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Bitcoin is poised for a dramatic rally to $250,000 this year, as tech giants move into crypto, regulations solidify, and central banks shift gears, said Charles Hoskinson, founder of the Cardano blockchain, in a podcast interview with CNBC this week.

Bitcoin traded around $81,800 at press time, down roughly 12% year-to-date, per TradingView.

The largest digital asset has seen heightened volatility over the past week, driven by President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which have weighed heavily on global equity markets.

While Bitcoin has shown some signs of decoupling, it has largely tracked tech stocks.

After dipping below $75,000 earlier this week, Bitcoin rebounded above $82,000 on Wednesday after Trump announced a temporary tariff reduction to 10% for most countries during a 90-day negotiation window. US stock markets have also bounced back following the news.

Hoskinson does not think these tariffs will escalate into a prolonged global trade war with widespread negative consequences.

“What will happen is that the tariff stuff will be a dud, and that people will realize that the world is willing to negotiate, and it’s really just US versus China,” he said.

Hoskinson predicts the global economy will adjust to a ‘new normal,’ after which the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates, making capital cheaper. That means more “fast, cheap money” could flow into risk assets, like crypto.

Cardano’s founder is optimistic about new US laws, especially the pending stablecoin legislation and the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act. He believes these could provide the clarity needed for institutional adoption.

Hoskinson sees tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon entering the crypto space — particularly through stablecoins. He suggests that they could adopt stablecoins for international worker payments or microtransactions.

The co-founder of Ethereum also points to steady growth in users and geopolitical shifts as other drivers of Bitcoin demand.

He believes the world is shifting from a rules-based international order to a “great powers conflict” era. In that environment, crypto becomes a hedge against failing trust in institutions and treaties.

“[The crypto market] will stall for probably the next three to five months, and then you’ll have a huge wave of speculative interest come, probably [in] August or September, into the markets, and that’ll carry through probably another 6 to 12 months,” Hoskinson said.

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Bitcoin jumped 8% to $82K today after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China, triggering a broad rally across financial markets.

Trump’s statement on Truth Social raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% effective immediately, while easing pressure on other countries with a 90-day pause.

He cited that over 75 countries had contacted US officials recently to discuss trade and currency matters, implementing a reduced reciprocal tariff of 10% during the 90-day period.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, “I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately.” Trump added, “I have authorized a 90-day pause on tariffs for all other countries, and a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed his presence during the message’s drafting, stating on X,

“Scott Bessent and I sat with the President while he wrote one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency. The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a stern message at a White House press conference, warning other nations not to retaliate and emphasizing that any country willing to negotiate with the United States would be heard and potentially rewarded.

The announcement sparked a broad market rally. The S&P 500 rose 9%, while the Nasdaq gained 10%. Among tech stocks, Tesla surged 14%, Nvidia 12%, Apple 11%, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon each rose 8%, and Google added 6%.

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The first US leveraged XRP ETF, Teucrium’s 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, was off to a strong start with around $5 million in day-one trading volume — a figure that places it in the top 5% of all new ETF launches, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

The fund, trading under the ticker XXRP, drew roughly four times the debut activity of Volatility Shares’ 2x Solana ETF (SOLT), Balchunas noted.

$XXRP (2x XRP ETF) saw $5mil in volume on Day One, very respectable, esp considering the mkt conditions. That puts it in approx top 5% of new ETF launches, and about 4x what the 2x Solana ETF $SOLT did (altho both 200x less than King IBIT). pic.twitter.com/u3QQq5yuHv

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 8, 2025

The SOLT fund launched on March 20 alongside the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) as one of the first Solana futures ETFs in the US.

The 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, launched by Teucrium Investment Advisors on April 8, aims to offer double the daily returns of XRP using swap agreements.

Reference rates for the swaps now include several European Exchange Traded Products due to the absence of suitable US-listed spot XRP ETFs.

The company, known for its commodity ETFs, is expanding its crypto offerings, following its previous Bitcoin futures ETF launch.

“A terrific, very successful launch”

The leveraged ETF is Teucrium’s most successful ETF launch to date, said Sal Gilbertie, CEO of Teucrium, in a Tuesday interview with Crypto Prime’s Nate Geraci.

