$5.6M USDC to open 50x leveraged long positions on BTC and ETH, building a total exposure of over $200M.

• The position nearly resulted in a $2M loss on ETH when its price approached liquidation, but the crypto reserve announcement sparked a rapid price surge.

• Capitalizing on the rebound, the trader closed their positions, earning $7M in profits within 24 hours.

• The gain would have been even larger had the trader maintained their exposure when Trump later confirmed BTC and ETH's inclusion in the reserve.

Our Take: Insider monkaHmm?

QUICK BITES

• Asian crypto stocks surge amid Trump-fueled rally.

• ADA, XRP, and TRUMP score the largest daily gains.

• Trader makes $7M in one day going 50x long BTC, ETH.

• Global crypto funds see a record $2.9B in weekly outflows.

• Trump wants SOL, XRP, and ADA Crypto Strategic Reserve.

• Ethereum Foundation appoints two co-executive Directors.

• US spot Bitcoin ETFs record first day of net positive inflows.

• Trump to address industry leaders at first Crypto Summit on Friday.

• Cronos considers a proposal to reissue 70B previously burned tokens.

• Trump says Crypto Strategic Reserve will include Bitcoin and Ethereum.

• David Sacks says he sold crypto holdings before the administration began.

• Binance to delist Tether and other non-MiCA compliant stables for EEA users.

• Brian Armstrong favors just Bitcoin as the ‘best option’ for US crypto reserve.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Max Resnick’s read on supporting 228.

• Anatoli’s read on top 8 testnets for 2025.

• intuitio’s read on the secret to making a lot of money.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.