Bitcoin begins the week near $80,100, with crypto markets facing an unusually dense calendar of macro, policy and institutional-positioning catalysts. The immediate question is whether Washington and geopolitics add fresh support to risk assets or reinforce the dollar, oil and rates pressure that has kept broader crypto liquidity selective. #1 Fed Transition Risk Moves To The Senate The first event is the Senate’s May 11 vote tied to Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve nomination. Importantly, this is not simply a final vote to make Warsh Fed Chair. The Senate schedule shows a roll-call vote on cloture for Warsh’s nomination to become a Fed governor, while his separate nomination to become Chair is also on the executive calendar. Related Reading: Binance Founder CZ Sees Major Changes Ahead For Crypto The White House nominated Warsh in March both as Fed Chair for a four-year term and as a governor for a 14-year term. For Bitcoin, the relevance is straightforward: the Fed chair transition affects the forward path of real rates, dollar liquidity and risk appetite. #2 CLARITY Act Vote Becomes The Main Crypto Catalyst The larger industry-specific event comes May 14, when the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to meet in executive session to consider H.R.3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025. The committee notice sets the session for 10:30 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building 538. The bill matters because it targets the central US market-structure problem: whether specific crypto assets are securities, commodities or something else. The legislation would clarify regulator jurisdiction and potentially support digital-asset adoption, while also addressing the stablecoin-yield dispute between banks and crypto firms. Under a compromise by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, rewards on idle dollar-backed stablecoin holdings would be prohibited, while rewards tied to payments or other activity would remain permitted. #3 Trump-Xi Talks Add A Macro Layer The Trump-Xi meeting adds the week’s geopolitical overlay. Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on May 13 (Wednesday), with talks set for Thursday and Friday covering Iran, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons and critical minerals. US officials also expect discussion of trade and investment forums, possible Chinese purchases of US goods and an extension of a rare-earths truce. For crypto, the transmission channel is macro rather than direct policy. Any de-escalation on trade, rare earths or Iran could ease risk premiums. A harder line, especially around Taiwan or energy flows, would likely support defensive positioning, the dollar and volatility across high-beta assets. #4 13F Filings Will Show Who Bought Or Sold Bitcoin ETFs The institutional signal arrives through the 13F season. The SEC lists the Q1 2026 Form 13F deadline as May 15, with filings due 45 days after quarter-end for managers that meet the reporting threshold. Those filings will show March 31 holdings, not live positions, but they still matter because US spot Bitcoin ETF exposure has become one of the cleanest public windows into institutional allocation. Related Reading: Economic Disaster Is Coming? Top Author Says Hold These Cryptos Or Pay The Price The market will be watching whether banks, hedge funds, advisers and asset managers increased or reduced positions in products such as BlackROck’s IBIT and other spot Bitcoin ETFs during the first quarter. #5 Iran Remains The Risk Premium The Iran war remains the week’s most immediate tail risk. The dollar advanced on safe-haven demand, while Brent crude rose 4.5% to $105.85 after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a US peace proposal, writing: “I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.” That is the pressure point for Bitcoin and broader crypto: higher oil can complicate inflation expectations, support a firmer dollar and reduce the market’s willingness to price aggressive easing. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.67 trillion. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
According to the latest on-chain data, the Ethereum-native iteration of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, has just witnessed its largest exchange outflow in recent months. 1.29 Billion USDT Flow Out Of Crypto Exchanges In a May 9th post on the X platform, blockchain analytics firm Santiment revealed that USDT on the Ethereum network recently recorded its largest flow out of exchanges in months. Around 1.29 billion stablecoins (the highest since February) were transferred out of exchanges on Friday, May 8th. This on-chain observation is based on the change in the Exchange Flow Balance indicator, which measures the net amount of tokens moving into and out of centralized exchange addresses. Related Reading: This 1 Chart Explains Why Bitcoin Is Winning And Ethereum Is Losing Right Now A spike in the Exchange Flow Balance metric indicates that more tokens (USDT, in this case) are flowing to centralized exchanges. On the other hand, when the indicator declines, it suggests that investors are withdrawing assets from these trading platforms. Santiment explained the significance of investors moving their USDT away from exchanges, noting that this would ordinarily mean they are withdrawing their buying power from trading platforms where they can use it for instant cryptocurrency purchases. On the surface, this reduction of buying power (or capital) on exchanges is a bearish signal for crypto markets. However, the analytics firm believes that the significant USDT outflows (of this reported magnitude) suggest that institutional investors are moving capital to self-custody wallets, DeFi protocols, or OTC (over-the-counter) desks ahead of larger planned transactions. Therefore, capital is believed to be flowing out of the ecosystem, not entirely, but being repositioned for even larger purposes. Santiment also highlighted the pattern often surrounding exchange outflow spikes of this magnitude. For instance, as observed in the chart below, the Bitcoin price witnessed a mini-pullback over the subsequent two weeks following the 3.72 billion USDT outflow on February 9. What’s more interesting is that this pullback birthed the buying opportunity that has seen the Bitcoin price jump by more than 30% in the past few months. Santiment concluded in the social media post: Whether this current capital re-enters exchanges as buying pressure in the near term is the key variable to monitor. If USDT begins flowing back onto exchanges in the coming days, it would signal that deployment into crypto assets is imminent. Crypto Market Capitalization As of this writing, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at around $2.66 trillion, up nearly 4% over the past week. Related Reading: 14,600 Bitcoin Sold in Profit in One Day: Here Is How BTC’s Own Structure Broke It Below $80K Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
