Market uncertainty looms as Bitcoin's rally faces skepticism, with potential volatility driven by leveraged positions and macroeconomic factors.

The post Bitcoin flirts with $72K while a whale bets $80M it won’t last appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The improbable solo mining success highlights Bitcoin's decentralization potential, despite dominance by large mining pools.

The post Solo Bitcoin miner wins $222K after beating 1 in 100,000 odds appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Binance Wallet integrated prediction markets through Predict.fun, letting users trade event contracts with Binance balances and no gas fees.

The post Binance Wallet integrates prediction markets through Predict.fun appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

BlackRock's collaboration with Galaxy Digital for its Ethereum ETF could accelerate institutional adoption of crypto staking, enhancing market trust.

The post BlackRock taps Galaxy Digital as validator for its staked Ethereum ETF appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitmine expanded its buyback to $4 billion as BMNR began NYSE trading after a fresh 71,252 ETH purchase lifted holdings to 4.8 million.

The post Bitmine takes BMNR to NYSE with $4 billion buyback expansion appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, David Sacks Push Congress to Pass Crypto Market Structure Bill ‘Now’

Three prominent voices in finance, crypto, and policy urged Congress this week to move quickly on the Clarity Act, a long-awaited bill to define how cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial products operate under U.S. law.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for the Senate Banking Committee to advance the legislation to President Trump’s desk, saying that Congress has spent years debating a framework to “onshore the future of finance.”

“Senate time is precious, and now is the time to act,” Bessent said on social media, echoing points from his Wall Street Journal op-ed that argued U.S. leadership in global finance depends on clear, durable digital-asset rules.

The Clarity Act, seen as a companion to the Genius Act signed by President Trump last year, seeks to establish regulatory boundaries between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

The bill defines when a token qualifies as a security, sets operating pathways for trading platforms, and introduces new anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering measures.

David Sacks, who championed last year’s Genius Act on stablecoins and is the White House’s former Crypto Czar, endorsed Bessent’s call. He said the Clarity Act would provide “rules of the road” for all other digital assets. “Secretary Bessent is right — the time to act is now. Senate Banking, and then the full Senate, should pass market structure,” Sacks wrote. He added that he expects Congress to deliver the bill for President Trump’s signature.

SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins also joined the push. “The project is designed so once Congress acts, the SEC and CFTC are ready,” Atkins said on X. “It’s time for Congress to future-proof against rogue regulators and advance comprehensive market structure legislation.”

Bessent: Crypto innovation is going to other countries

In his op-ed, Bessent warned that the absence of clear crypto regulation has driven innovation overseas to jurisdictions like Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Without consistent U.S. rules, he wrote, developers and investors face uncertainty about registration, compliance, and enforcement.

“Nations that provide clarity attract innovation,” Bessent wrote. “The Clarity Act would restore confidence that digital-asset businesses can build and grow in the United States.”

The Genius Act last year established a framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, aligning blockchain-based payments with the U.S. dollar’s global role. The Clarity Act would extend that foundation to the broader digital-asset ecosystem, including tokenized securities, decentralized exchanges, and blockchain-based settlement systems. 

Supporters argue the crypto bill would enhance financial oversight while keeping blockchain innovation — and its associated jobs and tax revenue — within U.S. borders.

By codifying legal parameters, they say, the legislation would protect investors, reduce regulatory uncertainty, and keep the U.S. at the forefront of financial technology rather than ceding ground to foreign markets.

“The United States became the world’s financial center by leading during moments of technological change,” Bessent wrote. “Passing this legislation ensures that the next generation of finance is built on American rails, backed by American institutions, and denominated in American dollars.”

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly license material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, David Sacks Push Congress to Pass Crypto Market Structure Bill ‘Now’ first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Depot Reports $3.7 Million Stolen in Wallet Security Breach

Bitcoin Depot disclosed that hackers stole about $3.7 million in bitcoin from company-controlled wallets after gaining access to internal credentials tied to its crypto settlement accounts.

The Nasdaq-listed crypto ATM operator said in an SEC filing on Wednesday that it detected unauthorized access to parts of its IT systems on March 23. The company said the attacker gained control of credentials linked to its digital asset settlement accounts and transferred out about 50.9 bitcoin, valued at roughly $3.66 million at the time of the theft.

Bitcoin Depot said the breach was limited to its corporate environment and did not affect customer platforms, systems or data.

“Upon detection, the Company promptly activated its incident response protocols, engaged external cybersecurity experts, and notified law enforcement,” the company said in the filing.

The company said it has recorded a preliminary loss estimate of $3.665 million, though that figure could change as the investigation continues. Bitcoin Depot added that it carries insurance that may cover part of the loss, but said there is no guarantee it will recover all stolen funds.

Bitcoin Depot ATMS

Bitcoin Depot operates more than 9,000 bitcoin ATMs across 47 U.S. states, making it the largest crypto ATM operator in the country. The company said it does not expect the incident to have a material impact on operations, but warned it could still face costs tied to reputation, legal matters, regulation and incident response.

The hack adds to a growing list of crypto-related security incidents this year, as the industry continues to grapple with thefts targeting exchanges, platforms and custodial services.

The disclosure also comes during a difficult stretch for Bitcoin Depot’s business.

Last month, Connecticut regulators suspended the company’s money transmission license, alleging it charged fees above the state’s 15% cap on more than 1,000 transactions. State officials said that led to about $150,000 in excess fees paid by more than 500 customers.

Bitcoin Depot also announced a leadership change last month, appointing Alex Holmes as chairman and CEO. Holmes previously led MoneyGram International and oversaw its sale to Madison Dearborn Partners.

Financially, Bitcoin Depot remains under pressure. The company reported net income of $4.7 million in 2025, down from $7.8 million in 2024. It also said it expects core business revenue to fall between 30% and 40% in 2026, citing tighter state regulations and stronger compliance standards.

The company said its fraud prevention efforts have helped protect customers, but those same measures are expected to reduce transaction volume and revenue.

Bitcoin Depot shares are trading at $2.58 today.

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly license material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post Bitcoin Depot Reports $3.7 Million Stolen in Wallet Security Breach first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF Debuts With $34 Million in Volume

Morgan Stanley has entered the spot bitcoin ETF market with the launch of its Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), adding a major new issuer to an increasingly competitive field defined by fee pressure, shifting flows, and institutional positioning.

The fund debuted with roughly $30.6 million in net inflows and about $34 million in trading volume, offering an early signal of demand from the bank’s vast wealth management network. MSBT carries a 14 basis point fee, undercutting many existing products and reinforcing a broader trend toward lower costs across the sector.

Despite the launch, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded about $94 million in net outflows on Wednesday. Large redemptions from Fidelity’s FBTC and Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB led the decline, while Grayscale’s GBTC also posted losses. BlackRock’s IBIT stood out with $40.4 million in inflows, extending its position as the dominant liquidity hub among spot bitcoin ETFs.

Market participants point to profit-taking as a key driver of the outflows. After bitcoin rebounded from near $67,800 to above $70,000 amid news of a temporary ceasefire tied to U.S. and Iran tensions, some institutional investors appear to have reduced exposure rather than add to positions. 

Over the last couple of days, bitcoin price has extended its upward momentum climbing from the high $66,000 range into the low $70,000s. The asset briefly consolidated before pushing higher on positive news out of the Middle East, reaching approximately $71,900 in recent trading. 

Bitcoin ETF competition

The arrival of MSBT adds another layer to the competitive landscape. Fee compression has emerged as a central theme since the first spot bitcoin ETFs launched, with issuers cutting costs to attract assets and defend market share. 

Lower fees tend to favor investors, though they pressure issuer margins and raise the stakes for scale and distribution.

Even with rising competition, IBIT retains a strong position due to deep liquidity and consistent inflows. Market structure suggests that leading funds with scale may maintain pricing power, especially if they continue to dominate flows. A meaningful shift would likely require sustained outflows from incumbents or the entrance of a large new competitor with aggressive pricing and distribution reach.

Looking ahead, the trajectory of ETF flows will depend on both macro conditions and bitcoin price action. Continued volatility tied to geopolitical risk, inflation expectations, and monetary policy could shape near-term demand. 

At the same time, the expansion of low-cost products such as MSBT signals that the fee war in spot bitcoin ETFs is far from over.

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly license material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF Debuts With $34 Million in Volume first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bithumb Seeks Asset Freeze to Recover Bitcoin From $40 Billion Payout Error

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has begun legal action to recover bitcoin distributed in error during a February promotional event, escalating a dispute with a small group of users who have refused to return the funds.

According to a report from local outlet Chosun Biz, the exchange has filed for a provisional seizure to freeze accounts holding roughly 7 BTC, valued near $500,000. The measure allows a court to secure assets before a civil lawsuit proceeds and signals that formal litigation may follow.

The incident traces back to Feb. 6, when Bithumb intended to distribute 620,000 Korean won in rewards to 249 users. A staff member entered “BTC” instead of “KRW,” triggering the system to credit accounts with 620,000 bitcoin on internal ledgers. The error briefly created the appearance of more than $40 billion in bitcoin balances on the platform.

Within minutes, some users sold portions of the credited assets or exchanged them for other cryptocurrencies before the exchange halted activity. The sudden surge in apparent supply caused the bitcoin-KRW trading pair on Bithumb to drop by about 15%, leading to losses for other traders.

An outstanding 12.3 billion won worth of bitcoin from Bithumb

Bithumb moved to reverse the transactions and has since recovered most of the funds. At one stage, about 12.3 billion won worth of bitcoin remained outstanding. That figure has now narrowed to seven bitcoin after months of outreach to affected users.

While many recipients returned the funds after being contacted, others have declined, arguing that the error originated with the company and does not require repayment. Legal experts in South Korea have taken a different view, describing the case as one of unjust enrichment, which requires recipients of mistaken transfers to return the assets.

If the case proceeds to court, users who sold the bitcoin may face additional financial exposure. Under restitution principles, they could be required to repurchase bitcoin at current market prices to return the equivalent amount, creating potential losses if prices have risen since the incident.

The episode has drawn scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, who have questioned how the exchange executed transactions tied to non-existent balances. At the time of the error, Bithumb reportedly held far less bitcoin than the amount reflected in the mistaken distribution.

The incident has also affected Bithumb’s corporate plans, with the company delaying its anticipated initial public offering to 2028.

Bithumb has stated that it will compensate affected traders at 110% of losses linked to the price disruption and implement stronger internal controls. The exchange also plans to establish a protection fund to address future incidents.

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly license material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post Bithumb Seeks Asset Freeze to Recover Bitcoin From $40 Billion Payout Error first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Solo Bitcoin Miner Defies 1-in-100,000 Odds to Win $222K Block Reward

A solo bitcoin miner on the Bitcoin network has defied steep odds to successfully mine a block, securing the full reward of 3.128 BTC, valued at roughly $222,000 at current prices.

The miner solved block 944,306 early Thursday using CKpool in a solo configuration, according to data from mempool explorers. The payout consisted of the standard 3.125 BTC block subsidy, worth about $221,800, along with 0.003 BTC in transaction fees, adding roughly $212 to the total.

CKpool developer Con Kolivas confirmed the win, noting the miner operated with about 70 terahashes per second (TH/s) of computing power. That level of hashpower represents a fraction of the network and is comparable to a single Bitmain Antminer S17+ unit, a machine released in 2019.

At that scale, the probability of mining a block is extremely low. Kolivas estimated the miner faced odds of roughly 1 in 100,000 per day, translating to an expected success rate of once every several centuries. Despite those odds, the miner managed to validate the block and claim the entire reward.

