Demand for US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs has rebounded into its longest positive stretch of 2026, putting fund flows back at the center of Bitcoin’s latest test of the $80,000 area. SoSoValue data show the products drew net inflows for nine consecutive trading days through April 24, adding about $2.12 billion since April 14. The run […]
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A crypto analyst has identified a Golden Triangle, a rare structure that has been forming on the Ethereum (ETH) chart for almost nine years. According to the analyst, the Ethereum price has remained within this triangle during both bullish and bearish periods. However, he says the cryptocurrency is now approaching the apex of the triangle pattern, signaling an upcoming breakout either to the upside or downside. Depending on the direction of that breakout, the analyst has forecast ETH’s next move and possible price target. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Big Players Are Accumulating — Is $80K Just The Start? Ethereum Golden Triangle Could Trigger A Surge To $10,000 A market analyst identified as ‘Merlijn The Trader’ on X has shared a new Ethereum price analysis, presenting both bullish and bearish scenarios. In a post shared on April 24, Merlijn said the Ethereum price is currently trading within a Golden Triangle pattern that has maintained its structure since 2017, two years after the cryptocurrency launched in 2015. According to the analyst, the pattern has withstood several major events that caused sharp price swings during all those. He pointed to the 2020 COVID crisis, when most cryptocurrencies suffered steep declines, including ETH, which also crashed significantly. Even so, he noted that Ethereum continued to hold within the Golden Triangle. The same pattern remained intact during the 2022 bear market, which followed ETH’s explosive surge to an all-time high above $4,800 in 2021. He added that even after reaching a peak in 2026 and undergoing another major correction, Ethereum remained within the triangle without breaking its structure. Because the structure has held firm through all these bullish and bearish events, Merlijn believes ETH could now be approaching a decisive breakout from the nine-year formation. Looking at his accompanying chart, he noted that ETH is moving closer to the apex, the highest point, of its Golden Triangle, where a breakout often occurs. Once the price reaches this apex, two outcomes are possible: Ethereum could either break upward or move lower through the bottom of the structure. In his bullish case, Merlijn believes an upside breakout could send ETH above $4,350 and push its price toward a measured target of around $10,000. Given how long the triangle has held, he expects Ethereum to continue trending higher, with occasional pullbacks, until eventually reaching an ambitious peak above $56,000. He placed this longer-term price target in 2028, suggesting the rally could extend over the next two years. ETH Bear Case If Price Breaks Below Triangle For his bear case scenario, Merlijn The Trader noted that if Ethereum decides to go the opposite direction to break below the triangle, that move could trigger a decline toward $1,950. Currently, Ethereum is trading above $2,300, following its latest rally that saw it surge over 36%. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio If the cryptocurrency declines to $1,950, it would mark a more than 15% drop from current prices. Even so, despite outlining this downside risk, Merlijn remains confident that a breakout to the upside may be the likely scenario. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Buyers have been quietly stepping in at lower prices every time XRP dips — and that pattern is now drawing attention from traders watching the token closely. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio Sellers Losing Their Grip XRP has been grinding between $1.37 and $1.45 for days, stuck in a tight range that has produced repeated rejections near the top. But each time the price pulls back, it holds at a higher low than before. That slow climb from the bottom of the range is a classic sign that buying pressure is building. On the hourly chart, the price has compressed into a triangle formation — a structure that typically precedes a sharp move in one direction. Based on reports from market analysts, that move could measure out to roughly 10%, which is the basis of the breakout call drawing attention now. The question is whether buyers have enough strength to push through. So far, they have not. Sellers have defended the $1.45 resistance level multiple times, and the broader trend indicators are still pointing down. A triangle on the $XRP hourly chart suggests a 10% move could be coming soon. pic.twitter.com/leCsnS4Zf1 — Ali Charts (@alicharts) April 24, 2026 The 50-day moving average sits below the 200-day moving average — a setup traders call a death cross, which signals a larger bearish trend. Volume has remained flat, with no major spikes to confirm that either side is gaining control. Mixed Signals On The Charts Not all the data is bearish. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator, better known as MACD, flipped bullish in mid-April for the first time since January. That crossover matters because the last time it happened — in early January — XRP rallied 25% to $2.40 within seven trading days. Reports indicate the MACD line had stayed below the signal line for most of 2026, and every prior attempt to flip it had failed. Whale activity has also picked up. On-chain data shows large holders accumulated 360 million XRP tokens over a single week in mid-April. At the same time, spot XRP exchange-traded funds pulled in $55 million during the week ending April 18 — the strongest weekly inflow of the year. Cumulative ETF flows have climbed back to $1.27 billion, with Goldman Sachs holding the largest institutional position among the fund providers. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Big Players Are Accumulating — Is $80K Just The Start? Legal Clarity Adds To The Setup Part of what makes this moment different from previous consolidation phases is the regulatory backdrop. On March 17, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission formally classified XRP as a digital commodity rather than a security. That ruling put to rest years of legal disputes that had kept institutional money on the sidelines. Reports note the classification was a turning point for the token’s standing with large investors. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Crypto pundit Star has highlighted that crypto decentralization is a myth, noting that crypto networks and firms can freeze funds. The pundit specifically alluded to the Tether freeze and Arbitrum’s move to freeze the crypto assets stolen by the Kelp DAO exploiter. Pundit Highlights Crypto Decentralization Myth In an X post, Star stated that centralization has been exposed inside TRON USDT. The pundit noted that Tether just executed the largest freeze in its history, freezing $344 million USDT, which it carried out in coordination with OFAC and the U.S. law enforcement. This was executed directly through the USDT smart contract, with the funds visible but completely unusable. Related Reading: What The Kelp DAO’s $292 Million Hack Means For XRP Holders Earning Yield Further commenting on how it works, Star explained that Tether has admin control over USDT contracts, which proves that crypto decentralization is a myth. The pundit added that this admin control enables the USDT issuer to blacklist any address, freeze balances instantly, and permanently destroy funds. It is worth noting that Tether had confirmed the freeze, stating that it supported the U.S. government in freezing $344 million USDT across two addresses, which were on the TRON network. The firm added that the freeze was executed after the addresses were identified, preventing further movement of funds. A CNN report confirmed that the U.S. government directed the freeze of these USDT funds because they are linked to Iran. Iran had notably opted against stablecoins in favor of Bitcoin for toll payments at the Strait of Hormuz over fears of seizure, further highlighting the myth around crypto decentralization. Meanwhile, Star pointed out that the Tether freeze on TRON came just days after the network’s founder, Justin Sun, said that TRON is the most decentralized blockchain in the world after the Arbitrum incident. Sun has yet to comment on the Tether freeze on the TRON network, which occurred earlier this week. The Arbitrum Incident Also Raises Concerns Star also cited the Arbitrum incident to highlight that crypto decentralization is a myth. Earlier this week, Arbitrum announced that the network’s Security Council had taken emergency action to freeze the 30,766 ETH being held in the Arbitrum address that is connected to the Kelp DAO exploiter. Related Reading: Remember Arbitrum? This Analyst Just Predicted That A 7,400% Rally Is Coming The network stated that the Security Council acted with input from law enforcement regarding the exploiter’s identity. It is worth noting that the Kelp DAO exploiter had stolen up to $292 million in staked ETH from the Kelp DAO bridge last weekend. Meanwhile, Arbitrum’s decision to freeze this ETH drew mixed reactions. Crypto pundit Pledditor noted that Arbitrum, which has regularly received praise from Vitalik Buterin as the most decentralized Layer-2, has just frozen funds. On the other hand, Helius CEO Mert praised the move, noting that Arbitrum having the means of control and refusing to use it to appease the exploiters would be a “much worse and dishonorable outcome.” Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com
