Cardano (ADA) is slowly but steadily catching the attention of market watchers as it begins to reclaim upward momentum. After a stretch of sideways movement and bearish pressure that left the altcoin range-bound, ADA is now displaying signs of revival.
The current price action might not be explosive, but it carries the hallmarks of a market quietly building strength one step at a time. This growing momentum suggests that bulls are gradually returning to the scene with renewed confidence.
While caution remains across the broader crypto landscape, ADA’s calculated pace might actually be a sign of strength rather than weakness. Instead of rushing into overbought conditions, the altcoin is laying a solid foundation that could support a more durable rally.
The Calm Setup For A Calculated Climb
In a recent post on X, crypto analyst Gemxbt pointed out that Cardano exhibited a bullish structure, as the price trends steadily above 5, 10, and 20-hour moving averages. This alignment of short-term moving averages typically signals sustained buying pressure and growing bullish momentum in the market. It also suggests that the bulls are maintaining control in the short term, keeping Cardano on a steady upward path.
Gemxbt’s observation reinforces that ADA’s recent price action isn’t just a temporary spike but rather a sign of strengthening technical foundations. When prices remain consistently above multiple key moving averages, it often reflects increased trader confidence and a favorable environment for further upward movement.
He further noted that a key resistance level lies around the $0.62 mark, which could act as a near-term hurdle for ADA’s price advance. On the downside, solid support has formed near the $0.56 level, providing a cushion against potential pullbacks. These levels are crucial in determining the next directional move, as a break above resistance could trigger further gains, while a fall below support might signal short-term weakness.
Gemxbt also highlighted that the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is currently crossing above the signal line, which suggests growing buying interest. This crossover typically marks the beginning of a momentum shift in favor of the bulls, increasing the likelihood of continued price appreciation.
Potential Breakout Possibilities: What To Watch For
If Cardano continues its upward trajectory and successfully breaks above the $0.68 resistance level, it could open the door to more gains. The next key levels to watch are at $0.81 and $0.90, where the price may encounter additional selling pressure. A break above these levels would push ADA toward even higher targets, such as $1.17 and $1.58.
However, if ADA fails to break through the $0.68 level and retreats, the first support to monitor would be around $0.56 to $0.52, which has historically acted as a strong floor. A drop below these levels could signal a shift in market sentiment and lead to a deeper pullback.
Bitcoin’s price recovered above $82,000 Friday following a decline below $75,000 in the past few days, as investors with large wallets purchased more of the digital asset. Market trends indicate wallets between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoin are expanding at a rate higher than the 30-day average, reports CryptoQuant.
Large Investors Display High Confidence In Bitcoin
The rise in the number of large crypto holders indicates rising confidence in the future of the cryptocurrency. These investors, usually not exchanges or mining pools, are important in maintaining the value of Bitcoin. Their increasing interest comes as Bitcoin’s market capitalization hits $1.58 trillion, with dominance over other cryptocurrencies at more than 60%.
Bitcoin recently hit $83,400 before correcting slightly to settle above $80,000. The increase in these high wallet balances is consistent with Bitcoin’s recent price gains, indicating market strength despite external pressures.
Large investor demand for Bitcoin is accelerating.
Balances of wallets holding 1K–10K BTC rising faster than their 30-day average.
Analysts Look To Price Gap Patterns For Future Projections
Some market observers have offered their predictions on what direction the top digital asset may take next. An X (formerly Twitter) analyst by the name of Enzy Bitcoin says that Bitcoin usually goes up after the filling up of price gaps. The analyst mentioned the latest gap between $70,000 and $75,000, that Bitcoin may reach $130,000 in the near future based on historical trends.
Another analyst, BitBull, equated Bitcoin’s stability to recent volatility in US stock markets. As the traditional markets have grappled with volatility, Bitcoin has remained firm above $80,000. Prices below $100,000 may still be acceptable entry points for investors, some experts say.
BTC Long-Term Target Extremely Positive
Looking further down the road, other market observers posted a very favorable prognosis for Bitcoin’s future only recently, emphasizing the significance of being cognizant of market cycles, particularly during pricing fluctuations like when in a bear trap.
The analysts’ projection reads as unusually bullish, that perhaps Bitcoin may get to a whopping $250,000 price tag. This vision also predicts meaningful growth for major alternative cryptocurrencies.
Market Cap Hits $1.58 Trillion While Recovery Keeps Momentum
The latest price bounceback of the flagship crypto has taken its aggregate market value to $1.58 trillion when this report was made. This follows its appreciation by over $8,000 from recent lows, demonstrating the capability of the cryptocurrency to bounce back quickly from temporary declines.
The market dominance of the cryptocurrency has also grown, currently standing at over 60% of the total crypto market capitalization. The dominance indicates that Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency and continues to attract investors who desire growth as well as a store of value.
Although Bitcoin failed to sustain its short surge to $83,500, sustaining above $81,000 demonstrates resilience in the prevailing market environment. The fact that the buying continues from whales indicates that such investors believe prices will continue rising in the months ahead.
Featured image from BetaNews, chart from TradingView
A New York judge ruled Friday that the majority of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil securities fraud suit against crypto venture firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) and two of its executives can proceed to trial.
In 2023, James sued James sued DCG and its CEO Barry Silbert, DCG’s now-bankrupt lending arm Genesis Global Capital and its former CEO Michael Moro and crypto exchange Gemini, alleging that they worked together to cover up a gaping $1 billion hole in Genesis’ balance sheet caused by the wipe-out of Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) in 2022.
James said DCG and Genesis made “false assurances” on social media that DCG had absorbed Genesis’ losses from 3AC’s implosion when, in fact, they had just papered over the hole with a promissory note, pleading to pay Genesis $1.1 billion over 10 years at a 1% interest rate. While DCG has adamantly maintained that the promissory note was legitimate, James’ suit claimed that DCG has “never made a single payment under the Note.”
While Gemini and Genesis both settled with the OAG, DCG, Silbert and Moro have fought them tooth and nail. Last spring, DCG and both executives filed motions to dismiss the suit, alleging that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) had failed to state a claim — essentially arguing that they were not selling securities and thus should not be sued under New York State securities laws.
