Decentral Block Post

Cathie Wood, founder of the Ark Invest investment firm, will give the inaugural lecture for El Salvador's new Urban Centers for Welfare and Opportunities (CUBO) AI program, a public education initiative spearheaded by the government of El Salvador.

According to El Salvador's Bitcoin Office, the program will bring university-level AI courses to students and professionals and follows the country's highly successful CUBO Bitcoin (BTC) and Lightning Network developer program.

The program will leverage industry experts to provide AI education to the public. El Salvador's Bitcoin Office wrote in a March 23 X post:

"As El Salvador turbocharges its transformation into the ultimate tech and financial powerhouse of the region, CUBO AI will arm students and professionals in the country with the tools to dominate the AI frontier."

El Salvador continues to attract crypto businesses and foreign direct investment as the Central American country positions itself as a regional tech and digital finance hub.

Cathie Wood pictured left, with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in the center, and economist Art Laffer, on the right, meet in May 2024. Source: El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office

The Bitcoin (BTC) mining hashprice — a miner's daily revenue per unit of hashing power expended to mine blocks — has remained constant at around $48 per petahash per second (PH/s), despite a slight 1.4% uptick in Bitcoin difficulty.

Data from CoinWarz shows that the Bitcoin difficulty climbed to 113.76 trillion at block 889,081 on March 23, up from the 112.1 trillion difficulty in the previous epoch.

According to TheMinerMag, a hashprice below $50 places financial stress on miners running older hardware such as the Antminer S19 XP and S19 Pro.

The older hardware coupled with declining network transaction fees risks pushing some miners into unprofitable territory — forcing them to turn off their hardware until they upgrade their application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or network conditions change.

Mining firms have been struggling since the April 2024 Bitcoin halving event, which slashed the block subsidy to 3.125 BTC per block mined, generally increasing network difficulty, and the recent downturn in the crypto markets due to macroeconomic uncertainty.

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls are trying to make a comeback by maintaining the price above the 200-day simple moving average ($84,899) over the weekend. Bitget Research chief analyst Ryan Lee told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin needs to close above $85,000 this week to signal strength and “prevent a drop to $76,000.” Lee added that a close above $87,000 would give a clearer bullish confirmation.

Tariff wars have rocked both traditional markets and the cryptocurrency markets in the past few days. Nansen research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard believes the markets may remain under pressure until April 2. While speaking on Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show, Sondergaard said that if the tariffs get dropped, it could act as “the biggest driver at this moment.”

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Although analysts remain bullish for the long term, some expect a short-term decline. Analyzing previous bear market declines, market analyst and author Timothy Peterson said in a post on X that the current bear market should only last for 90 days. The analyst anticipates a fall in the “next 30 days followed by a 20-40% rally sometime after April 15th.”

If Bitcoin starts a sustained recovery, several altcoins could follow suit. What are the top cryptocurrencies that look strong on the charts?

Bitcoin (BTC) circled $85,000 into the March 23 weekly close as excitement over a key trend change brewed.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin price meets decisive RSI setup

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD finding strength during weekend trading.

Up 1.5% on the day, Bitcoin edged higher as part of a broad crypto market uptick, which also lifted various major altcoins.

“I think this next week will be telling where the market wants to head for the next higher timeframe move,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades wrote in part of his latest X analysis, noting the closing position of CME Group’s Bitcoin futures.

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor hinted at an impending Bitcoin (BTC) purchase after the company raised additional capital this week through its latest preferred stock offering.

The executive shared a Sunday Bitcoin chart on X, hinting at another BTC purchase the following day — when traditional financial markets reopen — alongside the playful caption, “needs more orange.”

According to SaylorTracker, the company’s most recent BTC acquisition occurred on March 17, when Strategy purchased 130 BTC, valued at $10.7 million, bringing its total holdings to 499,226 BTC.

Strategy’s total Bitcoin purchases. Source: SaylorTracker

Strategy’s March 17 BTC acquisition represents one of its smallest purchases on record and came after a two-week break in buying.

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), has lost half of its value in the past three months, crashing from $4,100 in December 2024 to as low as around $1,750 in March 2025. Nevertheless, it is now well-positioned for a sharp price rebound.