Ethereum is trading just above $2,330, a price that, on the monthly chart, is sitting just above within a long accumulation zone. However, recent market dynamics show that Ethereum is destined for far higher prices than $2,300 this cycle, and this is not only about traders waiting for another rotation into ETH. The outlook is that the Ethereum price will cross above $10,000 this cycle based on factors that are turning Ethereum into a base layer for regulated on-chain markets. Related Reading: Swiss Bitcoin Reserve Effort Withdrawn After Resistance From Central Bank Wall Street To Push Ethereum Price To $15,000 According to a crypto analyst that goes by the name Crypto Patel on X, Ethereum is going to trade somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 this cycle, and there are about 10 reasons why this is going to happen. His price prediction is based on the idea that Ethereum is no longer being controlled only by retail speculation or short-term market sentiment. Instead, the network is becoming one of the main settlement layers for tokenized finance, institutional custody, exchange-traded products, and corporate ETH accumulation. The analyst pointed to BlackRock’s filing for two tokenized money-market funds on Ethereum, JPMorgan’s MONY fund going live on Ethereum, and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund reportedly reaching $2.85 billion as the largest real-world asset product on-chain. These are three reasons why Ethereum is becoming a preferred settlement layer for institutional financial products. Another reason for the analyst’s price prediction is the partnership between Uniswap and Securitize to unlock BUIDL on-chain. This partnership connects tokenized Wall Street assets with Ethereum’s DeFi liquidity, and this creates a direct link between traditional finance and DeFi, which has always been one of Ethereum’s strongest areas. Ethereum Price Chart. Source: @CryptoPatel On X ETFs, Custody, And ETH Accumulation Add To The Bullish Outlook The second part of the bullish case comes from broader institutional access to ETH. Crypto Patel cited Robinhood building its Layer 2 on Ethereum, BNY Mellon launching Ethereum custody in the UAE, more than $12 billion flowing into Spot ETH ETFs this year, and BitMine’s accumulation of more than 5 million ETH, which is over 4% of Ethereum’s supply, as factors that support the Ethereum price heading to $15,000 this cycle. Other factors are the DTCC tokenizing Russell 1000 assets on the blockchain, with Ethereum being considered a leading contender to host these assets, and WisdomTree’s fully staked ETH ETP going live in Europe. Together, these factors strengthen Ethereum’s demand and supply setup. ETFs make ETH easier for institutions to buy, custody services make it easier to hold, corporate accumulation reduces available supply, and staked ETPs give investors a regulated way to gain ETH exposure with yield. Related Reading: XRP Market Now Controlled By Whales? Dominance Reaches 91% On Binance Keeping these factors in view, a favorable continuation of this institutional trend could give Ethereum enough momentum to break above $10,000 and possibly climb as high as $15,000 this cycle. Those targets would represent gains of about 335% and 550%, respectively, from the current price of Ethereum. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin’s price recovery is not a new beginning: it is a familiar ending. That is the warning from a crypto analyst, who is of the notion that the current Bitcoin price action is playing out a bull trap the market has seen before and that the setup is pointing to a destination that sees the cryptocurrency crashing by almost 50% from current price levels. Related Reading: XRP Flashes Historic Rally Signal, Fueling $12 Price Speculation Bitcoin Mirrors Key Stepping Stones From 2022 Bear Cycle Chiefy’s analysis centers on a structural comparison between Bitcoin’s current price sequence and the step-by-step decline that defined the 2022 bear market. The framework identifies a pattern of bear cycle stepping stones, which is a series of lower highs and lower lows dressed up as recoveries on the weekly candlestick timeframe chart. This analysis is in reference to Bitcoin’s price action since it broke above $82,000 earlier in the week. Bitcoin is pressing into the 1-day 200 moving average, a zone that has already acted as resistance during a previous failed recovery attempt in January 2026. The analyst also pointed to the 1-week 200 moving average at the lower support region and the 1-month 350 moving average below it, suggesting that a breakdown could force BTC through multiple long-term trend levels before finding a stronger base. This is exactly like the 2022 bear market. In the previous bear cycle, Bitcoin did not fall in a straight line. It produced relief rallies that looked convincing enough to pull traders back in, only for the price to roll over again. Based on this view, the current rebound to the $80,000 range is not the start of a lasting breakout. It is the largest bull trap of the cycle. His projected path after the bull trap will see Bitcoin leave $82,000 and then go on a free fall to $50,000, then recover to $63,000, and finally crash to $42,000 again. Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: @0xChiefy On X Why This Rally Cannot Be Trusted The next move in the sequence, a crash to $50,000, would represent a decline of approximately 39% from current levels. The subsequent bounce to $63,000 would restore confidence briefly before the final descent to $42,000 completes the pattern. This final descent will translate to an almost 50% crash from current levels. Interestingly, CryptoQuant researchers warned that Bitcoin’s apparent demand metric, which tracks 30-day changes in estimated on-chain spot buying activity, stayed negative throughout April’s entire price rally. This shows that the late April and early May move that took Bitcoin to $80,000 was mostly due to higher perpetual futures demand, which is exactly like 2022’s bear market onset. Related Reading: Altcoins Aren’t Going Anywhere — Even After Brutal Crashes: Arthur Hayes The crash warning is also coming at a time when Bitcoin ETF flows are no longer offering a clean bullish background, as they have now posted consistent net outflows of a total of $423.15 million in the past two days. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $80,367. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