But the judge presiding over the case disagreed in her Friday ruling, writing that the OAG had, at least at the current stage of the case, adequately alleged that the Gemini Earn program — the now-defunct Gemini lending product that went belly-up in November 2022 and which sits at the center of James’ case — was a security.
Crane did, however, agree to toss out two of James’ claims against DCG, Moro and Silbert — one claim under New York’s Executive Law that they engaged in a scheme to defraud in the first degree, and another that they engaged in a conspiracy in the fifth degree — ruling that those claims were duplicative.
Though Crane ruled the case can proceed, DCG said it isn’t done fighting.
“As we have stated from the beginning, the allegations against DCG are a thin web of innuendo, mischaracterizations, and unsupported conclusions,” a spokesperson for DCG told CoinDesk. “We’re encouraged by the judge’s dismissal of the New York Attorney General’s most outrageous claims based on alleged violations of criminal fraud and conspiracy statutes. We will continue to fight this baseless lawsuit as we remain focused on our mission in support of the digital assets industry.”
Draft legislation in the US Senate threatens to hit data centers serving blockchain networks and artificial intelligence models with fees if they exceed federal emissions targets, according to an April 11 Bloomberg report.
Led by Senate Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman, the draft bill purportedly aims to address environmental impacts from rising energy demand and protect households from higher energy bills, Bloomberg said.
Dubbed the Clean Cloud Act, the legislation mandates that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set an emissions performance standard for data centers and crypto mining facilities with over 100 KW of installed IT nameplate power.
The standard would be based on regional grid emissions intensities, with an 11% annual reduction target. The legislation also includes penalties for emissions exceeding the set standard, starting at $20 per ton of CO2e, with the penalty increasing annually by inflation plus an additional $10.
“Surging power demand from cryptominers and data centers is outpacing the growth of carbon-free electricity,” notes a minority blog post on the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works website, adding that data centers’ electricity usage is projected to account for up to 12% of the US total power demand by 2028.
According to research from Morgan Stanley, the rapid growth of data centers is projected to generate approximately 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions globally by the end of the decade.
For Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of research, the proposed legislation effectively seeks to single out Bitcoin (BTC) miners and similar operations for energy consumption in a “Losing ‘Blame the Server Racks’ Strategy,” he said in an April 11 X post.
The draft law, which has yet to pass in the Senate, comes as Bitcoin miners — including Galaxy, CoreScientific, and Terawulf — increasingly pivot toward supplying high-performance computing (HPC) power for AI models, VanEck said.
Bitcoin miners have struggled in 2025 as declining cryptocurrency prices weigh on business models already impacted by the Bitcoin network’s most recent halving.
Miners are “diversifying into AI data-center hosting as a way to expand revenue and repurpose existing infrastructure for high-performance computing,” Coin Metrics said.
Comparison of miners’ AI-related contracts. Source: VanEck
“Aggressive tariffs and retaliatory trade policies could create obstacles for node operators, validators, and other core participants in blockchain networks,” Nicholas Roberts-Huntley, CEO of Concrete & Glow Finance, said.
“In moments of global uncertainty, the infrastructure supporting crypto, not just the assets themselves, can become collateral damage.”
Attorneys for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance asked a federal judge on Friday to continue a pause in the regulator’s case against the crypto exchange for another two months, citing “productive discussions.”
The SEC sued Binance in 2023, alleging the exchange — alongside its U.S. affiliate and executives such as former CEO Changpeng Zhao — violated federal securities laws by operating as an unlicensed clearing agency, broker and exchange. The SEC also alleged commingling and that Binance.US’s trading volume was manipulated. In February, after U.S. President Donald Trump retook office and appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting agency chair, the regulator asked for a 60-day pause in the case, which was set to expire on Monday. The SEC pointed to a newly created crypto task force aiming to draft clearer guidance around how securities law might apply to digital assets as part of its explanation for the requested pause.
In Friday’s filing, the attorneys involved said the discussions included “how the efforts of the crypto task force may impact the SEC’s claims,” and requested another 60 days’ pause.
“In light of these continued discussions and the time required for the staff to seek authorization from the Commission as necessary to approve any resolution or changes to the scope of this litigation, the SEC requested that the Defendants agree to continue the current stay for an additional 60 days, and the Defendants agreed that continuing the stay is appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy,” the filing said.
The XRP price may be gearing up for a historic breakout as a long-term Symmetric Triangle pattern from 2017 resurfaces on the charts. If history repeats and a similar explosive move follows, a crypto analyst predicts XRP could skyrocket to an eye-popping $30.
A new technical analysis by Egrag Crypto, a crypto analyst on X (formerly Twitter), has stirred excitement among XRP supporters, suggesting that the digital asset may be on the brink of a historic price surge and that XRP could jump from its current market value of $2 to reach $30 soon.
While this figure may seem rather ambitious, Egrag Crypto has identified a massive Symmetrical Triangle formation on XRP’s monthly chart. Interestingly, the analyst has revealed that this pattern is strikingly similar to one that preceded XRP’s legendary 2,600% rally in the 2017 bull market.
In the 2017-2018 bull market, XRP had surged to an all-time high of $3.84 in just months. Now, after years of tightening price action within a giant Symmetrical Triangle, the altcoin appears to be breaking out once again, and this time, the analyst predicts that the upside could be even more explosive.
According to Egrag Crypto’s chart, if the asset mirrors its previous 2,600% triangle breakout, it could soar from the breakout zone around $1.20 to as high as $32.36. Notably, XRP’s Symmetrical Triangle formation is a classic consolidation pattern that usually results in a bullish surge in the direction of the prevailing trend.
Currently, XRP’s all-time high is $3.84. A potential surge to $32.36 would represent a whopping 741.6% increase, propelling its price to a level far exceeding its historical peak.
Egrag Crypto’s bullish forecast for XRP is supported by a textbook diagram comparing bullish pennants and symmetrical triangles, both of which point to double target zones once a breakout occurs. The pattern suggests that once the altcoin escapes its multi-year consolidation, the analyst’s projected rally may play out in three stages: an initial pump, followed by a retracement, and a second explosive move.
