BlockByte Weekly: Ethereum Falls 20% as White House Embraces Industry

Hi Reader,

Thanks for reading The BlockByte Weekly, where we summarise the key updates in crypto over the last week and provide our perspective on what you need to know as an investor.
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Executive Summary​
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Over the last week, the cryptocurrency market fell by 11.6% from $3.1T to $2.8T USD. Alt coins suffered the largest declines, with Ethereum falling by ~20% to $2,200 due to uncertainty and changes to its leadership team.

24 states are in the running for the establishment of a bitcoin strategic reserve. Utah is the closest to an approval having passed through the Senate.

The White House invites the leaders of the crypto industry's largest companies to a Crypto Summit, marking a seminal moment for the industry and its future trajectory.

Overall, despite the near-term price volatility driven by Trump's tariffs and general economic and political uncertainty, looking ahead we see major milestones continue to move in favour of long-term growth tailwinds for the digital asset sector. We continue to emphasise the importance of holding quality assets and winning blockchains, whilst also looking across the market for emergening opportunities.
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I hope you enjoy this weeks' newsletter. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

James

Market Update​
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Crypto Market Falls This Week, Ethereum Struggles For Leadership Clarity

The overall cryptocurrency market continued to decline this week. Ethereum has been one of the worst large cap performers in recent months as developers and investors debate how to reinvigorate the struggling blockchain.

Ethereum founder and leader Vitalik Buterin took to X (formerly Twitter) to say that his existing team are "jaded" and that "young blood" is needed. The comments reflect the sentiment across the Ethereum community which has seen its Ether token decline in price relative to bitcoin for over 4 years now having once been the outperformer. It is now 55% below its November 2021 high of $4,800.

vitalik.eth

@VitalikButerin

What Ethereum needs is a lot of young blood who shared the cypherpunk vision. All OGs are jaded. It’s on the next generation now. https://twitter.com/alpeh_v/status/1895669942768501243

ℵᵥ

@alpeh_v

hearing so many eth ogs say they haven’t heard of me is sad but here’s a short bio for them: I’m a normal girl who likes having fun online with her internet friends yippie :)

9:42 PM • Mar 1, 2025

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From our perspective, we wouldn't dismiss Ethereum entirely as it still accounts for 53% of total value locked across de-fi platforms. However, there is no doubt that the blockchain is fighting for mindshare and clarity amongst its developer community and investors. Ethereum has been struggling to deliver the speed, decentralisation and cost efficiency that alternatives like Solana are providing.

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Bitcoin Reserve Bills Gain Momentum

24 States in the US have filed for a bitcoin strategic reserve, with a further 9 states filing for digital asset reserves. 5 states have dropped the bills due to insufficient votes. Utah (UT) remains the closest to enacting a strategic bitcoin reserve having passed through 4 of the 6 voting stages required where it passes through both the senate and house of representatives before a final vote by the state governor.

White House to hold first Crypto Summit, Marking Momentous Shift

In a White House press release, the Trump administration revealed that on March 7th some of the main companies and executives in the crypto sector will be invited to the White House for the first of its kind 'Crypto Summit'. The event signals a full embrace of the industry by the new administration. This change in tone from the White House has been reflected in the dismissal of several lawsuits by the SEC against Coinbase, Hedera and UniSwap amongst others.

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​For A Confidential Discussion​
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Feel free to reach out to me anytime to discuss how we can support you on your digital asset journey.
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Until next week,
James

James Brannan
Chief Executive Officer
BlockByte Capital
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​james@blockbyte.com.au​
​https://blockbyte.com.au/​

BlockByte does not provide financial advice. We provide execution support, research and insured custody for investing in digital assets. Reach out to our team to discuss how we can help.