tridEX

3rd April 2025

Ethereum Trading In ‘No Man’s Land’, But Analyst Says Breakout Is A Matter Of Time

Ethereum (ETH) continues failing to reclaim the $2,100 resistance, dropping 6% in the past week. As the second largest crypto trades within its “make or break” levels, some market watchers suggest it will continue to move sideways before another major move.

Ethereum Trades At 2023 Levels

After closing its worst Q1 since 2018, Ethereum continued moving sideways, hovering between the $1,775-$1,925 price range. Amid last Monday’s recovery, Ethereum traded only 6% below its monthly opening, eyeing a potential positive close in the monthly timeframe.

Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency fell over 10% from last week’s high to close the first quarter 45.4% below its January opening and 18.6% from its March opening. Moreover, it registers its worst performance in seven years, recording four consecutive months of bleeding for the first time since 2018.

Daan Crypto Trades noted that ETH is “still trading in no man’s land” despite its recent attempts to break above its current range. In early March, Ethereum dropped below the $2,100 mark, losing its 2024 gains and hitting a 16-month low of $1,750.

Ethereum

The trader suggested that the crucial levels to watch are a breakdown below $1,750 or a breakout above $2,100. “Anything in between is just going to be a painful chop,” he added.

Another market watcher, Merlijn The Trader, highlighted that ETH is at 2021 levels, pointing that it is trading within the breakout zone that led to Ethereum’s all-time high (ATH) but has stronger fundamentals and more institutional demand four years later.

“ETH is sitting on the same monthly support that ignited the 2021 bull run. Hold it, and $10K is in play. Lose it… and things get ugly,” he detailed.

More Chop Before ETH’s Next Move?

Analyst VirtualBacon considers that Ethereum will continue to trade within its current price range for the time being. He explained that ETH’s price has fallen to retest the last bear market resistance levels, as it has erased all its gains since November 2023.

The analyst considers this zone a “good value range” but doesn’t expect the cryptocurrency to break out “right away.” However, he added that a bullish breakout is “simply a matter of time” in longer timeframes.

“Ethereum always catches up when the Fed pivots and the global liquidity index beings to uptrend. That’s when you see the ETH/BTC ratio start to turn up again, leading the rest of the altcoin market,” he concluded.

Ali Martinez pointed out that the number of large ETH transactions has significantly declined in over a month, dropping 63.8% since February 25.

During this period, large transactions fell from 14,500 to 5,190, signaling a drop in whale activity on the network. He also noted that whales have sold 760,000 ETH in the last two weeks.

As of this writing, Ethereum trades at $1,903, a 6% drop in the weekly timeframe.

Ethereum, eth, ethusdt

3rd April 2025

Crypto donations top $1B in 2024, gain traction after Myanmar, Thailand quake

Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao donated over half a million dollars worth of crypto to the earthquake disaster relief effort in Thailand and Myanmar, in another testament to the growing utility of blockchain-based emergency charity efforts.

Zhao donated 1,000 BNB (BNB) tokens worth almost $600,000 to the disaster relief funds for the region on March 3, blockchain data shows.

Crypto donations top $1B in 2024, gain traction after Myanmar, Thailand quake — *Zhao donates 1,000 BNB. Source:* *BscScan*

“Sent 1000 BNB for the donation for Myanmar and Thailand,” wrote Zhao in an April 3 X post.

The crypto donation comes after Thailand and Myanmar were hit by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28, causing severe damage to buildings and widespread flooding.

At least 2,719 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar and 18 in Thailand, with 76 people still unaccounted for, according to the latest figures shared by Reuters.

The $600,000 donation comes nearly a week after Zhao pledged to donate 500 BNB for the relief efforts, an initial commitment that he doubled. Cryptocurrency-based donations have emerged as a significant lifeline for the region, due to banking restrictions caused by damaged infrastructure.

Crypto donations exceeded $1 billion in 2024, spurred by increasing digital asset valuations and growing crypto regulatory clarity. About 16% of the donations went toward education, while 14% went toward medicine and health-related efforts.

The Giving Block has launched a crypto-based emergency relief effort for Myanmar and Thailand to raise $500,000 for the devastated region.

The organization expects crypto donations to reach $2.5 billion in 2025 on growing crypto wealth generation and increasing adoption due to a more favorable political landscape.

Crypto donations gain traction for emergency relief efforts

Zhao’s donation is a testament to the growing role of cryptocurrency in humanitarian aid, according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.

“Crypto donations, compared to traditional fiat contributions, offer unique advantages, especially in emergencies,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Speed is a key factor—transactions on blockchain networks can settle in minutes, bypassing the delays of banks or intermediaries, which is critical when time saves lives.”

“In disaster-stricken areas like Myanmar or Thailand, where infrastructure might be compromised, crypto can reach recipients directly via digital wallets, no SWIFT codes or wire transfers required,” Lian explained.

Lian also donated 44 BNB tokens to the relief efforts in Myanmar and Thailand, a move that was publicly praised by Zhao.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been known for his crypto donations. In October, Buterin donated over $180,000 in Ether (ETH) to the biotech charity Kanro.

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3rd April 2025

Bitcoin Development Mailing List Briefly Goes Offline After ‘Malicious’ Warning

The Bitcoin Development Mailing List, a key communication platform for developers of the original blockchain, was briefly offline on Wednesday after an apparent bot attack.