XRP is drawing renewed attention in the crypto community after an analyst raised a key question about the driving force behind demand for the asset in a global settlement system. The discussion focuses on how XRP would function if the XRP Ledger (XRPL) were widely adopted for payments, and whether the cryptocurrency’s value comes from usage, liquidity routing, or deeper institutional structures built around it. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bulls Need One More Signal To Confirm Market Bottom – Details Analyst Questions XRP’s Demand Source In An XRPL Economy Crypto analyst Iso Ledger posted a compelling question in an X post on May 7, 2026, sparking debates across the crypto community. The analyst argued that if the entire world used the XRP Ledger and settled with the RLUSD stablecoin, XRP would primarily function as a gas token. If this is the case, he questions what actually creates real and sustainable demand for XRP within that system. Iso Ledger explained that the answer lies in “bridging.” In his view, XRP gains demand when it is used as a liquidity bridge between two currencies or assets that do not have direct trading pairs. He used the example of a Japanese pension fund paying a Brazilian supplier, in which XRP would route value between OUSG and a BRL stablecoin when no direct liquidity exists. In this structure, XRP is not just a fee mechanism but a neutral bridge asset that enables settlement between disconnected markets. According to Iso Ledger, this is where demand is created through transaction flow rather than simple usage. However, he also raised a more complicated issue about what happens when liquidity becomes too deep across all assets on XRPL. If direct pairs exist between most major currencies and stablecoins, XRP may no longer be needed for routing. In that case, it could be sidelined in favor of direct settlement paths. Iso Ledger suggested this creates a tension in the cryptocurrency’s long-term value model. According to him, XRP either has to become expensive enough to remain practical for large institutional settlement or stay low-priced around $2 and collect fractions of a penny with low demand forever. XLS-66D Seen As Solution To XRP’s Demand & Supply Issue He pointed to the upcoming XLS-66D, a proposed lending protocol on XRPL, as a potential solution that could lock up XRP supply. By reducing circulating supply, XRP’s price could increase, which in turn could strengthen its role as a settlement asset and support more adoption in a feedback loop. He believes this loop could eventually lead to a continuous demand and price appreciation in the long run. Related Reading: XRP Flashes Historic Rally Signal, Fueling $12 Price Speculation He concluded his debate by raising a key question. Iso Ledger asked why institutions would build a lending protocol or a $550,000 security audit around a “gas token.” He questioned why companies would create XRP ETFs or why Goldman Sachs would invest $152 million in XRP if it were just a simple gas token. According to him, the market is underestimating XRP’s evolving role in global settlement systems. He said that its price just hasn’t caught up with the bullish developments surrounding it. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Researcher and market analyst Ben Cowen says the purge of millions of altcoins is already underway and is necessary for a sustainable bitcoin bull market to be in place.
SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s venture capital division takes a $150 million stake in crypto trading firm GSR at a valuation of more than $1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Bearish cryptocurrency bets have seen a liquidation squeeze during the past day as Bitcoin and other assets have gone through a price surge. Bitcoin Crosses $80,000 For First Time In Months Bitcoin has enjoyed a surge over the past day that took its price to a peak of $80,500, the highest that the cryptocurrency has traded since the end of January, when BTC was retracing that month’s recovery rally. Related Reading: Bitcoin DATs Capitulate—Could This Rare Signal Mark A Bottom? The chart below shows how the latest price action has looked for the asset. From the graph, it’s visible that Bitcoin has pulled back a bit since the high, as its price is now floating around $79,900. Nonetheless, the coin remains above recent levels. As is usually the case, the rest of the digital assets have also followed in the footsteps of the original cryptocurrency with recovery spikes of their own. All this market volatility has naturally meant that chaos has developed on the derivatives side of the sector. Crypto Derivatives Liquidations Exceed $370 Million According to data from CoinGlass, the latest volatility in the cryptocurrency sector has resulted in liquidations of a significant size. “Liquidation” here refers to the forceful closure that any open contract undergoes after it has amassed losses of a specific percentage. The chances of a contract being liquidated depend on price volatility and how much leverage the investor has opted for. In the digital asset market, coins regularly show volatile swings and leverage usage tends to be high, so events where a large amount of contracts are caught out aren’t rare. One such event has occurred during the past day, and below is a table that showcases the numbers relevant to this derivatives flush. In total, over $371 million in cryptocurrency contracts have been liquidated over the last 24 hours. Out of these, $302 million of the contracts were short positions. This means that more than 81% of the liquidations involved the investors betting on a bearish outcome for the market. In terms of the individual assets, Bitcoin-related positions contributed the most toward the event, with over $179 million in contracts involved. Ethereum once again was second on the list with $95 million in liquidations. Together, the top two coins by market cap made up for roughly 74% of the total derivatives flush from the past day. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rejected At Key Cost Basis Zone—Is $68,000 The Next Support? A mass liquidation event like the one from the past day is popularly known as a squeeze. During a squeeze, a sharp swing in the price triggers a large amount of simultaneous liquidations, which feed back into the price move, unleashing a further cascade of liquidations. As shorts made up for the majority of the latest squeeze, the event would be called a short squeeze. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
XRP is trading in a quiet range between $1.38 and $1.40, but new derivatives data indicates the calm may be masking a more unstable setup beneath the surface. A CryptoQuant analysis by Pelinay shows that XRP’s leverage structure is low and moving sideways, while its price action has been relatively higher than the leverage, and this has created a divergence that history has shown to resolve through a forceful explosive move. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Path To $100K May Happen Before Anyone Understands Why: Analyst XRP Holds Strong Despite Sharp Decline In Leverage Ratio The CryptoQuant chart shared by Pelinay focuses on Binance’s estimated leverage ratio for XRP. The most important signal that the chart is showing is not simply that leverage is low, but that XRP’s price has not collapsed alongside it. The chart shows that leverage was much higher during previous phases, particularly around the major price expansion in late 2024 and the push to new all-time price highs in mid-2025. However, the current leverage ratio has fallen back near the lower end of its range and is moving sideways. The leverage is now back to late 2024 numbers. Particularly, the Estimated Leverage Ratio on Binance is now around 0.1. The XRP’s price, however, is still holding close to $1.4, which is well above its price levels seen before its late-2024 breakout. Back in October 2024, a leverage ratio of 0.1 corresponded with an XRP price of just $0.50. XRP Estimated Leverage Ratio On Binance. Source: CryptoQuant Is A Squeeze Coming For XRP? What this means in essence is that the XRP price is no longer being pushed mainly by aggressive borrowed positioning. That can be important because it