How Trump’s Crypto Reserve Plan Triggered a Crypto Market Crash

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The crypto market took a sharp hit on March 4, losing $800 million in value as prices dropped. After briefly crossing $3 trillion, the total market cap fell 9% to $2.77 trillion, with trading volume also dipping 14% to $177 billion. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP initially jumped after Trump announced plans for a U.S. crypto reserve, but the excitement faded quickly. New tariffs on Mexico and Canada added pressure, causing a market-wide sell-off and reminding investors how sensitive crypto remains to economic shifts. 

Whale Movements Surge After Trump’s Announcement

Interestingly, while the whole crypto is on bear more, large holders—commonly referred to as whales—began shifting vast amounts of crypto to exchanges. This came right after Trump announced his plans to include other crypto assets in the crypto reserve plan. According to CryptoQuant, hourly inflows of XRP soared to 193 million tokens, primarily from wallets executing transactions of over 1 million XRP each. Bitcoin inflows skyrocketed from a typical 500-1,000 BTC per hour to an astonishing 6,739 BTC. Meanwhile, Ethereum saw a similar pattern, with nearly 300,000 ETH sent to exchanges within a single hour.

Why Do Exchange Inflows Matter?

When institutional or large investors move assets to exchanges, it typically signals selling pressure. Most long-term investors keep their holdings in cold storage, meaning large transfers to exchanges often precede a sell-off. This massive inflow coincided with price swings across the market, indicating that traders likely took advantage of the Trump-induced rally to offload assets.

Bitcoin Demand in Decline—What’s Next?

CryptoQuant analysts noted that despite the short-lived price spike, real spot demand remains weak. Bitcoin’s apparent demand, a key metric tracking the balance between newly mined coins and existing supply, has been in decline since late 2024. This trend has pushed demand into contraction for the first time since September 2024, raising concerns about Bitcoin’s ability to sustain rallies.

Retail accumulation has also slowed since November, further reducing buying pressure. Without fresh capital entering the market, sustaining upward momentum in crypto prices will be difficult.

Can Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance Revive the Market?

Trump’s support for crypto has created buzz about new rules and big investors jumping in, but the market’s reaction shows traders are still unsure. If more people don’t start buying, prices could have a hard time staying up, even with all the excitement around the U.S. crypto reserve plan. Now, investors are waiting to see if this move will bring long-term growth or just more price swings.