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Spotlight on the tariff war
The impact of US tariffs continues to dominate market sentiment and risk assets, including crypto, struggled with this uncertainty throughout the month. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) fell 4.46% in March as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 dropped 5.63% and 7.61%, respectively.
Despite the macro uncertainty from Washington, US policymakers are continuing to embrace crypto in an unprecedented way, including launching a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, Digital Asset Stockpile, and engaging in expansive work at the regulatory agencies and in Congress.
Our team spent the last week of the month in Washington, meeting with regulators to share our experiences and views on what’s most important for crypto investors in the US. In his latest Notes from the CIO, Samir Kerbage shares what he learned from these meetings and how investors should be thinking about the new regulatory regime in the US.
As always, we are greatly appreciative of your trust in us and are here to answer any questions you may have.
-Your Partners at Hashdex
Market Review
March was marked by the tariff dispute triggered by the Trump administration. Back-and-forth fiscal policies, threats, and retaliations dominated the month’s agenda. The uncertain macroeconomic environment put investors into a defensive stance and negatively impacted crypto assets. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) closed the month down -4.46% after a period of high volatility. Major market indices, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, also recorded steep declines of -5.63% and -7.61%, respectively. These concurrent drawdowns across equities and crypto underscored March’s broad market caution, as trade war uncertainty prompted investors to flee risk assets.
During times of uncertainty, it is common to observe increased correlation among different classes of risk assets. This pattern played out in March: the 6-month rolling correlation of monthly returns between the NCI™ and the Nasdaq-100 surged to roughly 0.91 (see chart below), its highest level since 2021, indicating that crypto assets were moving almost in lockstep with tech stocks. This spike in correlation confirms that crypto was behaving like a high-beta extension of the tech sector—an amplified version of the Nasdaq-100. The lack of clarity in the global landscape leads investors to reduce their risk exposure and seek protection, a movement known in financial markets as “risk-off” allocation.
6-Month Rolling Correlation of Monthly Returns between the Nasdaq Crypto Index and Nasdaq-100 (Apr 2021–Apr 2025).
The chart illustrates how this correlation has been increasing since the American elections in November 2024 and spiked to approximately 0.91 in the most recent period—a multi-year high. This visual evidence reinforces the view that crypto assets have been moving closely in tandem with tech stocks, effectively acting as a high-beta version of the Nasdaq-100 during the March risk-off phase.
Following this trend, risk reduction was evident within the crypto asset class. Among the NCI’s constituents, Bitcoin (BTC) posted a decline of -1.93%, withstanding the downturn far better than other constituents such as Ether (ETH, -17.4%) and Litecoin (LTC, -34.6%). BTC’s relatively mild drop in this sell-off aligns with the idea that it increasingly trades like a high-beta proxy for large-cap tech. It still declined, but less severely, whereas smaller-cap crypto assets behaved more like speculative growth stocks and suffered outsized losses. The only exception to the negative results was Cardano (ADA), which surprised with a positive return of 3.88% despite no significant protocol developments during the month.
Thematic indices also faced a challenging environment. As highlighted in previous letters, smaller capitalization assets tend to suffer more during periods of market stress, mirroring how speculative small-cap stocks are hit hardest in equity sell-offs. The biggest negative highlight was the Digital Culture Index, which dropped -17.45%, followed by the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Smart Contract Platform (Web3) indices, which fell -16.73% and -12.07%, respectively. The Vinter Hashdex Risk Parity Momentum Index recorded a negative result of -8.26% but outperformed the three other thematic indices, benefiting from its high allocation in BTC and TRX (which gained 4.68%). The heavy weighting in BTC – the more resilient large-cap crypto – helped cushion this index, underscoring the relevance of the momentum factor in a well-diversified strategy during times of market stress.
The market remains on the lookout for the outcome of the fiscal policy discussions, hoping for a reduction in uncertainties and an end to the tariff war. That would likely mark the moment when investors regain their appetite for risk assets, including crypto assets. The U.S. government has also signaled interest in advancing the crypto agenda, a development that could drive the asset class to a new level of adoption. We remain confident in our positive outlook for the rest of the year and the long term.