65% ETH price rebound in play by June

From a technical standpoint, Ether’s price is eyeing a potential breakout as it retests a long-term support zone. Historically, bounces from this multi-year support have led to explosive rallies — most notably gains of over 2,000% and 360% during past cycles.

ETH/USD two-week price chart. Source: TradingView

As of March 23, the ETH/USD pair was hovering near $2,000, close to the given support area. A bounce from this zone can lead the price toward $3400 by June—up 65% from current prices.

This level coincides with the lower boundary of Ether’s prevailing descending channel resistance.

Opinion by: Nick Denisenko is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Brighty

You can’t fight it. Crypto investments and transactions are on the up. The technology is seamless in crossing borders and making international transactions convenient. Many people report this as a reason for choosing to receive payments in crypto. Using cryptocurrency to pay bills is becoming increasingly popular as digital currencies gain wider acceptance. And, with the number of digital nomads expected to exceed 60 million by 2030, the shift toward crypto has glaring consequences for businesses attracting talent in a global market. 

Crypto companies are multinational by default. Spread across the globe, they’re no stranger to paying salaries in crypto. But today, the traditional economy also leans toward crypto payments for a straightforward reason. 

Crypto promises to unlock talent from across the world. There are tricky compliance issues involved in hiring employees from abroad. By using crypto, companies will unlock the opportunity to pay — and work with — those who best fit their needs.

Foreign hires could even be cheaper and a better fit than locals. With border-crossing crypto fintech, the traditional economy will follow in the footsteps of crypto businesses, and location will no longer make up a competitive edge in hiring. 

Ether needs to reclaim the “macro” range above the $2,200 mark to amass more upside momentum as crypto markets remain pressured by global macroeconomic concerns until at least the beginning of April.

Ether (ETH) price is down over 51% during its three-month downtrend after it peaked above $4,100 on Dec. 16, 2024, TradingView data shows.

ETH/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

To stage a reversal from thncoinglis downtrend, Ether price needs to reclaim the “macro range” above $2,200, wrote popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital in a March 19 X post:

“If price can generate a strong enough reaction here, then #ETH will be able to reclaim the $2,196-$3,900 Macro Range (black).”

ETH/USD, monthly chart. Source: Rekt Capital

Bitcoin analysts are closely watching the weekly close to assess the cryptocurrency’s price trajectory for the coming week, as both traditional and crypto markets remain directionless amid a mix of global trade war fears and easing inflation concerns.

Bitcoin's (BTC) price may see more downside next week unless it manages to close the week above the $85,000 psychological mark, according to Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.

“Bitcoin’s relief rally after the FOMC meeting and lower CPI readings has analysts eyeing a weekly close above $85,000, as critical for resuming upside momentum,” Lee told Cointelegraph, adding:

“A close above this level could prevent a drop to $76,000 and signal strength, while $87,000 would provide even clearer bullish confirmation. Macro factors like steady rates and cooling inflation support risk assets, but the Sunday close will be decisive.”

BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph

Bitcoin’s price has been lacking momentum, rising only 0.9% over the past week, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows. A disappointing weekly close risks a revisit to the previous week’s price low of $76,600.

The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of its yield-generating, algorithmic stablecoin despite fears over a potential collapse similar to the Terra-Luna meltdown that led to the industry’s longest crypto winter.

Algorithmic stablecoins employ code-based mechanisms to ensure their price stability, as opposed to fiat stablecoins pegged directly to the value of the underlying currency.

The blockchain project is developing an algorithmic stablecoin that offers an annual percentage rate (APR) of up to 23%, according to Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs and founder of Yearn.finance.

Cronje wrote in a March 22 X post:

“POC looks good. Yielding > 200% APR @ 10m tvl, around 23.5% APR @ 100m, steady at around 4.9% at 1bn+. Will scale up and get team for a full release.”

Source: Andre Cronje

Chip-making giant Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock is flashing a major bearish signal — the last time this pattern appeared, it retraced nearly 50%. This may raise questions for the AI crypto sector, which has, at times, seemed to react to Nvidia’s price.

“NVDA just formed a Death Cross for the first time since April 2022. The last one sent shares plunging 47% over the next 6 months,” markets data platform Barchart said in a March 23 X post. A death cross is a bearish signal that occurs when the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of an asset’s market price falls below the 200-day SMA.