Google flagged the publicly viewable group as containing “spam, malware, or other malicious content.” Users accessing the group received a “permanently removed” message while the issue was being sorted out.

The active group is used to discuss Bitcoin proposals, relay development messages, and flag and solve any issues across the Bitcoin ecosystem. It moved to Google in February 2024. Its previous hosts were the Linux Foundation, Oregon State University Open Source Lab’s infrastructure and SourceForge.net.

“Apparently we’re “permanently removed”. Our transgression? We’re “unwanted content,” developer Ruben Somsen posted on X. “Really Google? Open source development is “unwanted”?”

Google’s Workspace Support resolved the issue early Thursday, according to an X post. It did not provide a clear reason for the removal.

Reports suggested the takedown could have been due to a bot attack, where a malicious actor performs an extremely high number of tasks (such as clicks or visits) to disable a service and create havoc within a specific environment.

The intrusion comes as the bitcoin (BTC) price grapples with high volatility amid a shaky macroeconomic environment, stemming from a slew of U.S. tariffs announced Wednesday.

3rd April 2025

Bitcoin’s Hash Rate Hits Record High, Yet Price and Activity Tell Another Story

Bitcoin blockchain’s hashrate is surging, revealing a growing dislocation between the network activity and prices for its native token bitcoin (BTC).

On a 14-day moving average, the hashrate, representing the computational power required to mine a block on the proof-of-work Bitcoin blockchain, recently reached an all-time high of 838 exahashes per second (EH/s), and on a 24-hour time frame, it spiked to 974 EH/s, the second highest level ever, according to Glassnode data.

Measuring over a 24-hour window can be misleading due to block time variability, so longer timeframes give more reliable insights. In two days, Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment — which recalibrates every 2016 blocks to maintain a 10-minute block interval — is expected to increase by over 3%, reaching a new peak.

This divergence between hash rate and price is notable. While bitcoin remains about 25% below its all-time high, mining costs continue to rise. For miners to stay profitable and cover operational expenses and capital expenditures, a strong bitcoin price, full blocks and high transaction fees are essential.

Currently, miners earn revenue through two channels: block rewards (3.125 BTC per block in the current epoch) and transaction fees. However, transaction fees are extremely low — averaging around 4 BTC per day, or roughly $377,634. As bitcoin’s block subsidy continues to halve every four years, sustained or increasing transaction activity will be critical to maintaining mining incentives.

Near empty blocks

Developer Mononaut, from Mempool, recently noted that Foundry USA Pool mined the emptiest “non-empty” block in over two years, containing just seven transactions — a rarity only surpassed by a block with four transactions back in January 2023.

In other words, while the rising hashrate paints a picture of a booming network, the near-empty blocks make it the case of a powerful train speeding down the tracks but without passengers.

That’s a cause for concern for Nicolas Gregory, creator of the Mercury Layer and a former Nasdaq Board Director.

“Half-empty bitcoin blocks tell a tale — hawking the store-of-value line could scupper its future,” Gregory said on X.

“I hope bitcoiners realize this space is more than just podcasts, spaces, and the ‘number go up’ digital gold narrative. If we don’t get people using bitcoin for real commerce, it’s game over,” Gregory added.

3rd April 2025

Bitcoin price risks drop to $71K as Trump tariffs hurt US business outlook

Bitcoin (BTC) faces “very high risk” conditions from US trade tariffs, which could spark a slump to $71,000.

In his latest analysis, Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, warned about the impact of “higher than expected” US trade tariffs.

”Higher than expected” US tariffs pressure Bitcoin

Bitcoin reacted noticeably worse than US stocks after President Donald Trump announced worldwide reciprocal trade tariffs on April 2.

BTC/USD fell up to 8.5% on the day, while the S&P 500 managed to end the Wall Street trading session 0.7% higher.

Edwards said that US business expectations are reflecting the type of uncertainty seen only three times since the turn of the millennium.

“Consider this as tariffs come in higher than expected. The Philly Fed Business Outlook survey is showing expectations today comparable to 2000, 2008 and 2022,” he told X followers.

An accompanying chart showed the Philadelphia Fed’s Business Outlook Survey (BOS) back under 15 for the first time since the start of 2024. Late 2022 was the pit of the most recent crypto bear market when BTC/USD reversed at $15,600.

Bitcoin price risks drop to $71K as Trump tariffs hurt US business outlook — *Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey vs. S&P 500. Source: Charles Edwards/X*

In Capriole’s latest market update on March 31, Edwards acknowledged that BOS data can produce unreliable signals regarding market sentiment but argued that it should not be ignored.

“While no guarantee of the future outlook (this metric does have false signals) this is a data reading we have had before at very high risk zones (year 2000, 2008 and 2022), telling us to keep a very open mind,” he wrote, adding:

“Especially if the tariff war escalates significantly beyond current expectations or corporate margins start to fall.”

For Bitcoin, a key level to watch in the tariff aftermath is $91,000, with Capriole suggesting that US macroeconomic moves would “decide the ultimate technical trend from here.”

“All else equal, a daily close above $91K would be a strong bullish reclaim signal,” the update explained alongside the weekly BTC/USD chart.