“It’s been a terrific, very successful launch — our most successful launch day to date for any fund we’ve ever done,” said Gilbertie. “There was overwhelming excitement… I think a lot because we were overlooked.”

Teucrium filed for the product shortly after the previous SEC administration stepped down, and with the standard 75-day window having elapsed, the fund launched at the first available opportunity.

“We filed as soon as we could after the old SEC regime left… we launched today,” Gilbertie said. “I think it’s almost at a couple hundred thousand shares.”

The ETF currently gains exposure to XRP through swaps based on European XRP ETPs, though it has the flexibility to hold other XRP-linked instruments, including futures when available, to optimize efficiency and costs.

Importantly, the product is not designed for buy-and-hold investors, Gilbertie added.

“This is absolutely a short-term trading tool — ideally for one day,” Gilbertie said. “Because of the reset and the math… if that asset goes up very slowly or sideways or down, you will lose money.”

Still, for aggressive traders, the appeal is there.

“It’s pretty hard to get leverage [on XRP], and these 2X products… make it easy,” he said. “Ordinary people with their Robinhood account can sit there and trade one share with leverage.”

The launch comes amid what Gilbertie describes as a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment.

“Prior to the new SEC, the old SEC was an impediment. They crushed innovation, they were an enemy of cryptocurrencies,” he said, noting that under new leadership, the review process for XXRP was relatively smooth.

“They didn’t look for an impediment… they simply made sure that we were adhering to the rules and regulations,” he said.

Teucrium eyes an inverse XRP ETF

Teucrium, which manages about $320 million across 12 ETFs, has already filed for an inverse XRP ETF called the Teucrium 2x Short Daily XRP ETF, according to its prospectus materials.

Leveraged inverse ETFs would allow investors to potentially profit as XRP prices decline. However, Gilbertie said the firm is holding off on launching until it gauges investors’ appetite.

Teucrium also left the door open to future crypto-related products.

“We’re an ETF company… we’re willing to do any ETF that we think is going to provide an extra tool for investors,” he said.

On crypto’s broader role in a portfolio, Gilbertie drew a clear distinction between Bitcoin and other assets.

“I think there’s Bitcoin and there’s everything else,” he said. “Bitcoin is digital gold — it should be in your portfolio to stabilize it.”

As for assets like XRP, Ether, or Solana, he said they resemble technology platforms.

“They’re systems, they’re technological systems… they should be priced like technology,” he said. “And when Ripple goes public… my guess is they’re going to be valued as technology stocks.”

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XRP could surge to $12.5 and overtake Ethereum as the second-largest crypto asset by market cap before Trump’s second term wraps up, according to a new report by Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research.

With XRP now trading at $1.9 according to CoinGecko data, reaching $12.5 would represent a surge of over 550%.

“By the end of 2028, we see XRP’s market cap overtaking Ethereum’s,” Kendrick noted.

XRP’s market cap is over $110 billion per CoinGecko, positioning it as the fourth-largest crypto asset. This places it behind Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether. Currently, Ether’s market cap sits at around $183 billion.

XRP’s market cap previously peaked at $190 billion in January, and it has also, at times, surpassed Tether to claim the third-ranking spot.

Kendrick’s forecast is based on several factors, including expected regulatory developments and institutional adoption. According to the analyst, a key positive catalyst for XRP’s price growth is the recent resolution between Ripple and the SEC.

Last month, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the securities regulator had dropped its lawsuit against the blockchain company. Ripple has agreed to pay $50 million as part of the settlement, which does not require the firm to admit to any wrongdoing.

The SEC’s decision reflects a shift in regulatory approach under the current administration. Prior to Ripple, the agency had already withdrawn from several high-profile crypto enforcement cases.

XRP ETFs could attract up to $8 billion in first 12 months if approved

Kendrick also forecasts SEC approval for spot XRP ETFs in the third quarter of 2025, which he estimates could attract $4-8 billion in inflows within the first year. This projection falls in line with JPMorgan’s estimate.

The bank, in its January analysis, also anticipated first-year inflows for potential XRP spot ETFs to be in the range of $4 billion to $8 billion. JPMorgan’s forecast was based on the market penetration rates observed with existing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Ripple’s CEO previously predicted XRP ETFs would make their market debut in the second half of 2025.