The XRP price chart shows a lower target, around $3.52, which aligns with the 1.0 Fibonacci retracement level. This indicates that the token could see a temporary rebound to 3.52, followed by a short-term pullback to the triangle breakout point at $1.20, before ultimately bouncing toward the projected $32.36 target.
Notably, this movement aligns with XRP’s current market structure, where it has maintained long-term support and is now showing signs of upward momentum. While historical price patterns offer insights into potential moves, the predicted rise to $32.36 is uncertain, given the magnitude of such a rise.
The Lomond School in Scotland will accept Bitcoin (BTC) tuition payments beginning in the Autumn semester of 2025, making it the first school in the United Kingdom to do so.
Accepting Bitcoin is part of the school’s plan to integrate “sound money principles” from the Austrian School of Economics into the curriculum to “prepare students for the uncertain future,” the announcement reads, adding:
“Bitcoin is available to anyone willing to learn — making it more democratic and inclusive, particularly for people in developing nations who lack access to traditional banking. Lomond sees Bitcoin as a perfect real-world case study in economics, computing, ethics, and innovation.”
The school has no plans to accept other cryptocurrencies, and will convert the BTC to fiat currency immediately, according to the announcement. It might establish a BTC treasury in the future, pending input from the Lomond community.
Lomond’s announcement highlights the growing tide of institutions adopting Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation amid turmoil in the global financial order.
Value of the British pound (GBP) 1209-2025. Source: Statista
Bitcoin slowly makes its way through the education system
Bitcoin is now part of the curriculum in several schools and universities; some of these institutions have also adopted a BTC treasury strategy to protect reserves against the corrosive effects of inflation on purchasing power.
In 2022, the University of Cincinnati added crypto courses to its curriculum to teach students about BTC and emerging Web3 technologies.
Mi Primer Bitcoin, a Bitcoin education initiative, partnered with the Ministry of Education in El Salvador in 2023 to integrate Bitcoin education into the school system.
Visual of Bitcoin’s hard supply cap expressed through successive halving events. Source: River
The University of Wyoming launched the Bitcoin Research Institute in July 2024 to conduct peer-reviewed academic studies about the decentralized digital asset.
In February 2025, the University of Austin announced that its endowment fund allocated $5 million to BTC investments. The university’s endowment fund has approximately $200 million in assets under management.
Chun Lai, the endowment fund’s chief investment officer, said the fund wanted BTC exposure to capitalize on the financial upside of digital assets as crypto experiences increased institutional adoption.
Trump’s on-again, off-again import levies dominated the week. At the beginning, tariffs sent stocks and crypto appreciably lower. By the end, with all new non-China tariffs paused for 90 days, markets were up again.
Bitcoin returned to a level ($82,000) that it was at this time last week. And analysts debated whether, in the panic of the previous days, it showed “safe haven” qualities (like gold) or whether it was a risk-asset like many others. The consensus was that bitcoin performed resiliently rather than completely reassuringly.
Our Asia reporting team led the way on our markets coverage. Omkar Godbole started the week strong by revealing how the unwinding of the “basis trade” could impact bitcoin price. Sam Reynolds wrote on how Kalshi was set to win its legal battle in Nevada, hours before the prediction market got its first victory in the state. Shaurya Malwa reported on the first XRP ETF listing in the U.S. and how Teucrium’s leveraged fund received $5m during its first day of trading.
Ripple made headlines this week when it became the first crypto-native company to acquire a multi-asset prime broker, potentially setting the stage for wider adoption of its XRP Ledger technology.
The acquisition of Hidden Road didn’t come cheap, either, as Ripple doled out $1.25 billion for the brokerage. It was a price Ripple CEO Brad Garlinhouse was happy to pay as the company set its sights on global expansion.
Elsewhere, crypto exchange Binance listened to its community and moved to delist 14 tokens that no longer met its quality thresholds. Meanwhile, Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, was appointed adviser for Pakistan’s newly formed crypto counsel.
All this happened against a backdrop of negative headlines and plunging crypto prices stemming from the US-led trade war, which culminated in President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing a 104% tariff on Chinese imports.
Despite the chaos, a panel of industry experts told Cointelegraph that the crypto bull market is far from over. In fact, it hasn’t even started yet.
Hidden Road: Ripple’s “defining moment”
Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road is the payment company’s “defining moment,” according to Ripple’s chief financial officer, David Schwartz.
In a social media post, Schwartz said the acquisition gives Ripple a major boost in promoting its XRP Ledger since Hidden Road already has more than 300 institutional customers and processes more than 50 million transactions per day.
“Now, imagine even a portion of that activity on the XRP Ledger — and that’s exactly what Hidden Road plans on doing — not to mention future use of collateral and real-world assets tokenized on the XRPL,” said Schwartz.
Ripple has already dabbled in real-world assets (RWAs) by launching a tokenized money market fund in partnership with crypto exchange Archax. That could be the tip of the iceberg for the company’s RWA ambitions.
Binance’s purge continues
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will purge 14 tokens from its platform on April 16 following its first “vote to delist” results, where community members nominated projects with troubling metrics.
The 14 tokens selected for delisting include Badger (BADGER), Balancer (BAL), Beta Finance, Status (SNT), Cream Finance (CREAM) and Nuls (NULS).
These tokens were removed after Binance conducted a “comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors,” including project development activity, trading volumes and responsiveness to the exchange’s due diligence requests.
Pakistan taps CZ to broaden crypto ambitions
Pakistan landed one of crypto’s biggest influencers as it attempts to promote industry adoption and lure blockchain companies to its shores.
On April 7, the newly created Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) appointed former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao as its crypto adviser. Pakistan’s finance ministry said Zhao will advise the PCC on crypto regulations, infrastructure development and adoption.
CZ is appointed as an adviser by Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance. Source: Business Recorder
After being lukewarm on crypto, Pakistan is fully embracing the industry in recognition of its transformative impact. The country has become a hotbed of crypto activity thanks to rising retail adoption and remittance activity.