“Failing that, a dip into the $71K zone would likely see a sizable bounce.”

BTC price focus on US liquidity trend

As Cointelegraph reported, a silver lining for crypto and risk assets could come in the form of increasing global liquidity.

In the US, the Fed has already begun to loosen tight financial policy, with bets on a return to so-called quantitative easing (QE) varying.

“How long until the Powell printer starts humming?” Edwards queried.

M2 money supply, meanwhile, is due for an “influx,” something which has historically spawned major BTC price upside.

“The BIG takeaway (the most important observation) is that a big M2 influx is coming. The exact date is less important,” analyst Colin Talks Crypto predicted in an X thread this week.

A comparative chart hinted at a potential BTC price rebound by the start of May.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

3rd April 2025

Justin Sun Calls for Reform of Hong Kong’s Trust Laws After TUSD Misappropriation Allegations

HONG KONG—It was a battle of stablecoin issuers Thursday afternoon in Hong Kong, with Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, and First Digital Trust (FDT), a Hong Kong-based fiduciary, holding press conferences over allegations of fund misappropriation involving Techteryx’s TrueUSD reserves.

Sun doubled down on claims that TrueUSD’s reserves were “misappropriated by a few bad actors,” leading to him needing to quietly bail out the stablecoin.

Sun pointed a finger at the Hong Kong regulatory framework surrounding trusts, arguing at the press conference that loopholes and loose rules allowed the alleged misappropriation to occur.

“This situation highlights a serious challenge to the integrity of the financial system that must be addressed,” he said. “I found it hard to believe the scale of fraud orchestrated by a long list of licensed intermediaries.”

Sun even said that for the time being, Hong Kong trust companies should be avoided entirely, and urged regulators to take decisive action to safeguard the city’s global financial reputation.

For that case, Sun might have an ally in the shape of Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Ng — called the city’s Web3 politician. He released a statement saying that he’s aware of multiple reports this year of alleged fraud exploiting trust companies, and acknowledged that local regulation needs to be improved.

First Digital Trust denies all allegations

After Sun’s press conference, First Digital Trust held its own event on X, with CEO Vincent Chok saying Sun had yet to produce “one solid piece of evidence” to back up his claims.

FDT followed its fiduciary duties, acted in clients’ best interests, complied with instructions from Sun and his nominees, which were signed off by Techteryx directors, and noted that the company is subject to third-party audits, Chok said.

Chok, however, acknowledged he was previously unaware of the familial connection between Aria CFF and Aria DMCC — the funds where TUSD’s reserves are held up.

In a complaint to the Department of Justice, Techteryx noted that Aria CFF, the fund it said is authorized to hold TrueUSD’s reserves is managed by Matthew Brittain. Aria DMCC, which Techteryx said is unauthorized, is controlled by his spouse, Cecilia Brittain.

Chok said FDT is working to recover funds, but know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) issues involving the ultimate beneficial owner of Techteryx are apparently holding things up.

He also rejected Sun’s claims in a post on X that First Digital Trust is unable to fulfill redemption obligations of its FDUSD stablecoin. The token is still very much solvent, Chok said.

FDT said it plans to pursue legal action over Sun’s claims.

Earlier, the company posted examples of on-chain data showing redemptions going through.

3rd April 2025

Dogecoin, XRP Among Coins Seeing The Largest Decline In Profit Supply: Data

On-chain data shows Dogecoin and XRP have recently been seeing the sharpest decreases in Supply in Profit out of the major cryptocurrencies.

Dogecoin & XRP Have Seen A Notable Drop In Profitability During Last 30 Days

In a new post on X, the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has discussed about the latest trend in the Supply in Profit for the major assets in the cryptocurrency sector.

The “Supply in Profit” here is an indicator that keeps track of the percentage of the total circulating supply of a given digital asset that’s being held at some net unrealized profit.

The metric works by going through the transaction history of each coin on the network to see what price it was last moved at. If this previous transfer value of any token was less than the current spot price, then that particular coin is assumed to be sitting on a profit right now.

The Supply in Profit adds up all coins of this type and determines what part of the supply that they make up for. An alternate indicator known as the Supply in Loss takes into account for the supply of the opposite type. The value of the Supply in Loss can also simply be calculated by subtracting the Supply in Profit from 100, as the total supply must add up to a 100%.

Now, here is the chart shared by the analytics firm that shows the trend in the 7-day simple moving average (SMA) of the Supply in Profit for eight cryptocurrencies over the last few months:

Bitcoin Supply in Profit

As is visible in the above graph, Toncoin (TON) and BNB (BNB) have seen the Supply in Profit go through a significant increase recently. Over the last 30 days, TON has seen an additional 23.8% of the supply get into the green, taking the total to a whopping 94.1%. Similarly, BNB has seen a rise of 17.4%, putting the metric at 86.3%.

On the other end of the spectrum are Dogecoin (DOGE), XRP (XRP), and Solana (SOL), with each registering a notable decrease in the indicator. Below is a chart that filters out the other assets to focus on the curves for these coins.

Dogecoin, XRP

With the decrease, XRP has seen another 5.2% of its supply fall into a loss to take the total Supply in Profit to 81.5%. Dogecoin has seen an almost double digit decrease in the metric, but a majority of its coins are still above water as the indicator sits at 53.6%.