Nvidia stock price. Source: Barchart

While Nvidia’s stock price formed a bearish signal before the trading week closed on March 21, several crypto AI tokens have risen since then. Render (RENDER) is up 4.06%, while Bittensor (TAO) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) are both up around 2.88%, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

Nvidia has been a closely watched stock for AI crypto traders in recent times. While some crypto analysts have linked AI crypto token surges to NVDA’s performance — like its nearly 70% rally ahead of Nvidia’s Q2 earnings in 2024 — there have also been times when no clear correlation emerged. 

A crypto analyst says that inaccurate narratives continue to circulate in the cryptocurrency market, largely driven by distorted information rather than being supported by onchain data.

“Beware of misinformation. Despite the data, misleading narratives persist,” CryptoQuant contributor “Onchained,” said in a March 22 market report.

“Such claims often lack onchain validation and are driven by sensationalist market sentiment rather than objective analysis,” the analyst said, adding:

“Trust data, not noise, verify sources and cross-check onchain metrics.”

Onchained pointed to the recent movements of Bitcoin (BTC) long-term holders (LTH) — those holding for over 155 days — as an example of false narratives clashing with real data.

The analyst pointed out that while some narratives claim Bitcoin long-term holders are “capitulating,” the data shows they’re remaining consistent. “The data leaves no room for speculation,” Onchained said.

Cryptocurrency wallet providers are getting more sophisticated, but so are bad actors — which means the battle between security and threats is at a deadlock, says a hardware wallet firm executive.

“It will always be a cat and mouse game,” Ledger chief experience officer Ian Rogers told Cointelegraph when describing the constant race between crypto wallet firms adding new security features and hackers finding more advanced ways to access victims’ wallets.

Rogers said, unfortunately, the most straightforward scams work best because scammers rely on people making simple mistakes.

“People give their 24-word phrases to people every day, so as long as that happens, then they are going to go for the low-cost tax,” he said, adding:

“Anyone who asks for your 24 words is a criminal.”

Rogers highlighted a common crypto scam where victims get tricked by replies under “any post on Twitter about crypto,” with messages like “DM me, and I’ll help you.”

Gold-backed stablecoins will outcompete US dollar-pegged alternatives worldwide due to gold's inflation-hedging properties and minimum volatility, according to Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist Max Keiser.

Keiser argued that gold is more trusted than the US dollar globally, and said governments of foreign nations with an adversarial relationship to the United States would not accept dollar-pegged stablecoins. The BTC maximalist added:

"Russia, China, and Iran are not going to accept a US dollar stablecoin. I predict they will counter the USD stablecoin with a Gold one. China and Russia have a combined 50,000 tonnes of Gold — more than what is reported."

The potential for gold-backed stablecoins to outcompete dollar-pegged tokens in international markets would upend plans to extend US dollar dominance through stablecoins proposed by US lawmakers.

Source: Max Keiser

Related: Gov’t can realize gains on gold certificates to buy Bitcoin: Bo Hines

The current Bitcoin (BTC) bear market, defined as a 20% or more drop from the all-time high, is relatively weak in terms of magnitude and should only last for 90 days, according to market analyst and the author of Metcalfe's Law as a Model for Bitcoin's Value, Timothy Peterson.

Peterson compared the current downturn to the 10 previous bear markets, which occur roughly once per year, and said that only four bear markets have been worse than the price decline in terms of duration, including 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024.

The analyst predicted that BTC will not sink deeply below the $50,000 price level due to the underlying adoption trends. However, Peterson also argued that based on momentum, it is unlikely that BTC will break below $80,000. The analyst added:

"There may be a slide in the next 30 days followed by a 20-40% rally sometime after April 15. You can see that in the charts around day 120. This would probably be enough of a headline to bring weak hands back into the market and propel Bitcoin even higher."

Crypto markets experienced a sharp downturn following United States President Trump's tariffs on several US trading partners, which sparked counter-tariffs on US exports, leading to fears of a prolonged trade war.

Comparison of every bear market since 2025. Source: Timothy Peterson

Bilal Bin Saqib, the CEO of Pakistan's Crypto Council, has proposed using the country's runoff energy to fuel Bitcoin (BTC) mining at the Crypto Council's inaugural meeting on March 21.

According to an article from The Nation, the council is exploring comprehensive regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies to attract foreign direct investment and establish Pakistan as a crypto hub.