“Pakistan is done sitting on the sidelines,” said Bilal bin Saqib, the CEO of the PCC. “We want to attract international investment because Pakistan is a low-cost high-growth market with […] a Web3 native workforce ready to build.”
Crypto bull market hasn’t loaded yet
With investors wondering whether Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins have already peaked, an industry panel told Cointelegraph’s Gareth Jenkinson that the best is yet to come.
Cointelegraph Managing Editor Gareth Jenkinson, left, hosts a panel on crypto market conditions in Paris, France. Source: Cointelegraph
Speaking at a LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph panel in Paris, France, MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said he believes the bull market “is actually getting started from this point.”
Drawing parallels between the recent market crash and the COVID-19 meltdown of March 2020, van de Poppe said the US Federal Reserve will eventually step in to backstop investors.
Fellow panelist and Messari CEO Eric Turner agreed, saying, “We never had a bull market,” but rather “two sides of the market” driven by Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the memecoin frenzy.
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The US Federal Reserve is prepared to use its vast arsenal of monetary policy tools to prevent financial and economic conditions from deteriorating rapidly but will do so only if liquidity dries up or markets become disorderly, a top central banker said.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the central bank “would absolutely be prepared” to backstop markets if needed.
While it is generally understood that the Fed is always prepared to act quickly to stave off market chaos, Collins’ remarks come on the heels of asset selloffs across stocks and bonds, which have raised concerns about the health of the US financial system.
Overall, however, the Fed is “not seeing liquidity concerns,” said Collins. If that were to change, policymakers would have “tools to address concerns about markets functioning or liquidity,” she said.
The Fed’s Collins pictured in a December interview with Bloomberg. Source: Bloomberg Television
For investors, Collins’ comments may carry extra weight because she’s a voting member of this year’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — the 12-person panel responsible for setting interest rates.
While Collins and her fellow FOMC members voted to keep interest rates steady at their March meeting, the biggest takeaway was the central bank’s easing off on quantitative tightening by reducing the redemption cap on Treasurys by 80%.
Federal Reserve policy exerts a gravitational pull on global markets through US dollar monetary liquidity, or the ease with which dollars can be used for investments and transactions. Liquidity has a major impact on digital asset prices, including Bitcoin (BTC).
This was further corroborated by a 2024 academic paper by Kingston University of London professors Jinsha Zhao and J Miao, which concluded that dollar monetary liquidity “has [a] significant impact on Bitcoin price.”
The relationship strengthened after the COVID-19 pandemic, with liquidity conditions accounting for more than 65% of Bitcoin’s price movements.
“After the pandemic, [monetary liquidity] is the most important determinant of Bitcoin price, outperforming even fundamental measures of Bitcoin network,” the researchers said.
Macro analyst Lyn Alden reached a similar conclusion when she called Bitcoin “a global liquidity barometer” in a September article.
Alden drew attention to the relationship between Bitcoin’s price and global M2, or the broad measure of money supply across major global economies.
Bitcoin trades in the same direction as global liquidity more than 83% of the time. Source: Lyn Alden
As Cointelegraph reported in early March, an increase in global liquidity and a rebounding business cycle have historically had strong predictive powers for Bitcoin’s price. Liquidity and business cycle trends suggest that BTC’s price could be poised for a recovery in the second quarter.
Bitcoin (BTC) is entering what former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes calls “up only mode,” as a deepening crisis in the US bond market potentially drives investors away from traditional haven assets and toward alternative stores of value.
Loss of confidence in US policy boosts Bitcoin’s upside prospects
On April 11, the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield surged above 4.59%—its highest level in two months.
US 10-year Treasury note yields daily performance chart. Source: TradingView
The $29 trillion US Treasury market has dropped more than 2% this week — its steepest decline since September 2019, when a liquidity crunch in the repo market forced the Federal Reserve to intervene.
US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff announcements and reversals have fueled the chaos. After threatening sweeping levies on global trading partners, Trump walked back many of the measures within days for certain countries, except China.
The US dollar added to the pressure, with its strength against a basket of top foreign currencies—as tracked by the US Dollar Index (DXY)—dropping below the 100 mark for the first time since 2022.
US Dollar Index daily performance chart. Source: TradingView
That further notched its worst weekly decline in over two years.
In contrast, Bitcoin rose by over 4.50% amid the US bond market rout, reaching around $83,250 on hopes that the weakening macroeconomic conditions will push US policymakers to act.
“It’s on like donkey kong,” wrote Hayes in his April 11 X post, adding:
“We will be getting more policy response this weekend if this keeps up. We are about to enter UP ONLY mode for $BTC.”
Furthermore, bond traders are now pricing in at least three rate cuts from the Federal Reserve by the end of the year, with a fourth becoming increasingly likely. Rate cuts have historically been bullish for Bitcoin.
Target rate probabilities for December Fed meeting. Source: CME
Bitcoin eyes ‘parabolic bull run’ due to weaker dollar
Historically, sharp drops in the US Dollar Index have preceded delayed but powerful Bitcoin bull runs, according to crypto analyst Venturefounder.
“A falling DXY has typically been a strong bullish signal for Bitcoin,” the analyst wrote on X, pointing to a clear bearish divergence on the chart.
DXY vs BTC/USD monthly price chart. Source: TradingView/Venturefounder
He added that if DXY continues to slide toward the 90 level, it could replicate conditions that led to parabolic BTC rallies during the final stages of previous bull markets — each lasting up to a year.
Additionally, Bollinger Bands creator John Bollinger offered a bullish outlook for Bitcoin, noting that the cryptocurrency is forming a familiar bottom at $80,000.
Meanwhile, a maturing falling wedge pattern on the BTC price chart hints at a potential Bitcoin price rally toward $100,000, as Cointelegraph reported earlier.
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.
Betting against Ether has been the best performing exchange traded fund (ETF) strategy so far in 2025, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.
Two ETFs designed to take two-times leveraged short positions in Ether claimed (ETH) first and second place in a Bloomberg Intelligence ranking of the year’s top-performing funds, Balchunas said in a post on the X platform.
