Bitcoin Snaps a 5-Month Losing Streak

Hey Lantern Community,

Trump addressed the nation last night on the Iran war. Here's what happened and what it means for crypto this week.

Iran War: Trump Addresses the Nation

Trump spoke at 9pm last night. promising to end the war in 2-3 weeks, rejecting Tehran's ceasefire offer, and demanding the Strait of Hormuz reopen first. He threatened NATO withdrawal if Europe doesn't contribute and didn't hold back: "Bring them back to the Stone Age.”

The speech was more aggressive than markets hoped. S&P futures dropped 0.75%, Nasdaq futures fell 1.0%, and the Dow shed 310 points overnight.

Bitcoin Snaps a 5-Month Losing Streak

March closed green for Bitcoin — up 1.8% — snapping five consecutive months of losses. BTC had never recorded six straight monthly declines in its 17-year history. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 closed March down 6.67%, its worst quarter since Q2 2022. BTC outperformed the S&P by roughly 8.5 percentage points last month.

Bernstein reiterated a $150,000 year-end price target, calling this a potential bottom.

Morgan Stanley also filed an amended S-1 for a spot Bitcoin ETF (ticker: MSBT) set to trade on NYSE Arca, with a proposed fee of 0.14% which is the lowest among U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. It would be the first spot Bitcoin ETF issued directly by a major U.S. bank, with 16,000+ advisors and $1.9T in AUM behind it.

XRP Is Having a Big Month

Stablecoin supply on the XRP Ledger doubled since December 2025, hitting a new all-time high of $568.9 million. The primary driver is RLUSD, Ripple's stablecoin, recently listed on Binance and adopted by Deutsche Bank for cross-border payments.

Mastercard launched its Crypto Partner Program with Ripple among 85 firms, i-payout integrated Ripple Payments for near-instant cross-border settlements, and Ripple joined the MAS BLOOM pilot in Singapore. JPMorgan flagged Ripple's model as capable of unlocking $120B in trapped global liquidity.

Square Turns on Bitcoin for 4 Million Merchants

On March 30, Square automatically enabled Bitcoin Lightning payments for all eligible U.S. sellers. That's roughly 4 million merchants. Payments settle near-instantly and convert to USD at checkout, so merchants bear zero volatility risk. Zero processing fees through end of 2026.

Lightspark CEO David Marcus called it a potential "TCP/IP moment" for global financial infrastructure.

The Headlines Will Keep Coming

But Bitcoin snapping a 5-month losing streak while traditional markets sold off is worth sitting with. The fundamentals are building with institutional ETFs, merchant adoption, and record stablecoin activity, even as the geopolitical noise peaks. If you're holding crypto and looking for liquidity without selling, our Bitcoin-backed loans are now available at 8%.

Your position stays intact, your assets stay safe with BitGo, and you get the cash you need.

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https://lantern.finance/borrow or text us at (415) 365-0100.

Until next week, The Lantern Team

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please consult with a qualified tax advisor regarding your personal tax situation.