Top Stories
US creates Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
The Bitcoin Reserve will be capitalized with BTC owned by the Department of Treasury, which could further increase via new budget-neutral acquisitions. The stockpile will also include assets owned by the Treasury. This marks a major milestone, with the US government starting to integrate major crypto assets and continues the new administration’s work to lead the global crypto economy.
Stablecoins surpass $230 billion in market value
The total stablecoins market capitalization surpassed $230 billion amid institutional demand for dollar-backed digital assets. This showcases one of the most successful applications for crypto technology enhancing traditional financial payments. It could also pave the way for new use cases that require a strong and reliable global payment system.
FDIC eases banks’ ability to engage in crypto activities
The FDIC has rescinded previous guidelines which prevented financial institutions from engaging with crypto activities without prior sign-off. By removing bureaucratic hurdles, banks may more readily over crypto-related services, potentially leading to broader adoption and integration of digital assets into the financial system.
Like Bitcoin, Dogecoin uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism but runs on its own blockchain, originally forked from Litecoin. It uses the Scrypt hashing algorithm, which is less resource-intensive than Bitcoin’s SHA-256, making mining more accessible to everyday users with consumer-grade hardware. Due to merged mining with Litecoin, Dogecoin benefits from shared infrastructure, with hashpower recently reaching all-time highs of 2.7 petahashes (quadrillion hashes) per second, making the network increasingly difficult to attack.
Dogecoin’s design is built for speed and utility, has no maximum supply, and confirms blocks every minute (10x faster than Bitcoin). Moreover, it maintains ultra-low transaction fees, which is ideal for tipping, microtransactions, and everyday use.
More than a meme
Although its supply is technically unlimited, Dogecoin’s issuance model is clear and predictable. Approximately 10,000 DOGE are mined every minute, adding up to around 5.25 billion new tokens each year. As the supply base expands, this fixed issuance creates a natural disinflationary trend that has cut nearly in half over the past decade while ensuring network security through consistent miner rewards.
Dogecoin’s technology fosters an aligned ecosystem between users and miners. With sustainable economic incentives, it acts as a kind of “retail Bitcoin”, built not just for hoarding but for real-world use, too.
While Dogecoin began as a lighthearted experiment, its evolution has proven it to be far more than a meme. Thanks to its speed, low fees, and strong community backing, Dogecoin has grown into a functional digital currency with a range of real-world use cases. From payments and merchant adoption to infrastructure development and charitable giving, Dogecoin continues to demonstrate its staying power as a practical and accessible tool in the broader crypto ecosystem.
Dogecoin as a payment tool
Dogecoin has transformed into a widely accepted digital currency, embraced by major brands like Tesla, AMC, Newegg, and the Dallas Mavericks. With fast transaction speeds and low fees, even amid surging transaction volumes, it has become a practical option for everyday payments. Crypto payment processors like BitPay have further expanded its reach, enabling thousands of merchants worldwide to accept DOGE. Most recently, The Open House Group, a prominent Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed real estate firm, added Dogecoin to its supported list, making it one of the few digital assets accepted for property transactions.
Enhancing Dogecoin’s payment infrastructure
Initiatives like Dogebox and GigaWallet are simplifying DOGE integration for businesses, while its scaling solution, Laika, is making meaningful progress in improving transaction speed and reducing costs.
Meanwhile, RadioDoge is working to expand access by enabling offline transactions in remote regions through low-cost radio and Starlink technology, advancing global crypto inclusion. A rumored integration with Elon Musk’s X platform could extend Dogecoin’s utility across digital tipping and commerce. These efforts collectively reinforce Dogecoin’s growing relevance in real-world payments and its potential as a frictionless, decentralized transaction layer.
Do Only Good Every Day
As we’ve seen, community drives memecoins, and Dogecoin’s community shines the brightest. This global network not only thrives on memes but also channels that energy into social good. From funding clean water in Kenya to sending Jamaica’s Bobsled Team to the Olympics and raising over $1 million for Ukraine relief, DOGE’s community transforms internet culture into real-world impact. Low fees and fast transactions make it a favorite for grassroots giving, showing a coin born as a joke can leave a lasting legacy. Dogecoin is more than a digital asset—it’s a movement powered by a community that believes in doing good every day.
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
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