In the year-to-date, ProShares UltraShort Ether ETF (ETHD) and T Rex 2X Inverse Ether Daily Target ETF (ETQ) are up approximately 247% and 219%, respectively, Bloomberg Intelligence data showed.
The implications for Ether are “brutal,” Balchunas said. Ether itself is down approximately 54% year-to-date on April 11, according to Cointelegraph’s market data.
Both ETFs use financial derivatives to inversely track Ether’s performance with twice as much volatility as the underlying cryptocurrency. Leveraged ETFs do not always perfectly track their underlying assets.
With approximately $46 billion in total value locked (TVL), Ethereum is still the most popular blockchain network, according to data from DefiLlama.
However, its native token performance has sputtered since March 2024, when Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade — designed to cut costs for users — slashed the network’s fee revenues by roughly 95%.
The upgrade kept the network’s revenues depressed, largely because of difficulties monetizing its layer-2 (L2) scaling chains, which host an increasingly large portion of transactions settled on Ethereum.
“Ethereum’s future will revolve around how effectively it serves as a data availability engine for L2s,” arndxt, author of the Threading on the Edge newsletter, said in a March X post.
In the week ending March 30, Ethereum earned only 3.18 ETH from transactions on its layer-2 chains, such as Arbitrum and Base, according to data from Etherscan.
To fully recover Ethereum’s peak fee revenues from before the Dencun upgrade, L2’s transaction volumes would need to increase more than 22,000-fold, according to an X post by Michael Nadeau, founder of The DeFi Report.
Meanwhile, smart contract platforms — including Ethereum and Solana — suffered across-the-board declines in usage during the first quarter of 2025, asset manager VanEck said in an April report.
The diminished activity reflects cooling market sentiment as traders brace for US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and a looming trade war.
Bitcoin is facing a crucial test as its price continues to swing without clear direction, navigating a tense and uncertain macroeconomic environment. While volatility persists, many analysts believe the worst phase of the correction may be over. After dropping over 30% from its all-time high, Bitcoin has managed to hold above key support levels, reinforcing short-term optimism.
However, global tensions—driven by escalating trade disputes and aggressive tariff policies from the US—are shaking financial markets. The specter of a global recession looms large, making investors cautious across both traditional and digital asset classes.
Despite the noise, on-chain data from Glassnode adds a layer of optimism. According to their latest analysis, 63% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply has not moved in at least one year. This historic level of dormant supply highlights the growing conviction among long-term holders, who are weathering the current volatility without panic.
Such behavior reinforces the belief that Bitcoin’s foundation remains solid, even as short-term traders exit the market. The strong hands are holding firm, and their resilience could lay the groundwork for the next major move—once macroeconomic conditions begin to stabilize.
Bitcoin Holds Strong Amid Global Volatility: Rising Long-Term Conviction
Massive price swings continue to shake both crypto and equities markets as volatility intensifies in response to rising global tensions and unresolved macroeconomic threats. Bitcoin, however, has held strong above the $81K level, suggesting that a potential recovery may be taking shape.
The 90-day pause on U.S. tariffs—excluding China—offered temporary relief, but uncertainty still dominates investor sentiment. Ongoing trade conflicts between the United States and China threaten global economic stability, with many analysts warning of a potential recession if no resolution is reached. These fears are weighing heavily on risk assets across the board.
Despite the challenging backdrop, Bitcoin’s performance suggests underlying resilience. Bulls are gradually regaining momentum after the recent sharp correction, and many market watchers believe the worst phase of the drawdown may be over.
Adding to the optimism, top analyst Quinten Francois shared Glassnode data revealing that 63% of the Bitcoin supply has not moved in at least a year. This metric, often associated with strong long-term conviction, shows that the majority of Bitcoin holders are choosing to hold through volatility rather than sell into weakness. It reflects a maturing investor base with confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value, even amid global uncertainty.
If current support levels continue to hold and macro conditions stabilize, Bitcoin may be on the verge of a sustained recovery.
BTC Price Stalls Below Key Resistance After Bullish Surge
Bitcoin is currently trading at $82,600 following a strong surge that helped the asset recover from recent lows. The move has brought some short-term optimism to the market, especially as BTC managed to reclaim the $81K level—a key support zone that now needs to hold for bullish momentum to continue.
However, significant resistance lies ahead. The price stopped near the 4-hour 200 Moving Average, currently sitting around $83,500. This technical level has consistently acted as a short-term barrier since Bitcoin lost the $100K mark, and bulls need a decisive breakout above it to confirm the beginning of a true reversal.
If Bitcoin can break and hold above $83,500, the next immediate target is the $85K zone. Reclaiming that range could open the path for a push toward the $88K–$90K resistance band and potentially resume the longer-term uptrend.
On the flip side, failing to hold above $81K would signal weakness and likely invite renewed selling pressure. A breakdown below $80K would reinforce bearish sentiment, possibly triggering a fresh wave of panic selling and sending BTC back toward the $75K support zone. Bulls must act quickly to defend current levels and push higher.
Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView
Neel Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, addressed the issue of rising Treasury yields on April 11, suggesting that they might indicate a shift in investor sentiment away from United States government debt. Kashkari highlighted that the Federal Reserve has tools to provide more liquidity if necessary.
While underscoring the importance of maintaining a strong commitment to reducing inflation, Kashkari’s remarks signal a possible turning point for Bitcoin (BTC) investors amid growing economic uncertainty.
US Treasury 10-year yields. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph
The current 10-year US government bond yield of 4.5% is not unusual. Even if it approaches 5%, a level last seen in October 2023, this does not necessarily mean investors have lost confidence in the Treasury’s ability to meet its debt obligations. For example, gold prices only surpassed $2,000 in late November 2023, after yields had already decreased to 4.5%.
Will the Fed inject liquidity, and is this positive for Bitcoin?
Rising Treasury yields often signal concerns about inflation or economic uncertainty. This is crucial for Bitcoin traders because higher yields tend to make fixed-income investments more appealing. However, if these rising yields are perceived as a sign of deeper systemic issues—such as waning confidence in government fiscal policies—investors may turn to alternative hedges like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin/USD (left) vs. M2 global money supply. Source: BitcoinCounterFlow
Bitcoin’s trajectory will largely depend on how the Federal Reserve responds. Liquidity injection strategies typically boost Bitcoin prices while allowing higher yields could increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, potentially slowing economic growth and negatively impacting Bitcoin’s price in the short term.