Crypto market sentiment shifted from “extreme pessimism” to “ultra FOMO mode” in just three days — and analysts say that kind of rapid swing is exactly what makes the current Bitcoin moment worth watching closely. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio Bitcoin Whales Load Up As Price Pushes Higher Data from crypto analytics firm Santiment shows Bitcoin wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have added roughly 41,000 coins since April 10 — a haul worth approximately $3.17 billion. The buying has come as Bitcoin climbed toward $80,000, a price level the asset hasn’t touched since late January. On Wednesday, BTC briefly hit $79,330 before pulling back to around $77,350. ???? The Bitcoin crowd has swung from extreme pessimism (on Monday) to ultra FOMO mode (on Thursday). Just as $BTC looked like it was going to freefall after an $80K rejection and FUD trickled in (a clear buy signal), prices quickly rallied to above $78.7K today. Now that $80K is… pic.twitter.com/AsDSovpA95 — Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 23, 2026 Santiment flagged the accumulation trend on X, saying Bitcoin’s key stakeholders are “accumulating rapidly.” The firm also noted that smaller holders — those with less than 0.1 BTC — picked up about 46 coins over the same stretch, valued at roughly $3.56 million. The gap between those two figures tells a story: the big players are moving in size while retail activity stays comparatively quiet. ???? Bitcoin’s key stakeholders are accumulating rapidly with $BTC currently up to $78.3K and crypto’s top cap up +15% in April. ???? According to our on-chain data: ???????? 10-10K BTC Wallets have collectively accumulated 40,967 more $BTC in the past 2 weeks (+0.3%) ???????? Less Than… pic.twitter.com/ViffTAQg4Q — Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 23, 2026 The Setup Analysts Are Watching According to Santiment, the most encouraging scenario would be one where large holders keep buying while smaller investors start cashing out. Reports from the firm describe that pattern as one of the strongest indicators that a prolonged price rally could be taking shape. Analysts have historically tracked this kind of divergence between whale behavior and retail activity as a potential precursor to sustained price gains. On the institutional side, Andre Dragosch, head of European research at Bitwise, said demand from large professional investors is “clearly accelerating.” His comments, posted on X Friday, line up with a broader trend of institutional money flowing back into Bitcoin after months of uncertainty. GM from Switzerland! US spot bitcoin ETFs have purchased 18,991 $BTC over the past 5 trading days. *checks numbers* That’s 9 x times the new supply in that period. Institutional demand for #bitcoin is clearly accelerating. pic.twitter.com/VtzVyjQAJu — André Dragosch, PhD⚡ (@Andre_Dragosch) April 24, 2026 Fear Still Grips The Wider Market Despite the whale activity and the burst of optimism among Bitcoin holders, the broader crypto market hasn’t caught up. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index — a widely followed measure of overall market sentiment — posted a score of 39 on Friday, placing it squarely in “Fear” territory. That reading suggests most investors are still holding back, even as Bitcoin inches toward a psychologically significant price point. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert Santiment says a move above $80,000 would carry weight in pulling more traders back into the market. But the firm also cautioned that the breakout would carry more meaning if it happens after optimism cools slightly. A surge built on peak excitement, reports indicate, tends to be less stable than one that forms more gradually. Bitcoin is up 2% over the past week, based on Coingecko data. Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView
A wave of crypto hacks hitting decentralized finance platforms in April has renewed an old argument: should stablecoin companies step in when stolen money passes through their systems? That question is now front and center again after Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, revealed it froze over $340 million in dollar-pegged tokens at the direct request of US law enforcement officials. Related Reading: Shariah-Compliant Stablecoin PUSD Moves Into MidEast Institutional Arena Community Divided Over Stablecoin Control The freeze targeted two separate wallet addresses. Tether said the funds were linked to unlawful conduct but gave no further detail about what the accounts were suspected of doing or who controlled them. The company coordinates freezes when it finds credible ties to sanctioned entities, criminal networks, or other illegal activity, according to its published policy. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino defended the action in a statement released alongside the announcement. “When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively,” he said. The company did not respond to further requests for comment. The freeze was carried out in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a US Treasury agency responsible for enforcing economic sanctions. That makes this more than a routine compliance move — it signals active cooperation between a major crypto firm and federal authorities at a time when regulatory pressure on the industry continues to mount. Not everyone welcomed the news. Crypto media outlet Truth for The Commoner pushed back sharply. “Your stablecoins are not your stablecoins. They never were,” the outlet posted on social media. The reaction reflects a tension that has existed since centralized stablecoins became widely used — the tokens may sit on a blockchain, but the company behind them holds a master switch. 3/ On April 1, 2026, Drift Protocol was exploited for $280M. The exploiter used CCTP to bridge 232M+ USDC from Solana to Ethereum across 100+ transactions over six consecutive hours. 10+ additional DeFi protocols across the Solana ecosystem were indirectly impacted. Despite the… https://t.co/RLDwKghzjo — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 3, 2026 A Debate Rekindled By A $280 Million Hack The announcement comes weeks after one of the month’s most damaging incidents — the Drift Protocol exploit, which drained $280 million from the platform. That attack put Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, under a different kind of scrutiny. Onchain analyst ZachXBT publicly criticized Circle for failing to freeze USDC funds after the attacker routed stolen money through Circle’s own native bridge over six consecutive hours. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert “No USDC was frozen,” ZachXBT noted, arguing that centralized issuers have a responsibility to act quickly when hacks are in progress. The criticism drew wide attention across the crypto community and intensified calls for clearer standards around when and how stablecoin issuers should intervene. Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView
With a minimum buy-in of $10 million, Morgan Stanley has made clear this is not a product built for small players. The Wall Street giant quietly unveiled its Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio on Thursday, a new offering that lets stablecoin issuers deposit the cash backing their digital tokens into one of the bank’s money market funds and collect interest while they wait. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert A Fund Built Around Compliance The portfolio sits inside Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Liquidity Funds trust, known as MSNXX. According to the bank, the fund holds cash, short-dated US Treasury securities maturing within 93 days, and overnight repurchase agreements secured by those same Treasuries. It targets a stable $1 net asset value, prioritizing capital preservation and daily access to funds. A 0.15% management fee applies. Morgan Stanley said the offering is designed to meet the requirements of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act — the GENIUS Act — a federal law signed in July that set the first formal rules for stablecoin issuers operating in the US. The law’s passage appeared to open a door. Western Union and Zelle were among the payment companies that moved into the stablecoin space following its enactment. Amy Oldenburg, who heads Morgan Stanley’s digital asset strategy, said in a statement that finding new ways to work with stablecoin issuers is part of a broader push to update financial infrastructure. While shares in the fund are expected to be held mostly by stablecoin issuers, reports indicate the fund may also accept other qualified investors. MORGAN STANLEY LAUNCHES STABLECOIN RESERVES FUND Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio (MSNXX). It is a government money market fund built exclusively for stablecoin issuers. The fund aligns with reserve requirements set out under… pic.twitter.com/ynDaPGPr8y — BSCN (@BSCNews) April 24, 2026 Morgan Stanley’s Bigger Crypto Push The stablecoin product is just one piece of a much larger expansion. Earlier this month, the bank launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust — its own Bitcoin exchange-traded fund — which pulled in over $170 million in net inflows within weeks of its debut. The firm has also filed paperwork with US securities regulators to list funds tied to Ether and staked Solana. In February, a national trust banking charter application was submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. If approved, the charter would allow Morgan Stanley to hold crypto assets on behalf of clients, execute trades, and handle transfers directly. All of this is coming from one of the largest investment banks on the planet. Morgan Stanley manages more than $6 trillion in client assets through roughly 16,000 financial advisers. Related Reading: A New Phase For XRP? Integrations Keep Rolling In Across The Ecosystem What The Offering Signals The Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio positions Morgan Stanley not just as a firm that trades or holds digital assets, but as one that now wants to serve the companies issuing them. Stablecoin issuers need somewhere safe and regulated to park the cash or short-term securities that back their tokens — and now a major US bank is pitching itself as that destination. Data from Morgan Stanley’s website confirms the $10 million entry floor, placing the product firmly in the institutional category. Featured image from Banking Dive, chart from TradingView