Solana hasn’t been so lucky, however, as despite a decline of just 4.4%, only 35.2% of the the cryptocurrency’s supply is currently holding a gain. From one perspective, though, this development may not actually be so bad for SOL. Generally, profit-sellers are what impede bullish moves, but when there aren’t many investors left in gain anymore, the price tends to bottom out.

With Solana and even Dogecoin sitting on a relatively low level of profit supply, it’s possible that their prices could be near a rebound.

DOGE Price

At the time of writing, Dogecoin is floating around $0.173, down more than 11% over the last week.

Dogecoin Price Chart

3rd April 2025

U.S. Recession Odds Surge in Prediction Markets on Tariff Shock. What Next for BTC?

U.S. recession fears are in the air following President Donald Trump’s tariff plan, with prediction platforms Polymarket and Kalshi indicating heightened concerns the economy will take a hit.

On Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, the chance of the country slipping into recession this year topped 50% for the first time since the betting contract “US Recession in 2025” began trading early this year. The contract’s Yes shares soared to over 50 cents from 39 cents in less than 24 hours.

The contract will resolve to Yes if the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) confirms a recession at any point before Dec. 31. The other condition requires back-to-back quarterly contractions in gross domestic product.

Kalshi, a U.S.-based regulated prediction market, also points to heightened economic concerns among traders, with the probability of a 2025 recession rising to 54% from 40% .

Financial markets tend to be forward-looking and may react to rising U.S. recession odds by sending risk assets such as bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies lower. At publication time, the S&P 500 futures traded 3% lower, pointing to severe risk aversion on Wall Street and offering bearish cues to bitcoin, which changed hands at $83,100, 1.5% lower in 24 hours.

The sweeping tariffs unveiled Wednesday set a base rate of 10% on all imports, plus higher taxes on 60 nations identified as worst offenders. China, the most heavily hit, warranted a 34% levy on top of the existing 20% charge, taking the total to 54%. The base tariffs go into effect on April 5 and the higher reciprocal rates on April 9.

While the Trump administration expects tariffs to rectify the large and persistent U.S. goods trade deficits, in the short run, they could add to domestic inflation and global instability. The latter could happen immediately if China, the European Union and others hit back with higher tariffs, starting a full-blown global trade war.

Risk-off to be short-lived?

Still, some observers say the tariff uncertainty might lead only to an economic slowdown rather than a full-blown recession.

“The threat of further tariff escalation remains a key concern, but our economic forecasts do not call for a recession in the US,” UBS said in a blog post. “In our base case, a wide range of selective tariffs and counteractions are likely to lead to slower economic growth compared to last year, but they should not prevent the US economy from expanding by around 2%—its historical trend rate—this year.”

As for financial markets, some observers say the tariffs are dovish, meaning the initial risk-off reaction could be short-lived and quickly reversed by expectations of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

“Remember – tariffs are dovish, and big tariffs are very dovish,” Joseph Wang, operator of the research portal fedguy.com said on X, referring to his November post that detailed how big tariffs would lead to more rate cuts.

Wang argued that while tariffs are inflationary, they can be mitigated through foreign-exchange rates and are ultimately transitory. Meanwhile, damage to the business sentiment can be long-lasting, leading to unemployment, which the Fed would want to avoid.

Rates traders are already pricing a higher probability that the Fed will cut the benchmark borrowing cost in June, restarting the so-called easing cycle that began in September last year.

3rd April 2025

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin.

The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.

Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican state Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283, while a bi-partisan group of representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).

Twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly name Bitcoin

Minnesota’s Bitcoin Act would allow the state’s investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.

It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves — *Source:* *Bitcoin Laws*

The twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly identify Bitcoin, but would limit the state’s crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion, a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.

26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the US

Introducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the bicameral legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.

Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.

Pennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill, in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Law, Bitcoin Regulation, United States, Policy, Bitcoin Reserve — *Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states thathave rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin Laws*

According to a March 3 report by Barron’s, “red states” like Montana have faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives amid political confrontations between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Additional reporting by Helen Partz.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

3rd April 2025

Analyst Identifies Key Bitcoin Demand Zone For ‘Substantial Gains’ – Details

In a CryptoQuant Quicktake post published today, contributor BorisVest highlighted a key demand zone for Bitcoin (BTC) that could offer investors an opportunity for ‘substantial gains.’ The analyst used the Active Realized Price (ARP) and the True Market Mean Price (TMMP) to identify this critical zone.

Buying Bitcoin Here Could Be Profitable

Bitcoin is currently trading approximately 10% higher than its recent local bottom of nearly $77,000, recorded on March 10. However, uncertainty in the market has increased due to US President Donald Trump’s looming trade tariffs, with some analysts predicting that the top cryptocurrency could experience further downside before a trend reversal occurs.

Amid this backdrop, CryptoQuant contributor BorisVest noted that, based on market dynamics, BTC’s ARP is currently hovering around $71,000 – representing almost a 20% pullback from its current price in the mid-$80,000 range.

For the uninitiated, Bitcoin’s ARP is a metric that calculates the average acquisition price of all actively traded BTC, filtering out dormant coins. It helps identify market sentiment by showing the cost basis of active investors, providing insights into potential support or resistance levels.