One strategy the Federal Reserve could use is purchasing long-term Treasurys to reduce yields. To offset the liquidity added through bond purchases, the Fed might simultaneously conduct reverse repos—borrowing cash from banks overnight in exchange for securities.
A weak US dollar and banking risks could pump Bitcoin price
While this approach could temporarily stabilize yields, aggressive bond purchases might signal desperation to control rates. Such a signal could raise concerns about the Fed’s ability to manage inflation effectively. These concerns often weaken confidence in the dollar’s purchasing power and may push investors toward Bitcoin as a hedge.
Another potential strategy involves providing low-interest loans through the discount window to give banks immediate liquidity, reducing their need to sell long-term bonds. To counterbalance this liquidity injection, the Fed could impose stricter collateral requirements, such as valuing pledged bonds at 90% of their market price.
Systemic risk in the US financial services industry. Source: Cleveland Fed
This alternative approach limits banks’ access to cash while ensuring borrowed funds remain tied to collateralized loans. However, if collateral requirements are too restrictive, banks might struggle to obtain sufficient liquidity even with access to discount window loans.
Although it is too early to predict which path the Fed will take, given the recent weakness in the US dollar alongside a 4.5% Treasury yield, investors might not place full trust in the Fed’s actions. Instead, they may turn to safe-haven assets such as gold or Bitcoin for protection.
Ultimately, rather than focusing solely on the US Dollar Index (DXY) or the US 10-year Treasury yield, traders should pay closer attention to systemic risks in financial markets and the spreads on corporate bonds. As these indicators rise, confidence in the traditional financial systems weakens, potentially setting the stage for Bitcoin to reclaim the psychological $100,000 price level.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
A key Bitcoin (BTC) metric signaled a potential shift in its positioning after BTC’s long-term holder realized cap (LTH Realized Cap) surpassed $18 billion for the first time since September 2024. Data from CryptoQuant indicated that this cohort has exhibited aggressive accumulation, which previously marked the BTC bottom in Q3 2024.
The LTH realized cap measures the BTC cost basis of investors, holding their allocation for 155 days or more. A sharp increase hints that these long-term holders are in an accumulation phase, parallel with bullish behavior.
Bitcoin LTH net position realized cap. Source: CryptoQuant
As illustrated in the chart, a spike in this metric has preceded bullish rallies in the past. Most recently, the LTH realized cap reached $18 billion on Sept. 8, 2024, after which Bitcoin registered 100% returns over the next few months.
Another key confluence that matches the current bottom setup with September 2024 is the significant drop in open interest. BTC’s OI reached an all-time high of $39 billion in July but dropped by 25% by September. Similarly, Bitcoin’s open interest dropped 28% between Dec. 18 and April 8,
Bitcoin open interest. Source: CoinGlass
The concurrent rise in LTH Realized Cap and a leverage wipeout strongly support the likelihood of a Bitcoin price bottom. However, Bitcoin’s open interest has surged by nearly 10% in the past 24 hours, suggesting that the price action following this spike could offer better directional bias in the coming days.
After forming a new yearly low at $74,500 on April 7- April 9, BTC prices have rallied by almost 10% over the past three days. With respect to price levels below the $80,00 level, Glassnode data revealed that BTC had established credible support at the $79,000. In an X post, the data analytics platform mentioned,
“Looking at Cost Basis Distribution, Bitcoin has built notable support at $79K, with ~40K BTC accumulated there. It has also worked through the $82.08K cluster (~51K BTC).”
Bitcoin heatmap based on cost basis distribution. Source: X.com
As illustrated in the April 6- April 11 heatmap, supply distribution highlights investor accumulation patterns. This follows Bitcoin’s rally past $81,000, spurred by a 2.4% US CPI rate and President Trump’s 90-day tariff pause, with market sentiment leaning toward cautious optimism for a relief rally.
Likewise, anonymous technical analyst Cold Blooded Shiller noted a descending trendline for Bitcoin, with BTC price testing a potential bullish breakout. The analyst said,
“Got to admit, that’s looking very enticing for BTC.”
Bitcoin 1-day chart analysis by Cold Blooded Shiller. Source: X.com
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.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could consider a short-term crypto oversight framework to allow firms to keep innovating while the agency works out a more permanent answer to digital assets regulation, interim Chairman Mark Uyeda suggested during a Friday event at the agency’s Washington headquarters.
“We should consider whether there may be a more efficient method of regulation under an accommodating federal regulatory framework,” said Uyeda, in a recorded statement played at the agency’s latest crypto industry roundtable. “While the Commission works to develop a long term solution to address these issues, a time-limited, conditional exempt relief framework for registrants and non-registrants could allow for greater innovation with blockchain technology within the United States in the near term.”
The securities regulator is waiting for Congress to deliver a crypto market-structure law that will allow it to start writing the rules that the digital assets sector has been clamoring for. That may happen as soon as later this year, according to the lawmakers working on that effort, but months will pass before its arrival and even longer for the SEC and other relevant federal agencies to write regulations and put them in motion.
During this second in a series of crypto roundtables the agency hosted as it overhauls its digital assets stance, Uyeda was still running the agency, though the incoming chairman, Paul Atkins, is poised to take over. Once he arrives, though, Uyeda and fellow Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, a crypto advocate, will still be on board.
The Republican commissioners noted crypto platforms’ interest in handling both traditionally SEC-regulated activity and business outside the agency’s scope, all under the same roof.
“What can and should we do in the short term, and what should Congress consider in the longer term to ensure that the regulatory gaps are filled as firms increasingly seek to combine securities and non-securities trading activity?” asked Peirce, who leads the SEC Crypto Task Force.
The SEC’s sole Democratic commissioner, Caroline Crenshaw, argued that some of the market disruptions and company failures in the recent past have forced industry observers to become “painfully aware of the mismatch between investors expectations and reality.”