A $30 trillion market cap. That’s the math behind the boldest XRP price call making rounds in the crypto community this week — and it’s the figure drawing the most fire. Related Reading: A New Phase For XRP? Integrations Keep Rolling In Across The Ecosystem AI Tool, Not Personal Forecast The projection comes from Vincent Van Code, a software engineer active in the XRP community, who published his findings on X. He was careful to frame it as an AI-generated outcome, not his own personal prediction. Van Code used large language model tools (LLM), including Grok, feeding them multiple variables over repeated sessions to simulate how XRP might grow over the next decade. The result: a price range of $400 to $650 or higher by 2035, with $500 as the headline figure. He urged readers to approach the numbers with caution and reminded them it was not financial advice. The study factors in a wide range of conditions — US crypto regulation, Ripple’s payment network expansion, artificial intelligence integration into finance, neobank adoption, and XRP’s potential role as a bridge currency in cross-border transactions. ???? XRP price could hit $500+ by 2035. This is not clickbait… you know me better than that. By the way, for the 1000s of you who always ask me for my price predictions, this is the closest you will ever get out of me (by the way its not my predictions!) I have been running a… pic.twitter.com/eALl5zgdfr — Vincent Van Code (@vincent_vancode) April 22, 2026 Quantum-resistant upgrades to the XRP Ledger, expected around 2028, are also baked into the model. Van Code described Ripple’s broader strategy as a system designed to reshape how money moves globally. Year-By-Year Targets Paint A Steep Climb The model doesn’t jump straight to $500. It maps out a gradual rise starting with a projected range of $6 to $10 in 2026, driven by early regulatory wins and growing institutional use. By 2029, deeper liquidity and closer ties with traditional financial systems — including SWIFT — could push prices into the $60 to $120 range, according to the projections. The 2030s are where the numbers get dramatic. Reports indicate the model sees XRP woven into treasury operations, tokenized assets, and central bank digital currency frameworks, with prices climbing from $100 to $200 in 2030 before potentially hitting $400 to $650 or beyond by 2035. At that stage, the analysis envisions XRP handling tens of trillions of dollars in annual on-chain volume, with institutional depth keeping volatility in check. Community Response Is Divided Not everyone is buying it. Critics have zeroed in on the market cap problem. At $500 per token, XRP’s total market cap would exceed $30 trillion — a number larger than the entire US economy. Related Reading: $80K Bitcoin Target Back In Play As Trump Suggests US-Iran Talks Could Restart One market participant called a $50 price target far more sensible given the outlined assumptions. Others in the XRP community see the scenario as plausible — if every assumption holds. That’s a big if. The model requires favorable legislation like the CLARITY Act to pass, Ripple to keep expanding globally, and AI-driven financial systems to mature at pace. XRP was trading around $1.41 at the time Van Code published his findings, having recently touched $1.50. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
XRP ETFs have shifted sharply after a shaky start to the year, and the change is evident in both flows and the market. Following a troubling first quarter, funds have recorded strong, sustained inflows that helped push the altcoin above the $1.40 level. XRP ETFs Hit Best Week Of 2026 Market expert Sam Daodu, writing for 24/7 Wall St., reported that XRP ETFs brought in $55.39 million during the week ending April 17, which he described as the best weekly performance of 2026 to date. On April 20, the funds added another $3 million. Just as important for sentiment, there have been no outflows since April 9. Daodu noted that this is the first stretch of uninterrupted, sustained buying XRP ETFs that they have put together throughout the year. Related Reading: Bitcoin Watch: All Eyes On $86,000—What Could Fuel The Next Bullish Breakout In the months leading up to April, XRP ETFs were bleeding assets. Their assets under management peaked above $1.5 billion in January, but that figure slipped below $950 million by March as outflows intensified. This time around, Daodu emphasized that inflows have been steadier—arriving day after day rather than in sporadic bursts—suggesting a more durable shift in investor behavior. Within the competitive lineup of XRP products, the cumulative inflow lead still belongs to Canary Capital, which holds $421.86 million in net inflows across the suite. However, Daodu said that the lead has narrowed. In April, Canary has logged zero net inflows on most trading days, while Bitwise and Franklin Templeton have been adding nearly every day. Bitwise’s cumulative inflows now stand at $419.17 million, leaving it just $2.69 million behind Canary and giving it a clear opportunity to take the top spot this week. Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ trails in third place, consistently close behind Bitwise throughout the April run. In Daodu’s framing, Bitwise and Franklin have absorbed nearly all of April’s inflows, while the rest of the XRP ETF sector has been flat or negative. The Key Catalyst Missing Daodu also pointed to a key catalyst that could determine whether this positive momentum continues. The likelihood of follow-through for XRP ETFs, according to the expert, is tied largely to US regulatory clarity—specifically, the CLARITY Act. The bill is facing a tight May deadline after missing its April markup window. Senator Thom Tillis has urged Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott to delay the markup to May, and timing matters because the legislation would need to clear the committee before the Senate’s May 21 recess. Related Reading: CEO Calls CLARITY Act ‘Horrible Bill,’ Warns Of Prolonged Crypto Bear Market Ahead If it doesn’t, Daodu suggested that the anticipated crypto market structure framework could be delayed indefinitely. The CLARITY Act is expected to permanently and officially classify XRP as a digital commodity. That classification is not just a theoretical legal detail—it’s seen as the missing piece that could reduce uncertainty for institutions. A Coinbase survey cited in the report found that 65% of institutional investors are waiting for that exact type of clarity before committing meaningful capital to XRP. As of this writing, the altcoin is consolidating at around $1.43, having gained 2% and almost 8% over the last seven and fourteen days, respectively. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin futures markets lit up within an hour of US President Donald Trump hinting that diplomatic talks with Iran could resume as early as Friday. Open interest on Binance climbed nearly 2%, while CME recorded a 0.5% rise, reflecting a quick surge in bullish bets from derivatives traders. Related Reading: A New Phase For XRP? Integrations Keep Rolling In Across The Ecosystem Derivatives Market Responds Fast Total Bitcoin futures open interest jumped over 8% in 24 hours, crossing $62 billion, according to data from CoinGlass. That kind of movement in the derivatives market signals traders are positioning for further upside, not just reacting to a short-term bounce. Bitcoin itself climbed more than 4% over the same period, pushing past $78,000 — a level that puts the $80K target back within reach after weeks of pressure. Price action followed in the wake of US equities indexes rebounding from their previous losses. The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones all climbed by about 1%, benefiting from the ceasefire extension as well as strong company earnings results. Risk assets across the board were bid up as investors responded to the softer tone coming out of Washington. Trump told the New York Post that a second round of talks was possible as soon as Friday — a comment that quickly circulated across financial markets. Pakistan has also backed the push, with mediators actively working to set up a new round of negotiations. The ceasefire between the US and Iran had already been extended by three to five days before these latest signals emerged. Iran’s Position Remains Unclear But the picture on Iran’s side is far from settled. According to the Tasnim news agency, Iran had no current plans to negotiate on Friday — a direct contradiction of Trump’s stated expectations. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not been communicating directly, and a divide between IRGC generals and Iran’s civilian negotiators is adding to the uncertainty. Iranian forces also seized two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the ceasefire extension was announced, a move that complicated the diplomatic mood. Trump’s negotiators, based on reports, are now unsure whether there are reliable partners on the Iranian side to move a deal forward. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert Bitcoin Volume Data Raises Caution Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume dropped 30% even as the price climbed. That gap between price action and volume is a familiar warning sign in crypto markets — it suggests the rally may lack the broad participation needed to hold higher levels. Despite the $80K target drawing attention again, thin volume means the move could reverse quickly if the geopolitical situation shifts. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