Additionally, BorisVest pointed out that BTC’s TMMP currently has a key support level at $65,000. The analyst stated:

If we define the area between the Active Realized Price and the True Market Mean Price as a zone, we can expect that in the near future, if the price declines, it should meet significant demand in this range.

In essence, BTC’s current major demand zone lies between $71,000 and $65,000. Purchasing BTC within this range could provide investors with a favorable risk-reward ratio, potentially leading to substantial gains.

Analyst Points Out Key Resistance Levels

In contrast to BorisVest’s analysis, prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez identified two key resistance levels for Bitcoin. Martinez stated:

Bitcoin BTC faces the 200-day MA at $86,200 and the 50-day MA at $88,300 as key resistance ahead! A break above these levels could shift momentum back to the bulls.

ali

Moving-average (MA) based resistance levels often function as key psychological and technical price barriers. Market traders typically place their sell orders around these levels, leading to price reversal or consolidation.

Martinez’s analysis aligns with that of fellow crypto analyst Rekt Capital, who noted that despite BTC breaking its daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) downtrend, it may still face significant resistance ahead.

That said, a bullish trend reversal may be on the horizon for BTC. Recent reports suggest that Trump may soften his stance on reciprocal tariffs, potentially enabling a relief rally for risk-on assets like BTC. At press time, BTC is trading at $84,820, up 1.5% in the past 24 hours.

bitcoin

3rd April 2025

Corporate Bitcoin Buying Hits Record Levels, Yet Prices Are Down—Here’s Why

Bitcoin continues to trade above the $85,000 mark, signaling a slight upward movement after weeks of price consolidation. As of today, the asset is up 2.2% on the daily chart, giving some traders a reason to anticipate a stronger rally ahead. However, broader timeframes paint a different picture.

Over the last month, Bitcoin is down over 8%, and from its January 2025 all-time high above $109,000, the decline stands at more than 20%.

Public Companies Accumulate BTC While Long-Term Holders Sell

Despite this underperformance, blockchain data provider CryptoQuant has published a breakdown of corporate Bitcoin accumulation in the first quarter of 2025.

The data highlights an aggressive accumulation trend among public companies. In total, these firms added 91,781 BTC to their balance sheets between January and March, suggesting continued confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value proposition.

Among the most notable buyers, Tether added 8,888 BTC in Q1 2025, bringing its total holdings to 92,646 BTC. MicroStrategy remained the most aggressive acquirer, purchasing 81,785 BTC worth over $8 billion.

Other participants included Semler Scientific (+1,108 BTC), Metaplanet (+2,285 BTC), and The Blockchain Company (+605 BTC).

CryptoQuant also mentioned that Marathon Digital is planning a $2 billion stock sale to fund future Bitcoin purchases, while GameStop is exploring a $1.3 billion convertible note offering to support its entry into Bitcoin investing.

However, this strong demand was not enough to sustain Bitcoin’s price. CryptoQuant reported that long-term holders offloaded around 178,000 BTC during the same period, adding significant sell pressure.

The situation was exacerbated by outflows of approximately $4.8 billion from spot Bitcoin ETFs, which further weighed on price action.

Adding to the sell pressure: $4.8 billion flowed out of Bitcoin ETFs in Q1.

Despite corporate buying, this wave of outflows likely weighed heavily on price. pic.twitter.com/gZZz5RJxdK

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) April 2, 2025

Key Support Levels for Bitcoin Identified by Analyst

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant analyst BorisVest identified an important support zone between $65,000 and $71,000. This range is derived from two specific metrics: the Active Realized Price and the True Market Mean Price.

The Active Realized Price, currently around $71,000, filters out long-dormant coins to better reflect the behavior of more active market participants. On the other hand, the True Market Mean Price at $65,000 represents a broader average based on recent transaction history.

BorisVest noted that if Bitcoin’s price falls into this zone, it could see strong demand from long-term holders and institutional buyers alike. He suggested that this area may serve as a foundation for further accumulation and potentially act as a springboard for a new upward phase.

Regardless, while some market participants continue to exit their positions, others appear to be taking advantage of the consolidation to accumulate.

Bitcoin (BTC) price chart on TradingView

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

3rd April 2025

Treasure DAO announces huge pivot in hopes of extending runway to February

Decentralized video game ecosystem Treasure DAO is restructuring as “a matter of survival” to extend its financial runway to at least February 2026.

Treasure DAO’s chief contributor John Patten says in an April 2 video posted to X that he has resumed a leadership role and is taking a plan to the DAO to streamline operations, eliminate unnecessary costs, and center the organization around a few key projects.

“I will introduce this after all of you provide your opinions at this time. I have my own thoughts, but we must make this decision as a community through long deliberation. The best ideas need to rise to the surface,” he said.

As part of cost-cutting to reduce Treasure DAO’s annual burn rate of $8.3 million, Patten says 15 contributors have either left or been laid off, and game publishing support and the treasure chain will be terminated.

At the same time, he is proposing to withdraw an idle $785,000 from the market maker Flowdesk to increase the DAO’s treasury.