Regarding XRP’s use case in payments, Kendrick believes its cross-border payment functionality aligns with growing digital asset usage trends, similar to stablecoins, which he notes have seen 50% annual transaction volume growth and are projected to increase tenfold over four years.

Kendrick believes the XRP Ledger (XRPL), XRP’s foundational blockchain, functions as a “payments chain” with a strong trajectory to become a “tokenization chain.”

In support of this view, the analyst compares XRPL to Stellar, a blockchain with comparable architecture that has achieved success in tokenization. Franklin Templeton initially launched its OnChain US Government Money Fund on Stellar.

Kendrick projects XRP to reach $5.5 by year-end, rising to $8 in 2026, and hitting $12.5 in 2028. These projections are based on the assumption that Bitcoin will reach $500,000 within the same timeframe.

Even though the analyst is bullish on XRP, he does not ignore existing challenges the project faces, including a smaller developer ecosystem than its competitors and a low fee model.

Still, he believes that the positive drivers he has outlined could overpower these barriers.

The analyst continues to see strong potential in Bitcoin and Avalanche, but he’s less enthusiastic about Ether, labeling it an “identified loser.”

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Bitcoin dropped below $77,000 today after US President Donald Trump announced a 104% tariff on Chinese imports, escalating trade tensions that have unsettled global markets since April 2.

The tariff announcement sparked volatility across risk assets, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq experiencing sharp intraday gains of around 4% before retreating to erase most of their daily gains.

Bitcoin followed a similar pattern, briefly surging above $80,000 before falling below $77,000.

Ahead of the tariff rollout, President Trump engaged in talks with allies like South Korea and Japan, sparking brief market optimism.

The White House said nearly 70 countries had reached out seeking trade agreements, and Trump described the talks as a “beautiful and efficient” process.

Despite these negotiations, he confirmed that the 104% tariffs on Chinese imports would proceed, set to take effect at 12:00 AM on April 9.

China commented on Monday in response to Trump’s earlier tariff threat, vowing to “fight to the end” and rejecting what it called “US blackmail,” signaling little chance of compromise.

The economic fallout has prompted renewed concerns about a slowdown. Goldman Sachs recently raised its forecast for a US recession to 45%, citing tightening financial conditions and growing trade uncertainty.

In parallel, JPMorgan now expects the Federal Reserve to begin a series of rate cuts starting in June 2025, with one cut at each meeting and an additional reduction in January, bringing the upper bound of the benchmark policy rate to 3%.

Adding to the cautious tone, a Bloomberg report cited David Rolley, portfolio manager and co-head of global fixed income at Loomis Sayles, who called the tariffs “the only tax they can hike” during a recent financial event.

His colleague Pramila Agrawal estimated a 60% chance of a US recession, while Andrea Dicenso, a multi-asset and EM debt strategist at Loomis Sayles, said investors are shifting to European and Latin American markets, which she sees as more stable than the US.

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Teucrium Investment Advisors is set to launch the first-ever leveraged exchange-traded fund linked to XRP, the fourth-largest crypto asset by market cap, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The fund, called the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, will trade on NYSE Arca under the ticker XXRP. The exchange has certified its approval of the listing and registration of the fund.

The ETF aims to offer investors a leveraged way to bet on the daily price movements of XRP. The fund seeks to deliver returns that are double the daily return of XRP through the use of swap agreements.

The XXRP ETF will charge a management fee of 1.89%, according to its prospectus.

To determine the price of XRP for the swap agreements, the fund will reference several benchmarks, including the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, the CME CF XRP-Dollar Real Time Index, and spot XRP ETFs.

However, since there are no US-listed spot XRP ETFs suitable for the fund’s investment or as a reference asset, the XXRP ETF will initially base its XRP swaps on several XRP ETPs listed on European exchanges. These include 21Shares XRP ETP, Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, Virtune XRP ETP, WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP, and CoinShares Physical XRP ETP.

Teucrium Investment Advisors, currently managing $311 million in assets, specializes in providing ETFs focused on alternative investments, such as agricultural commodities and other niche markets.

Prior to the XXRP fund, Teucrium had already launched a Bitcoin futures ETF, called the Teucrium Bitcoin Futures Fund. The product launched in April 2022 after being approved by the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933.