suggests that much of the excess speculation has already been flushed out. However, this type of divergence rarely stays unresolved for long. The market usually deals with it in one of two ways. Price can fall to match the lower leverage environment, or leverage can begin rising again and feed a stronger price reaction. The second outcome is the more bullish scenario. In that case, XRP would not need an already overheated derivatives market to begin its move. A similar move happened between late June and mid-July 2025, when the leverage ratio climbed from below 0.3 to just under 0.6 in four weeks, and over that same period XRP surged from $1.96 to $3.65. Related Reading: US CLARITY Act Moves Closer To Law After Surprise Stablecoin Yield Update Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto arrived at a similar conclusion through an entirely different framework using the monthly candlestick timeframe chart. Both analyses point to the same idea: XRP may look quiet, but the structure is brewing for a violent move. XRP Price Chart. Source: @egragcrypto The chart shows XRP compressed between long-term rising macro lines, with the price now situated around the lower part of a wedge structure. EGRAG marked the $0.90 region as a possible trap zone, while also showing a bullish path that could send XRP back above $1.80. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Ripple’s own top engineer has thrown cold water on one of the XRP community’s most persistent theories — that the company’s 1,700 non-disclosure agreements are hiding secret, large-scale adoption plans. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Path To $100K May Happen Before Anyone Understands Why: Analyst Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz said those NDAs are standard business practice and that claims of massive undisclosed events are “almost always completely false.” No coordinated government plans. No hidden catalysts. Just routine confidentiality agreements. What The Numbers Actually Show That clarification comes at an odd moment — right as Ripple is touting figures that have the XRP community buzzing anyway. The company recently described its platform as the world’s most adaptable treasury platform, pointing to 13,000 connected banks and more than $12 trillion in annual payment volume running through its system. Those numbers trace back largely to Ripple’s 2025 acquisition of GTreasury, a treasury management firm purchased for $1 billion. That deal brought an already-established network of financial institutions under Ripple’s roof. The world’s most adaptable treasury platform, trusted by industry leaders worldwide. 100% cash visibility. 13,000 connected banks. $12.5T in payments volume. See why → https://t.co/HBFXch1n4m pic.twitter.com/uIqpmz2bHw — Ripple (@Ripple) April 30, 2026 Veteran investor Patrick L. Riley put the 13,000-bank figure in context. With roughly 4,000-plus banks and a similar number of credit unions in the US alone, he said the total implies a wide international reach, particularly across Western financial systems. Reports indicate XRP supporters had previously connected Ripple’s NDA disclosures — which surfaced during the SEC vs. Ripple Labs case — to those same banking partnerships. The latest figures appear to go further than what those court documents suggested. Price Projections Draw Scrutiny Riley also floated a speculative framework suggesting XRP could be worth $625 per token if 20 billion XRP were responsible for moving all $12.5 trillion in annual flows. The token currently trades around $1.37. That gap is enormous, and analysts warn the projection rests on shaky assumptions about liquidity use and token velocity. XRP’s value, under this model, would depend less on market sentiment and more on how deeply banks actually use the token in real transactions. That last part is the sticking point. Ripple’s payment system does not always require XRP to function. Reports note it remains unclear what share of that $12.5 trillion actually moves through XRP versus Ripple’s broader infrastructure. Having 13,000 banks in a network is one thing. Getting them to route payments through a digital asset is another. Related Reading: Bitcoin Could Be One Breakout Away From A Structural Shift: Analysts Schwartz Pushes Back On Hype Schwartz has been direct. He acknowledged that NDAs do involve confidentiality but said the theories building around them go well beyond what the agreements actually cover. According to Schwartz, the idea that something earth-shattering is waiting to be revealed misreads how these arrangements work in practice. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
A crypto analyst has outlined a specific period he believes could be the right time to sell Bitcoin (BTC) for the most returns. Supporting his prediction, the analyst highlighted a recurring historical pattern that has marked major bullish turning points in BTC’s market cycles. He suggested that these past patterns could be used to determine the best exit points for traders in the ongoing cycle. Analyst Reveals Best Time To Sell Bitcoin Crypto market analyst Merlijn The Trader has cautioned that Bitcoin could be approaching a major turning point, urging traders to consider selling their coins to maximize returns. In a post on X, he predicted that BTC may be heading toward another sharp correction, with a possible downside target near the $33,000 level, one of his lower-cycle projections. Related Reading: Bitcoin ETFs Lose Nearly Half A Billion Dollars As Fear Returns To Crypto The analyst warns traders to “sell in May and go away,” arguing that Bitcoin may hit a fresh cycle top this May, followed by a potential drop that could trigger losses for many bulls who fail to exit early enough. He pointed to a repeating Bitcoin cycle pattern that has historically aligned with major market tops around May in mid-cycle years. Sharing a price chart, Merlijn The Trader outlines BTC’s price movements from 2014 to the present. He noted that during the 2014 Bitcoin cycle, the market topped in May before a decline of around 61% followed. In 2018, a similar May peak preceded a massive price crash of approximately 65%. Furthermore, in 2022, the same structure repeated, with Bitcoin forming a May high which eventually led to a 66% market recession. Across these three cycles, the timing of the peaks has remained eerily consistent, with May acting as a critical turning point before a sustained downside movement. Notably, Merlijn The Trader believes that the current market cycle is once again following these historical trends. Based on the recurring structure, the analyst estimates a possible downside of about 60.73% after Bitcoin reaches a potential market top this May. With BTC currently trading above $78,000, such a staggering decline would place the price near $33,000. Analyst Outlines Bull And Bear Case Scenarios For Bitcoin In a separate analysis, crypto expert Ted Pillows predicts two potential near-term scenarios for Bitcoin as its price hovers around $78,000. The analyst explained that, because the $75,000 level has acted as strong support for Bitcoin over the past few weeks, he believes the cryptocurrency could be preparing for another major rally. Pillows noted that Bitcoin is now approaching the critical resistance zone around $78,000 to $80,000. He said this zone is where the real test is set to begin. According to the analyst, if Bitcoin can safely reclaim and hold this range, the next move could be a jump to fill the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) gap near $86,000. The chart also shows this clearly, tracing BTC’s projected path toward this upper CME gap. Once price nears $86,000, Pillows predicts a sharp pullback to the previous $80,000 range. Related Reading: US CLARITY Act Moves Closer To Law After Surprise Stablecoin Yield Update For his bearish forecast, the analyst noted that if Bitcoin gets rejected around the $78,000 to $80,000 resistance, it could trigger a larger correction, potentially pushing the price toward the $70,000 level before a new bounce. Further decline in this area could also lead to a steeper drop to $66,318. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