Patten says that, with the current runway, “stablecoins will last until roughly December,” but if the DAO approves withdrawing the funds from Flowdesk, this could be extended to February 2026, in “an optimistic scenario.”

The DAO’s current treasury only has $2.4 million left, and the ecosystem fund holds 22.3 million MAGIC, valued at $2.3 million, according to Patten, and if “Magic falls,” the DAO is “unsustainable sometime between December and February.”

Treasure DAO to refocus on four products

Patten says the DAO also needs to focus its energy on a few key products and future partnerships will be based on revenue generation for the DAO, where users of the platform will need to generate value through token use.

“The DAO should officially commit to a focused, streamlined approach of four products and four products only, the marketplace, Bridgeworld, Smolworld and AI agent, scaling technology,” he said.

“That’s all that Treasure should be through 2025. Bridgeworld and Smolworld will be use cases to demonstrate how other projects utilize magic marketplace and our AI framework and back end to run many, many agents concurrently.”

TreasureDAO, launched in 2021, offered services to provide game publishers access to infrastructure and advisory services to launch Web3-based games.

However, Patten says it “didn’t have a scalable business model” and hasn’t grown since the Arbitrum airdrop in March 2023.

The Treasure ecosystem token MAGIC is down 16.5% to $0.0872 for the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Overall, the token has shed 98% after hitting its all-time high of $6.32 on Feb. 19, 2022.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

3rd April 2025

XRP in Focus as RLUSD Sees $100M Minted on Ripple Payments Boost

Over $100 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) has been issued since April 1, among the highest levels in recent months, as demand for the relatively new stablecoin heats up.

A $50 million tranche of RLUSD was issued earlier this week on Tuesday, with another $50 million late Wednesday. That came as Ripple added the stablecoin to its official payments product, with payment providers BKK Forex and iSend already said to be using the stablecoin.

Industry leaders expect RLUSD to further shift crypto market dynamics, where upstarts tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) could see competition from Ripple’s product.

XRP Ledger-based decentralized financial (DeFi) applications could be a cohort to watch for as RLUSD gains traction on various platforms, boosting XRP token demand.

RLUSD is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, offered on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain. It is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

To maintain its peg, RLUSD relies on a 1:1 reserve system—each token matches an equivalent fiat value.

Users can mint RLUSD by depositing dollars with authorized partners, who issue tokens, or burn RLUSD to redeem cash. Market arbitrage helps stabilize its price: if RLUSD trades below $1, traders buy it to redeem at par, raising demand; if above $1, they mint more, increasing supply.

Security features make RLUSD appealing to institutional users. An XRP Ledger amendment in January saw a “clawback” feature go live on the network, allowing the issuer to reclaim or “claw back” certain tokens, such as RLUSD, from users’ wallets under specific conditions.

This feature is typically implemented for regulatory compliance, to recover assets in cases of fraud, illegal activities, or when tokens are sent to unintended addresses.

3rd April 2025

XRP in Focus as RLUSD Sees $100M Minted on Ripple Payments Boost

Over $100 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) has been issued since April 1, among the highest levels in recent months, as demand for the relatively new stablecoin heats up.

Industry leaders expect RLUSD to further shift crypto market dynamics, where upstarts tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) could see competition from Ripple’s product.

XRP Ledger-based decentralized financial (DeFi) applications could be a cohort to watch for as RLUSD gains traction on various platforms, boosting XRP token demand.

RLUSD is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, offered on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain. It is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

To maintain its peg, RLUSD relies on a 1:1 reserve system—each token matches an equivalent fiat value.

This feature is typically implemented for regulatory compliance, to recover assets in cases of fraud, illegal activities, or when tokens are sent to unintended addresses.

3rd April 2025

Wobble in Bitcoin, Ether, XRP Prices Cause Crypto Bulls and Bears to See $450M Liquidations Each

Higher-than-usual market volatility affected bulls and bears alike as crypto futures racked up $450 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours as U.S. tariffs went into play.

President Donald Trump officially levied a 25% tariff on auto imports and a minimum 10% tariff on all exporters to the U.S. Additional duties were imposed on the nation’s biggest trading partners in Asia and the European Union, with China facing a 50% hike on several goods and a 26% fee on some Indian goods.

Turmoil in markets ensued with gains from the past three days wiped out in U.S. indices and cryptocurrencies. Asian markets tumbled early Thursday and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields slumped to the lowest level in more than five months. Gold set yet another record high.

Bitcoin inched above $87,000 as investors hoped for leaner long-term effects of the economic changes, with signs of a risk-on environment emerging at the start of the week. Majors ether (ETH) and xrp (XRP) traded above $1,900 and $2.15, respectively, with technical analysis suggesting higher moves in the near term.

But the euphoria was short-lived as crypto majors dipped as much as 5% from Wednesday’s highs before gradually stabilizing.

In Asian morning hours on Thursday, bitcoin traded just above $83,500 while ether traded slightly over $1,800 — effectively reversing all gains from Tuesday after a sudden drop following the Tokyo open.

That caused over $230 million in liquidations on both bullish and bearish bets, data shows, in an unusual move. BTC-tracked futures registered over $172 million in long and short liquidations alone, followed by ETH futures at $120 million and smaller altcoins at $50 million.

Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open).