A dollar-linked stablecoin built to meet Islamic finance standards is now operating on a new blockchain network anchored in the Middle East, adding a second digital currency to a settlement platform backed by some of Abu Dhabi’s biggest financial names. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert Backed By Gulf Currencies, Not Just The Dollar PUSD, issued by Palm Azgar Finance, holds reserves in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams — both pegged to the US dollar — rather than holding US dollars directly. That structure is central to its Shariah-compliant design, which is aimed at institutions operating under Islamic finance rules that prohibit interest and require asset backing. The stablecoin has roughly $2.3 billion in circulation and runs on several major blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Tron. ADI Chain is its newest addition. ADI Chain was built as a settlement layer for a dirham-backed token that came out of a partnership between International Holding Company and First Abu Dhabi Bank. The Central Bank of the UAE licensed it. With PUSD now on board, institutions using the network can settle transactions in either a dollar-linked or dirham-denominated token operating on the same platform. The ADI Foundation says the network is designed to support payment corridors across the Gulf, broader Middle East, and parts of Africa. A $3 Trillion Market In The Crosshairs Islamic finance assets are estimated at more than $3 trillion worldwide, according to the ADI Foundation. That market has traditionally been served by conventional banks and funds operating under Shariah guidelines, but blockchain-based alternatives have struggled to break through at scale. Sharia Law At A Glance Shariah law forbids interest, limits speculation, and requires financial instruments to be backed by real assets — rules that disqualify most crypto products outright. For a stablecoin to meet that standard, it must hold verifiable reserves and generate no interest-based returns. Certification from a board of qualified Islamic scholars is typically required, though the report does not confirm whether PUSD has obtained one. PUSD’s move onto ADI Chain is a bid to change that, targeting corporate treasuries, exchanges, and payment processors looking for compliant digital settlement tools. The UAE has become one of the more active regulatory environments for stablecoins. Several frameworks have been put in place by the Central Bank and the Abu Dhabi Global Market, covering both dirham-pegged and dollar-denominated tokens. Related Reading: A New Phase For XRP? Integrations Keep Rolling In Across The Ecosystem Global Players Already In The UAE Space Approvals have also been extended to established names. Tether, Ripple USD, and Circle have all been cleared to operate within the ADGM financial zone by its Financial Services Regulatory Authority. That puts PUSD in a field that includes some of the largest stablecoin issuers in the world, competing for a share of institutional transaction flow in one of the region’s most active financial hubs. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
KelpDAO’s liquid restaking token, rsETH, has become the center of a major DeFi recovery effort after a hack estimated at roughly $290 million. The latest development came on Thursday, when Lido Finance unveiled a proposal aimed at supporting Aave’s (AAVE) coordinated response to the rsETH shortfall. Lido Joins rsETH Recovery Effort The Lido plan was submitted to Aave’s Research Forum following this week’s Kelp incident involving the rsETH LayerZero bridge exploit. While the exploit’s details were still unfolding, Aave moved quickly to organize a larger, ecosystem-wide effort—“DeFi United”—with the goal of making affected users whole after the April 18 bridge incident left rsETH underbacked and, in turn, put funds at risk across multiple lending markets. Aave posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that “multiple strong indicative commitments” had already been lined up, and that Lido Finance was the first public participant. Related Reading: Bitcoin Nears $80,000: Two Scenarios That May Decide Q2—Bulls Or Bears? The proposal itself authorizes a one-time, capped contribution of up to 2,500 stETH—roughly $6 million at the time of reporting. Importantly, Aave framed this as part of a fully funded recovery package rather than a piecemeal attempt to patch only part of the damage. The structure is meant to limit broader spillover and allow an orderly resolution for users impacted by the rsETH deficit. The conditions attached to Lido’s contribution are strict. Lido Finance’s funds would only be deployed if the relief vehicle is large enough to cover the entire deficit—specifically, not a partial fix that still leaves users exposed. The total shortfall is described as exceeding 100,000 ETH. If any funds remain unused, they would be returned to Lido’s treasury. And the money can only be used to address the rsETH shortfall itself. Market-Wide TVL Losses Lido’s interest in this outcome is closely tied to its own product exposure. Lido offers an EarnETH vault that has direct exposure to rsETH. Without coordinated support, losses for users in that vault could reach approximately 9,000 ETH. Aave also moved to limit further risk while recovery planning progressed. Earlier Thursday, it updated that rsETH reserves were paused across multiple Ethereum and rollup environments, including Ethereum Core, Arbitrum, Base, Mantle, and Linea. Related Reading: 4-Figure XRP: How High Will The Price Be If Ripple Captures 50% Of SWIFT? The broader market reaction has been severe. Since the heist news first emerged on Saturday, Aave has reportedly recorded around $9 billion in net outflows as of April 21. Total value locked on the platform fell by more than a third, dropping to about 17.5 billion. That figure has since declined further, reaching approximately 14.3 billion at the time of this writing. The damage extended beyond Aave as well: according to DefiLlama data, across all decentralized lending protocols, TVL fell by roughly $13 billion within 48 hours after the exploit. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
3F has raised $4 million in funding led by Maven 11, with participation from Fidelity's F-Prime, GSR, and others.
“Pay attention. FOMO.” That was the blunt message from XRPL validator Vet, posted to X this week, as a string of major platforms moved to add XRP and XRP Ledger support across payments, exchanges, and self-custody tools. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert He was not talking about Ripple’s own products. He was pointing to independent adoption — and the list is getting harder to ignore. Binance And Bitget Expand Their XRPL Footprint Binance completed its integration of RLUSD — Ripple’s enterprise stablecoin — directly on the XRP Ledger back in February. Since then, trading pairs including RLUSD/USDT and RLUSD/XRP have gone live on the exchange, giving users faster and cheaper ways to move funds within the ecosystem. I’m not talking about Ripple products. I’m referring to XRPL integrations on Binance, Bitget, Rakuten Wallet, Exodus etc Pay attention, Fomo. — Vet (@Vet_X0) April 21, 2026 Bitget Wallet has since followed, adding the XRPL mainnet to its platform and enabling XRP and RLUSD transfers alongside cross-chain options. Reports indicate the wallet is also working with Ripple’s ecosystem to push RLUSD adoption further, including through real-world payment options like QR code transactions, crypto card payments, and bank transfers. Non stop wave of XRP integrations on various platforms, payment providers, exchanges and what not. Sometimes with XRPL issued asset support when it makes sense. Focus is on having XRP front and center. This will pay off when decades start happening in weeks again. — Vet (@Vet_X0) April 21, 2026 Exodus Movement expanded its own XRP Ledger support on April 16, rolling out upgraded tools for managing and moving XRP within its self-custody wallet. The update also brought RLUSD support to the platform for the first time. According to Exodus, XRP is already among the most actively used assets on its platform — and the new features were built in direct response to user demand. Rakuten Opens XRP To 44 Million Users In Japan Perhaps the single biggest development came from Japan. On April 14, Rakuten — one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies — brought XRP into its payment network through its subsidiary, Rakuten Wallet. Users can now spend XRP at more than 5 million merchant locations, trade it within the app, and convert Rakuten loyalty points into XRP. That last feature connects the token to one of Japan’s most widely used rewards systems, where trillions of points are already in circulation. The move puts XRP in front of more than 44 million users at once. These developments span a range of functions — trading, payments, transfers, and asset storage — across platforms that serve users well beyond the core crypto audience. Related Reading: Bitcoin Set For Stronger Week, Eyes $88K On Stable Macro Backdrop: Analyst A Pattern Building Toward The Next Market Cycle Vet, who runs a validator node on the XRP Ledger, framed the current stretch of activity as something to watch closely before market conditions shift. His post did not forecast a price move. It simply pointed to the pace of adoption and suggested that its full weight may not be felt until trading volumes pick up again. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