A monthly chart of Dogecoin shows a brutal pattern of repeated rejections and cascading drops that looks grim at first glance. Crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade laid out a decade-long structure in which the Dogecoin price has been hammered at critical resistance three separate times, triggering a massive plunge on each occasion. The 2026 rejection is now in place, and the analyst sees a third repeat of the same devastating sequence. However, the chart has a twist that changes everything. Related Reading: Bitcoin ETFs Lose Nearly Half A Billion Dollars As Fear Returns To Crypto Dogecoin Gets Hammered On An Inverted Monthly Chart Trader Tardigrade’s chart shows DOGE/USD on the monthly timeframe, but the price scale is flipped. This means the lower the chart moves, the higher Dogecoin is moving in normal market price. The red descending line designated as a critical resistance is therefore not a bearish ceiling in the usual sense. It is a resistance line on an inverted chart, and a rejection from it sends the price downward. As shown on the chart, Dogecoin couldn’t break through and got sent straight back down below the level. However, considering this is inverted, what it actually means is that Dogecoin is bouncing on a support trendline. A drop on the inverted scale would translate into a rally in DOGE’s real price. The analyst pointed to three major moments when Dogecoin touched this inverted resistance and failed to break through. The first came around the 2017 cycle, the second around the 2021 cycle, and the third is being presented as the current 2026 setup. In each previous case, the rejection was followed by a large move downward on the inverted chart, which means a large rally upward on the normal Dogecoin chart. Dogecoin Price Chart. Source: @TATrader_Alan On X What’s Next For Dogecoin? “This drop is coming,” the analyst said. However, the drop being referenced is not a normal Dogecoin price crash. It is a drop on the inverted chart. In normal terms, that means the Dogecoin price would be rising. The chart’s projection even points to double-digit price levels if the historical drops on the inverted chart repeats itself. That target is extreme compared to Dogecoin’s current price around $0.108. A move to $1 would require DOGE to rise by more than 825% from current levels, while a move to $10 would require a rally of more than 9,000%. However, the projection on the chart shows the Dogecoin price going to as high as $23. This is why the chart should be read as a long-term setup. Related Reading: US CLARITY Act Moves Closer To Law After Surprise Stablecoin Yield Update Speaking of price action, Dogecoin is actually showing signs of a bounce from support. DOGE reached as high as $0.11 in the past 24 hours, and it is currently up by about 10% in a seven-day timeframe. Interestingly, Dogecoin futures open interest is exploding and is now at its highest level of the year. Dogecoin Open Interest Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
Celsius founder Alexander Mashinsky, who was responsible for the $4.7 billion 2022 crypto crash, has been banned from crypto. This forms part of a $10 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) while the crypto founder continues to serve a 12-year sentence. Celsius Founder Banned From Crypto As Part of $10 Million FTC Settlement A court order filed by the FTC shows that the Celsius founder is permanently banned from crypto. The order stipulates that Mashinsky is not allowed to advertise, market, promote, offer, distribute, or assist in doing any of these things with respect to products or services used to deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw assets. Related Reading: Here’s What Happened In The Donald Trump Crypto Meeting With $TRUMP Holders This crypto ban forms part of a $10 million settlement with the FTC. The order included a $4.72 billion monetary judgment against the Celsius founder in favor of the Commission. This sum relates to Mashinsky’s role in the 2022 crash of his crypto lending platform, which left customers unable to access $4.7 billion in deposits. However, this monetary judgment is suspended, and Mashinsky has been ordered to pay $10 million to satisfy this monetary relief. The order also noted that the crypto founder shall be deemed to have satisfied the payment obligation if he pays this amount to the Department of Justice (DOJ) pursuant to the forfeiture order entered in his criminal case. It is worth noting that the Celsius founder is currently serving a 12-year sentence for fraud and market manipulation. The crypto founder had pleaded guilty in 2024 to committing commodities fraud and securities fraud at Celsius and was subsequently sentenced last year. The prosecution revealed that Mashinsky had used customers’ assets to place risky bets and to “line his own pockets.” In addition to his prison term, the Celsius founder was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and forfeit $48 million. Crypto Founder Denied New Trial In Fraud Case Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who was convicted for fraud like Mashinsky, has had his request for a new trial denied. According to an ABC report, a federal judge denied SBF’s request for a new trial, rejecting the FTX founder’s claims that there are new witnesses in his case who could give evidence that would clear him of any wrongdoing. Related Reading: Crypto Decentralization Myth Busted: ETH And USDT Freezes Unveil A Shocking Truth The judge described this claim as baseless. SBF is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for his role in the collapse of defunct crypto exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried was found to have used up to $8 billion in customers’ funds for his personal projects. However, he continues to deny any wrongdoing despite being found guilty, stating that his exchange was always solvent. It is worth noting that SBF was also seeking a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump, but the White House has revealed that Trump has no plans to pardon him. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
The Tokyo-based broker is betting big on crypto with plans in Singapore and a Visa partnership for bank cards that allows users to accumulate digital assets.