“Crypto trading platforms are unique because, among other reasons, they often perform multiple services under one roof, sometimes including bridge clearing and custody,” said Crenshaw. In traditional finance, those kinds of functions are “typically performed by separate registered entities,” because they come with a “high risk of conflicts of interest and risks for investors.”
Trump kills DeFi broker rule in major crypto win: Finance Redefined, April 4–11
In a significant win for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, US President Donald Trump overturned the Internal Revenue Service’s DeFi broker rule, which would have expanded existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms.
Increasing US crypto regulatory clarity will attract more tech giants to the space, requiring existing crypto projects to focus on more collaborative tokenomics to survive, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.
Trump signed a joint congressional resolution overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.
Set to take effect in 2027, the IRS DeFi broker rule would have expanded the tax authority’s existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms, requiring them to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.
Trump formally killed the measure by signing off on the resolution on April 10, marking the first time a crypto bill has been signed into US law, Representative Mike Carey, who backed the bill, said in a statement.
“The DeFi Broker Rule needlessly hindered American innovation, infringed on the privacy of everyday Americans, and was set to overwhelm the IRS with an overflow of new filings that it doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle during tax season,” he said.
Crypto needs collaborative tokenomics against tech giants — Hoskinson
The next generation of cryptocurrency projects must embrace a more collaborative approach to compete with major centralized tech companies entering the Web3 space, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.
Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Hoskinson said one of the main criticisms of the crypto and DeFi space is its “circular economy,” which often means that the rally of a specific cryptocurrency is bolstered by funds exiting another token, limiting the growth of the whole industry.
Hoskinsin said that to have a chance against the centralized technology giants joining the Web3 industry, cryptocurrency projects need more collaborative tokenomics and market structure.
Hoskinson on stage at Paris Blockchain Week. Source: Cointelegraph
“The problem right now, with the way we’ve done things in the cryptocurrency space, is the tokenomics and the market structure are intrinsically adversarial. It’s sum 0,” said Hoskinson. “Instead of picking a fight, what you have to do is you have to find tokenomics and market structure that allows you to be in a cooperative equilibrium.”
He argued that the current environment often sees one crypto project’s growth come at the expense of another rather than contributing to the sector’s overall health. He added that this is not sustainable in the face of trillion-dollar firms like Apple, Google and Microsoft, which may soon join the Web3 race amid clearer US regulations.
Bitcoin’s 24/7 liquidity: Double-edged sword during global market turmoil
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are often praised for offering around-the-clock trading access, but that constant availability may have contributed to a steep sell-off over the weekend following the latest US trade tariff announcement.
Unlike stocks and traditional financial instruments, Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies enable payments and trading opportunities 24/7 thanks to the accessibility of blockchain technology.
After a record-breaking $5 trillion was wiped from the S&P 500 over two days — the worst drop on record — Bitcoin remained above the $82,000 support level. But by Sunday, the asset had plummeted to under $75,000.
Sunday’s correction may have occurred due to Bitcoin being the only large tradable asset over the weekend, according to Lucas Outumuro, head of research at crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock.
“There was a bit of optimism last week that Bitcoin might be uncorrelating and fairing better than traditional stocks, but the [correction] did accelerate over the weekend,” Outumuro said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:
“There’s very little people can sell on a Sunday because most markets are closed. That also enables the correlation because people are panicking and Bitcoin is the largest asset they can sell over the weekend.”
Outumuro noted that Bitcoin’s weekend trading can also have upside effects, as prices often rally in calmer conditions.
Bybit recovers market share to 7% after $1.4 billion hack
Bybit’s market share rebounded to pre-hack levels following a $1.4 billion exploit in February, as the crypto exchange implemented tighter security and improved liquidity options for retail traders.
Despite the scale of the exploit, Bybit has steadily regained market share, according to an April 9 report by crypto analytics firm Block Scholes.
“Since this initial decline, Bybit has steadily regained market share as it works to repair sentiment and as volumes return to the exchange,” the report stated.
Block Scholes said Bybit’s proportional share rose from a post-hack low of 4% to about 7%, reflecting a strong and stable recovery in spot market activity and trading volumes.
Bybit’s spot volume market share as a proportion of the market share of the top 20 CEXs. Source: Block Scholes
The hack occurred amid a “broader trend of macro de-risking that began prior to the event,” which signaled that Bybit’s initial decline in trading volume was not solely due to the exploit.
Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments
Almost 400,000 creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX risk missing out on $2.5 billion in repayments after failing to begin the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process.
About 392,000 FTX creditors have failed to complete or at least take the first steps of the mandatory Know Your Customer verification, according to an April 2 court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
FTX users originally had until March 3 to begin the verification process to collect their claims.
“If a holder of a claim listed on Schedule 1 attached thereto did not commence the KYC submission process with respect to such claim on or prior to March 3, 2025, at 4:00 pm (ET) (the “KYC Commencing Deadline”), 2 such claim shall be disallowed and expunged in its entirety,” the filing states.
The KYC deadline has since been extended to June 1, giving users another chance to verify their identity and claim eligibility. Those who fail to meet the new deadline may have their claims permanently disqualified.
According to the court documents, claims under $50,000 may account for about $655 million in disallowed repayments, while claims over $50,000 could amount to $1.9 billion, bringing the total at-risk funds to more than $2.5 billion.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.
The EOS (EOS) token fell over 23%, marking the week’s biggest decline in the top 100, followed by the Near Protocol (NEAR) token, down over 19% on the weekly chart.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
Legendary technical analyst John Bollinger has highlighted what he calls a “classic Bollinger Band W bottom” that may be forming on the Bitcoin pair BTC/USD. According to him, BTC appears to have found support in the $74,000 area, setting up the characteristic double-dip lows that define a W-shaped reversal pattern. Notably, Bollinger stressed that the setup still needs to be confirmed: “Classic Bollinger Band W bottom setup in BTCUSD. Still needs confirmation”.
Is The Bitcoin Bottom In?
The chart shows Bitcoin navigating a decline from its mid-January high near $110,000, with recent price action clustered around the lower band of the Bollinger Bands. The upper band sits at $108,837, while the lower band sits at $77,138, suggesting a relatively wide range of volatility on a weekly basis. The Bollinger’s mid-line is close to $93,000.
