El Salvador purchased five Bitcoins today, and President Bukele claimed that the country doesn’t plan to stop in the future. However, the government signed an agreement with the IMF mandating that the public sector can no longer voluntarily purchase BTC.

Some community members have speculated that the agreement includes some extension period that the public isn’t aware of. Otherwise, this agreement and the $1.4 billion in associated loans could blow up in everyone’s face.

El Salvador Keeps Buying Bitcoin

Since El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, the Central American nation has become a major BTC holder. However, after years of a combative relationship with international financial institutions, the IMF attempted to soften its anti-Bitcoin policies last October.

El Salvador agreed to amend its laws, but it has continued stockpiling the asset since. Specifically, the IMF’s technical memorandum of understanding includes a clause that prohibits the voluntary accumulation of Bitcoin by the public sector.

Additionally, the agreement restricts the public sector from issuing any debt or tokenized instruments indexed to or denominated in Bitcoin.

However, the El Salvador government continues to purchase 1 BTC per day as part of a long-term strategy to stockpile the asset. Today, it acquired five Bitcoins, further contradicting this directive.

Samson Mow, an influential community figure, has been following a December agreement between El Salvador and the IMF. Today, the IMF published additional commentary, claiming that El Salvador was neither allowed to purchase nor mine Bitcoin.

“If there is a loophole for continued buying, I didn’t find it in the document. If the plan is to just outright defy the IMF, I don’t think that is good for the additional loans, or to present an image of a serious stable country,” wrote Samson Mow.

However, President Bukele rejected these assertions.

“This all stops in April, this all stops in June, this all stops in December! No, it’s not stopping. If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most ‘bitcoiners’ abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future,” Bukele claimed on X (formerly Twitter).

On one hand, the country has plenty of reasons not to capitulate to the IMF. El Salvador has used Bitcoin to lead broader societal transformations, fostering a domestic community and using ample geothermal energy to create massive mining operations.

Abandoning these efforts would severely curtail the country’s economic independence.

However, where does this aggressive stance leave the IMF agreement? El Salvador allegedly consented to stop buying Bitcoin so it could receive $1.4 billion in loans. What happens to that money or any future trade deals? Is Bukele’s activity prohibited or not?

There are many questions still in the air. It’s possible that the IMF gave El Salvador a few extra months to buy Bitcoin, and Bukele is maintaining his outward bullishness until then.

Yet, these concerns remain unanswered and further regulatory clarification might be needed down the line.

TRUMP meme coin plummeted 20% on Tuesday, with its market cap falling to around $2.5 billion and trading volume dropping more than 50% over the same period. The sharp decline follows a failed attempt to sustain its rally after the US crypto strategic reserve announcement, reinforcing bearish sentiment.

With key support at $11, TRUMP risks trading below this level for the first time since its launch if selling pressure continues. However, the upcoming White House Crypto Summit on March 7 could act as a potential catalyst for a rebound, with a breakout above $17.47 potentially sending TRUMP toward $20.7 or even $24.5.

TRUMP RSI Is Back To Neutral After Surging To Overbought Levels

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for TRUMP has dropped to 40.1, a steep decline from 74.7 just two days ago, reflecting a significant shift in momentum as Donald Trump confirmed tariffs on products from Mexico, Canada, and China.

This rapid fall indicates that TRUMP has moved out of the overbought territory, where bullish pressure was dominant, and is now approaching lower levels that suggest weakening demand.

Given that TRUMP is currently trading very close to its historical lowest levels, the declining RSI suggests that sellers have taken control, and the asset is struggling to regain upward momentum. If the downtrend continues, TRUMP could remain under pressure, potentially testing new lows unless buyers step in to support the price.

RSI is a momentum oscillator that ranges from 0 to 100, with values above 70 indicating overbought conditions and below 30 signaling oversold territory.

When an asset’s RSI drops toward 30, it suggests that selling may be overextended, increasing the probability of a price rebound. At 40.1, TRUMP is still above oversold conditions, but the current downtrend places it in a precarious position.

If RSI continues to fall and breaks below 30, it could signal further downside, potentially driving TRUMP to new historical lows. However, if RSI stabilizes or rebounds from these levels, it may indicate a period of consolidation before any potential recovery.

BBTrend Shows TRUMP Has Had a Hard Time Building a Strong Uptrend

The BBTrend indicator for TRUMP is currently at -6.18 and has been steadily declining in the last hours since yesterday, signaling increasing bearish momentum.

This drop follows a brief attempt at bullish strength when BBTrend touched 3.25 two days ago, but that move quickly reversed as selling pressure took over.