Solo bitcoin miner’s small odds for success

The miner’s contribution accounted for approximately 0.0000069% of the network’s total hashrate, which stood near 1.02 zettahashes per second on April 9. By comparison, large public mining firms such as Bitdeer and MARA Holdings operate at tens of exahashes per second, orders of magnitude higher than the solo participant.

While CKpool functions as a mining pool, it differs from traditional pooled mining setups. Most users on the platform engage in solo mining, meaning they do not combine hashpower with others to share rewards. Instead, participants accept a lower probability of success in exchange for retaining the full block reward if they find one, minus a small fee paid to the pool operator.

This approach removes the need for bitcoin miners to maintain independent infrastructure while preserving the upside of solo mining. It also highlights the lottery-like nature of block discovery for smaller participants.

The latest success follows a similar event just days earlier, when another solo bitcoin miner using CKpool earned roughly $210,000 after mining block 943,411. That miner operated with higher hashpower and faced odds closer to 1 in 28,000 per day.

Such outcomes remain rare but not unprecedented. Solo miners have occasionally secured full rewards despite minimal computational resources, reinforcing the probabilistic structure of Bitcoin mining, where any participant with hashpower retains a nonzero chance of success.

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly license material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post Solo Bitcoin Miner Defies 1-in-100,000 Odds to Win $222K Block Reward first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin’s rebound to around $71,000 has reignited a familiar bullish conversation about price, liquidity, and positioning. It has also exposed a less comfortable fact inside the network itself.

The fee market has barely moved.

For a market that still treats on-chain congestion as a sign of organic demand, that divergence deserves more attention than another recap of macro tailwinds or ETF flow streaks.

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On CryptoSlate’s Bitcoin price page, BTC was last trading at $70,990 on April 9, down 0.86% over 24 hours, up 6.11% over seven days, and up 0.85% over 30 days.

Price has clearly recovered from the lower end of its recent range, while the base layer still looks calm, cheap, and uncrowded.

The disconnect says something important about where this move is actually happening. More Bitcoin demand is being expressed through financial wrappers, broker channels, and ETF rails than through users competing for block space on-chain.

The price move can still be durable under that setup. The signal it sends is different.

A recent Bitcoin block space report covering March 19 to March 26 found that the median fee rate opened at 1.13 sat/vB and remained at 1.00 sat/vB for the rest of the week. In practical terms, that is floor pricing.

Users were still able to get confirmed without paying up for scarce space. Across 1,028 blocks, the report counted just 18.03 BTC in total fees, or roughly 0.0175 BTC per block.

Even more striking, those fees accounted for only 0.56% of miner revenue for the week, compared with 3,212.5 BTC from subsidy.

Price has recovered, while the fee market still looks half asleep

Those numbers are unusually soft for a market trading back around $71,000. Earlier cycle logic conditioned the market to expect a rising Bitcoin price to coincide with busier blocks, more contested inclusion, and a fee market that starts climbing before most people notice.

That reflex still shapes how many crypto participants interpret demand. The current market is sending a different message.

Price can recover even while on-chain urgency remains muted.

One reason the fee market looks so subdued is that Bitcoin has already lost one of the speculative demand engines that distorted block-space pricing in prior phases. Ordinals and other inscriptions once created a visible burst of non-monetary demand for inclusion, while the Runes launch briefly did the same on an even larger scale around the 2024 halving.

That impulse has faded materially. The chain is no longer dealing with the same inscription-driven scramble for block space, which means today’s low-fee environment is not just a story about healthy efficiency or quiet user behavior.

It also reflects the absence of a category that had previously inflated transaction counts and put pressure on fees.

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Nov 10, 2023 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

That context helps explain why a rebound in BTC can coexist with such a soft fee backdrop. Earlier in the cycle, Ordinals, inscriptions, and later Runes gave miners an extra revenue stream and gave observers a reason to treat mempool stress as proof of expanding demand.

Today, that support looks much thinner. The speculative traffic that once crowded the chain has cooled, leaving Bitcoin more dependent on either organic settlement demand or price-led financial flows to do the heavy lifting.

In that sense, it's also about what has already left the building.

Part of that dynamic comes from the fact that the pipes carrying demand have changed. A buyer using a spot ETF, a broker product, or a treasury vehicle can push capital into Bitcoin exposure without creating the same base-layer footprint as a user moving coins directly across the chain.

That distinction has grown more important as Bitcoin access has become more financialized. Farside’s daily ETF flow data showed a $471.4 million inflow on April 6, followed by outflows of $159.1 million on April 7 and $124.5 million on April 8.

The day-to-day swings were relatively modest, yet the broader point is that flows through these wrappers remain an active transmission channel for demand. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.3 billion in net inflows for the month, the first positive month since October.

That is the hidden mechanism behind the current divergence. Bitcoin demand is being split across two systems.

One system moves price through funds, adviser platforms, and broker access. The other system moves transactions through the blockchain itself.

Right now, the first system looks more active than the second. That leaves the fee market looking sleepy even as the asset itself regains altitude.

The result is a rebound that feels bullish on screens, while the network’s own pricing of block space remains subdued. That combination carries a different implication than a full-on-chain revival.

It suggests the recovery has broad distribution through financial rails, while direct pressure on Bitcoin’s settlement layer remains limited. For anyone still treating mempool stress as a simple proxy for demand, the current setup is a reminder that the market structure around Bitcoin has changed faster than many of the instincts people still use to interpret it.

Glassnode’s April 1 weekly market note described Bitcoin as rangebound between $60,000 and $70,000 and argued that spot demand was showing early signs of absorption, while still lacking the conviction needed for a sustained breakout. Glassnode also flagged dense overhead supply between $80,000 and $126,000.

That range framework fits the current divergence well. Bitcoin has bounced, yet the fee market has not repriced to indicate broad urgency, widespread settlement demand, or a sudden scramble for base-layer access.

Low fees point to where demand is landing, and to what miners still are not getting paid for

A separate report citing Glassnode data on March fee activity said Bitcoin’s 30-day simple moving average for daily transaction fees had fallen to 2.5 BTC per day in March 2026. The article described that as the lowest level since March 2011.

The precise historical framing requires caution until the underlying primary chart is checked directly, yet the directional message lines up with the broader evidence. Fee conditions have tightened significantly, and they have stayed tight even as BTC regained ground.

That compression creates an important divide between price strength and network monetization. Users get a friendlier chain. Miners get very little incremental revenue from transaction demand.

After the halving, that revenue mix carries more weight than it did when the subsidy was doing even more of the work. The March 19 to March 26 block space report quantified the issue cleanly, with fees contributing just 0.56% of miner revenue for the week.

For miners, a rally that does not trigger a fee response still helps through price, while leaving the network’s internal revenue base largely unchanged.

The difference becomes easier to see once Bitcoin is framed as both an asset and a network, with each side expressing demand in different ways. The asset side benefits from ETF adoption, adviser access, treasury accumulation, and improved risk appetite.

The network side benefits from actual users, transfers, settlements, and transactions that compete for limited capacity. These two layers can reinforce each other.

They can also drift apart for meaningful stretches. That is where the market sits now.

There is also a practical point in the current setup. A calm mempool does not automatically translate into weak Bitcoin.

It suggests that the rebound offers less evidence of resurgent on-chain intensity than the price alone might imply. A base-layer fee response would indicate that financial demand was spilling over into actual settlement contention.

Without that response, a different interpretation moves closer to the center: one in which Wall Street distribution is doing more of the immediate lifting than users transacting natively on-chain.

That outside-world collision gives the current divergence its explanatory power. Bitcoin is increasingly embedded in mainstream financial plumbing.

Morgan Stanley has just launched a low-fee spot Bitcoin ETF, and Charles Schwab is preparing direct spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading by mid-2026. The access channels around Bitcoin continue to widen.

As they widen, price can move along those rails long before the mempool signals a similar demand pulse.

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Apr 9, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

The next test sits in the fee market, the miner revenue mix, and whether price strength spreads into actual settlement demand

The immediate question is whether the current divergence is temporary or structural. There are credible arguments on both sides, and the next few weeks should help narrow the range of plausible outcomes.

The first path is a continuation of the current pattern. ETF and broker demand continue to support the price; Bitcoin holds near the upper end of its recent range, and fee rates remain close to the floor.

That would strengthen the case that this rebound is being carried primarily by wrapper-led flows rather than a broad-based return of native transaction demand. It would also reinforce the idea that price can recover through distribution and access to capital, while the chain’s own fee market remains calm.

The second path is a catch-up move in block-space demand. If the price recovery begins to spill over into actual transaction competition, the market should start to see higher fee estimates, deeper backlogs, more sustained pressure in the mempool, and a larger fee share in miner revenue.

That shift would change the interpretation of the rally. It would suggest that the move is spreading from exposure into usage, which would give the recovery a different kind of durability.

The third path would leave the current divergence looking more like a warning than a curiosity. If ETF flows roll over again, price slips back into the lower half of Glassnode’s recent range, and fee conditions still stay weak, the market will have stronger grounds to treat the rebound as a positioning move that never developed into broader transactional demand.

In that setup, the mempool’s quietness would stop looking incidental and start looking diagnostic.

A fourth path sits closer to miner economics than price direction. If fees remain this subdued while miners continue operating in a post-halving environment, attention will shift toward how the network is being monetized.

CoinShares’ Q1 2026 mining report described the final quarter of 2025 as the toughest quarter for miners since the 2024 halving, with a sharp price drawdown and near-record hashrate weighing on margins. A prolonged stretch of low fees would keep that pressure in focus.

Price appreciation helps, while a broader fee contribution would help more.

That is why the fee market deserves to sit much closer to the center of the current Bitcoin conversation. A move back toward $71,000 is meaningful.

It also leaves an open question. Where, exactly, is the demand becoming real?

Right now, the strongest answer is that demand is becoming real in financial products faster than it is in Bitcoin’s own block space.

That carries a measured but important implication for how this market should be understood. The rebound has gained traction through the channels Bitcoin spent years trying to enter: funds, advisers, brokers, and mainstream portfolio plumbing.

The blockchain itself has yet to show the same urgency in its pricing of access. For anyone watching Bitcoin as both a monetary asset and a network, that gap is the signal.

The market has moved higher. The chain has barely flinched.

The next round of evidence will come from whether that calm finally breaks, or whether Bitcoin’s most powerful demand engine now lives one layer removed from Bitcoin itself.

The post Bitcoin on-chain activity is a ghost town with price being controlled by corporate products appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is claiming its aggressive Bitcoin purchases have yielded a nearly $2 billion gain this year despite the top asset's clear price struggles.

However, a close look at the enterprise software company's legally binding regulatory filings tells a much redder story: under standard accounting rules, the firm is nursing a multi-billion dollar unrealized loss, and its aggregate Bitcoin stack sits firmly underwater.

Despite the paper losses, the company shows no signs of slowing. Armed with a highly liquid capital markets engine, Strategy continues to issue equity to fund massive daily purchases, completely unfazed by the disconnect between its curated corporate dashboard and its sobering regulatory reality.

A bespoke winning streak

By its own metrics, Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury playbook is flawless despite the prevailing bear market situation in the broader crypto market.

On X, the company said its BTC purchasing strategy has generated nearly $1.7 billion in Bitcoin gains since January this year.

That metric caps off a historic accumulation streak that has fundamentally warped the crypto market's supply dynamics.

Notably, Strategy disclosed that it has acquired an astonishing 2.2 times the newly mined Bitcoin supply over the period. This equates to more than 94,000 BTC since the beginning of the year.

To quantify this, Strategy's management points to two proprietary metrics: “BTC Yield” and “BTC Gain.” Strategy reports achieving a BTC Yield of 3.7% this year, generating a BTC Gain of 24,675 coins (roughly $1.7 billion).