Top US officials have increasingly placed Bitcoin (BTC) at the center of national security discussions, and Representative Lance Gooden says the change is more than just political rhetoric. In comments reported Thursday, the Texas Republican argued that the largest cryptocurrency has become a “geopolitical weapon” being used—simultaneously, in his view—by multiple adversaries. Multi-Front Security Use Of Bitcoin Gooden’s remarks follow confirmation from Pentagon leadership. According to reporting by the TFTC agency, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told him that the Department of Defense is actively involved with Bitcoin in classified operations designed to counter what Hegseth described as “China’s digital authoritarianism.” Gooden quoted Hegseth directly, saying: “I am a long enthusiast of Bitcoin and crypto potential, and a lot of the things we are doing, enabling it or defeating it, are classified efforts that are ongoing inside our department, which do provide us a lot of leverage in a lot of different scenarios.” Related Reading: Hyperliquid Jumps Into The Betting Boom With New ‘Outcome Tokens’ For Real-World Events In recent Senate testimony, Admiral Samuel Paparo—commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command—described Bitcoin as having “incredible potential” as a tool with cybersecurity and wider strategic uses. Paparo told the Senate, “We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now. Bitcoin has direct implications for power projection.” Within that context, Gooden laid out what he sees as a multi-front national security landscape for Bitcoin. He argued that Iran is demanding Bitcoin as a toll for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. BPI Numbers Fuel Gooden’s Claim The Republican also claimed that North Korea-linked hackers are using Bitcoin in ransomware campaigns. And he said China is “believed to be stockpiling substantial holdings as part of its strategic reserve.” Gooden framed his conclusion plainly: “Over the past decade, Bitcoin has evolved from a fringe asset into a matter of national security.” The geopolitical angle is supported by estimates from advocacy and policy groups in the industry. According to the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), China holds approximately 194,000 BTC, while the United States holds approximately 328,000 BTC. Related Reading: A Stealth Force In Derivatives—Why Bitcoin Can’t Punch Past $80,000 Yet For Gooden, those figures underscore the shift he says is underway: Bitcoin is no longer treated as a speculative sideshow in finance committees. Instead, he described the market’s leading cryptocurrency as an instrument that can show up in armed services hearings—as an asset relevant to power projection, economic conflict, and reserve accumulation. As of this writing, BTC is trading at approximately $76,384, marking modest gains of 1% within the last 24 hours after probing the $75,000 support level on Wednesday. The key level to watch for the cryptocurrency is currently around $80,000 — a level that has been elusive for BTC since early February. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin was trading at $75,900 on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s latest rate decision sent a chill through crypto markets, capping three straight days of withdrawals from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds that together erased more than $490 million. Related Reading: Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Could Be Near As White House Signals Major Update Fidelity And BlackRock Lead The Exodus Fidelity’s FBTC took the heaviest hit, shedding $191 million over the period. BlackRock’s IBIT — the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management — wasn’t far behind, with close to $167 million flowing out. Ark Invest’s ARKB recorded another $73.3 million in withdrawals. The selling was spread across the week: Monday saw the worst single-day figure at $263 million, followed by $89.7 million on Tuesday, and $137.6 million on Wednesday — the day the Fed announced its decision. The outflows came right on the heels of a strong stretch. According to reports, Bitcoin ETFs had pulled in steady money for nine consecutive days before the streak snapped, with total inflows during that run reaching a little over $2 billion. Last week alone brought in almost $824 million. The reversal was sharp. Fed Holds Firm, Markets Respond The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.50%–3.75% for the third meeting in a row. Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave no hint of cuts ahead. No softer tone on inflation. No signal of easier financial conditions on the horizon. That message landed hard on risk assets, and Bitcoin felt it quickly. At the same time, rising tensions between the US and Iran added to the unease. Reports indicate that US President Donald Trump warned the Strait of Hormuz could be blocked if Iran does not stand down. Global markets were already on edge, and that kind of geopolitical pressure tends to push investors toward the exits. Meanwhile, fear has returned to the crypto market, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index falling back into the “Fear” zone as investors grow cautious amid macro uncertainty and continued Bitcoin ETF outflows. What Comes Next For Bitcoin Bitcoin had bounced back from a low near $74,000 earlier in the month, briefly pushing toward $80,000 before this week’s pullback. With ETF outflows continuing, that $75,000 level is again in focus as a potential support test. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bull Run Brewing: ATH In Sight By Late 2026: Analyst Data shows Bitcoin dropped about 3% following the Fed’s announcement. Some traders still expect a recovery toward the $85,000–$88,000 range in May, though that outlook depends heavily on whether macro conditions hold steady. For now, the momentum that built over nine days of inflows has stalled. The question is whether it restarts — or fades further. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
Canada's Liberal government calls machines a “primary method” for scams as data and law enforcement link them to rising losses
Crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade is pointing to a setup that could define Dogecoin’s next major move. The Dogecoin monthly candlestick chart, which stretches back to 2014, shows a pattern that has played out with remarkable consistency, almost mechanical in nature. According to that structure, Dogecoin is now sitting right at the level where previous price explosions have been triggered. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio A Pattern That Has Played Out Twice Before Dogecoin is still trading below $0.10 into the last week of April, languishing well below its cycle peak of $0.48 and largely ignored by many crypto investors. But for Trader Tardigrade, that lack of action may be precisely the point. The structure at the center of Trader Tardigrade’s analysis is a descending triangle that appears to form on Dogecoin’s monthly chart at the end of every major market cycle. Looking at the monthly chart below, Dogecoin initially broke above this triangle formation in 2024. However, the meme coin has been on a price correction path since late 2024, and is now at the point of retesting the apex of the triangle. Interestingly, similar retests of the apex of the triangle, which is its tightest, most compressed point, have always indicated the precise moment before an explosive move to the upside. Back in 2017, Dogecoin compressed into the tip of such a formation and then surged in what became its first significant bull run. The pattern repeated in 2020, when the DOGE price once again coiled into the triangle’s apex before exploding into the historic 2021 rally that took the meme coin to a peak of $0.73. Now, in 2026, Trader Tardigrade is pointing to a third convergence. The monthly chart shows price action once again compressing and retesting the triangle’s tip. Dogecoin’s Price Chart. Source: @TATrader_Alan On X Dogecoin Price Projection According to Trader Tardigrade, when Dogecoin comes back to the tip of the triangle, it doesn’t ask permission. The prediction is a bounce from the triangle’s apex that pushes the Dogecoin price into new price territories. Notably, the analyst’s projection sees Dogecoin going as high as $2.4 if the bounce plays out in full. Although the pattern itself is clear, the broader market environment will likely play a key role in determining how this setup unfolds. This is because Dogecoin’s previous rallies coincided with strong bullish phases across the crypto market. The crypto market is more complex right now, and the fundamental landscape around Dogecoin in 2026 is materially different from what existed in prior cycles. Related Reading: XRP Signals Imminent Breakout — Is A 10% Rally Coming? Bitcoin, for one, needs to stabilize into a full bullish momentum first. The leading cryptocurrency has been attempting to stabilize above $78,000, while capital flows into the industry have picked up in recent days. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin has spent April staging a recovery from its March lows, briefly climbing back above $79,000. However, not everyone is convinced of the rebound, and some analysts believe the move is only a mid-bear-market rally before a deeper correction. One such analyst is one that previously predicted a coming peak in July 2025. Now, the same analyst is predicting how far the Bitcoin price still has to fall before it puts in a true bottom. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio Analyst Uses Previous Top Model To Predict Bitcoin Bottom Crypto analyst Killa made a cycle-top prediction of $121,362 back in June 2025. This call was made months before Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $126,100 in October 2025 and it was off by only about 3.9%. Now, using the same analytical framework that generated that call, Killa has turned the model toward the downside. The principle behind the projection is that each successive Bitcoin market cycle produces a smaller multiple relative to the prior cycle’s bottom, reflecting the maturation of the asset. His data across five cycles shows the high-to-bottom multiple declining from 15.50x in the first cycle to 7.64x, then 6.26x, and then 4.47x in Cycle 4, where Bitcoin peaked at $69,800 before bottoming at $15,600. Applying the same rate of reduction, Killa projects the current cycle’s multiple at 3.25x, dividing the $126,100 cycle top to arrive at a base bottom target of $38,800. To account for the 5% variance that offset his top prediction, he added in two upside scenarios of $40,740 and $42,680. Even at the top of that range, Bitcoin would still be well below the $60,000 level that some market participants have cited as the correction bottom. Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: @KillaXBT On X At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $78,015, meaning a move to $42,680 would still require a drop of about 45%, while a further drop to $38,800 would be close to a 50% correction from current prices. Three Years Up, One Year Down Killa’s bottom projection finds support from a separate analysis by analyst CryptoBullet, who approached the question of a bottom from a symmetry standpoint. CryptoBullet’s weekly Bitcoin chart characterized the current cycle as a five-wave Elliott Wave advance beginning in late 2022, with Wave 5 completing around the $126,000 high in October 2025. The subsequent correction, labeled as a W-X-Y corrective structure in blue, projects a final Wave Y leg down below $50,000 to $45,000. Bitcoin Weekly Chart. Source: @CryptoBullet1 On X Related Reading: XRP Signals Imminent Breakout — Is A 10% Rally Coming? According to the analyst, three years of upward price action from the November 2022 bottom through the 2025 peak cannot reasonably be corrected in less than a year of decline. The current bear phase is shown extending into the second half of 2026 before the bottom structure can be completed. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Tuttle Capital has filed for an XRP Income Blast ETF, the latest sign that Wall Street’s appetite for XRP exposure is growing faster than the market seems to notice. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio The filing came as US spot XRP ETFs quietly pulled in more than $75 million in April — drawing almost no attention while traders focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Institutions Accumulate With Little Noise Data from SoSoValue shows US spot XRP ETFs now collectively hold $1.08 billion — equal to 1.20% of the token’s total supply. Inflows have been steady and one-sided. Since April 9, meaningful outflows have not materialized, with only a minor $661,000 dip recorded across the entire period. In a single day, ETFs brought in $3.89 million, with the Franklin Templeton XRP ETF — trading under the ticker XRPZ — leading that charge. The consistency of these flows points to long-term positioning by institutional buyers rather than the short-burst trading typical of retail-driven markets. ???? XRP Ledger saw 34.94M $XRP in total exchange outflows, the 6th largest 24-hour period of the year. Historically, these large outflow days have corresponded with upcoming bullish price action. ???? Check out XRP outflows here on Santiment any time: https://t.co/WLCy1405T2 pic.twitter.com/nTDT8nDnV3 — Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 24, 2026 One market observer noted on social media that the $75 million pulled in during April flew under the radar while attention stayed locked on bigger tokens. The implication: that kind of gap rarely holds. Whale Moves Dominate On-Chain Activity On the blockchain side, the XRP Ledger recorded 34.94 million XRP leaving exchanges in a single 24-hour window — the sixth-largest daily outflow of 2026, according to data from Santiment. Large outflow events like this have historically preceded price increases, since tokens exiting exchanges tend to reduce the amount immediately available for selling. This isn’t retail traffic. Large holders accounted for 94% of recent outflows on Binance. That means nearly all of the movement was driven by wallets holding significant amounts of XRP. At the same time, whale transfers back into Binance climbed to around 3,000 transactions on April 23 and 24, after dropping close to zero in the days prior. Reports indicate this kind of bounce-back suggests active repositioning — not distribution. Big players appear to be moving XRP around with purpose. What that purpose is remains open to interpretation, but the scale and speed of the activity stands out. Related Reading: XRP Signals Imminent Breakout — Is A 10% Rally Coming? ETF demand and on-chain signals are picking up, but XRP isn’t following through. The price keeps failing at resistance and easing back toward $1.43, staying slightly above the $1.40 support zone. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