A community analyst known as Daphne recently pushed back on the idea that buying coffee and investing in crypto are mutually exclusive. “You can sip your coffee while making the purchase,” she wrote on social media. Her comment came in response to a growing conversation sparked by finance coach John Vasquez, about what small, daily investments in XRP and Bitcoin could mean for ordinary people by the end of the decade. Related Reading: Bitcoin Set For Stronger Week, Eyes $88K On Stable Macro Backdrop: Analyst Redirecting Daily Spending Into Crypto Vasquez made his case publicly, arguing that putting small amounts of money into XRP and Bitcoin every day — instead of spending on routine luxuries — could place investors ahead of the vast majority of people by 2030. He noted the approach mirrors his own personal practice but stopped short of calling it financial advice. The strategy he described falls under dollar-cost averaging, or DCA, a method where an investor buys fixed amounts of an asset at regular intervals regardless of price. Buy BITCOIN/XRP every days vs morning expensive ass coffee and you will be ahead of 99% of the population by 2030. Not financial advice just what I have been doing for a long time. It works. — Coach, JV (@Coachjv_) April 21, 2026 XRP was trading near $1.45 at the time of his post. Bitcoin was sitting around $78,900. Supporters of the strategy say those entry points, combined with consistent buying over time, could add up to significant returns if projections for either asset come true. XRP holder Sami backed the approach, framing it as a straightforward discipline play. He stressed that consistency and keeping assets in personal custody matter more than trying to time the market. Price Targets Drive The Debate The conversation has drawn interest partly because of where some analysts and community figures expect these assets to be priced by 2030. Bitcoin has been projected by multiple sources to reach $1 million — a figure that would represent roughly 13 times its current value. EasyA Cofounder Dom Kwok Predicts That $XRP Will Hit 1,000 By 2030https://t.co/jCihpuq4mE — XRPcryptowolf (@XRPcryptowolf) January 24, 2026 For XRP, community expectations range widely, with many voices placing it between $10 and $100. On the far end, Dom Kwok, founder of EasyA, has put out a $1,000 target within five years, though that projection sits well outside the mainstream view. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Record Miner Sell-Off Casts Shadow Over Ceasefire-Fueled Rebound Risk Warnings Temper The Optimism Not everyone is on board. Analyst George Walter acknowledged that DCA can work but argued that framing it as a near-certain path to outperforming most investors leaves out too much. Crypto markets remain volatile. Risk tolerance, personal financial goals, and portfolio diversification are all factors the “skip your coffee” narrative tends to gloss over, Walter said. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
John Bollinger, the creator of Bollinger Bands, used a sharply worded post on X on April 21 to argue that Bitcoin, XRP and the broader crypto market need a break from what he sees as capital being pulled out of the sector by Washington. Bollinger did not cite a dataset or name a specific policy move, but his reference to the “current administration” landed in a market already primed to read that as a swipe at President Donald Trump’s orbit and the crypto ventures tied to it. “Can’t help but wonder if the current administration is done sucking capital out of the crypto space. Perhaps one of you can figure out how much capital they have removed from the space and make an estimate of the impact.” He then added the line that gave the post its sting: “Be nice to get back to business!” Bollinger tagged BTC, ETH, LTC and XRP, making clear he was talking about market-wide conditions rather than a single trade or narrative pocket. The Story Behind Bollinger’s Bitcoin, XRP And Crypto Thesis Bollinger’s complaint, read in context, is that crypto has spent too much time functioning as a political extraction machine and not enough time trading on its own fundamentals. That is an inference from his post, not a quantified claim by Bollinger himself, but it fits a period in which Trump-linked projects have absorbed enormous attention, liquidity and fee generation. Related Reading: XRP Indicator Turns Bullish Again After 3 Months: What’s The Next Price Target? The clearest example was the TRUMP meme coin. Entities behind the token accumulated close to $100 million in trading fees in less than two weeks after launch, while tens of thousands of smaller traders lost money. 80% of the token supply was owned by CIC Digital, a Trump business affiliate, and another related entity, meaning a large share of the economics sat with insiders from the start. Then there is World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-backed crypto venture that has become a much larger and more durable capital sink. World Liberty raised more than $550 million through sales of WLFI governance tokens, that the Trump family took a 60% stake in the business and rights to 75% of net token-sale revenue and 60% of operating revenue, and that only about 5% of the funds raised were left to build the platform itself. New token sales still send 75% of proceeds to the Trump family, even as the project proposed tighter lockups for early investors and faces a fresh lawsuit by TRON founder Justin Sun. Related Reading: 4 Signs XRP Is Moving From Bearish to Bullish: Analyst That does not prove that money flowing into Trump-linked projects is money directly taken from Bitcoin or XRP on a one-to-one basis. But it does support the broader market argument Bollinger was making: in a cycle where capital is finite, politically branded tokens, insider-heavy token sales and fee-rich speculative launches can divert risk appetite away from liquid majors and the business of trading them. If that dynamic eases, Bollinger’s call for “relief” may resonate most with investors who think Bitcoin and XRP have spent the last year competing not just with macro headwinds, but with the administration’s own crypto cash registers. At press time, XRP traded at $1.45. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
A key US crypto policy bill, the CLARITY Act, is now moving through its final stages in the Senate, with potential action tied to the Senate Banking Committee’s last markup expected in May. But Morgan Creek Capital CEO Mark Yusko says the legislation—despite broad praise from much of the crypto industry—could actually prolong the current downturn in digital assets. Bear Market Could Extend Beyond October In a YouTube interview with Paul Barron published Tuesday, Yusko described the CLARITY Act as “a horrible bill,” warning that if it passes, it would not trigger the bullish shift many investors are hoping for. Instead, he argued that bearish conditions could continue well beyond September and October. Yusko also questioned the motivations behind the bill, saying it appears to have been written by “big incumbents,” which he further clarified as large banks. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bottom At $63,000? Grayscale Research Flags Feb. 5 As This Cycle’s Low During the interview, the executive pointed to remarks attributed to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, claiming the bank would “lose trillions of dollars of deposits” if customers were able to earn stablecoin yields. Yusko said this is exactly the kind of incentive that would push large financial institutions to resist competition, arguing that if people can earn yield in alternative places, they will move their capital. “There’s no mystery about it,” Yusko suggested, implying that big banks are signaling their priorities more openly than many expect. He also said he was confused by what he called a political reversal he noticed around Senator Cynthia Lummis. Yusko referenced her earlier support for President Trump’s strategic Bitcoin reserve plan, then contrasted it with her backing of the CLARITY Act. In his view, the shift doesn’t make sense in light of what many see as the bill’s likely direction. Lummis Rejects Further CLARITY Act Delays On Tuesday, Senator Thom Tillis told reporters that he doesn’t expect a CLARITY Act markup in April and said the committee should instead focus on May. If that is the case, the week of May 11 would become the first possible window, especially since the Senate is scheduled to be in recess before then. Crypto In America reported that for a next-week markup to occur, the committee would need to notify members by this Friday. That notification reportedly has not happened, which the report ties to signals from the stablecoin-yield negotiation process. Related Reading: XRP Indicator Turns Bullish Again After 3 Months: What’s The Next Price Target? Lummis, however, has publicly pushed back on the idea of further delay in the CLARITY Act passage. In a statement to Crypto In America, she said, “Further delay is unacceptable.” She added that she is “really proud of the bipartisan progress we’ve made” and that she won’t allow colleagues to sacrifice substantive and good progress for what she described as the pursuit of a “perfect bill” that will never come. The pro-crypto Senator also warned that the “offshore risk is real” and that the window for action is closing. “It’s time to finally get this done,” she concluded. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