For retail investors and crypto advocates, these figures are definitive proof that the company’s leveraged accumulation strategy is working.

Strategy’s Bitcoin gain metric is designed to reward balance-sheet expansion on a per-share basis. In its annual report, the company says BTC Yield measures the percentage change in Bitcoin Per Share (BPS) from the beginning to the end of a period.

BTC Gain then converts that percentage change into an absolute Bitcoin figure by multiplying the amount of Bitcoin held at the start of the period by BTC Yield. BTC $ Gain goes one step further by multiplying BTC Gain by the market price of Bitcoin.

The $14 billion SEC reality

However, the transition from the company's marketing materials to its Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and the $1.7 billion gain, is eclipsed by a staggering accounting deficit.

Strategy's quarter-end filing states the firm recorded a $14.46 billion unrealized loss on its digital assets for the three months ended March 31.

Under the fair-value accounting rules adopted in January 2025, market price fluctuations must flow directly through the income statement. Because Bitcoin's price slipped between year-end and March 31, Strategy was forced to slash the official carrying value of its digital assets from $58.85 billion down to $51.65 billion.

Beyond the quarter-end accounting losses, the company’s aggregate cost basis is also underwater. Strategy bought heavily into a weakening market through the first quarter, pushing its total holdings to 766,970 BTC. The total acquisition cost was $58.02 billion, averaging $75,644 per coin.

With Bitcoin currently trading near $71,192, that reserve is worth approximately $54.60 billion, placing the company roughly $3.41 billion below its aggregate cost.

Strategy's Bitcoin buying continues with STRC

Despite billions in paper losses and an average purchase price that exceeds the open market value, Strategy insists it will not sell a single coin. Instead, it is doubling down.

The ultimate proof of the market's willingness to fund this conviction lies in the company's STRC preferred stock issuance.

STRC is a high-yield credit structure that pays an 11.5% annual dividend. The asset is designed to trade closely to its par value of $100, and Strategy can efficiently leverage its at-the-market (ATM) issuance program to fund aggressive Bitcoin acquisitions.

In fact, STRC.live estimates show that STRC saw its daily volume reach $333 million, the seventh-highest trading volume since launch, on April 8. This day's trading could fund the purchase of more than 2,000 additional Bitcoins.

The numbers are a critical indicator of financial health for Strategy's specific playbook, signaling that demand for the firm's equity remains bottomless.

As long as Wall Street eagerly absorbs equity offerings at a stable valuation, Strategy faces no immediate pressure to halt its operations.

Where the pressure sits

The company’s own disclosures show why the dashboard metric and the ongoing buying streak do not settle the larger balance-sheet question.

Strategy acknowledges that its Bitcoin KPIs do not take into account existing and future liabilities, nor the preferential rights of preferred stockholders to dividends and assets in a liquidation scenario.

The annual report adds that purchases financed with non-convertible notes or preferred stock can simultaneously artificially lift BTC Yield, BTC Gain, and BTC $ Gain while also increasing overall indebtedness and senior claims on the asset pool.

That qualification has become increasingly important as the capital structure expands. Strategy said in February that it had established a $2.25 billion USD Reserve providing about 2.5 years of dividend and interest coverage.

However, STRC has scaled to a $3.4 billion market cap, and cumulative preferred distributions paid had reached $413 million at a blended annual rate of 9.6%.

Crucially, the annual report explicitly states that the software business is not expected to generate sufficient operating cash flow over the next 12 months to meet the company’s financial obligations and liquidity needs, meaning that continuous financing remains the lifeblood of the model.

This means that a significant decline in the market value of Strategy's Bitcoin holdings, or a negative shift in investor sentiment and financing conditions, could impair the firm's ability to raise enough equity or debt financing to meet obligations.

These risks are most likely to materialize when Bitcoin is trading below its carrying value or cost basis. If the company cannot secure financing in time or on acceptable terms, Strategy has conceded that it may be required to sell Bitcoin to satisfy financial obligations or liquidity needs.

For now, the machine is still running. Strategy is adding Bitcoin, the marketing dashboard still shows positive Bitcoin gain, and STRC remains anchored near par while supplying fresh capital.

The post Strategy made nearly $2 billion on Bitcoin this year but SEC filing hides a far bigger number appeared first on CryptoSlate.

On April 8, Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund began trading on the NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT, logging 1.6 million shares and roughly $34 million in volume on its highly anticipated first day.

The MSBT fund purchased 430 Bitcoin on day one, following $30.6 million in net inflows.

Speaking on this performance, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that MSBT's achievement comfortably places it among the top 1% of all ETF launches over the past year.

For comparison, the vast majority of newly launched ETFs across all asset classes average $1 million or less on their first day of trading.

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A Wall Street bank is moving Bitcoin inside its own system, shifting who controls how BTC reaches client portfolios.

Mar 26, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

Meanwhile, the performance is particularly notable given the broader market context. On its first trading day, the broader Bitcoin ETF sector saw $124 million in outflows, with only MSBT and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) managing to register positive inflows.

This underscores the immediate market traction of Morgan Stanley’s offering and signals a potential shift in how institutional capital flows into the sector.

Igniting a race to the bottom on fees

With this launch, Morgan Stanley became the first major United States bank to issue a spot Bitcoin ETF under its own name, breaking the ice for traditional financial institutions that had previously remained on the sidelines.

The Wall Street heavyweight isn't just relying on its century-old brand prestige; it has deliberately ignited a fierce fee war in the Bitcoin ETF market.

MSBT charges a unitary delegated sponsor fee of 0.14%, making it the absolute cheapest spot Bitcoin ETF available to American investors today. This aggressively undercuts the market-leading IBIT, which currently charges a 0.25% expense ratio, and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF at 0.15%.

Industry experts note that this rock-bottom fee structure may force other established asset managers to slash their own expense ratios to remain competitive, echoing the wave of fee waivers and aggressive undercutting seen when the first slate of 10 spot funds debuted in early 2024.

The low cost of MSBT presents a compelling mathematical argument for fee-conscious institutional allocators.

MSBT's competitive moat

Despite the cheap fees, market observers have noted that Morgan Stanley’s true competitive moat rests on its unparalleled distribution network.

The firm employs approximately 16,000 wealth management advisors who oversee a staggering pool of client wealth, with estimates placing firmwide client assets at up to $9.3 trillion and those directly managed by the wealth advisory arm at $6.2 trillion.

Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management, emphasized that distribution is “king in the ETF space.” He noted that combining Morgan Stanley’s vast advisor network with the industry’s lowest fee creates a remarkably strong formula for massive asset gathering.

For growth-oriented portfolios, the firm's advisors are currently recommending a 2% to 4% allocation to Bitcoin, while advising a strict 0% allocation for conservative and income-focused portfolios.

This systematic, firm-endorsed integration into traditional portfolio construction signals a monumental shift in how legacy finance views and utilizes digital assets.

Behind the scenes, MSBT operates strictly on institutional-grade infrastructure. The fund seeks to track the asset's performance as measured by the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate.

To ensure security and operational efficiency, Morgan Stanley tapped Coinbase and BNY to provide digital asset custody services, with BNY additionally serving as the administrator handling accounting, recordkeeping, and cash management.

Amy Oldenburg, head of digital asset strategy at Morgan Stanley, captured the firm's thesis, noting that MSBT reflects a firmwide approach to “thoughtfully building digital asset capabilities grounded in traditional governance and market infrastructure that seeks to meet long-term client needs.”

Market outlook for MSBT

This measured institutional approach aligns seamlessly with the current macroeconomic backdrop.

Bitcoin’s newest traditional finance wrapper arrives as the underlying digital asset consolidates near the crucial $70,000 level.

This represents a healthy cooling-off period following the cryptocurrency's most recent all-time high above $126,000, presenting a potential accumulation window for traditional capital that may have missed the earlier, retail-driven run-up.

Investor interest in risky assets got off to a slightly sluggish start in 2026, though demand for Bitcoin ETFs showed signs of recovery. The nine funds saw $1.3 billion in aggregate inflows in March, pushing cumulative assets across all American Bitcoin ETFs past the $90 billion mark.

Still, Balchunas predicts the MSBT fund could eventually amass $5 billion in assets under management in its first year of operation.

Despite the monumental launch and strategic advantages, questions remain about whether MSBT can truly topple the established early movers.

BlackRock currently dominates the space, holding over $55 billion in net assets in its IBIT fund. When asked if MSBT could eventually surpass BlackRock's behemoth, Balchunas was blunt, saying:

“Outside of a miracle, no.”

Whether MSBT can sustain its initial momentum against IBIT’s deep liquidity and dominance of the options market will ultimately determine whether Wall Street’s direct entry fundamentally reshapes the competitive balance.

But for now, the arrival of a legacy titan into the arena stands as undeniable confirmation of BTC's permanent fixture in traditional finance.

The post Morgan Stanley’s new Bitcoin ETF buys 430 BTC on debut, raising pressure on BlackRock’s IBIT appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced on Apr. 8 that it would convert 5,000 ETH into stablecoins through CoWSwap’s TWAP feature to fund research, grants, and donations.

The announcement reopened a debate over what the foundation’s treasury overhaul was ever meant to accomplish. Over the last year, EF moved treasury assets into DeFi, borrowed against ETH collateral, and then launched a staking initiative centered on about 70,000 ETH.

The reality described in EF’s June 2025 treasury policy suggested a different model. It tied monetization to a fiat-denominated operating buffer and kept ETH sales, staking, and stablecoin borrowing inside the same treasury framework.

On Feb. 13, 2025, EF Treasury said it had deployed 45,000 ETH across Spark, Aave Prime, Aave Core, and Compound. On May 29, it borrowed $2 million in GHO against its Aave position.

The move carried symbolic weight because it showed EF using DeFi rails to raise working capital without selling spot ETH.

By early April, that interpretation had filtered into retail discourse, as a Reddit post argued that EF was “no longer selling.” One commenter replied that “it’s good that they stopped selling.”

Despite anecdotal evidence, this kind of chatter shows how the stronger version of the thesis had already entered circulation before EF announced the Apr. 8 conversion.

The selling continues

As EF launched its staking initiative on Feb. 24, it said it would stake 70,000 ETH, with rewards routed back to the treasury.

On Mar. 14, it finalized a 5,000 ETH OTC sale to BitMine at an average price of $2,042.96. On Apr. 3, on-chain activity pushed the staked total to roughly 69,500 ETH, close to the target. Then came the Apr. 8 CoWSwap conversion, highlighting that selling and staking had already been operating side by side for weeks.

At an ETH price around $2,220.76, a 5,000 ETH conversion equals about $11.1 million, while ETH staking reference rates in early April sat around 2.73% to 3.00%.

Applied to 70,000 ETH, that produces roughly 1,912 to 2,102 ETH a year, worth about $4.25 million to $4.67 million at current prices. A single 5,000 ETH sale equals about 2.4 to 2.6 times the full-year yield from the entire 70,000 ETH staking sleeve.

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The staking program improves treasury efficiency and reduces funding requirements, but it remains well below the scale needed to replace treasury sales.

The EF June 2025 framework set annual opex at 15% of treasury and the operating buffer at 2.5 years, which implies a fiat-denominated reserve equal to 37.5% of treasury.

Applied only as an illustration to EF’s last full treasury snapshot, the Oct. 31, 2024, report showed $970.2 million in total treasury and $181.5 million in non-crypto assets, implying a policy target reserve of about $363.8 million.

EF had already publicly added stablecoin exposure after that snapshot, deploying 2,400 ETH and about $6 million in stablecoins into Morpho in October 2025, and it later announced additional ETH-to-stablecoin conversions in October 2025 and April 2026.

The exact current size of EF’s fiat-like bucket and whether tokenized RWA holdings have already been added in material size are still unknown. So the 2024 snapshot should still be treated as illustrative rather than as a stand-in for today’s balance sheet.

EF’s own allocation update showed $32.6 million in grants for the first quarter of 2025. At today’s ETH price, that equals roughly 14,700 ETH. The Apr. 8 conversion covers only about 33% of that quarter’s grant total, excluding protocol research, staffing, operations, and broader industry support.

Yield and borrowing leave the fiat-denominated budget intact and still require periodic monetization.

Potential outcomes

The bull case for EF rests on straightforward treasury arithmetic, as a higher ETH price and a lower long-run opex ratio would allow the foundation to maintain its dollar buffer while monetizing fewer coins.

In that setting, staking rewards and selective borrowing can reduce quarterly sales and give EF more flexibility around venue choice, whether through OTC blocks, TWAP execution, or conservative DeFi positions.

Treasury modernization would then show up in lower cadence, smaller clips, and better execution.
The bear case runs through the same framework in reverse, as EF’s reserve target is denominated in fiat terms.

A weaker ETH price can force more monetization to preserve runway, especially if the foundation leans into its counter-cyclical mandate and spends more aggressively during harder market conditions.

Under that setup, a large staking sleeve still generates yield, but the reserve requirement can rise faster than that yield offsets it.

Public expectations built around “less selling” then collide with the balance-sheet discipline EF had already written into policy.

The Apr. 8 conversion brought that discipline back into view. EF’s treasury strategy had already combined DeFi deployment, stablecoin borrowing, staking, and periodic ETH sales.

The market narrative extended beyond the written policy and beyond the foundation’s own post-staking transaction record.

The post Ethereum Foundation keeps selling ETH after telling the market it was staking 70,000 coins appeared first on CryptoSlate.

For most of the past two years, debate about stablecoins in payments has focused on the checkout screen: will consumers ever tap a wallet instead of a card?

Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard have answered with their capital. Visa now settles in USDC, Stripe bought Bridge, and Mastercard is acquiring BVNK.

Each move reflects the same read that stablecoins are becoming the settlement and liquidity layer beneath existing brands, and whoever controls that layer controls the economics of the next payment cycle.

Chainalysis put adjusted stablecoin volume at $28 trillion in 2025 and projected it could reach $719 trillion by 2035 on organic growth, with a more aggressive scenario approaching $1.5 quadrillion.

The grounding comes from McKinsey and Artemis, which estimate actual stablecoin payments at about $390 billion annually, a figure corroborated by BCG's $350-$550 billion range, excluding non-economic and trading flows.

At those levels, stablecoins represent roughly 2.3% of Visa's $17 trillion in payments volume in 2025.
Stablecoins can reprice settlement economics at 2.3% penetration because settlement and checkout operate on separate infrastructure.

Many hybrid stablecoin payment flows never appear as on-chain merchant transactions. Crypto card transactions typically execute on traditional card rails, while the blockchain captures only issuer inflows and outflows.

A stablecoin settlement layer can expand commercially without ever becoming visible at the point of sale.

Three bets on the same stack

Visa launched USDC settlement in the US in December 2025. By Mar. 25, its global stablecoin settlement activity had reached an annualized run rate of $4.6 billion across more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs in more than 50 countries.

Visa's own framing centered on treasury modernization and settlement efficiency, as its Canton Network effort extended that logic into payment, settlement, and treasury use cases for banks, a deliberate push to own the orchestration layer for institutional stablecoin flows.

By March 2026, Bridge-enabled stablecoin-linked cards had gone live in 18 countries, with plans to reach 100-plus by year-end, and Visa was evaluating settlement optionality, faster fund movement, and simplified blockchain abstraction for institutions.

Stripe's 2025 annual letter, published Feb. 24, reported stablecoin payments volume doubled to around $400 billion, with an estimated 60% in B2B flows, while Bridge volume more than quadrupled.

Bridge had won conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank covering custody, issuance, orchestration, and reserve management.

Mastercard's March 2026 agreement to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion came alongside a statement that digital currency payment use cases had already reached at least $350 billion in 2025, with the incremental opportunity in cross-border remittances, payouts, peer-to-peer transfers, and B2B payments.

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Mar 18, 2026 · Gino Matos

Mastercard also cited speed and programmability as answers to treasury management and commercial flow pain points.

Three companies, three products, and M&A strategies, one shared thesis: stablecoin settlement is embedding itself into payment infrastructure before any consumer-visible checkout revolution arrives.

The Federal Reserve confirmed in an Apr. 8 note that stablecoin market capitalization reached $317 billion as of Apr. 6, up more than 50% since early 2025.

Congress enacted the GENIUS Act in July 2025, supplying the formal US legal framework that institutional adoption requires.

Citi's September 2025 base case put stablecoin issuance at $1.9 trillion by 2030, supporting roughly $100 trillion in annual transaction activity, and projected more than $1 trillion in incremental demand for US Treasuries at that scale.

At $317 billion in current capitalization, the stablecoin market is about 16.7% of Citi's 2030 target, which is far enough along that the largest payment networks have committed capital, yet early enough that the outcome stays open.

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Trump signs GENIUS Act into law, activating America's first regulatory framework for stablecoins

In addition to sign the stablecoin framework into law, Trump vowed to approve the market structure bill next.

Jul 18, 2025 · Gino Matos

What to expect

The bull case turns on how fast compliance infrastructure can absorb stablecoin settlement at enterprise scale.

Regulatory clarity arrived through the GENIUS Act, with Visa and Bridge targeting 100-plus countries by year-end. Stripe and Bridge are building toward regulated custody and reserve management.

If enterprises can treat stablecoin settlement as routine treasury operations, cross-border payouts, merchant settlements, and B2B flows will migrate to on-chain rails faster than any single forecast can capture.

In that setting, Citi's $1.9 trillion issuance projection becomes a floor, and the firms that own orchestration, compliance, reserves, and interoperability standards capture the structural economics of the new stack.

The bear case requires open stablecoin rails to remain fragmented long enough for incumbents to absorb the functionality as a proprietary feature.

The Fed's April 2026 note flagged more complex intermediation chains, vertical integration, opacity, and run risk as vulnerabilities that push regulated institutions toward permissioned alternatives.

Citi's own analysis suggests that bank-issued tokenized money could exceed open stablecoins in institutional volume, with adoption anchored in corporate treasuries and capital markets, where compliance requirements favor closed networks.

In that outcome, stablecoins continue to expand, while the economic benefits accrue to regulated, permissioned systems. Incumbents deploy stablecoins as a feature, and the plumbing stays proprietary.

The control points

Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard are each running for different segments of the back-end stack: Visa through settlement and card-issuing orchestration, Stripe and Bridge through developer APIs, B2B infrastructure, and regulated custody, and Mastercard through cross-border corridors, remittances, and commercial treasury.

Their positioning reflects a shared read that the decisive contest runs through orchestration, compliance, reserves, foreign exchange management, and interoperability standards.

Chainalysis projects stablecoin transaction volumes could intersect Visa and Mastercard off-chain volumes between 2031 and 2039. The more consequential inflection preceded that projection by years.

The largest card networks began redesigning their settlement and payout infrastructure around stablecoins even as stablecoins accounted for less than 3% of global payment flows.

The firms that build the most defensible positions in orchestration and compliance over the next 36 months will determine who captures the economics of that intersection.

The post Crypto projected to move $719 trillion through global payments with Visa, Mastercard aggressive stance appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Oil Back at $100 Is Shaking Global Markets

Global markets are entering a critical phase as oil prices surge back above the $100 mark. This move is not just a headline — it is a macro shock that is already impacting equities, bonds, and crypto markets alike.

The rise in oil is driven by escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route. Even limited disruptions are enough to tighten supply expectations and push prices higher.

👉 And crypto is reacting — but not fully yet.

Bitcoin is holding above $70,000, while Ethereum and altcoins are showing mild weakness. This suggests hesitation rather than panic — a market waiting for confirmation.

Why Oil Prices Matter for Crypto More Than Ever

At first glance, oil and crypto may seem unrelated. In reality, they are now deeply connected through macroeconomic conditions.

Here’s the chain reaction:

• Oil prices rise
• Inflation increases
• Central banks delay rate cuts
• Liquidity tightens
• Risk assets like crypto come under pressure

👉 This is the exact environment we are entering.

With oil back above $100, inflation could remain elevated longer than expected — forcing the Federal Reserve to maintain restrictive policies.

For crypto, this is not bullish in the short term.

Inflation Data Confirms the Pressure Is Not Gone

Recent economic data reinforces this narrative:

• Core PCE inflation remains around 3%
• Jobless claims came slightly above expectations but remain low
• Economic growth is slowing but not collapsing

👉 This creates a dangerous mix:

• Inflation is still too high
• Growth is weakening

This is the definition of a stagflation-like environment, which historically puts pressure on risk assets.

Crypto Market Reaction: Calm Before the Storm?

Despite these developments, crypto markets are not crashing.

• Bitcoin (~$70K) remains stable
• Ethereum (~$2.1K) is slightly down
• Altcoins are seeing controlled declines

👉 This is not a panic — it’s positioning.

Markets are waiting for a clearer signal, especially from institutional flows that will return with full force when traditional markets reopen.

Why Monday Could Decide Everything

The current market conditions are deceptive.

Over the weekend, liquidity is lower, and price movements can be misleading. The real reaction will likely happen when Wall Street fully digests the macro situation.

👉 Monday becomes a key catalyst.

Institutions will react to:

• Oil above $100
• Inflation staying elevated
• Rate cut expectations shifting
• Geopolitical risks

This could trigger a strong directional move in crypto.

Key Bitcoin Levels to Watch Next

If macro pressure increases:

• First support: $68,000
• Major support: $65,000

If markets stabilize:

• Resistance: $72,000
• Breakout zone: $75,000+

👉 A break in either direction could define the next trend.

The Bigger Picture: Crypto Is Now a Macro Asset

This cycle is different.

Crypto is no longer driven purely by internal narratives like halving cycles or token launches.

Instead, it is increasingly reacting to:

• Oil prices
• Interest rate expectations
• Global liquidity
• Geopolitical risk

👉 In short: crypto has become a macro-sensitive asset.

Conclusion: Expect Volatility, Not Stability

The return of $100 oil is not just an energy story — it is a warning signal for global markets.

For crypto, this means one thing:

👉 The next move is likely to be sharp and decisive.

Whether it’s a breakout or a breakdown will depend less on crypto news — and more on macro developments in the coming days.

Currently trading at $1.33, many investors are asking: Is XRP still a "must-have" for a diversified crypto portfolio? This analysis breaks down the current market positioning, the distance from its historical peaks, and the fundamental drivers for the remainder of 2026.

Is XRP Worth It?

For investors looking for a quick answer: XRP remains a high-utility asset that has finally shed its regulatory "handcuffs." While its price action remains more conservative than high-beta meme coins, its integration into the global financial "plumbing" via the XRP Ledger and stablecoin initiatives like RLUSD makes it a staple for those seeking institutional-grade exposure.

Understanding XRP’s Position: Current Price and ATH Gap

To understand if XRP is "worth it," we must look at where it stands relative to its history.

• Current Price (April 2026): $1.33
• 2025 Local High: $3.65 (reached in July 2025 following the ETF hype)
• All-Time High (2018): $3.84
• Distance from ATH: ~65% below the 2018 peak.

Unlike $Bitcoin, which has frequently tested and broken new ground, $XRP is still in a multi-year recovery phase. This "gap" represents either a significant opportunity for growth or a sign of long-term resistance. However, with the CLARITY Act moving through the Senate in April 2026, the legislative tailwinds have never been stronger.

XRP Analysis: Why XRP in Your Portfolio?

The value proposition of XRP in 2026 is no longer based on rumors. It is built on three distinct pillars:

1. Institutional Inflows and ETFs

The launch of spot XRP ETFs has been a game-changer. Reports from early 2026 indicate that institutional investors plan to increase their XRP exposure from 18% to 25% this year. Unlike retail-driven pumps, ETF inflows provide a consistent "floor" for the crypto market price action.

2. Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has emerged as a leader in tokenizing assets. From just $24.7 million in early 2025, the value of tokenized assets on the XRPL has surged to over $2 billion by March 2026. This utility gives the token intrinsic value beyond simple cross-border payments.

3. Regulatory Certainty

With the SEC case officially closed and both parties withdrawing appeals in late 2025, Ripple is now expanding its US operations. According to Reuters, the clarity provided by US courts has made XRP one of the few digital assets with a clear "non-security" status for retail transactions.

XRP Price Prediction: Q2 2026 and Beyond

Technically, XRP is navigating a consolidation phase between $1.15 and $1.60.

Should You Buy XRP Coin Now?

When building a portfolio, XRP serves as a "Bridge Asset." It typically shows lower volatility than $Solana or newer Layer 1s, but offers higher stability.

• For Conservative Investors: XRP is a strong "Hold." Its inclusion in regulated exchange-traded products makes it a safer bet than unproven altcoins.
• For Aggressive Traders: The $1.30 range is a strategic entry point for a "buy the dip" play, targeting the $1.60 resistance level in the short term.

Canary Capital has officially filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the Canary PEPE ETF. This move marks one of the first attempts to bring a spot memecoin exchange-traded fund to the U.S. market, signaling a shift in how institutional players view high-liquidity "joke" assets.

Pepe News: What Happened?

On April 9, 2026, asset manager Canary Capital submitted registration documents for a spot PEPE ETF. If approved, this financial vehicle would allow retail and institutional investors to gain exposure to the price of Pepe ($PEPE) through a standard brokerage account, eliminating the need to manage private keys or interact with decentralized exchanges.

Understanding the S-1 Filing and the PEPE ETF

An S-1 filing is the initial registration statement required by the SEC for any new security being offered to the public. For the Canary PEPE ETF, this document outlines how the fund will operate, its custody arrangements, and the inherent risks associated with the underlying asset.

Spot vs. Futures ETF

Unlike futures-based products, a spot ETF holds the actual underlying asset. Canary Capital’s filing specifies that the trust will hold physical PEPE tokens, managed by a regulated custodian. Notably, the filing mentions that the trust may hold up to 5% of its assets in Ether (ETH) purely to cover transaction fees on the Ethereum network, though ETH itself is not an investment objective of the fund.

The Canary Strategy

Canary Capital is becoming a specialist in "altcoin" filings. This PEPE application follows their previous filings for:

• Solana ($SOL) and $XRP spot ETFs
• More niche assets like Mog Coin ($MOG) and Pengu ($PENGU).
• Specialized tokens such as $HBAR and Sei ($SEI).

While Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH) have already paved the way for institutional adoption, Canary is clearly targeting the "high-beta" sector of the market, betting that investors are ready for more speculative exposure within a regulated wrapper.

Market Impact and Regulatory Hurdles

The news has sparked immediate discussion across the crypto news landscape. However, the road to approval is far from guaranteed.

Why the SEC Might Hesitate

The SEC has historically required evidence of "resistance to manipulation" and a "regulated market of significant size" (typically a futures market) before approving spot crypto ETFs. While PEPE boasts significant liquidity and volume on major exchanges, it lacks a regulated futures market similar to those seen on the CME for BTC.

Furthermore, Canary’s own filing warns of concentration risks. As of early 2026, the ten largest PEPE wallets held roughly 41% of the total circulating supply, a metric that often triggers red flags for regulators concerned about market integrity.

There are many CFD brokers that claim they're "best in class". So when a broker like BXB Market comes along and puts "simplicity" at the center of everything it does, it catches your attention.

We spent a couple of dys using BXB Market's web platform to figure out whether they actually deliver on that promise. This review breaks down everything we found: what works, what stands out, and where you should do your own homework before depositing funds.

What Is BXB Market, and Who's Behind It?

BXB Market is a CFD broker operated by Dynamix Ltd. They hold a brokerage license (BFX2025065) issued by MISA — the Mwali International Services Authority. Its registered office sits at Bonovo Road in Fomboni, Comoros.

MISA-regulated brokers are required to follow specific compliance procedures, and BXB Market does display its license number prominently on every page of its website — which is more transparency than some offshore brokers bother with. The license is verifiable directly through the MISA registrar's public list of authorized brokerage companies, and we confirmed it ourselves.

What can you Trade on BXB Market?

BXB Market provides CFD access to 300+ instruments across several asset classes: 

• Forex (major and exotic pairs)
• Crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum and other alts)
• Precious Metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum)
• Stocks (Tesla, Microsoft)
• Indices (S&P 500, DAX, FTSE 100)
• Commodities (Oil, Gas, Coffee, Wheat)

For most retail traders, this range is more than sufficient. You're not going to find 15,000 instruments here the way you would with some of the largest multi-asset brokers, but that's clearly not what BXB Market is going for. The focus is on quality of execution and user experience across a curated set of markets.

What we liked: the earnings calendar integrated directly into the platform. Knowing when major companies are reporting earnings can be important for index and equity CFD traders, and having that calendar built into the platform (rather than requiring you to check a third-party site) is a small but practical touch that saves time.

BXB Market Trading Platforms

Traders using BXB Market have the choice to choose between both trading on their web platform, or downloading their mobile app.

We tested the web platform, which loads in-browser with no downloads or plugins required. Page load times were snappy, even with multiple chart windows open. It's not the most advanced charting platform on the market (don't expect TradingView-level), but for analyzing quickly before plcing a trade, it is more than enough.

Account Tiers on BXB Market

BXB Market offers three account tiers: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, each designed for a different level of trader.

Silver Account

• Standard spreads
• Leverage up to 1:200
• Minimum lot size: 0.01

Gold Account

• Spread discounts
• Reduced swap fees
• Leverage up to 1:200
  Minimum lot size: 0.01

Platinum Account

• High spread and swap discounts
• Leverage up to 1:200
• Minimum lot size: 0.01

BXB Market also offers demo accounts if you want to test out the platform first.

Deposits, Withdrawals, and Payment Methods

BXB Market supports a wide range of payment options:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Maestro
• Visa Debit
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• PayPal
• Skrill
• Neteller
• AstroPay 
• Kuady

All these options give good flexibility, especially for those in regions where certain payment methods are more convenient or accessible than others.

Customer Support: Available and Responsive

BXB Market's support can be reached through live chat, email, or phone. We tried the live chat a couple of times and got actual answers from real people pretty quickly, no waiting around forever, no copy-paste replies that don't actually address what you asked. That's more than you can say for a lot of brokers out there.

The site and platform come in English, Hindi, and Japanese, so they're clearly not just targeting one market. It's a small detail but it tells you they're at least thinking about serving traders in different parts of the world.

How to Open an Account with BXB Market

The onboarding process is straightforward. Account registration follows a standard flow: provide your details, verify your identity, fund your account, and start trading. We didn't encounter any unusual friction points or unexpected delays during the process.

Final Verdict: Is BXB Market Worth Trying in 2026?

If you value a clean, intuitive trading environment and don't need tens of thousands of instruments and clutter, BXB Market might be for you.

Always remember to do your own due diligence. Test the platform, read the terms, understand the regulatory framework, and never trade with money you can't afford to lose.

Why Iran’s Bitcoin Move Is Shaking Global Markets

A new geopolitical development is quietly reshaping how investors think about cryptocurrency. Reports suggest that Iran may require ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay transit tolls in Bitcoin.

This is not just another crypto headline. It represents a potential shift in how global trade is conducted, especially in a region responsible for nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

If confirmed and enforced, this would mark one of the first real-world use cases of Bitcoin in a state-level economic strategy tied directly to energy markets.

What Is Happening in the Strait of Hormuz?

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical chokepoints in global trade. Any disruption there immediately impacts oil prices, shipping routes, and financial markets.

Recent developments indicate:

• Iran is asserting control over transit conditions
• Ships may be required to pay tolls to pass safely
• Reports suggest payments could be requested in Bitcoin
• Hundreds of vessels are currently facing delays in the region

At the same time, geopolitical tensions remain elevated, with threats of escalation involving multiple countries and trade restrictions.

👉 This is no longer just a military or political issue — it is becoming a financial one.

Why Bitcoin? The Strategic Logic Behind It

The choice of Bitcoin is not random. It solves several key challenges for countries operating under financial pressure:

• Sanctions resistance: Bitcoin cannot be easily blocked by traditional financial systems
• Fast settlement: Payments can be completed within minutes globally
• Neutral infrastructure: No central authority controls the network
• Liquidity access: Bitcoin can be converted into other assets worldwide

For a country facing restrictions in the global banking system, Bitcoin becomes a practical alternative for enforcing payments in international trade.

Is This the Beginning of a New Financial System?

For decades, global oil trade has been dominated by the US dollar. This system, often referred to as the “petrodollar,” has shaped global finance and monetary policy.

However, if oil-related transactions begin to integrate Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, the implications could be massive:

• A shift toward alternative settlement systems
• Reduced reliance on USD-based trade
• Increased demand for decentralized assets
• New regulatory and geopolitical tensions

👉 This could mark the early stages of a parallel financial system emerging alongside traditional markets.

How Are Crypto and Traditional Markets Reacting?

Interestingly, markets are showing mixed signals:

• Bitcoin is holding strong above key levels
• Ethereum and altcoins are seeing renewed momentum
• US stock markets are rebounding sharply
• Oil prices remain elevated due to supply concerns

This divergence suggests that markets have not fully priced in the long-term implications of this development.

In other words, investors are reacting to short-term headlines, but the structural shift may still be underestimated.

What Should Investors Watch Next?

The situation is evolving quickly, and several key factors will determine its impact:

• Whether Bitcoin payments are officially enforced
• How global powers respond to this move
• Potential sanctions or countermeasures
• Reactions from shipping and energy companies
• Regulatory responses toward crypto usage in trade

If more countries begin experimenting with crypto in international transactions, this trend could accelerate faster than expected.

Final Thoughts: A Turning Point for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has long been described as digital gold or a store of value. But this development suggests a new role is emerging — Bitcoin as a tool for global trade and geopolitical strategy.

While it is still early, the implications are significant.

👉 This is not just about crypto markets anymore.
👉 This is about the future of global finance.

The framework automates the complex process of transforming raw research materials into polished academic manuscripts.

An individual Bitcoin miner hit the lottery overnight, scoring a $225,000 BTC reward when they found a block.

TRM’s Ari Redbord expressed skepticism that Iran and affiliated actors are accepting Bitcoin for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Several obstacles to the Clarity Act, which have remained unsolved for months, stand in the way of its passage before a looming deadline.

Ethereum treasury giant BitMine Immersion Technologies upped its share buyback program to $4 billion and was uplisted to the NYSE on Thursday.

While oil prices breach the $100 mark, flagship cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and XRP show unexpected resilience, signaling a potential new regime for digital assets.

Robinhood reallocates $30 million in DOGE ahead of "Doge Day" on April 20 as the market prepares for Dogecoin to repeat its 2025 rally.

Solo miner with just 70TH/s has defied 300-year odds to solve Bitcoin block 313 on Solo CKPool. Admin Con Kolivas confirms the 1-in-100,000 daily win.

Ripple adds two million RLUSD to the amount of its stablecoin currently in circulation to boost liquidity for users across the Ethereum network.

The fallout from a bombshell New York Times investigation claiming to have unmasked Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto continues to dominate discussions across the cryptocurrency industry..

A shift is underway in online gambling. Players who built their habits on traditional platforms like DraftKings are increasingly searching for alternatives that better match how they want to play in 2026. The search data is clear. Queries for DraftKings alternatives have been climbing steadily, and the platforms appearing in those results look very different from what the traditional industry has been offering.

ZunaBet is one of the names surfacing most frequently. A crypto-native casino and sportsbook that launched in 2026, it represents a fundamentally different approach to online gambling. But what is driving players away from an established giant like DraftKings, and does ZunaBet actually deliver something better? Here is an honest comparison.

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DraftKings: The Traditional Powerhouse

DraftKings needs little introduction. It is one of the largest and most recognizable names in online gambling, particularly in the United States. Built initially around daily fantasy sports, DraftKings expanded into sports betting and online casino gaming as regulations opened up across various states.

The platform offers a polished product. A well-designed sportsbook covers major professional and college sports. The casino section features slots, table games, and live dealer options from reputable providers. And the DraftKings brand carries the kind of mainstream credibility that comes from years of television advertising, major sports partnerships, and a publicly traded stock.

DraftKings operates within heavily regulated markets, which provides players with certain protections. It accepts traditional payment methods including credit cards, bank transfers, and popular e-wallets. For players comfortable within the traditional online gambling framework, DraftKings delivers a reliable, professional experience.

However, that traditional framework is exactly what a growing number of players are looking to move beyond. Withdrawal times measured in business days, processing fees, geographic restrictions, and a payment infrastructure built around banking intermediaries are all features of the traditional model that crypto-native players find increasingly frustrating.

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ZunaBet: A Different Kind of Platform Entirely

ZunaBet operates in a different world from DraftKings. Not a competing version of the same thing, but a genuinely different model built around different assumptions about what players want.

The platform is owned by Strathvale Group Ltd, licensed in Anjouan (ALSI-202510047-FI2), and was built by a team with over 20 years of combined experience in the online gambling industry. It launched in 2026 as a crypto-first casino and sportsbook designed from the ground up for players who live in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The game library immediately sets ZunaBet apart. It hosts 11,294 titles from 63 providers. Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Hacksaw Gaming, Yggdrasil, and BGaming headline the roster, with dozens of additional studios contributing to a catalog that spans slots in enormous variety, RNG table games with genuine depth, and live dealer rooms from top-tier production studios. Sixty-three providers on a single platform creates a breadth of content that dwarfs what most traditional operators offer in their casino sections.

The sportsbook covers the same territory DraftKings does and then some. Football, basketball, tennis, and NHL provide the traditional sports core. But ZunaBet extends into esports with markets for CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Valorant. Virtual sports and combat sports push the range further. Everything runs under one account on one platform.

Crypto infrastructure supports more than 20 coins. BTC, ETH, USDT across multiple chains, SOL, DOGE, ADA, XRP, and others are all accepted. Zero processing fees. Fast withdrawals. Dedicated apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS. And live chat support available at every hour.

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The Fundamental Divide: Crypto vs Traditional Infrastructure

The core difference between DraftKings and ZunaBet is not cosmetic. It is structural. And that structural difference affects virtually every aspect of the player experience.

DraftKings was built on traditional financial rails. Credit card processors, banking networks, and regulated payment service providers handle every transaction. That infrastructure brings certain benefits, particularly around regulatory compliance in licensed markets. But it also brings friction. Deposits can be delayed by bank processing. Withdrawals routinely take multiple business days. Processing fees eat into player funds on both ends. And the verification requirements tied to traditional banking add layers of bureaucracy before a player can access their own money.

ZunaBet was built without any of that legacy infrastructure. Cryptocurrency is not an add-on feature. It is the foundation everything else sits on. Deposits arrive at the speed of whatever blockchain the player sends from. Withdrawals process without routing through banking intermediaries. No processing fees are charged because no third-party payment handlers are involved in the transaction chain.

For players who already hold and use cryptocurrency, the difference in daily experience is stark. Transactions that take days on traditional platforms complete in minutes on ZunaBet. Money that gets chipped away by fees on conventional platforms arrives and departs intact on a crypto-native one. And the simplicity of connecting a wallet versus navigating bank verification processes represents a quality-of-life improvement that is hard to go back from once experienced.

With more than 20 supported coins including BTC, ETH, SOL, DOGE, ADA, XRP, and USDT on multiple chains, ZunaBet gives players genuine flexibility to use whatever they hold without forced conversions or exchange fees.

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Welcome Offers: Scale and Structure

DraftKings offers welcome bonuses that vary by state and product, typically involving deposit matches or free bet credits for new sportsbook users. The offers are competitive within the traditional market and benefit from the regulatory certainty that comes with operating in licensed jurisdictions.

ZunaBet’s welcome package operates on a different scale. The total reaches $5,000 plus 75 free spins distributed across three deposits. The first deposit earns a 100% match up to $2,000 with 25 free spins. The second deposit gets a 50% match up to $1,500 and 25 spins. The third deposit delivers a 100% match up to $1,500 with the final 25 spins.

The three-deposit structure serves a specific purpose beyond just offering more money. It creates three separate moments of value that bring the player back to the platform. Each return visit builds familiarity. Each bonus reinforces the decision to stay. By the third deposit, the player has logged enough time to make a genuine assessment of whether ZunaBet fits their long-term habits.

For players accustomed to the bonus structures of traditional platforms, the sheer scale of ZunaBet’s offer across three deposits represents a significant step up in immediate value.

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Loyalty Programs: Gamified Progression vs. Traditional Rewards

DraftKings runs a loyalty program tied to its Dynasty Rewards system, which awards crowns based on play that can be redeemed for free bets and other perks. It is a functional system that provides ongoing value to regular players within the traditional rewards framework.

ZunaBet took an entirely different approach. Its dragon evolution system was designed to be a feature players actively engage with rather than passively accumulate points through. Built around a mascot named Zuno, the program structures progression across six tiers with publicly documented rakeback rates.

Squire starts at 1% rakeback. Warden advances to 2%. Champion reaches 4%. Divine pushes to 5%. Knight climbs to 10%. Ultimate peaks at 20%.

The difference between a points-for-perks system and a direct rakeback model is significant. Rakeback returns a percentage of the house edge on every wager automatically. At the Ultimate tier, 20% of the house advantage flows back to the player continuously. Over months of regular play, that translates into meaningful money that directly reduces the cost of gambling on the platform.

Additional tier benefits include free spins scaling to 1,000, VIP club access, and double wheel spins. The gamified progression borrows from video game levelling mechanics, giving each tier the feel of an achievement unlocked rather than a label changed. For a generation of players raised on progression systems and visible milestones, this approach resonates far more deeply than traditional reward point accumulation.

The transparency factor also matters. ZunaBet publishes every tier requirement, every rakeback percentage, and every associated benefit openly. Players can map their entire loyalty journey before placing a single bet. That level of clarity gives players the information they need to make fully informed decisions about where their ongoing play delivers the most value.

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Built for How a New Generation Plays

The player searching for DraftKings alternatives in 2026 has a specific profile. They are comfortable with technology. They likely hold cryptocurrency. They expect fast transactions, mobile-first design, and platforms that respect their time. They grew up with instant digital payments and gamified experiences, and they find the friction of traditional gambling infrastructure increasingly difficult to tolerate.

ZunaBet was designed for exactly this player. HTML5 technology powers a dark-themed responsive interface that works flawlessly across devices. Native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS deliver optimised performance. The 11,000+ game library stays navigable through effective categorisation and search tools. Casino and sportsbook sections integrate seamlessly under one account.

The combination of crypto-native payments, a massive game library, comprehensive sports and esports betting, and a loyalty program that genuinely rewards progression creates something that feels purpose-built for the next generation of online gamblers.

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Where This Trend Is Heading

DraftKings is not going anywhere. It remains one of the most powerful brands in online gambling with a massive user base, deep regulatory relationships, and the resources of a publicly traded company. For players operating within traditional regulated markets using conventional payment methods, DraftKings continues to deliver a strong product.

But the market is bigger than any single model can serve. The growing search interest in alternatives reflects an audience that wants something traditional platforms were not designed to provide. Faster transactions. Lower costs. Broader game selection. More rewarding loyalty systems. And a platform that feels native to the digital, crypto-fluent lifestyle they already live.

ZunaBet delivers on every one of those demands. Over 11,000 games from 63 providers. A sportsbook covering traditional sports and esports. More than 20 cryptocurrencies processed without fees. A $5,000 welcome bonus structured for sustained engagement. And a dragon evolution loyalty program that has redefined what players should expect from casino rewards.

The platform is still new and building the operational track record that only time can provide. But what it has delivered at launch positions it as the most compelling option for the growing wave of players who have decided that traditional is no longer enough. For anyone searching for what online gambling looks like when built for 2026 and beyond, ZunaBet is providing the clearest answer available.

The post Why Search Interest in DraftKings Alternatives Like ZunaBet Is Growing appeared first on Blockonomi.

The window of opportunity in the digital asset market is closing faster than most traders realize. While many investors wait for mainstream news outlets to confirm a breakout, the real wealth is being generated in the quiet moments before the vertical climb.

Identifying the best crypto to buy right now requires a shift in perspective from following the crowd to anticipating the needs of the future global financial infrastructure. The market is currently signaling a massive rotation into projects that offer more than just hype; it is hungry for scalability, interoperability, and genuine utility.

Those who hesitate to diversify into these high-conviction assets today may find themselves watching from the sidelines as the most promising opportunities move out of reach forever.

1. BlockDAG (BDAG): The 95x Opportunity of the Year

BlockDAG is currently dominating conversations as the best crypto to buy right now due to a unique pricing gap that savvy investors are exploiting for maximum gain. On CoinMarketCap, the asset has already crossed the $0.02 threshold, after validating the early projections made by market makers who foresaw a climb to $0.4. With that milestone achieved, the trajectory is now set for a $1 valuation in the near future.

However, a massive opportunity remains for those who know where to look. While the public market price reflects steady growth, individuals can still acquire BDAG tokens directly through the BlockDAG website for just $0.0000061. This price difference creates a mathematical path toward 95x returns for those who act before the direct sale window terminates.

The momentum behind this project is fueled by its upcoming accessibility on several major trading platforms. Liquidity and volume are expected to surge as BDAG becomes tradeable on XT.com, LBank, Coinstore, Biconomi, BitMart, P2B, AscendEX, and more. These listings ensure that once the direct purchase phase concludes, the asset will have the global reach necessary to sustain its march toward the $1 target.

Investors are rushing to secure their positions at the fractional entry price of $0.0000061, recognizing that the current discrepancy between the direct sale and the market price is a rare chance to front-run the broader retail market.

2. Chainlink (LINK): The Essential Backbone of DeFi

Chainlink remains a staple for anyone searching for the best crypto to buy right now because it functions as the central nervous system for decentralized finance. It provides the essential oracle infrastructure that bridges the gap between isolated blockchains and the vast amount of data existing in the real world.

Without the reliable data feeds provided by Chainlink, smart contracts would be unable to execute based on price fluctuations, weather patterns, or even sports results. This makes LINK a fundamental necessity rather than a speculative luxury, as the entire DeFi ecosystem relies on its accuracy to maintain its integrity and security.

Beyond simple data delivery, the project has introduced the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which is setting the global standard for how different blockchains communicate. This technology has caught the attention of major traditional financial institutions like Swift and DTCC, which are using Chainlink to explore how tokenized assets can be settled across various networks.

Because node operators must stake LINK as collateral to secure the network, there is a direct correlation between the adoption of these services and the demand for the token. As more global banks integrate CCIP, the pressure on LINK’s circulating supply could lead to a significant valuation shift.

3. Polkadot (DOT): Leading the Multi-Chain Future

Polkadot offers a sophisticated solution to the problem of blockchain fragmentation, making it a top contender for the best crypto to buy right now. Its unique architecture allows various specialized blockchains, known as parachains, to run in parallel while leaning on the central Relay Chain for their security.

This setup allows developers to build chains that are perfect for one specific task without having to worry about building their own security from scratch. With the transition toward Polkadot 2.0 and the implementation of async backing, the network has seen a massive boost in how many transactions it can handle, drastically reducing wait times for users.

One of the most significant changes to the ecosystem is the introduction of Coretime. This new model changes how blockspace is distributed, making it much more affordable and flexible for new projects to join the network compared to the old auction system.

For those holding DOT, the project offers a governance system that provides actual power over the network’s future, including how the treasury is spent. Additionally, with staking rewards currently sitting between 14% and 16% APY, DOT provides a way to grow a portfolio through passive income while the broader ecosystem of specialized chains continues to expand.

4. Cosmos (ATOM): Powering the App-Chain Revolution

Cosmos is built on the belief that the future of the internet consists of thousands of independent blockchains, and it provides the tools to make that happen. The Cosmos SDK is currently the most popular framework for creating custom blockchains, utilized by heavy hitters like Celestia and the BNB Chain.

This widespread use ensures that ATOM remains at the heart of a massive network of interconnected apps. The Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol is the secret sauce here, allowing over 100 different chains to trade data and assets instantly, creating a web of value that is unmatched in its fluidity.

The value of the ATOM token has recently been strengthened by the introduction of interchain security. This allows the main Cosmos Hub to lend its security to newer, smaller chains. In return, ATOM stakers receive a portion of the revenue generated by these newer projects.

This creates a diversified reward stream for holders, who earn from both the main hub and the various “consumer chains” it protects. For investors looking for the best crypto to buy right now, ATOM represents a diversified bet on the entire “app-chain” philosophy, capturing value from every new project that chooses to build within the Cosmos ecosystem.

Which is the Best Crypto to Buy Right Now?

The current market window presents a rare alignment of technological maturity and undervalued entry points. While the fear of missing out often drives irrational decisions, the data behind these four projects suggests that the real risk lies in inaction.

From the massive 95x potential found in the BlockDAG direct purchase to the institutional-grade stability of Chainlink, Polkadot, and Cosmos, the best crypto to buy right now is defined by utility and scalability.

Securing a position in these assets today is not just about catching a trend; it is about owning a piece of the infrastructure that will define the next decade of finance. The opportunity to buy at these levels is a fleeting moment in a rapidly accelerating market cycle.

The post 5 Best Cryptos to Buy Right Now: Secure Your Gains Before the Next Bull Run! appeared first on Blockonomi.

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A crypto card can look simple. You tap to pay, shop online, or withdraw cash, and it works much like a regular card.

Still, the total cost is not always obvious. Depending on the provider, users may pay blockchain fees, conversion costs, foreign exchange charges, ATM fees, or merchant markups. Some of those costs appear clearly. Others are built into the rate or show up only at checkout.

That is why the real cost of a crypto card is not one single fee. It is the total cost of moving funds, converting them, and spending them.

Network fees can start before you even spend

The first cost can appear when a user moves crypto into a wallet or account linked to the card. In that case, the blockchain may charge a network fee, often called a gas fee.

That fee usually does not come from the card provider. Instead, it comes from the network that processes the transaction. As a result, the cost can change depending on which blockchain the user picks and how busy that network is.

So even before the card is used for a purchase, the funding step may already carry a cost.

The exchange rate can include a hidden conversion cost

Many crypto cards convert crypto into fiat at the moment of payment. In some cases, that conversion cost appears as a stated fee. In other cases, it sits inside the exchange rate itself.

That difference matters. A card may look cheap on paper, but the user may still pay more through the rate used to convert crypto into dollars, euros, or another currency.

So when comparing cards, users should not look only at the fee page. They should also look at how the provider handles conversion.

Foreign purchases can trigger FX fees

When a card is used in a different currency, foreign exchange fees can apply. That is common when users travel, shop on foreign websites, or withdraw cash abroad.

In some cases, the card network sets one rate and the issuer adds its own FX fee on top. That means the final cost can rise even when the transaction goes through normally.

This is one reason why cross border spending often costs more than a domestic purchase.

DCC is one of the clearest ways to overpay

Another common cost appears at the terminal. When a user pays abroad, the merchant or ATM may ask whether to charge the card in the user’s home currency instead of the local one. That is Dynamic Currency Conversion, or DCC.

It often looks convenient, but it usually costs more. BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation, said consumers are financially worse off in “practically every single case” when they accept DCC. The same paper cited research showing DCC was on average 7.6% more expensive in one study, while the highest markup reached 12.4%.

So the cleaner option is usually the local currency, not the home currency shown on the screen.

A simple DCC example

That difference may look small on one purchase. Still, it adds up across repeated payments and withdrawals. BEUC’s paper also found examples where payment markups in stores ranged from 2% to 5%, while ATM DCC increases ran from 2.6% to 12% in one dataset.

ATM withdrawals can stack several fees at once

Cash withdrawals are another area where costs can pile up fast. First, the ATM operator may charge its own fee. Then the card issuer may add a withdrawal fee. If the withdrawal is in a foreign currency, an FX fee may apply as well.

So one ATM transaction can combine several charges in a single step. That is why withdrawing cash is often one of the more expensive ways to use a crypto card.

Users should check both the card provider’s fee schedule and the ATM screen before confirming the transaction.

Card holds are not fees, but they still affect spending

Not every unexpected charge is a fee. Hotels, fuel stations, car rentals, and some online merchants often place a temporary hold on the card before the final charge settles.

That hold reduces the available balance for a period of time. Later, the merchant posts the final amount and releases the unused part.

So while a hold is not a direct cost, it can still confuse users and make the card balance look lower than expected.

Other small charges can still matter

Some crypto cards also charge for physical card shipping, replacement cards, premium plans, or inactivity. These costs are not the same across the market, so they should not be treated as universal.

That is why the fee page matters as much as the headline promise. A provider may advertise low spending fees while charging in other places.

In short, the total cost depends on the full structure, not one line in the marketing copy.

What cost can look like in practice

A user may pay one fee to move crypto onchain, another cost through the conversion rate, another fee on a foreign purchase, and another markup if DCC is accepted by mistake. Then, if the same user withdraws cash abroad, ATM and FX charges may come on top.

KAST’s public fee page offers one example of how that structure can work. It says non-USD card purchases carry a foreign exchange fee of 0.5% to 1.75%, depending on the countries involved. It also says ATM withdrawals cost $3 plus 2% of the withdrawal amount, with the same 0.5% to 1.75% FX fee added for non-USD withdrawals.

That example does not make crypto cards unusually expensive. It simply shows that the total cost often comes from several layers, not one headline fee.

If you want to see how a real fee schedule is laid out before you travel or spend abroad, take a minute to explore KAST.

The main point on cost

Crypto cards are easier to understand when each cost is separated clearly. The main ones to watch are network fees, conversion costs, FX fees, DCC markups, ATM charges, and temporary holds.

Among them, DCC remains one of the clearest traps because it can make a transaction more expensive without adding any real benefit for the cardholder. BEUC’s findings underline that point.

So the simplest rule is this: check how the card handles conversion, read the fee page before using it abroad, and choose the local currency when a terminal gives you the choice.

The post Crypto Card Fees Explained: Hidden Costs To Know appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Shares of Zscaler (ZS) declined approximately 8% on April 9, 2026, reaching a 52-week low of $127.88
• BTIG analyst downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral, removing it from the firm’s preferred picks
• Research involving five industry sources highlighted intensifying competitive threats from Cloudflare and Netskope
• The stock has tumbled 39% since the start of the year and 56% over the previous half-year period
• BTIG lowered its fiscal 2027 ARR projection to $4.355B, trailing Street expectations of $4.447B

Shares of Zscaler experienced a significant decline of approximately 8% during Wednesday’s trading session on April 9, sliding to a 52-week low of $127.88. The sharp downturn followed a rating cut by BTIG analyst Gray Powell, who moved the stock from Buy to Neutral and eliminated it from the firm’s top picks roster for the first half of 2026.

Zscaler, Inc., ZS

Powell’s rating adjustment stemmed from proprietary research conducted with five industry sources throughout the previous week. Although near-term business trends appeared relatively steady, the outlook for the coming six to twelve months revealed more cautious sentiment among the majority of contacts surveyed.

The analyst highlighted escalating competitive dynamics as the primary concern. Cloudflare and Netskope emerged as the most significant competitive challenges. Additionally, traditional firewall providers have demonstrated improved success in cross-selling their proprietary SASE solutions to their existing customer base, creating obstacles for Zscaler’s ability to capture additional market opportunities.

According to the firm’s analysis, the broader platform expansion narrative for Zscaler has failed to materialize as anticipated half a year ago.

Analyst Lowers Revenue Projections

BTIG has adjusted its fiscal 2027 financial model, now forecasting annual recurring revenue of $4.355 billion, representing 16.5% growth compared to the previous year. This revised figure marks a reduction from the firm’s earlier projection of $4.391 billion and falls short of the Street consensus estimate of $4.447 billion.

The security software provider’s shares have declined 39% since the beginning of the year. This performance contrasts with a 24% drop observed across BTIG’s entire coverage portfolio during the identical timeframe. Over a six-month horizon, the stock has surrendered 56% of its value.

Despite BTIG’s more conservative stance, the broader Wall Street analyst community maintains a more optimistic view. The consensus rating for ZS remains at Buy. Target prices among analysts span a wide range from $155 to $335.

Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight recommendation following Zscaler‘s impressive second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report. The cybersecurity firm exceeded projections across multiple metrics including revenue, ARR, earnings per share, and free cash flow generation, while also elevating its full-year outlook across critical performance indicators.

Additional Recent News

Freedom Capital Markets preserved its Buy recommendation while reducing its price objective from $320 to $270, reflecting a broader recalibration of SaaS sector valuations. Wells Fargo launched coverage with an Overweight stance and established a $200 target, emphasizing the company’s platform expansion trajectory and resilient core operations.

The cloud security provider recently disclosed plans to enhance its data sovereignty offerings through an upcoming deployment in Canada. The organization presently operates 160 data centers across the globe.

Evercore analysts noted that Anthropic’s recently launched Claude Mythos model, designed specifically for cybersecurity applications, could create headwinds for cybersecurity sector stocks, with Zscaler among those potentially affected.

As of the latest reporting period, ZS commanded a market capitalization of $22.17 billion. The stock’s average daily trading volume stands at approximately 2.75 million shares. Technical indicators currently signal a Sell rating.

The shares were hovering near their 52-week trough of $128 as of April 9, 2026.

The post Zscaler (ZS) Stock Plummets 8% Following BTIG Downgrade Amid Competitive Pressures appeared first on Blockonomi.

The share of Bitcoin (BTC) supply in profit has dropped to around 59%, bringing it close to levels seen during the last bear market.

This comes from data shared by analyst Darkfost, who also pointed out that the number of addresses depositing BTC had dropped to a 10-year low.

Profit Supply Nears Bear-Market Territory

In a post published on X on April 9, Darkfost revealed that the share of Bitcoin supply still in profit was sitting way below the historical average of about 75%.

“Nearly 1 BTC out of 2 is held at a loss,” they wrote.

The analyst made clear the significance of that number, saying that for Bitcoin to maintain upward price pressure, it needed a healthy share of its investors to be sitting on gains. When so many of them are in the red, it shrinks the pool of willing sellers, making it harder to generate organic demand and causing prices to stall.

According to the data, in the past, the 50% mark has acted as a rough threshold for market bottoms, and while the current figure is still above that level, the direction of travel is clear.

Darkfost’s conclusion was direct: the current environment “appears more suited for accumulation than for selling,” with the strategy being to pick up BTC when losses reach extreme levels and only reducing exposure when the profit supply gets near 100%.

Weakening Activity on Exchanges

In a separate update, Darkfost also noted that the number of Bitcoin addresses depositing funds to exchanges had dipped to about 31,000 per day on a 30-day moving average, which is the lowest it has been since 2017.

The on-chain technician attributed the fall to a mix of investor disengagement during a prolonged correction, price levels that give no incentive to sell, and a structural shift toward self-custody and decentralized platforms that has been building since the collapse of FTX.

“Although such an environment is typically unfavorable in the short term, these phases often coincide with periods where selling pressure progressively exhausts itself,” the analyst explained.

Analytics provider Glassnode also made a similar assessment, describing the current market environment as “subdued and low-conviction.” The platform also noted that spot activity was rather soft and that BTC was trading “inside the bear market value zone.”

At the time of writing, the flagship cryptocurrency was changing hands near $71,000 after it retreated from a 3-week high close to $73,000, which had been driven by the announcement of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, as well as reports emerging that Iran would require ships accessing the Strait of Hormuz to pay for their passage using crypto.

The post Bitcoin Profit Supply Drops to 59%, Closing In on Bear Market Levels appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin and oil are on the move again as both assets jumped to their recent local peaks of over $72,000 ans $103 per barrel, respectively.

This came as US President Trump reportedly urged Israel’s leader to tone down the attacks against Lebanon. Recall that reports suggested after this week’s cease-fire between the US and Iran that Israel was not informed initially about the decision, and halting attacks against Lebanon was “not part of the deal.”

However, Walter Bloomberg, alongside several other news reporters and outlets, claimed earlier today that “President Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, urging him to scale back strikes in Lebanon to protect the Iran negotiations.”

Citing a senior official familiar with the matter, the report added that Israel had agreed to be a “helpful partner.”

“The call followed Netanyahu’s pledge to continue aggressive strikes, which Iran warned could end the truce.”

Bitcoin’s price reacted immediately to the news, jumping from $70,500 to over $72,000. The asset rocketed yesterday as well, going from $68,000 to a three-week high of $72,800 before it dipped today toward $70,000.

US oil prices are on the move again. After the shock 20% drop following the cease-fire announcement to $92, USOIL has jumped to over $103 as of press time. The most probable reason for this is that the cease-fire appears very fragile, and the actual number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz is a fraction of what it used to be before the war.

Absolutely incredible:

US oil prices are now nearing $103/barrel and have been rising at a pace of $1/hour since 6 AM ET.

This puts oil prices +12% above the low seen just ~24 hours ago as ceasefire doubts have grown.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister announced that… pic.twitter.com/FrEgev7PH7

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 9, 2026

The post Bitcoin and Oil Surge as Trump Urges Netanyahu to Scale Back Lebanon Strikes appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 9th, 2026]

Enhanced Labs Inc, a company focused on building DeFi solutions that package sophisticated options and derivatives strategies into very easily-accessible products for users, has successfully closed a $1,000,000 strategic pre-seed funding round.

The round was led by Maximum Frequency Ventures with participation from GSR, Selini, Flowdesk, and other angel investors. The team has highlighted that this is a strategic pre-seed round, with the composition of its investor base being intentional, prioritizing strategic alignment. These investors have targeted expertise in trading infrastructure, market-making, institutional distribution, and more.

According to the announcement article, Enhanced’s approach will be designed around three strategic pillars:

• The first is to focus on delivering more competitive rates through improved auction mechanics and capital efficiency.
• The second aims to extend options-based yield strategies beyond major assets to a broader range of on-chain holdings, including tokenized real-world assets.
• The third emphasizes operational efficiency, seeking to distill complex strategies into an intuitive, objective-first user experience where participants define desired outcomes — yield, hedging, or structured exposure — rather than navigating the underlying instruments directly.

The newly acquired capital is expected to support product development and the operational groundwork needed.

The announcement comes during a period of notable momentum in the Options sector in DeFi, not seen since 2024. Volatility yield for crypto assets using options strategies seems to also be steadily growing in both institutional and retail interest in recent months. Enhanced is building at the intersection of two major narratives – on-chain yield and options.

About Enhanced

Enhanced is building a multi-chain DeFi platform for structured yield and wealth products, starting with various derivative strategies for more assets on-chain. For more information about Enhanced, users can visit https://enhanced.finance or X at https://x.com/enhanced_defi.

The post Enhanced Secures $1M in Strategic Pre-Seed Funding to Bring Structured Yield to More Assets Onchain appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ethereum is trading below $2.2k as the second week of Q2 gets underway. The asset is caught between a slowly improving short-term structure and a daily chart that remains firmly in bearish territory. ETH has managed to hold above the critical $1.8k support zone since the February lows, but the recovery has been choppy and unconvincing.

Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

The macro picture on the daily chart has not materially changed over the past couple of weeks. ETH continues to trade inside a well-defined descending channel, with the 100-day MA (~$2.4k) and 200-day MA (~$2.9k) both declining overhead and forming a compressing resistance ceiling. The $2.4k zone in particular has acted as a hard cap on recovery attempts since February.

Current price sits just above the $2.15k short-term resistance-turned-support area. This level has served as a pivot zone over the past several weeks. Still, the $1.8k support band remains the most important level on the chart.

A breakdown below it on a daily close basis would expose ETH to $1.6k and $1.4k. Yet, with the price now testing the higher boundary of the descending channel, a successful breakout can lead to a rise above the $2.4k level and the 100-day moving average, which is what buyers would hope to see in the upcoming days.

ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart

On the 4-hour chart, ETH’s consolidation in the broad range between roughly $2k and $2.4k since early February is evident. The ascending trendline from the lows has been providing some short-term support. Moreover, the price has recently pushed back toward the upper end of the range, currently retesting the $2.15k area with the RSI above 50. This suggests near-term bullish momentum is building.

The key resistance to watch on this timeframe sits at $2.3k–$2.4k. This is the zone that has capped every meaningful rally attempt in recent weeks. A clean breakout and close above $2.4k would be the most constructive development ETH has seen in months and could open a run toward $2.8k. To the downside, the ascending trendline and the $1.8k support zone are the levels that need to hold for the short-term structure to remain intact.

Sentiment Analysis

After months of consistently positive funding rates throughout the 2025 bull market, the picture has become notably less stable since the February breakdown. While the most extreme negative readings from the capitulation period have faded, recent readings have been smaller and increasingly inconsistent. There are still brief dips back into negative territory.

This loss of conviction in funding is worth monitoring. It suggests that while the panic-driven short positioning from early February has cleared, the market has not transitioned into the kind of sustained bullish bias that characterized ETH’s rally toward $5k.

Positive funding is technically still the dominant reading, but the shrinking magnitude and intermittent red bars point to a derivatives market that remains uncertain rather than directionally committed, which aligns with the choppy, range-bound price action seen on the charts.

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[PRESS RELEASE – Road Town, British Virgin Islands, April 9th, 2026]

Today, USDT0, the unified liquidity network for Tether’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin (USDT), announces XAUt0, the omnichain deployment of Tether Gold (XAUt), is now live on the Conflux Network, expanding access to tokenized gold within one of Asia’s most strategically connected blockchain ecosystems.

With this launch, XAUT0 joins USDT0 on Conflux, giving developers and users access to both dollar-denominated stablecoin liquidity and gold-backed digital assets within the same omnichain environment. Together, these assets allow builders across the Conflux ecosystem to work with two of the world’s most widely trusted forms of money in a borderless, programmable format.

“As tokenized assets continue to move onchain, access to trusted monetary instruments becomes increasingly important,” said Lorenzo Romagnoli, Co-Founder of USDT0 and XAUt0. “By bringing XAUt0 to Conflux, we’re expanding the reach of tokenized gold and enabling developers to integrate a historically trusted store of value directly into cross-chain financial applications.”

XAUt0 extends the functionality of Tether Gold by allowing balances to move seamlessly across supported blockchains using LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Each XAUt0 token maintains the same exposure to physical gold as XAUt while enabling transfers between chains without relying on wrapped tokens or fragmented liquidity pools.

With XAUt0 available on Conflux, the ecosystem can now support a range of new use cases, including:

• Seamless value movement across ecosystems using omnichain gold liquidity
• Gold-backed collateral for lending markets and structured financial products
• Payment and settlement models incorporating tokenized commodities
• Cross-chain trading strategies combining gold exposure with stablecoins and other digital assets

The launch aligns with Conflux’s position as a bridge between Asian markets and global blockchain infrastructure. As the only public, permissionless blockchain with regulatory approval for use in China, Conflux plays a unique role connecting regional financial innovation with the broader on-chain economy.

“With XAUt0 joining USDT0 on Conflux, our ecosystem gains access to a diversified set of omnichain assets that developers can build around,” said Yuanjie Zhang of Co-founder and COO of Conflux Network. “Tokenized gold alongside stablecoin liquidity opens the door for new financial applications that combine stability, liquidity, and global accessibility.”

Stablecoins have become the transactional backbone of many on-chain markets, while gold has served as a trusted store of value for centuries. By enabling both assets to move seamlessly across blockchain networks, Conflux is positioning itself as a platform where developers can build financial applications that remain resilient across changing market conditions while tapping into deep, unified liquidity.

For more information, users can visit gold.usdt0.to or follow USDT0 on Twitter @USDT0_to.

About USDT0

USDT0, the unified liquidity network for USDT, simplifies cross-chain movement without fragmented pools or complex bridges. As the unified gateway for USDT interoperability and expansion, USDT0 simplifies cross-chain liquidity, enhances accessibility, and unlocks new use cases for Tether holders, businesses, and DeFi platforms. With a focus on efficiency and scalability, USDT0 is redefining how USDT operates across networks. For more information, users can visit USDT0.to or follow on Twitter @USDT0_to.

About Everdawn Labs

Everdawn Labs is a premier software development consultancy, specializing in crafting bespoke software solutions that drive innovation, efficiency, and growth in the digital asset ecosystem. Everdawn Labs manages and operates USDT0, the unified liquidity network for Tether (USDT), XAUt0, the omnichain deployment of Tether Gold (XAUt), and contributes to the development of Alloy by Tether, a USD-denominated Tethered Asset backed by gold. For more information, users can visit everdawn.to.

About Conflux Network

Conflux Network is a permissionless Layer 1 blockchain that connects decentralized economies worldwide. It utilizes a hybrid PoW/PoS consensus mechanism, ensuring a fast, secure, and scalable blockchain environment. Conflux operates without congestion, maintains low fees, and prioritizes network security.

Being the leading regulatory-compliant public blockchain in China, Conflux offers advantages for projects entering the Asian market. In its partnerships, Conflux collaborates with global brands and government entities, including Shanghai, China Telecom, Little Red Book (China’s Instagram), McDonald’s China, and Oreo. These noteworthy collaborations serve as a testament to Conflux’s unwavering dedication to driving blockchain and metaverse initiatives. For more information, users can visit confluxnetwork.org.

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