The meeting included lawmakers, the Bank of Pakistan's governor, the chairman of Pakistan's Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), and the federal information technology secretary. Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb had this to say about the meeting:

“This is the beginning of a new digital chapter for our economy. We are committed to building a transparent, future-ready financial ecosystem that attracts investment, empowers our youth, and puts Pakistan on the global map as a leader in emerging technologies.”

The Crypto Council represents a radical departure from the government of Pakistan's previous stance on crypto. In May 2023, former minister of state for finance and revenue, Aisha Ghaus Pasha said crypto would never be legal in the country.

Pasha cited anti-money laundering restrictions under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the primary motivation for the government's anti-crypto stance.

Opinion by: Brendon Sedo, Core DAO initial contributor

Bitcoin is outgrowing the “digital gold” narrative. The primary driver of this shift is the rise of Bitcoin DeFi (BTCfi), which looks beyond the mere store-of-value use cases. 

In 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) became a natively yield-generating asset and the centerpiece of Ethereum-style decentralized finance ecosystems. 2025 is when that kindling can grow its flame on innovative Bitcoin sidechains. 

Most past attempts to tap Bitcoin’s value as a productive asset required significant changes to its base layer. That’s a big reason they failed. The Bitcoin layer 1 is not designed for much change, leaving most Bitcoiners to merely hodl and not do much else. The result is that Bitcoin remained underutilized as a network and an asset.

Bitcoin sidechains have emerged as the perfect solution to all these problems, scaling Bitcoin’s utility without altering or being limited by the base layer. Naturally, these protocols will be the most potent catalyst for BTCfi’s growth, especially with BTC surpassing $100,000, constituting over 60% of the total crypto market share, and entering a new regulatory landscape with the first “pro-crypto” US government regime.

Opinion by: Ido Ben Natan, co-founder and CEO of Blockaid

Centralized exchanges (CEXs) have controlled what people can trade for years. If a token wasn’t listed on major exchanges, it didn’t exist for most users. That system worked when crypto was small. But today? It’s completely broken.

The rise of Solana-based memecoins, the popularization of projects like Pump.fun and developments in AI-driven token creation are driving the creation of millions of new tokens each month. 

Exchanges have not evolved to keep up. That must change. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently weighed in on the topic, saying that exchanges must shift from an allowlist model to a blocklist model, where everything is tradeable unless flagged as a scam.

In many ways, this is the Kodak moment for CEXs. Kodak’s failure to adapt to digital photography has made it a poster child of failed strategy. Now, exchanges are faced with the same threat. The old way of doing things isn’t just slow — it’s obsolete. The real question is: What comes next?

An unknown trader pocketed nearly half a million dollars in profit from a newly launched memecoin shortly before the token lost half its value, fueling insider trading allegations amid a recent wave of memecoin collapses.

The savvy trader made an over 1,500-fold return on his initial investment, turning it into over $482,000 in less than 24 hours on the Bubb (BUBB) memecoin.

Source: Lookonchain

“Turned $304 into $482K on $BUBB—a 1,586x return! This trader spent only $304 to buy 43.94M $BUBB and sold 28.9M $BUBB for $122K, leaving 15.64M $BUBB($360K),” wrote Lookonchain in a March 21 X post.

The profitable trade happened shortly before the token shed over 50% of its value, dropping from a peak market capitalization of $43.7 million at 10:00 pm UTC on March 21 to $22.6 million currently, according to Dexscreener data.

Once, long ago, cryptocurrency companies operated comfortably in the US. In that quaint, bygone era, they would often conduct funding events called “initial coin offerings,” and then use those raised funds to try to do things in the real and blockchain world.

Now, they largely do this “offshore” through foreign entities while geofencing the United States.

The effect of this change has been dramatic: Practically all major cryptocurrency issuers started in the US now include some off-shore foundation arm. These entities create significant domestic challenges. They are expensive, difficult to operate, and leave many crucial questions about governance and regulation only half answered. 

Many in the industry yearn to “re-shore,” but until this year, there has been no path to do so. Now, though, that could change. New crypto-rulemaking is on the horizon, members of the Trump family have floated the idea of eliminating capital gains tax on cryptocurrency, and many US federal agencies have dropped enforcement actions against crypto firms.

For the first time in four years, the government has signaled to the cryptocurrency industry that it is open to deal. There may soon be a path to return to the US.