While the market still remembers the sharp drops of the past, Bitcoin held its ground at $75,000 this week. This price remains well below the all-time peak of $126,000, but the mood among traders is changing. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Record Miner Sell-Off Casts Shadow Over Ceasefire-Fueled Rebound Reports show that many investors are watching two different forces at once. They see the potential for new highs while fearing a sudden slide. Despite that tension, the market recently pushed toward $77,000 before some traders decided to sell and take their profits. Since the news of Morgan Stanley’s $138 million move into its Bitcoin-tracking fund, the price has climbed even higher, trading at a little past $80,000 at the time of writing. Heightened Level Of Trust In Bitcoin The bank’s latest move shows a significant level of trust from one of the biggest names in finance. Data shows the fund pulled in more than $100 million in assets during its very first week of operation. It is an affordable way for people to get exposure to the coin without holding it directly. According to reports, this isn’t just a one-time event. It is part of a larger trend where big banks are fixing their old systems to work with new technology. The focus is shifting toward on-chain finance. This means that instead of just betting on price changes, banks are looking at how to use the underlying blockchain as a tool for daily business. Reports indicate that Morgan Stanley is already testing these ideas through a partnership. This setup lets a small group of clients trade crypto directly within a system that stays under tight control. The goal is to move in small steps rather than taking huge risks all at once. Institutional Buying Powers A Market Rebound The return of these large organizations follows a difficult start to 2026. For months, prices had been falling, but that trend seems to be over for now. Reports note that US adoption is climbing at a fast pace. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy Even though other coins like Ethereum exist, most big investors still view Bitcoin as their first choice. They tend to stick around for a long time once they commit their capital. They are not looking for quick wins; they are making large financial commitments that could last for years. The current stability is built on this renewed belief from the professional sector. While individual traders might jump in and out of the market, the big players provide a floor for the price. They are treating the technology as a business asset that has a permanent place in their portfolios. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
Institutional investors poured nearly $1 billion into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds last week, signaling a massive appetite for the asset even as prices fluctuated. Data shows that 13 different US spot ETFs brought in roughly $996 million over those five days. This trend did not slow down as the new week began. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Record Miner Sell-Off Casts Shadow Over Ceasefire-Fueled Rebound On Monday alone, these investment funds saw another $238 million in net inflows. This steady stream of capital is a primary factor behind the current market recovery. Institutional Backing Drives Price Recovery The influx of cash is happening at a time when the available supply of Bitcoin is tightening. When large funds buy up coins to back their ETFs, they remove those coins from the open market. This can create a supply shock if demand continues to rise. Analysts expect the momentum from these investment funds to carry through the rest of the week. It should be noted that the current market environment supports this trend since the volatility in other sectors is declining. For example, the VIX, measuring volatility in stocks, is decreasing, while gold has demonstrated less volatile behavior recently. The cryptocurrency recovered to the $76,000 region on Monday after the sharp selloff observed during the previous weekend. The crypto was trading at a level of $78,200 at one point during the weekend and then dropped by 5% to hit a low of $73,400. Although the decline occurred, the crypto maintained its main support levels. The move is interpreted as another risk-off move. Now, the market is shifting gears into a “risk-on” environment. Reports disclose that the alpha coin is now forming a pattern of higher lows and higher highs on shorter timeframes. I don’t see a reason why markets shouldn’t go higher. I’ve mentioned this before, but the risk-off weekend correction is quite normal for #Bitcoin. It’s a Monday, nothing bad has happened, so the risk-on appetite comes back. Great bounce upwards, and lower timeframe uptrend… pic.twitter.com/75VrkzFMRc — Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 20, 2026 The $88k Resistance Zone The next major hurdle for the market is a resistance band that sits between $85,000 and $88,000, according to crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe. Reaching the top end of that range would require a 15% increase from recent prices. If Bitcoin can break through that ceiling, it may set the stage for a much larger move. Some market experts believe the price could hit $100,000 by May. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy This outlook depends on the world remaining relatively stable. Large geopolitical disruptions could still derail the current upward pressure. Technical indicators show the rebound from $73,000 was clean and decisive. This level was a crucial area for the market to hold to keep the positive trend alive. Without any major negative news on the horizon, the path toward $88,000 appears wide open. Most observers are keeping a close eye on whether the current buying pace can be sustained. If the ETF inflows remain strong, the end of April could be very active for traders. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
Apple is heading into its biggest leadership transition in years, just as scrutiny is mounting over the security of its App Store and the rise of crypto theft on iPhones. On April 20, the company revealed that John Ternus, its senior vice president of hardware engineering, will succeed Tim Cook as chief executive officer by […]
The post Will new Apple CEO combat fake crypto apps littering the “walled garden” App Store? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin (BTC) may be starting to shake off the worst part of the downturn that began in October last year, according to new research from Grayscale. The firm points to Feb. 5—when BTC traded around $63,000—as a “durable” market bottom. Potential Start Of A New Bitcoin Bull Market In Grayscale’s view, the rebound since that low has been meaningful. The firm’s Head of Research, Zach Pandl, said the BTC price bottomed at roughly $63,000 and has since climbed more than 20%, reaching about $76,000. That level, he noted, is slightly above the average cost basis for recent buyers, which matters because it can reduce the incentive to sell after a drop. In other words, if many holders are no longer underwater, selling pressure may ease at a time when buyers are trying to regain control. Related Reading: A Stark XRP Price Call: Why One Analyst Says It Could Be Under $1 By 2031 For Bitcoin transacted over the past one to three months, Grayscale says the realized price is about $74,000. That implies many newer buyers are already back near break-even. If BTC continues rising in the days ahead, more recent participants could shift into positive profit and loss, which Grayscale treats as a potential early sign of a bull-market transition. In that framework, the Feb. 5 low is not just a statistical low—it’s presented as the point where the market may have stabilized enough to start a new upward phase. $78,000 Still Holds The Key Adding to the bullish case, Bitcoin whales reportedly added about 45,000 BTC last week, the fastest weekly accumulation pace since July 2025. Long-term holders, meanwhile, have reportedly accumulated more than 1 million BTC over the past three months. Glassnode data also indicates that upward momentum has cooled somewhat. Even so, it still points to strong buyer interest, which could help cushion the market and reduce the odds of a sharp slide. At the same time, trading activity on centralized exchanges has risen, suggesting ongoing participation rather than a sudden exit. In the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) sector, Glassnode points to several indicators improving, including an increase in the MVRV ratio alongside netflow. These signals are described as consistent with improved profitability expectations and stronger investor interest. Related Reading: AAVE Price Plummets By 26%: $9 Billion Net Outflows Traced To Kelp DAO Hack Combined with higher overall trading activity, the picture is presented as a cautiously optimistic shift in sentiment, especially for investors engaging with Bitcoin through regulated channels and traditional custody. Even with these supportive signs, Bitcoin isn’t free of near-term challenges. BTC has slightly retraced toward the $75,800 area at the time of writing, and it remains unclear whether it can break the closest resistance level near $78,000. That price point has capped stronger upside moves toward $80,000 since Jan. 30. The overall takeaway is that the market may be setting up for a larger move, but the next step likely depends on whether resistance can be cleared. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
"A creator earns 1.5% of all of the volume in the market as a fee when the market successfully settles," said Gensyn's Ben Fielding.