TRUMP has struggled to build sustained upward momentum. Its highest BBTrend reading in recent weeks was only 12.4 on February 18, followed by a much lower peak of 3.38 on February 25. This pattern suggests that each bullish attempt has been weaker than the previous one, reinforcing the difficulty of maintaining an uptrend.

BBTrend (Bollinger Band Trend) measures trend strength and direction using price volatility within the Bollinger Bands. Positive values indicate growing bullish momentum, while negative values suggest an increasing downtrend.

With BBTrend now at -6.18 and continuing to decline, TRUMP remains in a bearish phase, struggling to find stability.

The consistent failure to sustain positive momentum since mid-February suggests that buyers have been unable to build strength, keeping TRUMP vulnerable to further downside unless the trend reverses soon.

Will TRUMP Benefit From the White House Crypto Summit?

TRUMP, like many other coins, surged following the U.S. crypto strategic reserve announcement, but the rally didn’t last long as it quickly entered a sharp correction.

The TRUMP meme coin is currently down 20% in just one day, erasing much of its recent gains and reinforcing bearish sentiment in the market. A critical support level now sits at $11, and if it is lost, TRUMP could drop below this level for the first time since its launch day.

With such a steep decline in a short period, sellers remain in control, and the price action suggests further downside could be possible if demand does not return soon.

However, TRUMP could find renewed momentum with the upcoming first White House Crypto Summit on March 7, which could serve as a catalyst for a potential recovery.

If an uptrend materializes, the first key level to watch is $17.47. A breakout above this resistance could send it rallying toward $20.7.

If bullish momentum strengthens further, the price could even test $24.5, marking an almost 100% upside from current levels.

The Lazarus Group has already laundered all the unfrozen funds it stole from the recent Bybit hack. The group used THORChain’s DEX to convert ETH tokens, sparking community criticisms.

Some users blamed THORChain validators for negligence, claiming that they could’ve stopped the transactions. Others defended the platform, claiming it’s an open-source and decentralized organization, not a law enforcement agency.

Lazarus Laundered Bybit’s Money

Arkham Intelligence, the blockchain analytics platform, revealed a new development in the recent Bybit hack. The firm posted a bounty for information about the incident, discovering that the Lazarus Group was responsible. Today it confirmed that all the funds from the Bybit hack have been successfully laundered.

“Lazarus has now fully laundered the proceeds of the Bybit hack. They have transferred 500,000 ETH mainly to native BTC. Thorchain has processed over $5.5 billion in volume since Bybit was hacked on the 21st of February,” Arkham claimed via social media.

The Bybit hack was the largest crime in crypto history, stealing $1.5 billion in Ethereum tokens. Two days ago, analysts confirmed that Lazarus had already laundered 70% of the stolen Bybit funds.

Lazarus moved very fast, however. Yesterday, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou noted that 83% had been converted to Bitcoin, and now the entire supply has been processed.

Bybit CEO Zhou also claimed that Lazarus laundered 72% of Bybit’s assets through THORChain, a decentralized exchange/blockchain network. The vast majority of transactions converting ETH to BTC went through this exchange.

Also, THORChain’s 24-hour trading volume spiked due to the sheer size of these transactions, surpassing several much more prominent networks.

Already, a few people have begun blaming THORChain for the debacle. As one user pointed out, the Lazarus Group laundered huge quantities of Bybit’s money, and the exchange did nothing to stop them.

It actually collected $3 million in fees from the affair. Still, THORChain defenders have pointed out that it is open-source and decentralized, not a law enforcement agency.

“The only reason why people feel that THORChain should censor transactions is the general feeling that if they put enough pressure on Node Operators, they will buckle under pressure (which honestly can happen). Nobody is asking that from Bitcoin and Ethereum, because it feels impossible. Thorchain needs to win the battle of narratives,” said Runemir, Chief Narrative Officer at Qi Capital.

In short, the whole affair is very messy. Taking the pro-THORChain arguments at face value, then decentralized institutions are structurally vulnerable to facilitating massive finance crimes.

If Lazarus Group can successfully use these platforms to launder billions, that’s simply the cost of doing business. It’s hardly an appealing picture of decentralized finance as an economic model.

On the other hand, the loudest criticisms also leave something to be desired. THORChain’s RUNE token briefly spiked due to these high trade volumes, but the gains have already disappeared.

The firm’s involvement with Bybit laundering will likely follow its reputation for years, and this won’t do it any favors. If THORChain validators were acting in self-interest, it was a shortsighted move.

In any event, it’s impossible to track down clean motivations for everyone involved in this story. The Lazarus Group laundered a huge amount of funds from the Bybit hack, and there’s a lot of blame to go around.