Single-sided large liquidations can signal the local top or bottom of a steep price move, which may allow traders to position themselves accordingly. However, Thursday’s liquidations can be considered a sign of market uncertainty.

3rd April 2025

Did ChatGPT come up with Trump’s tariff rate formula?

There’s a crazy theory on social media that US President Donald Trump’s newly announced reciprocal tariff plan — which hits all countries with a minimum 10% tariff — could have been designed by an artificial intelligence chatbot.

Only a short period after Trump announced the tariffs at the White House Rose Garden on April 2, some X users claim they were able to duplicate the same tariff plan with a rudimentary prompt using OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

“I was able to duplicate it in ChatGPT,” NFT collector DCinvestor told his 260,000 followers on X following the Donald Trump announcement of reciprocal tariffs on 185 countries on April 2.

“It also told me that this idea hadn’t been formalized anywhere before, and that it was something it came up with,” he added, referring to the chatbot’s ability to calculate the tariff rates. “FFS. Trump admin is using ChatGPT to determine trade policy,” he added.

Of course, the similarities between the artificial intelligence-generated tariff plan and Trump’s plan could also be simply coincidental.

DCInvestor’s observation came in response to crypto trader Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie, who also asked ChatGPT using the prompt: “What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even playing fields when it comes to trade deficit. Set a minimum of 10%.”

Did ChatGPT come up with Trump’s tariff rate formula? — *ChatGPT response to question on tariff calculations. Source: Cobie*

Journal of Public Economics editor Wojtek Kopczuk also experimented with ChatGPT, which generated the same results. “I think they asked ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs from other countries, which is why the tariffs make absolutely no fucking sense,” he said.

Author Krishnan Rohit postulated on X that this “might be the first large-scale application of AI technology to geopolitics.” ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok all give the same answer to the question on how to impose tariffs easily, he observed.

Trump’s reciprocal tariffs lead to crypto dip

Founder and CEO of supply chain logistics platform Flexport, Ryan Petersen, said his firm had reverse-engineered the formula the Trump administration used to generate the reciprocal tariffs.

“It’s quite simple, they took the trade deficit the US has with each country and divided it by our imports from that country,”

An editor at The Yale Review, James Surowiecki, said something similar, “they just took our [US] trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country’s exports to us.”

Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which come into effect on April 5, have hit all countries with a 10% levy, with some nations facing even larger rates, such as China with a 34% tariff, Japan with 24%, and the European Union with 20%.

Crypto markets reacted particularly badly, plunging 5% after the announcement as Bitcoin (BTC) fell by $5,500 to $82,277 before recovering marginally, according to CoinGecko.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

3rd April 2025

XRP Nears Topping Pattern That Could Lead to a Downtrend, Establishing $1.07 as Support: Technical Analysis

Tariffs-led risk-off has payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP trading close to the support zone near $2, a crucial level for confirming a significant topping pattern and renewed downtrend.

We are referring to the head-and-shoulders pattern, comprising three peaks, with the middle being the highest. A horizontal line drawn from the base of the three peaks, the neckline, marks the key demand zone.

In XRP’s case, the $1.90-$2 range has been that demand zone since January. So, a price move below the same would trigger the H&S breakdown, confirming a bullish-to-bearish trend change.

A potential breakdown could see prices nearly halve to $1.07, according to veteran analyst and trader Peter Brandt. Chart analysts identify targets using the measure move method, which involves determining the distance from the top of the head to the neckline and subtracting that distance from the breakdown point, in this case, $2.

On the higher side, $3, or the lower high created in early March, is the level to beat for the bulls.

3rd April 2025

Bitcoiner speculates ‘massive’ bot spam briefly took down Bitcoin mailing list

One of Bitcoin’s key communication tools used to discuss potential protocol changes was knocked out for several hours starting on April 2, with one moderator speculating it may have been a targeted attack assisted by bots.

For several hours across April 2 and 3, Bitcoin core developers and researchers were unable to interact on Google Groups after Google banned the group for spam.

“Bitcoin Development Mailing List has been identified as containing spam, malware, or other malicious content,” Google’s warning stated at the time.

Bitcoiner speculates ‘massive’ bot spam briefly took down Bitcoin mailing list — *The Bitcoin Development Mailing List’s warning before the ban was lifted. Source:* *Google*

Bitcoin Core developer Bryan Bishop told Cointelegraph that the ban may have been triggered by individuals or bots mass-reporting the Bitcoin mailing list from multiple accounts.

It’s a common tactic by attackers looking to ban or censor a community, Bishop said, noting that similar incidents occur on YouTube, X and TikTok fairly often.

“So it’s possible that this whole thing might have been triggered through something like that. It might have just been someone clicking those links on a massive scale to report it.”

Google Workspace Support’s X account confirmed that the issue had been resolved on April 3 at 2:23 am UTC in response to one of the Bitcoin mailing list’s other moderators, Ruben Somsen.

Bitcoin advocate and head of Block Inc, Jack Dorsey, also called attention to the ban, urging Google CEO Sundar Pichai to investigate the issue.

Mailing lists typically involve one moderator email sending information to subscribers in a group to discuss and collaborate on a topic or shared interest.

The Bitcoin mailing list is used by Bitcoin core developers and researchers to discuss potential protocol changes to Bitcoin, which secures more than $1.6 trillion worth of value for network users around the world.