According to its prospectus, Teucrium is also seeking to launch a short version of the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, dubbed the Teucrium 2x Short Daily XRP ETF. The leveraged inverse ETF would allow investors to potentially profit from daily declines in the price of XRP.

According to Sal Gilbertie, founder and CEO of Teucrium ETFs, the decision to launch the leveraged XRP ETF at this time was influenced by attractive low prices.

He also noted that there was considerable investor demand for XRP, which he expects would be heightened by the fund’s leverage.

XRP was trading at $1.9 at press time, up 1% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

The launch comes as the years-long legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, approaches the final line, as confirmed by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse last month.

Garlinghouse, speaking in a recent interview with Bloomberg, said that he anticipates the launch of multiple XRP ETFs in the US during the second half of 2025.

The favorable settlement with the SEC immediately boosted market optimism, pushing the odds of XRP ETF approval to 86% and increasing XRP’s value by 14%.

In the US, several asset managers—including Bitwise, Canary Capital, 21Shares, WisdomTree, CoinShares, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton—have already submitted filings to the SEC for their own XRP ETFs.

ProShares and Volatility Shares are also seeking a regulatory nod for XRP-linked investment products.

According to Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, the outcome of the suit could prompt major players like BlackRock and Fidelity to consider joining the XRP ETF race.

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The Federal Reserve may need to implement an emergency rate cut before its scheduled May meeting due to severe market stress, said Bob Michele, Global Head of Fixed Income at JPMorgan Asset Management, in a recent interview with Bloomberg Surveillance.

The US stock market is entering its third trading session after losing over $5 trillion just two days after President Trump unveiled an aggressive tariff policy.

Michele said the market chaos last week was exceptionally severe, comparable to historical crises—the 1987 stock market crash, the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2020 COVID-19 market downturn.

In previous crises, the Fed acted quickly with a decision to cut rates. Michele suggested current market conditions may require similar intervention, meaning the Fed may not be able to wait until May to cut rates.

“I don’t know if they can even make it to the May meeting before they start bringing rates down.”

Ever since Trump kicked off his second term and threatened tariffs on imports from US key partners like Canada, Mexico, and China, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly stated that the central bank is not in a hurry to adjust its policy.

In a statement last Friday, Powell reiterated the Fed’s cautious stance toward rate adjustments.

He stressed that Trump’s new tariffs are likely to cause higher inflation and slower economic growth in the US. The Fed is committed to anchoring inflation at a rate of 2%.

Commenting on the Fed’s current stance of waiting for clear signs of economic stress before acting, Michele expressed doubt that the central bank could wait until its upcoming meeting, scheduled for May 7, to begin lowering rates.

“They talked about the long, invariable lags. So now they’re saying they’re going to wait for the accident before they respond, and then wait for the long, invariable lags to take hold,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

The analyst is critical of the idea that the Fed would wait for the damage and then wait for its policy to take effect.

Addressing arguments that there isn’t evidence of a systemic breakdown yet, Michele said the recent market drops signal deeper economic problems, especially with lower-rated businesses.

“I think if you step back and look at the totality of what’s going on, you cannot believe that there’s nothing under the surface that’s going to break,” Michele added.

Michele also noted that vulnerable companies that have already been struggling with debt now face a package of higher borrowing costs, lower sales, and higher expenses. These underlying issues are likely to worsen and cause a huge collapse if the Fed doesn’t take action.

“This is a serious moment. I do not think the Fed can just sit on the side,” Michele said.

The CME FedWatch Tool shows only a 34% chance that the Fed will lower rates at its May meeting.

While this figure has fluctuated, the majority of market participants still view a June rate cut as more likely, with odds of around 98% as of the latest data.

Traders are also pricing that the Fed will adjust rates at the November and December 2025 meetings.

Trump has persistently urged the Fed to cut interest rates. In January, the president demanded lower interest rates immediately, claiming that better monetary policy was needed to support the economy.

As the Fed maintained its interest rates and forecast two cuts for the year, Trump encouraged the central bank to reduce rates to ease the economic transition to his tariff policies.

He continued to advocate for rate cuts ahead of Powell’s speech last week, stating it was a “perfect time” for the Fed to lower rates.

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