Bitcoin miners dumped a record 40,000 BTC in the first quarter of this year — more than the entirety of 2025 combined and well above the 20,000 BTC sold in the panic following the Terra collapse in mid-2022. That number sits quietly beneath the surface of what otherwise looks like a recovering market. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy Miners Signal Trouble Even As Prices Climb The sell-off came as mining difficulty dropped 2.4% to 135 trillion, while network hashrate climbed back from roughly 978 exahashes per second to 992 EH/s this month, according to data from Glassnode. When producers sell at record pace during a difficulty drop, it points to one thing: tight margins. The economics of mining haven’t recovered the way the price chart might suggest, and any sustained move above $80,000 would have to absorb continued selling from that same group. Bitcoin was trading at $76,827 on Tuesday noon, up 1.4% over 24 hours, as Iran confirmed it would send a delegation to Pakistan for a second round of ceasefire talks. Ether gained 1.18% to reach $2,311. XRP rose 1.2% to $1.42. Solana trailed the pack, up just 0.9% on the day and down 1% for the week. The broader market moved in the same direction. The MSCI All Country World Index added 0.1% after pausing on Monday, with Asian equities leading the charge and the regional tech index gaining 2.38%. Brent crude slipped 0.7% to $94.80 a barrel. Gold fell 0.6% to around $4,800. Silver dropped 1% to $78.89. Treasuries and the dollar were largely flat. A Deadline That Markets Can’t Ignore The two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran expires Wednesday evening, Washington time. US President Donald Trump said Monday he does not plan to extend it. Markets are now priced around that deadline. Three vessels attempted passage through the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, with American and Iranian blockades still active — the first real test of whether the waterway is clearing before any agreement is signed. Bitcoin has lagged equities throughout this stretch. The MSCI ACWI has been on an 11-day rally that stumbled only once since de-escalation began. Bitcoin, by contrast, spent that same period crawling back from below $75,000 to just above $76,000. ETF Demand Holds The Floor Spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in $996 million last week, according to SoSoValue. Ethereum spot ETFs brought in $276 million over the same period. That institutional buying has kept a floor under prices even as miners push supply into the market. Related Reading: Rave Token Crashes 95% As Manipulation Allegations Trigger Panic Research firm Kaiko said a clean break above $76,000 would open a path toward $85,000. Analysts at K33 flagged that same level as a potential short squeeze trigger. On the downside, a slide back below $75,000 — if Wednesday’s deadline passes without a deal — remains the key risk traders are watching. Bitcoin’s ceasefire rally gave the alpha crypto a lift. The miners are using it to sell. Until that changes, the rebound has a floor but no clear roof. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
A return to all-time highs would put Shiba Inu near $0.000088 — a price level the token has not touched since 2021. That target is back in focus after an analyst flagged that SHIB is trading inside the same accumulation zone that previously sent the meme coin surging by four digits. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy Analyst Pins Target At $0.000087 Crypto Patel, a market analyst, published a chart showing SHIB sitting inside what he calls “Support Zone (Accumulation Zone 1).” According to the analyst, buyers flooded this same zone twice before — once in 2021, which produced a 1,660% rally, and again in 2024, when the token climbed 746%. The current price, around $0.000006, sits above his key floor at $0.000004. If that floor holds and buying pressure builds, Patel projects the token could climb as high as $0.00008789 — a gain of roughly 1,364% from where it trades now. $SHIB Is Back At The Exact Zone That Pumped It 1660% & 746% Before…???? Will #SHIBAINU 20x This Alt Season? pic.twitter.com/7V7RMXWH9J — Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) April 18, 2026 The full bullish projection puts the move at 2,200%, though Patel himself raised doubts about whether that ceiling is reachable, even in a strong altcoin market. The token has spent years trying and failing to reclaim the heights it hit in 2021. That year marked both its all-time high and the last time it traded anywhere near the projected target. A Tightening Chart Pattern Adds To The Setup A descending resistance line has been pressing down on SHIB’s price over time, squeezing the range in which it trades. According to the analyst, that compression is approaching its end. When such patterns resolve, prices tend to move sharply in one direction. The question is which direction. On-chain data adds a layer of nuance. Reports indicate that SHIB’s exchange netflow turned negative recently, with a net outflow of 41.67 billion tokens. When more coins leave exchanges than enter, it often signals that holders are moving assets into personal wallets — a pattern associated with accumulation rather than selling. That said, over 81 trillion SHIB tokens remain on exchanges, a figure that dwarfs the recent outflow. Related Reading: Rave Token Crashes 95% As Manipulation Allegations Trigger Panic Bears Still Hold The Advantage On Longer Timeframes Not all analysts share Patel’s optimism. Separate reports note that SHIB remains caught in a pattern of lower highs, with resistance stacked between $0.0000073 and $0.0000079. A drop below current support could pull the price toward $0.0000051, according to those projections. The picture, for now, is split. The technical setup that Patel points to has delivered before. Whether history repeats depends on whether buyers show up in force at the levels that matter. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
A new bipartisan bill introduced on Tuesday would give many fintech and crypto payment providers a clearer path to the US payment infrastructure. The new measure, called the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency (PACE) Act, is designed to create a national payments license that would streamline how qualified companies can access federal payment services, to make digital transfers faster and less expensive for consumers and small businesses. How The PACE Act Could Work The PACE Act, introduced by Representatives Young Kim and Sam Liccardo, is said to include a streamlined federal registration process. Payment companies in the crypto sector could apply for federal registration under clear standards. The legislation also calls for direct access to federal payment networks for approved fintech and crypto companies, alongside what the Representatives describe as robust oversight and enforcement. Related Reading: A Stark XRP Price Call: Why One Analyst Says It Could Be Under $1 By 2031 A key detail raised in the broader discussion of the bill is how it relates to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) approach to account structures for nonbank participants. As reported by Crypto in America’s Eleanor Terrett, the PACE Act would permit these institutions to access Federal Reserve payment services in a manner aligned with Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s “skinny master accounts” concept—an approach crypto exchange Kraken gained access to earlier this year. The reporting further says the bill would shift final decision-making authority for skinny master account applications to the Federal Reserve Board rather than the individual Reserve Banks. Crypto Groups Back New Proposal Several crypto groups have thrown their support behind the legislation. According to the bill’s official materials, endorsements include the Financial Technology Association, the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, and the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI). Their collective message is that the bill would modernize access to core payment rails while keeping regulatory guardrails in place, especially for consumer protection and oversight. In remarks accompanying the announcement, Rep. Young Kim said Americans should not have to wait days to access money they are sending to themselves or pay extra just to move funds. The bill, in her view, “modernizes our system to deliver faster payments, lower costs, and helps families and small businesses keep more of their hard-earned money.” Rep. Sam Liccardo also emphasized access and competition for nonbank payment firms, arguing that crypto payment companies have been shut out of the same infrastructure available to competitors. Related Reading: AAVE Price Plummets By 26%: $9 Billion Net Outflows Traced To Kelp DAO Hack The Crypto Council for Innovation also praised the bill, pointing to its aim to allow businesses with 40 or more money transmitter licenses to comply with a uniform federal regulatory framework overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The CCI position is that expanding access to Federal Reserve payment services for well-regulated institutions would improve competition, while ensuring strong consumer protection standards are met. The Crypto Council for Innovation said it looks forward to working with Congress to move the legislation forward so Americans benefit from “secure and efficient payment options.” Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
XRP’s decentralized finance ecosystem is growing fast. Its FXRP supply is closing in on 160 million tokens, a milestone that signals rising adoption just months after launch — and the numbers are fueling a broader argument about where XRP stands in the future of decentralized finance. Related Reading: $1.4 Billion Pours Into Crypto — What’s Driving The Surge? XRPL Validator Makes The Case For Stability A validator on the XRP Ledger known as Vet made waves on X this week, arguing that XRP is built to drive the next phase of DeFi in a way that other protocols are not. His argument doesn’t rest on raw performance data. Instead, it centers on what the XRP Ledger was deliberately designed to leave out. According to Vet, the protocol skips features like complex smart contract composability and staking — tools common on rival chains — because those features carry hidden dangers. Classic DeFi has a long way to go to replace TradFi completely as we can see. XRP will lead the new wave of DeFi. People aren’t ready for it but it’s inevitable, our protocol design choices are superior and more robust for high value use cases such as DeFi replacing TradFi. — Vet (@Vet_X0) April 19, 2026 Cascading failures, layered bugs, and compounding risks are what he calls “multiplicative risk.” By avoiding them, he says, the XRP Ledger becomes a more solid base for high-value financial applications. Traditional finance, he added, is far from being replaced by existing DeFi systems, and XRP’s design makes it better suited for that long transition. A portion of the FXRP supply is already locked into protocols including Firelight, Kinetic, BlazeSwap, and Upshift. XRP holders are using these platforms for yield and liquidity, marking the early stages of an ecosystem that continues to build out through Flare Network’s staking infrastructure. Flare Founder Fires Back Not everyone accepted Vet’s framing without question. Hugo Philion, the founder of Flare Network, pushed back on what he saw as premature claims of superiority. Philion said he supports both XRP and the XRP Ledger, but argued that no protocol earns the right to claim it is better until it has been put through real pressure at real scale. As you know I am a big believer in XRPL and XRP but this kind of grave dancing is extremely unseemly especially as various protocols have had issues and bugs when being rolled out on XRP Ledger. Before commenting on the superiority of protocol design choices etc you would need… — Hugo Philion (@HugoPhilion) April 20, 2026 He pointed out that multiple crypto protocols — including those tied to XRPL — have run into bugs and rollout problems. Related Reading: XRP A Strong Buy Before 2027 Despite 27% Drop In 2026: Finance Advisory Firm DeFi, he said, is still maturing across the board, and XRP’s entry into the space should be seen as part of that wider development, not a leap ahead of it. Vet responded by clarifying his position. He was not arguing that XRP beats the competition outright. His point, he said, was about managing downside risk — and that the trade-offs baked into the XRP Ledger are intentional choices, not shortcomings. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