It has become one of the main Bitcoin mailing lists since the network’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, shared Bitcoin’s white paper on the Cryptography Mailing List on Oct. 31, 2008.

Bitcoin mailing list moderators plan to stay on Google Groups

Despite the incident, Bishop said the Bitcoin mailing list moderators have no intention of moving away from communicating via email:

“The reality of the situation is that this particular mailing list has always been email, and so the contributors that discuss Bitcoin protocol development through email, in order to provide continuity of service, you have to replace it with email.”

The Bitcoin mailing list officially migrated to Google Groups in February 2024.

Before that, the mailing list was hosted on the Linux Foundation, Oregon State University Open Source Lab’s infrastructure and SourceForge.net.

Bishop suggested that a Bitcoin forum shouldn’t be limited to one particular platform, pointing out that there are several other platforms where Bitcoin developments are discussed, including GitHub and the decentralized social network Nostr.

Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’

3rd April 2025

Cardano (ADA) Downtrend Deepens—Is a Rebound Possible?

Cardano price started a recovery wave above the $0.680 zone but failed. ADA is consolidating near $0.650 and remains at risk of more losses.

ADA price failed to recover above the $0.70 resistance zone.
The price is trading below $0.680 and the 100-hourly simple moving average.
There was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support at $0.6720 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
The pair could start another increase if it clears the $0.70 resistance zone.

Cardano Price Dips Again

In the past few days, Cardano saw a recovery wave from the $0.6350 zone, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. ADA was able to climb above the $0.680 and $0.6880 resistance levels.

However, the bears were active above the $0.70 zone. A high was formed at $0.7090 and the price corrected most gains. There was a move below the $0.650 level. Besides, there was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support at $0.6720 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair.

A low was formed at $0.6356 and the price is now consolidating losses near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $0.7090 swing high to the $0.6356 low. Cardano price is now trading below $0.680 and the 100-hourly simple moving average.

On the upside, the price might face resistance near the $0.6720 zone or the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $0.7090 swing high to the $0.6356 low. The first resistance is near $0.6950. The next key resistance might be $0.700.

If there is a close above the $0.70 resistance, the price could start a strong rally. In the stated case, the price could rise toward the $0.7420 region. Any more gains might call for a move toward $0.7650 in the near term.

Another Drop in ADA?

If Cardano’s price fails to climb above the $0.6720 resistance level, it could start another decline. Immediate support on the downside is near the $0.6420 level.

The next major support is near the $0.6350 level. A downside break below the $0.6350 level could open the doors for a test of $0.620. The next major support is near the $0.60 level where the bulls might emerge.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ADA/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for ADA/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $0.6420 and $0.6350.

Major Resistance Levels – $0.6720 and $0.7000.

3rd April 2025

XRP Price Prediction For April: Analyst Explains What To Expect

In a newly released chart, crypto analyst Egrag (@egragcrypto) reveals a XRP price prediction for April. While emphasizing that current market sentiment remains in what he calls a “boredom phase,” Egrag’s technical breakdown highlights several critical levels that may define the token’s trajectory this month.

XRP Price Prediction For April

Egrag’s chart, constructed on a monthly time frame (XRP/USDT), underscores an anticipated April candle that could see a substantial price swing. The visual forecast places XRP in a position where both upper and lower bounds may be “wick-tested” before the month concludes.

XRP price analysis

According to the analyst, a potential downside wick may pull the price back into the $1.90–$1.79 region. Egrag describes this process as a short-lived “wick,” indicating that if XRP tests these lows, it may not spend significant time there.

On the other end of the spectrum, the chart suggests that a spike toward $2.80–$3.00 is also possible during April. Similar to the low-range testing, any move within this zone would likely form a wick, marking a brief probe of higher price territory. “We will also test the upper range at $2.80-$3.00, which will also be a wicking process,” the analyst states.

One of the most striking points on the chart is a potential 62–70% rally measured from the lowest point of the downside wick (around the $1.79–$1.90 area). The analyst highlights that this upside, if materialized, could be swift once certain technical thresholds are broken. “We could see an upside of 62-70% from the lowest point of the downside wick,” Egrag writes.

Several price notations on the chart (such as $2.00, $2.05, $2.17, and $2.44) hint that XRP may oscillate around the $2 handle. Egrag’s mentions the possibility of a final stop near $2 before a more explosive move: “After revisiting the $2 region one last time, we could see a significant blastoff in this cycle!”

Egrag also reiterates a theme he has mentioned in previous analyses: many market participants grew frustrated after the post-SEC-case price action failed to meet their expectations of an instant surge. The analyst attributes the current range-bound conditions to a “boredom phase” driven by waning interest and mental fatigue among traders.

He warns that only “the mentally strong” will endure this period of minimal excitement and sideways trading. For those who remain confident in the broader utility of XRP, Egrag suggests that accumulating during these doldrums might be more beneficial than attempting to time every short-term fluctuation.

“Do nothing except buy if you can, and sit on your ass. Do you really think XRP will change the world and they will give it to you on a golden plate? […] We are now in a phase where only the mentally strong will survive,” the analyst concludes.

At press time, XRP traded at $2.1465.

XRP price