Bollinger’s indication of a W-bottom is based on the formation of two distinct troughs in quick succession, as seen in both the price data and the oscillator readings below the chart. The first trough materialised as BTCUSD fell from its then high of around $90,000 to the mid-$76,000 area, then rallied before sliding back to a comparable support area around $74,500. The repeated dip into this horizontal support level has so far held, which Bollinger identifies as a potential base for a bullish reversal – although he cautions that a definitive move above the intervening swing high near $90,000 would help validate this classic chart pattern.
Other market clues include slightly lower trading volumes, suggesting that the intense selling that drove bitcoin down from its recent peak may be easing. The chart’s momentum oscillator, which tracks overbought and oversold conditions, supports this thesis, forming a bottom near its lower border. Although this alignment with price action suggests a possible bottom, many technical analysts are looking for the oscillator to rise convincingly above its midpoint to confirm that momentum has indeed shifted in favour of buyers.
Bollinger bands themselves, invented by John Bollinger, measure volatility by placing envelope lines above and below a moving average. When these bands widen, the market typically experiences large price swings; when they narrow, volatility decreases. In Bitcoin’s case, they’ve remained relatively wide, reflecting the cryptocurrency’s dramatic range from below $20,000 to six figures over the past two years.
While talk of a W-bottom has sparked optimism among bullish traders, Bollinger’s reminder that it “still needs to be confirmed” highlights the importance of solid follow-through in price action. If Bitcoin can break above $90,000 on robust volume, the long-awaited confirmation of this pattern would be within reach. Until then, the W-bottom is just a possibility.
Bitcoin (BTC) price has rebounded by over 11% from the April. 7 low of $74,400, and analysts believe that onchain and technical indicators point to a sustained recovery.
According to popular analyst AlphaBTC, Bitcoin will see a sustained recovery if it holds above $81,500.
Bitcoin price reclaimed the $80,000 psychological level after retesting the “weekly open and filling in some of the inefficiency left by the Trump 90-day pause pump,” the analyst said in an April 10 post.
“I really want to see it back above 81.5k soon, and we may see a bit more sustained upside as shorts get squeezed.”
Similar sentiments were shared by fellow analyst Rekt Capital, who said that Bitcoin needs to produce a weekly close above $80,500 to increase the chances of recovery.
“Bitcoin has recently lost the red Weekly level, just confirming BTC isn’t out of the woods yet,” Rekt Capital said in an April Post on X.
“$BTC needs to stay above red until the Weekly Close for the price to reclaim this Weekly level as support.”
BTC/USD weekly chart. Source: Rekt Capital
Bitcoin price recovery could be fueled by “seller exhaustion”
Bitcoin investors are approaching a degree of “near-term seller exhaustion,” as evidenced by the reduced magnitude of realized losses, according to onchain data from Glassnode.
Looking at the 6-hour rolling window for realized losses, the market intelligence firm found that the magnitude of losses realized during these drawdowns has started to decrease with each successive price leg lower.
“Bear markets are typically initiated by periods of heightened fear and substantial losses,” Glassnode said in its latest Week On-chain report.
“This suggests a form of near-term seller-exhaustion may be starting to develop within this price range.”
Bollinger Bands and W bottom hint at new price highs
After hitting a five-month low of $74,400 on April 9, Bitcoin retested the lower boundary of the Bollinger Bands (BB) indicator, a line that has supported the price over the last five weeks, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.
This is an encouraging sign from Bitcoin, according to the creator of the Bollinger Bands volatility indicator, John Bollinger. The Bollinger Bands indicator uses standard deviation around a simple moving average to determine both likely price ranges and volatility.
Bollinger said that Bitcoin price could be forming the second low of a W-shaped pattern formation — a double-pronged bottom followed by an exit to the upside — on the weekly chart.
“Classic Bollinger Band W bottom setting up in $BTCUSD,” Bollinger commented alongside a chart, adding that the pattern “still needs confirmation.”
In this situation, Bitcoin’s drop to $76,600 on March 11 was the first bottom, and the recent drop to $74,400 was the second.
If confirmed, BTC price could recover from the current levels first toward the neckline of the W-shaped pattern at $88,800 before rising toward the target of the prevailing chart pattern at $106,000.
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.
Regulators in Pakistan have proposed a regulatory framework for digital assets that is compliance-focused, in accordance with rules laid out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the supranational organization that polices finance for money laundering, The Express Tribune reported.
According to the report, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) introduced the regulatory framework to address terrorism financing, money laundering provisions, and Know Your Customer (KYC) controls enforced by the supranational organization. The report cited FIA Director Sumera Azam as saying:
“This is a paradigm shift in how Pakistan views digital finance. The policy proposal seeks to strike a historic balance between technological advancement and national security imperatives.”
The proposed framework is subject to legislative approval and input from digital asset firms operating in the country, with an expected multi-phased rollout beginning in 2026.
Regulators in Pakistan recently spearheaded a regulatory pivot embracing cryptocurrencies after being explicitly anti-crypto for years. The government’s anti-crypto stance hit a crescendo in 2023 when Pakistani officials called for a country-wide ban on digital assets.
Appointments to the Pakistan Crypto Council. Source: Bilal Bin-Saqib. Source: Bilal Bin-Saqib
Pakistan embraces the future of money in regulatory shift
In May 2023, former minister of state for finance and revenue, Aisha Ghaus Pasha said that Pakistan would never legalize cryptocurrencies due to the potential for digital assets to circumvent FATF regulations.
Less than two years later in February 2025 the Finance Ministry of Pakistan signaled a seismic regulatory shift by forming the Pakistan Crypto Council to establish clear crypto regulations in the country and attract foreign investment.
“Pakistan is a low-cost, high-growth market, with 60% of the population under 30. We have a web3 native workforce ready to build,” CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council Bilal bin Saqib said in a March 20 X post.
The Council is exploring using excess energy to mine Bitcoin (BTC) as part of a broader effort to turn Pakistan into an international hub for crypto mining.