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
According to a crypto analyst, the Bitcoin price remains firmly in a bear trend and could be preparing for another major crash to new lows. Using a wave structure, the expert mapped out BTC’s price action during this bearish phase, outlining how he sees the current market developing and where he believes the next downside move could lead. Contrary to other analysts’ predictions, the analyst believes that BTC has not yet reached its cycle bottom and may first see a final surge before plunging below $40,000. Related Reading: Stablecoins Go Institutional As Morgan Stanley Rolls Out New Portfolio Bitcoin Price Could Rebound To $80,000 Before A Final Crash Market analyst Crypto Bullet has presented a bearish BTC forecast on X, suggesting that the flagship cryptocurrency may still have more declines ahead before the current bear market ends. In his analysis, he described BTC’s market structure as a “Double ZigZag (WXY)” formation, using it to track the cryptocurrency’s price action from its October 2025 peak and project where the next major decline could unfold. One reason Crypto Bullet views BTC’s bear market through this WXY structure is because of how the cryptocurrency has traded in recent months. He noted that Bitcoin has spent far more time consolidating between $62,000 and $78,000 than it did in the $84,000 to $97,000 range, where it traded from November 2025 to January 2026. To him, that prolonged sideways movement reflects a broader bearish structure still playing out. Based on that setup, Crypto Bullet believes that BTC’s recent rebound above $78,000 does not mean its bear market has ended but could instead be part of a larger corrective move. He expects the cryptocurrency to make one final push higher toward $85,000, with this level as the next major resistance above his ABC target of $82,500, as highlighted on his chart. Crypto Bullet has tied this outlook to his WXY wave structure. According to him, Bitcoin completed wave W after peaking above $126,000 in October 2025 and plunging to $60,000 in February 2026. He noted that wave X also began after BTC reached $60,000 and projected it could end once the cryptocurrency rallies above $80,000. If that scenario plays out, Crypto Bullet expects wave Y as the final leg low, which is where he believes BTC could eventually find a bottom. In terms of timing, the analyst believes that BTC still has five months left before its bear market ends, which closely aligns with timelines from past bear cycles. Analyst Marks BTC Bottom Target At $40,000 Crypto Bullet’s bearish outlook for Bitcoin centers on wave Y, which he believes could bring the most severe downturn of this cycle. According to him, once Bitcoin completes its rebound above $80,000 in wave X, the market could reverse sharply, triggering a rapid price crash toward a final bottom. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Big Players Are Accumulating — Is $80K Just The Start? He marked BTC’s potential bottom target at $40,000, expecting the move to play out between September and October 2026. From the $80,000 level, this would represent a whopping 50% decline, potentially wiping out bullish traders who had interpreted the surge to $80,000 as the start of a new bullish trend. Supporting this outlook, crypto analyst Tony Severino said he believes this could be the most likely scenario for BTC. 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
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
Market analyst Mati Greenspan said bitcoin has not gone through a “winter,” rather a pullback within a broader bull market, adding the next leg up for bitcoin will be driven by nation-state adoption.
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
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a report warning stablecoin yields and other DeFi “earn” products are bank-like services without the safeguards or insurance.
While market observers often watch the price of tokens, the real story right now is happening in the background of the XRP Ledger. Institutional interest in XRP Spot ETFs is climbing, with more than $65 million in new funds entering the space. Related Reading: Rave Token Crashes 95% As Manipulation Allegations Trigger Panic This surge in professional investment coincides with a massive spike in network use. Daily transactions on the ledger have jumped to nearly 3 million. That is three times the volume seen just a year ago. Institutional Growth Drives Record Network Volume Data shows that the XRP Ledger is handling more than just simple transfers. Tokenized commodities have crossed a $1 billion milestone on the network. At the same time, Ripple’s own stablecoin, RLUSD, has reached a $1 billion market cap. This increase in utility is changing how people view the blockchain. Some market figures, like Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, still raise concerns about how Ripple funds its work by selling tokens from its own supply. However, the network itself is busier than ever. Demand for XRP keeps growing. More access, more ecosystems, more utility. https://t.co/zEqt5C3mmJ — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) April 17, 2026 Reports indicate that Ripple recently moved 75 million XRP between April 20 and April 21. This amount is worth about $107 million. The movement was not a single transaction. Instead, it was a multi-step process. First, Ripple moved 50 million tokens to an internal wallet. From there, the funds moved through a series of addresses. One specific address split the 75 million XRP into five separate piles. Each pile held 15 million tokens. Ripple just moved 75,000,000 XRP worth $107,000,000 on-chain ???? something’s always cooking when Ripple moves this quietly… $XRP pic.twitter.com/W0WYXZQuRW — Xaif Crypto (@Xaif_Crypto) April 20, 2026 Tracking The Flow Of Millions To Major Exchanges The path of these tokens ended at different destinations. Based on reports, 50 million of the XRP reached Coinbase wallets. The other 25 million stayed in private addresses. This type of movement often makes traders nervous about a price drop. Usually, sending tokens to an exchange means someone is getting ready to sell. Despite the large amount of money moving, the price of XRP did not crash. XRP has actually held its ground quite well. The token is trading between $1.43 and $1.44. In the last seven days, it rose by about 8%. This performance was better than Bitcoin or Ether during the same period. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Record Miner Sell-Off Casts Shadow Over Ceasefire-Fueled Rebound Analysts suggest that the 75 million XRP transfer might be for liquidity management. Since big investment firms are buying into ETFs, they need a steady supply of tokens to trade. Ripple may be moving these funds to make sure the market has enough depth to handle that demand. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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
The transfer effectively moves part of Li’s private trading operation into a public company where he is the largest shareholder.