A $292 million hack tied to restaking protocol Kelp DAO has rippled through decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and market confidence far beyond the original incident, with Aave emerging as one of the hardest-hit examples. Over the weekend, Aave’s native token (AAVE) fell by about 26%, while the protocol also saw a sharp decline in total value locked (TVL) and continued outflows that intensified the downturn. Kelp DAO Hack Sparks Aave Crisis The chain of events began with the attacker draining roughly 116,500 rsETH—valued at about $292 million—from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero bridge. The stolen staking tokens were then used as collateral on Aave V3, enabling the attacker to borrow approximately $236 million in WETH. Because the rsETH later became effectively unbacked, the collateral underpinning those positions is not liquidatable, leaving the borrowed funds stranded within the lending system. As a result, Aave is now facing a $280 million in bad debt that it cannot directly recover. Related Reading: Remember Arbitrum? This Analyst Just Predicted That A 7,400% Rally Is Coming The impact on users and depositors was swift. With Aave’s ETH pool reaching 100% utilization, the protocol essentially has almost no available ETH left for withdrawals. In practical terms, that means users looking to exit quickly may already be confronting liquidity limits at the pool level. As crypto portfolio manager Pratik Kala put it, the fear wasn’t about losses that Aave created itself, but about the protocol carrying a gap it did not make—prompting withdrawals driven by uncertainty. Kala likened the behavior to a bank run, summarizing the dynamic as “withdraw first, ask questions later.” Since Saturday, when the heist news first emerged, Aave has recorded around $9 billion in net outflows. Total value locked on the platform fell by more than a third, dropping to about $17.5 billion. The damage was not confined to Aave. DefiLlama data indicate that across all decentralized lending protocols, TVL fell by roughly $13 billion within 48 hours. Price 86% Below All-Time Highs As markets digested the fallout, Aave’s token performance also reflected the heightened stress. On Monday, AAVE was down about 26% from a one-month high of $118 recorded last Friday, after the broader crypto rally earlier last week. Related Reading: XRP A Strong Buy Before 2027 Despite 27% Drop In 2026: Finance Advisory Firm At the time of writing, AAVE was trading around $88 per token. CoinGecko data further highlights the precariousness of the asset: the cryptocurrency is reportedly about 86% below its all-time high of $661. Aave has responded to the situation by moving to contain further risk. The protocol froze rsETH markets on its platform. On Sunday, Aave said its own analysis indicates that rsETH traded on Ethereum remains fully backed; however, it kept restrictions in place as a precaution. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index climbed above 29 on Monday for the first time since January 29, pulling out of “extreme fear” and settling into plain “fear.” It is a small move on a scale, but in crypto markets, it signals a shift in mood that money tends to follow. Related Reading: XRP A Strong Buy Before 2027 Despite 27% Drop In 2026: Finance Advisory Firm Funds Flow Back In Crypto investment products drew $1.4 billion in fresh inflows last week, according to data from CoinShares — the second-largest weekly figure recorded since January. The gain built on the prior week’s $1.1 billion, stretching the inflow run to three straight weeks and $2.7 billion combined. Total assets under management across crypto exchange-traded products rose close to $155 billion, the highest mark since early February. Just weeks earlier, in March, that figure had fallen as low as $128 billion. CoinShares head of research James Butterfill pointed to a recovering appetite for risk, tied largely to ongoing US-Iran ceasefire talks. Bitcoin’s price added to the mood, briefly pushing toward $78,000 on Friday before pulling back. Bitcoin And Ether Lead, Altcoins Get Left Behind Bitcoin products captured the bulk of the action. Data shows inflows into Bitcoin ETPs reached $1.12 billion for the week, pushing year-to-date totals to $3 billion, with assets under management sitting at $123 billion. US spot Bitcoin ETFs alone accounted for roughly $1 billion of that weekly total. Ether had its strongest week since January, pulling in $328 million. That was enough to flip Ether ETPs into positive territory for the year, with year-to-date inflows now sitting at $197 million. Not everything moved in the same direction. XRP products bled $56 million in outflows, the largest among altcoins. Solana recorded smaller but still negative flows of $2.3 million. Short-Bitcoin products took in just $1.4 million, suggesting only a thin slice of investors are still betting against the market. Inflation Data Gets Brushed Aside Geographically, the US drove most of the action — $1.5 billion in inflows. Germany came in second at $28 million. Switzerland ran the other way, posting $138 million in outflows. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy March CPI came in at 3.3% year over year, with core inflation at 2.6%. Based on reports from CoinShares, markets largely looked past the headline number, treating core inflation as contained and supply-driven rather than broad-based. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
Ripple’s long legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission is finally over — and one major financial firm says that resolution, combined with a battered token price, may be setting up a rare entry point for XRP investors. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy Regulatory Wins Fuel Fresh Optimism The Motley Fool, a US-based financial advisory firm, says XRP could be worth buying before 2027, pointing to two developments it believes most investors are overlooking. The firm’s report comes as XRP trades around $1.41, down 20% so far this year and more than 60% from its peak of $3.60 reached last summer. Ripple’s case with the SEC — which started in December 2020 — was settled in May 2025. A court dismissed the remaining appeals in August 2025. That outcome cleared a cloud that had followed the token for years, making it a far less risky proposition for large financial institutions that had previously stayed on the sidelines. New legislation is also taking shape. The GENIUS Act was signed into law last year. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act cleared the House in July 2025 and is still working its way through the Senate. Together, reports say these laws are beginning to lay out clearer rules for how digital assets are treated in the US. A Broader Bet Than Cross-Border Payments For years, Ripple’s main pitch to banks was straightforward: use XRP to move money across borders faster and cheaper than traditional networks like SWIFT, which has processed global transactions since 1973. That argument gained some traction but never broke through at scale. Banks, by nature, are slow to abandon systems they already trust. So Ripple changed course. Rather than staking everything on replacing one system, the company began building out a wider network of projects and partners. A key move came in June 2025 with the launch of XAO DAO, a community-run initiative designed to fund development within the XRP ecosystem. Related Reading: Bitcoin Pulls Back Below $74K As Iran Tensions Rise Again Reports indicate Ripple is also positioning its technology to support anti-fraud tools and to help move traditional financial products — like exchange-traded funds — onto blockchain networks. According to the Motley Fool, this wider approach could be exactly what large institutions need to feel comfortable getting involved. Price Drop Seen As A Window Institutional interest in XRP is growing. Data shows XRP-linked exchange-traded funds are on pace for record inflows in April 2026, pulling in $65 million so far this month alone. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index crept up two points to 29 out of 100 on Monday — its highest reading since late January — but that number still signals fear among Bitcoin investors. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy Markets had barely settled from a rough weekend before the index was being watched again as a barometer of just how shaky confidence remains in the crypto space. That unease has a clear cause. A two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, which had given financial markets a brief lift and helped keep oil prices in check, is now under serious strain. It is set to expire Wednesday. Source: Alternative.me US Military Seizure Rattles Markets The trouble started Saturday when Iran said it would shut down key oil shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin, which had climbed to $78,300 on Coinbase late Friday — its strongest price since early February — quickly gave up those gains. By Saturday and into early Sunday, it had slid to between $75,000 and $76,000. Then came Sunday night. The US military opened fire on an Iranian cargo ship and later took control of it, saying the vessel had attempted to break through a US blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran called the move a ceasefire violation and vowed retaliation. Iran also pulled out of peace talks scheduled for Monday in Islamabad, Pakistan. Bitcoin dropped sharply. It briefly fell under $74,000. JUST IN: Bitcoin falls under $74,000 after Iran rejects second round of peace talks with the US. pic.twitter.com/Bxyx687J3a — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) April 19, 2026 Stock Futures And Oil Feel The Pressure Too Crypto was not the only market caught off guard. S&P 500 futures fell 0.78% Sunday night. Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.6%. Dow Jones futures lost roughly 450 points, or about 0.89%. Oil moved in the opposite direction. With Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors for crude — oil futures surged more than 4.5%, pushing above $95 a barrel. Related Reading: Alibaba AI Model Puts XRP Price Between $7 And $42 By Year-End Ceasefire Expiry Puts Wednesday In Focus The coming days will likely determine where things head next. With Iran rejecting new negotiations and the ceasefire window closing fast, traders are watching closely. The brief rally Bitcoin enjoyed last week, built partly on hopes that US-Iran tensions were cooling, has been wiped out. At last check, Bitcoin was trading near $75,098. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView