Trader skepticism highlights the challenges of achieving swift diplomatic resolutions, impacting market confidence and geopolitical stability.

The post GCC and UN call for US-Iran ceasefire as market shows skepticism: FT appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The low odds of a ceasefire highlight the challenges of diplomatic efforts and the potential for prolonged instability in the region.

The post GCC and UN call for immediate ceasefire in US-Israel-Iran conflict appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The airstrike's escalation could lead to increased geopolitical tensions, impacting global markets and international diplomatic relations.

The post Airstrike on Iranian site raises odds of US ground forces entering Iran to 66% appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Iran's military escalation diminishes diplomatic prospects, impacting market confidence and increasing geopolitical tensions in the region.

The post Iran escalates military actions, reducing US-Iran ceasefire odds to 1% by April 7 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Escalating tensions and military actions diminish prospects for peace, necessitating significant diplomatic efforts to alter current trajectories.

The post Ceasefire odds drop sharply amid escalating Iran conflict and missile strikes: FT appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

How Real Is The Quantum Threat?

A new panel has officially been announced to take place at Bitcoin 2026 titled “How Real Is The Quantum Threat?” The conversation will bring together five voices at the center of one of the most actively debated technical questions in Bitcoin today, and the lineup reflects the full range of perspectives the topic demands.

The panel features:

Hunter Beast, a senior protocol engineer for the Anduro sidechain platform incubated by MARA, is the co-author of BIP 360, a proposal that establishes a new Bitcoin wallet address type designed to protect the network from quantum computing threats. BIP 360 was merged into the Bitcoin Core BIP repository in February 2026 and was deployed on the Bitcoin Quantum Testnet v0.3.0 in March, marking significant advancements towards upgrading Bitcoin.

James O’Beirne has been a Bitcoin Core contributor since 2015 and leads multiple projects including OP_VAULT (BIP-345) and assumeutxo, having previously worked at Chaincode Labs.

Brandon Black is a Bitcoin software engineer who has spoken publicly on why quantum computing timelines are often misunderstood by the broader market.

Charles Edwards of Capriole has argued that quantum computing is advancing faster than anticipated and has advocated for a 2026 BIP-360 implementation.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, has taken a more measured position arguing the quantum threat to Bitcoin is real but limited today, affecting only certain exposed wallets, and that developers are actively building pathways to address it over time.

The panel will cover one of the most actively discussed technical topics in Bitcoin today — how quantum computing is developing, where Bitcoin’s cryptography stands, and what the path to long-term protocol resilience looks like. Developers are already working on multiple solutions, including quantum-resistant addresses and phased upgrade proposals, and this panel brings together some of the brightest minds working on these upgrades. It takes place April 29 on the Nakamoto Stage at Bitcoin 2026, The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas.

Bitcoin 2026 is Returning to Las Vegas

Bitcoin 2026 will take place April 27–29 at The Venetian, Las Vegas, and is expected to be the biggest Bitcoin event of the year.

Focused on the future of money, Bitcoin 2026 will bring together Bitcoin builders, investors, miners, policymakers, technologists, and newcomers from around the world. The event will feature a wide range of pass types, including general admission passes designed specifically for those new to Bitcoin, alongside premium passes for professionals, enterprises, and institutions.

With multiple stages, immersive experiences, technical workshops, and headline keynotes, Bitcoin 2026 is designed to serve both first-time attendees and long-time Bitcoiners shaping the next era of global adoption.

Past Bitcoin Conferences in the U.S.

Bitcoin’s flagship conference has scaled dramatically over the past five years:

• 2021 – Miami: 11,000 attendees
• 2022 – Miami: 26,000 attendees
• 2023 – Miami: 15,000 attendees
• 2024 – Nashville: 22,000 attendees
• 2025 – Las Vegas: 35,000 attendees

Get Your Bitcoin 2026 Pass

Bitcoin Magazine readers can save 10% on Bitcoin 2026 tickets using code ‘ARTICLE10‘ at checkout.

Stay at The official hotel of Bitcoin 2026, The Venetian, and get a guaranteed low rate plus 15% off your pass. Be in the middle of where the fun is all happening, and where the networking never ends.

And don’t forget:

Volunteer at Bitcoin 2026 and get Pro Pass access plus exclusive perks.

All students ages 13+ can apply for a Student Pass and get free general admission access to Bitcoin 2026.

Location: The Venetian, Las Vegas
Dates: April 27–29, 2026

For more information and exclusive offers, visit the Bitcoin Conference on X here.

Why Attend Bitcoin 2026?

Bitcoin 2026 is the definitive gathering for anyone serious about the future of money. With 500+ speakers, multiple world-class stages, and programming spanning Bitcoin fundamentals, open-source development, enterprise adoption, mining, energy, AI, policy, and culture, the conference brings every corner of the Bitcoin ecosystem together under one roof.

From headline keynotes on the Nakamoto Stage to deep technical sessions for builders, institutional strategy discussions for enterprises, and beginner-friendly Bitcoin 101 education, Bitcoin 2026 is designed for everyone—from first-time attendees to the leaders shaping Bitcoin’s global adoption.

Whether you’re looking to learn, build, invest, network, or influence, Bitcoin 2026 is where Bitcoin’s next chapter is written.

Bitcoin 2026 Pass Types: Something for Everyone

Bitcoin 2026 offers a range of pass options designed to meet the needs of newcomers, professionals, enterprises, and high-net-worth Bitcoiners alike.

Bitcoin 2026 General Admission Pass

Ideal for newcomers and those looking to experience the heart of the conference.

• Limited access on Days 2 & 3
• Entry to Main Stage
• Access to Genesis Stage
• Full access to the Expo Hall

Bitcoin 2026 Pro Pass

Designed for professionals, operators, and serious Bitcoin participants.

Includes all General Admission features, plus:

• Full 3-day access, including Pro Day
• Entry to the Pro Pass Reception
• Access to Enterprise Hall, Enterprise Stage, and Networking Lounge
• Conference App networking features
• Access to the Bitcoin For Corporations Symposium
• Entry to Compute Village and Energy Stage
• Complimentary lunch, coffee, tea, and snacks
• Dedicated registration and check-in
• Reserved seating at Main Stage
• Huge savings when you bundle your hotel and Pro Pass

Bitcoin 2026 Whale Pass

The all-inclusive, premium Bitcoin 2026 experience.

Includes all Pro Pass features, plus:

• Reserved seating at Main Stage
• All-inclusive gourmet food and beverages
• Entry to Whale Night and Whale Reception
• Access to all official after-parties
• Networking app access to connect with other Whales
• Premium access to The Deep — an exclusive networking lounge with intimate speaker sessions
• Complimentary stay at The Venetian when you bundle your whale pass and hotel (use promo code ‘WHALEHOTEL’ here)

This is the most immersive way to experience Bitcoin 2026.

Bitcoin 2026 After Hours Pass

Your ticket to the night.

Most deals are done with a drink in your hand. Get exclusive access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties across Las Vegas — each with a 2-hour open bar — where the real conversations happen and the best connections are made.

• Access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties
• 2-hour open bar at each event
• Evening events across Las Vegas, April 27–29
• Network with Bitcoiners, builders, and industry leaders after hours

More headline speaker announcements are coming soon.

Don’t miss Bitcoin 2026.

This post How Real Is The Quantum Threat? first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

Bitcoin Magazine

MARA Conducts Ongoing Layoffs Following $1.1B Bitcoin Sale and Debt Reduction Push

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings has begun a series of company-wide layoffs affecting multiple departments, according to reporting from Blockspace Media, marking the latest shift in the firm’s broader restructuring strategy.

Sources familiar with the matter said the layoffs have been “ongoing” and executed in a piecemeal fashion, with at least two rounds taking place this week on Wednesday and Thursday. The total number of employees impacted — as well as the percentage of the workforce affected — has not been disclosed, and the company has not publicly commented on the cuts.

The workforce reduction comes just days after MARA completed a major balance sheet restructuring that involved selling 15,133 bitcoin for approximately $1.1 billion between March 4 and March 25. The proceeds were used to repurchase portions of its outstanding 0.00% convertible senior notes due in 2030 and 2031, allowing the company to retire debt at an average discount of roughly 9% to par.

In total, MARA repurchased $367.5 million of its 2030 notes for $322.9 million and $633.4 million of its 2031 notes for $589.9 million. The transactions are expected to generate approximately $88.1 million in cash savings and reduce the company’s total convertible debt by about 30%, from roughly $3.3 billion to $2.3 billion.

Following the repurchases, MARA now has $632.5 million in 2030 notes and $291.6 million in 2031 notes remaining outstanding. Other tranches of convertible debt — including $48.1 million due in 2026, $300 million due in 2031, and $1.025 billion due in 2032 — remain unchanged.

CEO Fred Thiel previously framed the bitcoin sale as part of a deliberate capital allocation strategy aimed at strengthening the company’s balance sheet while preserving long-term shareholder value. He said the move would improve financial flexibility and position the firm for expansion beyond traditional bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI 

That expansion includes a growing focus on artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC), areas where MARA is seeking to leverage its expertise in energy infrastructure and data center operations. The company has increasingly positioned itself as a digital energy and compute provider, rather than a pure-play bitcoin miner.

As part of this shift, MARA has also signaled that selling bitcoin could become a recurring element of its treasury strategy. The company stated it plans to sell BTC “from time to time” throughout 2026 to support liquidity needs and fund corporate initiatives.

The developments come amid a challenging environment for bitcoin miners, who are navigating tighter margins, rising competition, and increasing pressure to diversify revenue streams beyond block rewards. 

For MARA, the combination of debt reduction, bitcoin sales, and workforce cuts signals a company in transition — prioritizing balance sheet strength and strategic repositioning as it moves deeper into AI and energy infrastructure.

This post MARA Conducts Ongoing Layoffs Following $1.1B Bitcoin Sale and Debt Reduction Push first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Coinbase Receives Conditional OCC Approval to Form National Trust Company

Coinbase has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Coinbase National Trust Company, according to a statement from the company. 

The approval marks a regulatory milestone for Coinbase as it expands its federally supervised custody and market infrastructure operations.

The company emphasized that the approval does not authorize it to operate as a commercial bank. Coinbase stated it will not take retail deposits or engage in fractional reserve banking. Instead, the charter is intended to provide federal oversight for its custody business, which the firm says has been a core part of its operations for years.

Under the conditional approval framework, Coinbase will be required to meet specified regulatory conditions before the charter becomes fully operational. The company said it intends to use the structure to bring uniform federal standards to its digital asset custody services and related institutional infrastructure.

Coinbase framed the decision as validation of its long-standing approach of working within the U.S. regulatory system. The company said it has invested heavily in compliance and engagement with regulators and views the approval as part of a broader evolution in how digital asset firms interface with federal banking supervision.

The charter is expected to provide clearer regulatory consistency across jurisdictions, particularly for institutional custody services. Coinbase said it believes the structure could support future expansion into additional financial services, including payments-related products, while remaining within the bounds of trust company oversight.

OCC is adopting pro-crypto activities

Over the past year, federal banking regulators have taken a more active role in defining the perimeter of digital asset activities within the traditional financial system. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued updated guidance on how banks may engage with cryptocurrency custody, stablecoin-related services, and blockchain infrastructure, while continuing to evaluate applications from crypto-native firms seeking trust or banking charters.

Industry participants have pursued federal charters in part to reduce reliance on a patchwork of state licensing regimes and to gain clearer access to national banking rails. Trust bank structures, in particular, have become a focal point for firms seeking to offer custody services without engaging in lending or deposit-taking activities.

The OCC has adapted to institutional interest in regulated custody models and the growing overlap between traditional financial infrastructure and digital asset firms. Exchanges, custodians, and fintech firms have got federal oversight and support for institutional adoption and reduce regulatory uncertainty.

At the same time, policymakers have debated how far federal banking regulators should extend oversight into crypto-native business models, particularly as stablecoins and tokenized assets continue to integrate into payments and settlement systems. 

The conditional approval for Coinbase’s trust charter reflects this broader regulatory shift toward structured supervision rather than ad hoc enforcement.

If finalized, Coinbase’s national trust status would place it among a small number of crypto-linked firms operating under direct federal trust oversight, signaling continued convergence between digital asset infrastructure and the U.S. regulated banking system.

This post Coinbase Receives Conditional OCC Approval to Form National Trust Company first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Wall Street Firms and Crypto Companies to Review New Market Structure Proposal in Private Sessions

Crypto and banking industry representatives are set to review a revised stablecoin yield proposal crafted by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks this week, as lawmakers attempt to break a months-long lobbying standoff over how — or whether — stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield.

According to reporting from Politico, a small group of crypto firms and Wall Street institutions will privately review the updated legislative text over the next two days, with crypto companies expected to see the language as early as Thursday and banks on Friday. 

The process remains tightly controlled, with stakeholders permitted to view the draft only in restricted settings and barred from taking copies.

The revised proposal follows a series of staff-level negotiations between industry groups and Senate offices aimed at narrowing disagreements over stablecoin yield provisions. While some participants hope the latest draft will serve as a near-final compromise, it remains unclear whether either side will accept the terms as currently written.

Clarity Act and crypto talks are ongoing

The renewed review of a stablecoin yield proposal comes amid a broader effort in Congress to resolve one of the most contested issues in U.S. crypto regulation: whether stablecoin issuers should be permitted to offer yield-bearing products.

Stablecoins — digital tokens typically pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by cash and short-term securities — have become a core settlement layer in crypto markets, but their regulatory status remains unsettled, particularly around interest and yield.

The fight over a U.S. crypto market-structure bill stems from a broader effort to build on 2025’s landmark stablecoin legislation, the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for stablecoins — requiring full backing, transparency and reserve disclosures for digital dollars.

That law was widely seen in the crypto industry as a breakthrough for regulatory clarity while attempting to align digital assets with traditional financial standards.

After the GENIUS Act’s passage, the Senate turned its attention to more expansive digital asset oversight through what’s often referred to as the CLARITY Act or the crypto market-structure bill.

This legislation aims to define how U.S. regulators would police and oversee trading platforms, tokens, custody services and other infrastructure — essentially the backbone of a regulated digital asset ecosystem.

However, negotiations bogged down over one central issue: whether regulated exchanges should be allowed to offer yield-bearing rewards on stablecoin holdings.

Banks and major financial institutions argue that these rewards resemble unregulated deposit-like products that could siphon funds away from FDIC-insured accounts, potentially threatening lending and financial stability.

Crypto firms — including major issuers like Circle and Coinbase — counter that such incentives are crucial for competitive markets and for user adoption of digital money.

The current tentative deal being negotiated between senators and the White House seeks a middle ground — potentially allowing activity-based rewards while restricting passive yield — in hopes of unlocking Senate committee action by April. Whether that compromise holds both bank and crypto support will be decisive for the future of U.S. digital asset regulation.

This post Wall Street Firms and Crypto Companies to Review New Market Structure Proposal in Private Sessions first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

LNVPN Rebrands to Nadanada.me as Privacy Infrastructure Expands with Anonymous eSIMs and Lightning Payments

Offering anonymous eSIM data plans in over 200 countries, disposable and rental phone numbers for SMS verification, WireGuard VPN access and anonymous AI chat tools, LNVPN has outgrown its original brand. The company has grown into a full-spectrum privacy infrastructure service.

The company started in 2022 as LNVPN. It began as a proof-of-concept Lightning Network VPN built for the Oslo Freedom Forum after Alex Gladstein asked the team to create a Lightning-enabled VPN for activists in oppressive regimes. The original focus was short-term VPN access paid with Lightning, allowing users to buy service by the hour or day instead of monthly subscriptions.

The service grew quickly. Users liked the flexibility of short-term access without accounts or contracts. In 2023 the company won a price in the 2023 bolt.fun hackathon and added SMS verification services. Users pay a Lightning invoice for a disposable phone number and receive a one-time confirmation code. The system uses HODL invoices so that if the code does not arrive the payment is refunded automatically.

The company later introduced eSIM data plans available in more than 200 countries. Customers buy fixed data bundles that can activate anonymously. Rental phone numbers followed last November. These let users rent a unique phone number for three, six or nine months to receive unlimited SMS messages without creating an account. At present the rental numbers are available only in the United Kingdom, with United States numbers planned for May. The team also launched anonymous AI chat services that require no sign-up or login and are free to use. 

The name nadanada.me comes from the Spanish phrase for “nothing at all.” As the company stated, “What do we know about our users? Nada. What do we log? Nada. The name is the promise.”

This approach stands in contrast to traditional service providers that collect large amounts of user data, a practice that has led to repeated large-scale breaches at major corporations and government contractors. 

In November 2025, analytics provider Mixpanel was hacked, exposing names, email addresses and approximate location data of some OpenAI API users. In early 2025, U.S. government contractor Conduent suffered a ransomware attack that compromised personal and health records of more than 25 million Americans. In January 2026, cryptocurrency hardware wallet maker Ledger reported that customer names and contact information were exposed through a breach at its third-party payment processor Global-e. Such incidents frequently enable identity theft, as stolen personal details like names, emails, addresses and health or financial records can be used to open fraudulent accounts, file fake tax returns or impersonate victims.

Nadanada.me represents a new generation of privacy services integrated with Lightning in pay-as-you-go models that leave no trace on the financial system or the blockchain, in defense of user privacy.

This post LNVPN Rebrands to Nadanada.me as Privacy Infrastructure Expands with Anonymous eSIMs and Lightning Payments first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Bitcoin becomes the live market over Easter as oil shocks hit and traditional finance goes dark

The Bitcoin market now has three trading days where it will act as the live venue for geopolitical risk while much of traditional finance is closed.

As of Friday, April 3, Wall Street is closed for Good Friday; several other markets are shut or thinner than normal; and the macro backdrop has become harder, rather than easier, to price.

Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel and the Gulf states. Fires were reported at Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi refinery. The Strait of Hormuz remains the central transmission line through which geopolitical risk is moving into oil, inflation expectations, and broader macro sensitivity.

At the same time, WTI surged 11.4% to $111.54, and Brent rose 7.8% to $109.03 in the latest repricing move.

Bitcoin, by contrast, remains open and is still clearing over $33 billion in volume over the last 24 hours.

It is trading around $67,150 after an intraday range of roughly $65,780 to $67,373.

Availability has become part of the market structure

Throughout 2026, Bitcoin has functioned less like a thesis trade and more like a weekend stress monitor.

Related Reading

Bitcoin is now the first place traders react to war risk, and $243M was wiped to prove it

Bitcoin now reacts faster than traditional hedges, mapping risk shifts across liquidity, flows, and macro stress in real time.

Mar 24, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

So what happens when the world gets a fresh geopolitical shock, oil gaps higher, and many of the usual venues for price discovery are closed for a long weekend?

Put simply, Bitcoin’s role here comes from availability rather than ideology.

When cash equities are closed, parts of the commodities complex are offline, and broader liquidity is fragmented by a holiday calendar, Bitcoin becomes one of the few major liquid assets still offering continuous two-way pricing.

In that sense, the market is using BTC as an immediate expression of changing sentiment.

Thin conditions can amplify moves. Crypto-native positioning can distort the signal. Weekend liquidity is not weekday liquidity. But none of that erases the core point.

If the next leg of geopolitical stress lands while traditional markets are dark, Bitcoin may be the first place investors see an immediate price response rather than the last place they confirm it.

The transmission mechanism is oil, and then rates, inflation expectations, and the dollar.

Oil first, then rates, then validation

That ladder matters. First comes the direct energy shock. Then comes the inflation read-through. Then comes the policy question.

If oil remains elevated because the Strait of Hormuz stays constrained or infrastructure damage widens, the inflation impulse becomes harder to dismiss as temporary.

That can move yields. It can support the dollar. It can also remove some of the macro oxygen that speculative assets need.

Bitcoin sits inside that chain whether crypto investors want it to or not. The move in crude is the mechanism through which geopolitical stress becomes a financing and liquidity question for the wider market.

In that sense, BTC is trading the same macro regime that households, bond markets, and central banks are trying to map. No single directional verdict follows automatically for Bitcoin.

If oil keeps repricing higher and the market starts to harden again around a higher-for-longer policy, BTC will have to show it can absorb a tougher liquidity backdrop rather than merely survive a geopolitical shock.

Holiday calendars are usually treated as scheduling details. This time, they are part of the structure, with a split between assets that can update instantly and those that cannot.

In closure windows, Bitcoin serves as a temporary price-discovery layer for global stress, even if it is not the final destination for defensive capital.

That is a narrower and more defensible claim than saying BTC leads all other markets.

Monday’s reopening can always revise the message.

Related Reading

Bitcoin price today jumps after 11% weekend dump as global markets open with bullish intent

Bitcoin slides toward a 9 month low as massive ETF outflows and a hawkish Fed trap weekend dip buyers.

Feb 2, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Equity futures can reopen in a different register. Oil can extend or retrace. Bond desks can reset the macro interpretation. But the availability premium still carries weight.

An open market has the first chance to express fear, relief, or confusion. This weekend, Bitcoin plays a more prominent role in that function than ever before. Even after multiple weekends of Bitcoin absorbing geopolitical developments.

The macro complication is that the geopolitical picture is landing into scheduled economic risk rather than replacing it.

The U.S. March jobs report is due Friday morning, with economists looking for a modest rebound after February’s weather- and strike-distorted weakness.

ADP showed 62,000 private-sector jobs added in March, which is not hot enough to settle the policy debate but not weak enough to clear it either.

Fabian Dori, CIO at Sygnum Bank, told CryptoSlate,

“With US equity markets closed for Good Friday, price discovery indications will be delegated to on-chain markets such as Hyperliquid, or be deferred in traditional markets until Sunday night futures and Monday’s open.

This means traditional markets will need to digest any significant miss or beat simultaneously with the weekend's geopolitical developments tied to the ongoing conflict in Iran.”

That leaves Bitcoin trading into a layered setup.

First, there is a live war risk. Second, there is a live oil shock. Third, there is an incoming labor print that could still affect how quickly the market relaxes on rates.

That is what makes the current weekend different from a routine risk-off spell.

Related Reading

Bitcoin flash crashes below $65,000 in delayed reaction to more Trump tariff hikes during low weekend liquidity

Bitcoin price stalls today because Trump just bypassed the Supreme Court with a 15% tariff spike.

Feb 22, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

What Bitcoin is showing now, and what still needs confirmation

Bitcoin around $67,000 is a dangerous level for such a potentially volatile long weekend.

BTC has already absorbed a material oil repricing move, a worsening geopolitical backdrop, and the closure of major traditional venues without losing continuous market function.

Related Reading

Bitcoin breaks critical support as dollar and oil move together, raising risk of a deeper drop

Bitcoin slipped under a key support zone as macro pressure builds, leaving a deeper move in play if buyers fail to reclaim control.

Apr 2, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Bitcoin is acting as an open circuit for macro stress at a moment when other circuits are partially unavailable.

Being an open circuit does not make BTC a safe haven, a superior hedging tool, or predictive in any strong causal sense.

It does mean the asset is temporarily serving a role that goes beyond the usual crypto narrative. It is one of the few major markets still speaking.

The clear way to assess Bitcoin over Easter is through three layers: availability, transmission, and validation.

The framework is historical first and causal second.

It organizes the next 48 to 72 hours without pretending Bitcoin has become an oracle for all global assets.

First comes the live signal. Then comes the cross-asset confirmation. Then comes the question of whether the move will be accepted once the full market returns.

Bitcoin will likely trade reactively to developments around Iran, Hormuz, and oil, while investors treat the market action as an early signal rather than a settled verdict.

If there is de-escalation or at least stabilization from some relief around Gulf infrastructure, fewer signs of direct spillover, and an oil market that stops repricing upward in an orderly fashion, then Bitcoin’s resilience through the closure window could be constructive rather than fragile.

However, if the conflict expands further, refinery damage worsens, or the NATO call on opening the Strait of Hormuz by force goes badly, the market may spend the weekend repricing in light of a more durable inflation shock.

In that environment, Bitcoin faces the harder test. It would have to trade through a rising oil regime and a tightening macro backdrop simultaneously.

That leaves the next test unchanged. The first move will have value, but acceptance on Monday carries more weight.

If Bitcoin continues to absorb the Easter weekend stress while oil, war risk, and the jobs narrative stay unresolved, the market will use BTC price as a barometer for Monday's open. However, anything that happens this weekend could easily be reversed and repriced within moments of Monday's pre-market open.

Until then, the market is left trading signals without confirmation, more of a placeholder than a conclusion.

The question is whether Bitcoin is delivering something real, or just leaving a trail of clues for others to interpret, like an Easter bunny that may or may not have actually passed through.

The post Bitcoin is the financial Easter Bunny this weekend as markets close Friday amid critical jobs report appeared first on CryptoSlate.

XRP is in its deepest losing streak in more than a decade, even as Ripple aggressively expands into corporate finance and institutional infrastructure. The disconnect is forcing a key market question: why isn’t that momentum showing up in price?

XRP price is in its longest losing streak since 2014, a slide that has left one of the market’s oldest large-cap tokens searching for a fresh catalyst even as Ripple accelerates its push into corporate treasury, institutional trading, and cross-border payments.

Why this matters: Ripple is moving XRP closer to real financial workflows rather than speculative use. If treasury systems, trading desks, and payment networks begin integrating the asset at scale, it could change how demand forms. For now, the market is treating that transition as unproven.

According to Cryptorank data, the token has fallen for six straight months since October 2025, losing an average of about 10% each month and shedding more than 55% over that period, trading at $1.33 as of press time.

This represents the longest stretch of monthly declines for XRP since a seven-month skid from December 2013 through June 2014, when it lost an average of 27% per month.

Meanwhile, the current downturn has come during a broader risk-off period across digital assets. Bitcoin has retreated from a peak above $126,000 to around $66,000, dragging sentiment lower across the market and leaving traders less willing to chase assets that lack a clear near-term driver.

Related Reading

Global markets crash as everything including Bitcoin sells off at once erasing trillions

Over $800 million in long positions were wiped out in minutes as the US open turned into a brutal liquidity bloodbath for unsuspecting traders.

Jan 29, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

For XRP, the weakness has been compounded by softer market activity. Data from CryptoQuant showed the token’s 30-day liquidity index on Binance fell to about 0.062, one of the lowest readings in recent periods, while the 30-day turnover index stood at about $4.46 billion.

Together, those figures point to thinner order books, lighter participation, and a market that is more vulnerable to sharp price swings when larger trades hit.

That backdrop helps explain why Ripple’s latest corporate and institutional advances are drawing renewed attention.

The company is expanding quickly across treasury management, prime brokerage, payments, and tokenized financial infrastructure, and the question facing the market is whether those gains can eventually translate into stronger demand, deeper liquidity, and a firmer narrative for XRP.

XRP enters corporate treasury workflows

Ripple’s latest move is to place digital assets directly within the software used by corporate finance teams, an area long dominated by fiat-only systems.

On April 1, the company introduced Digital Asset Accounts and Unified Treasury inside GTreasury, the enterprise treasury management platform it acquired in 2025.

Related Reading

Global markets crash as everything including Bitcoin sells off at once erasing trillions

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Jan 29, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

The system processed $13 trillion in payments volume last year for clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, giving Ripple an established corporate channel rather than a new one built from scratch.

Digital Asset Accounts allow treasury teams to hold, view, and manage XRP, RLUSD stablecoin, and other supported tokens alongside traditional cash balances inside the same platform.

According to the firm, positions are shown with live fiat valuations, while transactions are recorded automatically with native token amounts, fiat equivalents, and the market price at the time of each event.

Ripple said the system also captures balances to 15 decimal places, aligning internal records more closely with on-chain activity.

On the other hand, unified Treasury extends that approach by linking digital asset holdings from multiple custodians through the same API layer already used for bank connectivity.

For finance teams, this promises a way to bring digital assets into existing approval, reporting, and compliance processes without forcing a separate operational setup.

Renaat Ver Eecke, senior vice president at Ripple Treasury, said the additions give the office of the CFO “a trusted, single place to hold and manage both digital and fiat assets.” He added that Ripple plans to connect that setup to its payments network and prime brokerage capabilities for cross-border settlement and yield generation.

The timing is notable. Ripple’s 2026 survey of more than 1,000 global finance leaders found that 72% said they need a digital asset solution to remain competitive, but many still lack a practical way to integrate that exposure into treasury operations.

By placing XRP within a system used by the CFO's office, Ripple is trying to make the token part of routine corporate finance infrastructure rather than a stand-alone crypto allocation.

Ripple expands its market stack with Hyperliquid

Meanwhile, Ripple is also widening its footprint in institutional trading, a second front that could help strengthen the network around XRP even if the effect on the token is not immediate.

Ripple Prime, the company’s institutional trading platform, extended its HyperliquidX integration to include HIP-3 assets, opening access to on-chain perpetual contracts tied to traditional assets such as gold, silver, and oil.

The offering gives institutional clients exposure to decentralized derivatives through a framework that sits alongside more familiar portfolio and collateral management tools.

The pitch is operational simplicity. Institutions can manage these positions without handling separate Web3 wallets, fragmented collateral pools, or direct smart contract interaction.

Notably, Ripple Prime initially integrated with Hyperliquid in February 2026, becoming the sole counterparty for clients seeking access to the venue’s on-chain crypto liquidity.

Related Reading

XRP developers propose 200× leverage trading sidechain to challenge crypto’s biggest derivatives exchanges

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Mar 3, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

That integration comes as Hyperliquid has grown into the largest decentralized perpetuals platform, with more than $5 billion in open interest and monthly trading volume that regularly exceeds $200 billion.

Data from ASXN shows that HIP-3 daily volume has topped $2 billion, with open interest at $2 billion, and that only seven of Hyperliquid’s top 30 markets are crypto pairs.

Against this backdrop, those steps suggest Ripple is building a broader trading and brokerage stack around digital assets, one designed to appeal to clients who want regulated access to blockchain-based markets without abandoning traditional portfolio structures.

Payments, stablecoins, and permissioned finance

The third leg of Ripple’s expansion is payments, where the company is increasingly tying together RLUSD, XRPL, and its enterprise network.

Ripple Labs and Convera said this week they will work together to improve global payments using stablecoin and blockchain infrastructure. Convera, formerly Western Union Business Solutions, operates across about 200 countries and territories and supports more than 140 currencies.

The partnership is centered on a “stablecoin sandwich” model in which transactions begin and end in fiat, while stablecoins are used in the middle of the payment flow.

That model fits Ripple’s broader strategy as stablecoins move deeper into mainstream finance. Stablecoins processed $33 trillion in volume last year, up 72% from 2024, but only a small share of that activity has so far been tied to practical payment functions such as payroll, treasury transfers, and remittances.

Ripple is also extending that strategy into public-private financial infrastructure. Last week, the company joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s BLOOM initiative to test programmable cross-border trade settlement using the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and RLUSD.

At the same time, XRPL is being adapted for more regulated institutional use through permissioned domains and a permissioned decentralized exchange, tools designed to create controlled venues where access can be limited through credentials and compliance checks.

The common thread is clear. Ripple is trying to position XRPL and its stablecoin infrastructure as part of a regulated operating layer for moving money, managing liquidity, and settling value across borders.

Can Ripple’s momentum lift XRP?

That still leaves the central market question unanswered. Ripple’s business is broadening, but XRP remains under pressure.

The token’s weak liquidity and lower turnover suggest that market participants have yet to treat Ripple’s expansion as a decisive reason to reprice XRP higher.

In part, that reflects the distinction investors continue to make between Ripple’s enterprise progress and the token’s direct utility. Treasury integration, brokerage services, and stablecoin partnerships can strengthen the company’s strategic position without immediately changing spot demand for XRP.

Even so, the longer-term case is that these efforts could deepen the conditions XRP needs to recover. More treasury usage can increase familiarity with the asset inside corporate finance. Broader institutional access can improve market structure. Greater use of XRPL and RLUSD in payments and settlement can reinforce the network’s relevance at a time when tokenized money movement is becoming more competitive.

Bitrue Research argued that XRP is expanding beyond its legacy payments identity into a broader stack that includes stablecoins, decentralized finance, sidechains, and cross-chain settlement.

The firm outlined a base case that could see XRP rise to $2.00 by September, with a stronger scenario of $2.50 if RLUSD adoption accelerates, XRPFi expands, and regulation becomes more supportive.

For now, those targets remain a forward bet rather than a confirmed shift. XRP is still in its deepest losing run in more than a decade.

However, as Ripple pushes deeper into treasury management, institutional trading, and regulated payment infrastructure, the market is being forced to consider whether the company’s gains can eventually become the token’s turning point.

The post XRP’s longest slump in a decade collides with Ripple’s $13 trillion institutional push appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A new sovereign-reserve argument is gaining traction: an asset does not truly function as a reserve if it cannot be accessed during a crisis. That shift is pushing Bitcoin into policy debate not as a growth bet, but as a hedge against sanctions, custody risk, and geopolitical disruption.

A recent paper by the Bitcoin Policy Institute on Taiwan opens with a familiar argument that the country's reserves are overconcentrated in dollars. Gold underperforms its potential, and Bitcoin could complement both.

Readers who stop there miss the more consequential claim buried in the blockade-and-invasion framework on pages 5 through 7, where the paper is trying to redefine what makes a reserve asset fail.

Traditional reserve analysis judges assets on liquidity, price stability, and credit quality. The BPI paper adds a fourth test: can the asset still be moved, spent, or mobilized when shipping lanes are blocked, the host state withdraws custodial access, or another state becomes politically hostile?

By that measure, gold can be stranded, dollar reserves can become conditional, and Bitcoin can stay electronically portable regardless of physical access or diplomatic standing.

That is a larger conceptual move than advocating for a Taiwanese BTC position.

Why this matters: Reserve policy is no longer just about returns, liquidity, or stability in normal conditions. If governments begin treating access under stress as a core reserve test, Bitcoin moves closer to the discussion as a contingency asset rather than a speculative one.

From macro bet to sovereignty insurance

For years, the state-level Bitcoin argument ran on a single track: hedge monetary debasement, diversify reserves, capture upside from adoption momentum.

That argument still appears in the BPI paper, particularly in its pages on US debt accumulation and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet expansion. The more original contribution sits elsewhere, where the paper ranks reserve assets by whether they stay accessible under coercion.

A government only needs to accept that Treasuries, correspondent banking networks, physically stored metal, and foreign sovereign paper each carry distinct dependencies.

The policy question centers on which asset stays reachable when custody, transport, or host-country politics go wrong.

Official reserve behavior already confirms that framing extends well beyond Bitcoin advocates. The IMF reports that total international reserves, including gold, reached 12.5 trillion SDR at the end of 2024.

The ECB reported that gold's share of global official reserves reached 20% by market value in 2024, surpassing the euro's 16%, and that central banks bought more than 1,000 tonnes that year.

The World Gold Council's 2025 survey found 73% of respondents expect lower US dollar holdings in global reserves over the next five years, and the share of central banks reporting domestic gold storage jumped to 59% from 41% a year earlier.

Reserve managers are already broadening the definition of reserve risk, and the BPI paper extends that logic to Bitcoin.

This is the real shift underneath the debate: reserve assets can still look safe on paper while becoming harder to use in practice. Once that gap enters policy thinking, Bitcoin is being evaluated less against return and more against access.

The live evidence for access risk

The access-risk argument draws force from concrete recent events.

In March, Russia's central bank challenged the EU freeze affecting approximately $300 billion in sovereign funds. That dispute keeps the central premise operational: reserve assets can become politically immobilized while retaining their face value.

An asset owned on paper yet frozen in practice has already failed as a reserve, regardless of its credit rating.

Brazil's central bank drew a parallel conclusion. On Mar. 31, Brazil lifted gold's share of reserves to 7.19% from 3.55% in a single year, while cutting the US dollar share to 72, citing diversification as the driver.

The BPI paper argues Bitcoin belongs in that same diversification calculus, specifically for reserve decisions driven by geopolitical logic.

The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve adds a distinct data point. The White House order prioritizes the reserve with forfeited BTC, prohibits outright sale, and contemplates additional acquisition only on a budget-neutral basis.

That pulls Bitcoin reserve language into an actual sovereign administrative structure, setting a precedent regardless of its unconventional funding source.

Two futures for the sovereign Bitcoin argument

Scale makes the bull case concrete. Taiwan's reserves total roughly $602 billion, and a 1% Bitcoin sleeve would be about $6 billion, while a 5% sleeve would be $30 billion.

The broader math is starker: 0.1% of global reserves, roughly $16.25 billion, would represent about 1.2% of Bitcoin's entire market cap at current prices near $68,000.

Reserve system participation, even at a marginal scale, would have price consequences well before any central bank made a headline allocation decision.

The bull case requires a handful of politically exposed or sanctions-conscious states first to formalize small BTC positions in the 0.25% to 1% range, or to treat already-held seized or mined Bitcoin as a reserve asset before buying more.

Ferranti's sanctions risk modeling supports the direction: in one sanctions scenario, his model produces an optimal Bitcoin share of around 5% for exposed sovereigns. The sovereign Bitcoin discourse would then move from advocacy papers to actual balance sheet entries.

The bear case accepts the access risk critique and still concludes that Bitcoin loses.

Reserve managers acknowledge that physical gold carries logistical dependencies and that dollar reserves carry political ones, and then decide that Bitcoin's volatility, governance burden, and near-zero official-sector acceptability make it a weaker hold than domestically vaulted gold and diversified non-dollar sovereign paper.

Gold absorbs the diversification demand that the access-risk argument was supposed to generate for BTC, and Bitcoin's role as a reserve asset stays conceptual. The debate evolves while portfolios hold their composition.

Where the argument holds and where it strains

The BPI paper is strongest when it treats portability and seizure resistance as genuine reserve characteristics, grounded in observable reserve behavior.

That framing tracks official data: geopolitics now visibly influences reserve composition, and the desire to hold assets outside concentrated single-counterparty dependency is real and already moving portfolios.

The paper overreaches when adoption momentum or price appreciation enters as evidence that the policy case is settled. Official institutions still weigh acceptability, legal clarity, and operational habit alongside access risk, and those factors carry weight that portability rankings leave unaddressed.

The most credible version of the paper's argument is its own stated position: Bitcoin as a small insurance sleeve alongside gold, optimized for access.

For most of Bitcoin's history as a reserve policy topic, the central question in official circles was whether Bitcoin was safe enough to hold. That framing consistently disadvantaged BTC because its volatility kept it below Treasuries and gold on every conventional measure.

Reserve managers are now focused on which assets stay deployable in the event of a hostile geopolitical environment. Gold's resurgence, domestic vaulting preferences, sanctions-driven reserve disputes, and payment-infrastructure fragmentation all show that reserve managers are already seeking conventional assets.

Bitcoin advocates are inserting BTC into that same conversation, and the BPI paper shows how that argument works at its most sophisticated.

The next test is whether this logic stays confined to papers and strategic rhetoric or begins to alter real reserve behavior. If even a small number of geopolitically exposed states start treating access risk as a formal reserve criterion, Bitcoin moves from theoretical hedge to policy variable, and that would matter well beyond Taiwan.

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XRP is entering a more revealing phase of the cycle. The token’s core pitch is that global payment stress should make its cross-border use case more valuable, yet the latest oil shock and dollar rebound are still pushing it to trade like a conventional risk asset.

XRP enters an identity crisis as oil, inflation fears, and dollar strength hit the market all at once

The market is now forcing that contradiction into the open, turning XRP from a narrative-driven trade into a real-time test of whether its utility can translate into price under macro stress.

CryptoSlate has already tracked institutional migration into Ripple-linked products, ETF resilience tied to Ripple’s expanding footprint, and the growing tension between XRPL adoption and token value capture. The setup has now tightened.

A sharp overnight jump in oil, stronger dollar conditions, and renewed inflation anxiety have pulled XRP into a macro test that feels more direct than the themes that carried it through the first quarter.

That shift came quickly. Following President Donald Trump’s latest remarks on Iran, AP reported that oil surged more than 6%, while a separate market wrap from Business Insider put Brent near $108.

Brent crude pushed to roughly $108, the U.S. Dollar Index climbed back to about 100, and Bitcoin slid toward $66,666.

XRP price held near $1.35 to $1.36, according to CryptoSlate data, though the weekly move still carried visible pressure. 24-hour volume is near $1.32 billion.

Why this matters: XRP’s core pitch hinges on stress in the global financial system. If higher costs, tighter liquidity, and cross-border friction are increasing, the token should be moving closer to its use-case value. Instead, it is still reacting like a high-beta asset, which raises a more practical question for investors: when does utility start to matter in price?

The connection to XRP runs deeper than broad crypto weakness. Bitcoin usually absorbs the first layer of geopolitical and liquidity shock. XRP sits closer to the payment, liquidity, and settlement conversation.

Ripple has spent months building that frame. The company’s GTreasury acquisition and subsequent Ripple Treasury launch widened its reach into corporate cash management, while earlier reporting on Ripple’s trust-bank ambitions and broader licensing footprint gave XRP holders a practical reason to view the asset through a financial-infrastructure lens.

That lens now cuts both ways. When oil climbs, freight and energy input costs rise, and inflation expectations stiffen, the case for faster, cheaper movement of money gains urgency.

The same macro shock also boosts the dollar, tightens financial conditions, and usually pushes risk assets into a tougher zone. XRP now sits at the intersection of those two forces.

The tension is direct because it touches household budgets, portfolio drawdowns, and the cost of moving capital across borders.

Oil and the dollar have turned XRP’s payments pitch into a real-time stress test

XRP’s use-case narrative has always leaned on efficiency. Cross-border transfers, on-demand liquidity, and enterprise settlement create a cleaner economic pitch when payment rails are under strain.

That pitch becomes easier to grasp during a week when the world suddenly has to price a higher energy bill, a firmer dollar, and the risk of another inflation impulse. The macro map on the chart is blunt.

Brent jumped, DXY rose, and Bitcoin rolled over. XRP followed the pressure lower through the week, even though its long-term pitch should, in theory, become more relevant as global money flows grow more expensive and more fragile.

That contradiction is the center of the setup. XRP rallied for much of this cycle on the idea that Ripple’s regulated expansion, enterprise positioning, and capital-market traction were building a more durable floor under the token.

CryptoSlate covered that process through pieces on institutional DeFi ambitions, legacy financial integration, and recent ETF flow softening. Those themes still carry weight.

They now face a harder question. If a stronger dollar and higher oil create deeper friction across the global economy, why has XRP behaved like a pressured altcoin instead of a market leader?

That is the real split now confronting XRP. Ripple’s business narrative points toward infrastructure relevance, but the token is still being priced by traders as exposure to tighter liquidity and weaker risk appetite.

Part of the answer sits in the liquidity hierarchy. Bitcoin still commands the first response in macro stress, because it carries the deepest liquidity, the broadest institutional recognition, and the strongest reflex move during periods of geopolitical uncertainty.

XRP has a narrower lane. It needs investors to believe that utility can translate into token demand on a timeline that the market can price.

That challenge has shown up repeatedly in the split between Ripple’s business traction and XRPL activity and on XRP’s amplified beta during broad crypto drawdowns. The current move forces that same issue into a macro context.

Ripple can broaden into custody, treasury management, and regulated financial software, yet XRP still trades within a market structure that responds quickly to dollar strength and falling crypto risk appetite.

Bitcoin spent the last several sessions slipping back toward the mid-$66,000s, a visible loss of altitude from the higher zones traders had defended earlier in the week.

The dollar index reclaimed the 100 handle, a psychological level that usually feeds tighter global liquidity conditions. Brent then accelerated back above $108. XRP held around the mid-$1.30s.

That set of moves creates a clean economic message. Payment friction may be rising in the real world, but capital is still seeking safety before it seeks efficiency.

For XRP, that leaves the asset in an identity crisis. Its strongest fundamental narrative says a fractured, expensive, slow-moving global financial system should increase the value of its use case.

Its current market behavior suggests investors still classify it as part of the higher-beta branch of crypto exposure.

The coming macro calendar will press on XRP’s weakest seam

The coming week further compresses the issue, as the macro calendar offers three direct tests. The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report arrives on Friday, April 3.

The Federal Reserve’s April calendar shows the minutes from the March 17-18 FOMC meeting arriving on Wednesday, April 8. The BLS release calendar then places March CPI on Friday, April 10.

Those releases land directly on top of the new oil shock. They will shape whether markets see the latest rise in energy as a temporary disruption or the start of another inflation leg that keeps policy tighter for longer.

XRP’s response to that sequence could define the next phase of its cycle. A hotter payrolls print would strengthen the view that labor conditions remain firm enough to keep the Federal Reserve cautious.

Hawkish signals in the minutes would add another layer of restraint. A hotter CPI print next Friday would confirm that the oil move has arrived inside an already sensitive inflation backdrop.

That combination usually supports the dollar and squeezes speculative assets. XRP would then enter a zone where every part of its identity gets tested at once.

The company behind it has spent months expanding its institutional reach. The token itself would still need to show that investors are willing to price it as a beneficiary of payment-system stress.

There is a sharper retail hook inside that setup. Many people understand inflation as the price of groceries, gasoline, travel, and borrowing.

Far fewer think about what a stronger dollar and higher energy costs do to cross-border settlements, corporate treasury decisions, and the movement of liquidity through financial rails. Ripple’s own enterprise push, as reflected in its treasury platform strategy, brings XRP closer to that conversation, whether the token captures all the value today or not.

That gap between corporate utility and token pricing is where the emotional trigger sits. People with market exposure can see oil jumping and Bitcoin sliding.

They can see the dollar catching a bid. The harder question then comes into focus: if the world is becoming more expensive and more fragmented, why is the best-known payments token still struggling to trade like a payment asset?

The answer over the next week may come down to acceptance levels in price and acceptance levels in narrative. If oil cools, DXY softens, and payrolls or CPI relieve some pressure, XRP has room to reclaim its enterprise-infrastructure frame, especially with Ripple’s broader footprint still giving investors a structural reason to stay engaged.

If oil holds firm, the dollar extends, and inflation anxiety deepens, XRP may keep trading as macro beta first and payments infrastructure second. That outcome would widen the contradiction between Ripple’s strategic progress and the token’s market role.

It would also leave holders facing a more uncomfortable conclusion. XRP has spent years being sold as a bridge asset for an imperfect global financial system.

The next move matters less as a one-day price reaction than as a classification test. If the coming payrolls, Fed minutes, and CPI sequence keeps the dollar elevated and pressure on risk assets, XRP will have to prove it can hold an infrastructure narrative when macro conditions turn hostile. If it cannot, the market may be forced to admit that Ripple’s strategic progress and XRP’s price identity are still not the same trade.

The post Oil, dollar strength, and inflation fears are exposing XRP’s biggest market contradiction appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The CLARITY Act entered Washington as a bid to impose a durable market structure on crypto. It now sits at the center of a four-way fight over who gets to define that structure, who gets paid inside it, who supervises it, and how much of the existing financial rulebook survives the rewrite.

The bill still includes broad language for jurisdictional clarity, with the Senate Banking Committee majority outlining a framework that draws lines between the SEC and the CFTC while adding tailored disclosures and anti-fraud protections.

Around that frame, the coalition has fractured into four camps with different definitions of success. Senate and industry backers still want a federal market-structure bill that gives crypto firms a workable path into US regulation.

Bank-aligned critics want to seal off stablecoin yield and keep deposit economics from migrating out of the banking system. Regulators have begun moving through their own channels, with the SEC and CFTC signing a new memorandum of understanding and the SEC issuing a fresh interpretation of crypto assets that begins to deliver some of the clarity Congress had reserved for itself.

Structural critics still argue the bill would carve crypto out of core investor protections, a case advanced by groups such as Better Markets and by former CFTC Chair Timothy Massad in prior congressional testimony.

That collision changed the shape of the bill. What began as a question of statutory design has become a contest over bargaining power.

Each camp can slow the process, each camp can claim some version of consumer protection, and each camp enters the next phase with a different source of leverage. Senate and industry backers hold the broadest institutional ambition.

Why this matters: The CLARITY Act was intended to anchor crypto within US law, with clear rules for exchanges, tokens, and custody. If it stalls or narrows, firms remain in a patchwork regime shaped by enforcement and agency guidance, while banks retain tighter control over dollar-based financial activity. The outcome will determine whether crypto can compete directly with traditional deposits and payment rails, or operate inside a more constrained perimeter.

Related Reading

CLARITY Act deadline in weeks could kill stablecoin earnings and push money into Bitcoin

A Senate breakthrough on CLARITY could formalize a US market structure in which Bitcoin becomes the clearest institutional winner.

Mar 31, 2026 · Gino Matos

Banks and their allies hold a choke point around payments, economics, and stablecoin rewards. Regulators hold the power of partial substitution, because every piece of interpretive guidance from the SEC and CFTC narrows the pool of uncertainty that once made CLARITY the singular prize.

Structural critics hold a veto over the debate on legitimacy because their argument speaks to a long-standing Washington fear that crypto bills could create bespoke exemptions that would replace the exemptions older laws once carried.

The calendar tightened the pressure. In January, Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott said the committee would postpone its markup while bipartisan negotiations continued.

Later that month, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced related market-structure legislation, keeping momentum alive while underlining that the main bottleneck had shifted into the negotiating room.

By March, the fight over stablecoin rewards had become the central pressure point in the bill, with public reporting and congressional chatter converging on the same conclusion: a framework bill could move forward only if lawmakers found a way to reconcile crypto’s push for broader utility with banking concerns about disintermediation and deposit competition.

That left CLARITY in a familiar Washington posture, broad enough to attract coalitions in theory, specific enough to trigger fracture once the revenue lines came into view.

The first two camps are fighting over the economic core of the bill. The first camp still sees CLARITY as the vehicle that can finally anchor crypto market structure in federal statute.

That camp includes Senate Republicans who have spent months arguing that the industry needs rules written through Congress rather than through case-by-case enforcement, along with a large swath of the industry that wants a lawful path for token issuance, exchange activity, brokerage, custody, and participation in decentralized networks.

The core attraction has always been the same. A federal framework promises a clearer allocation of authority among agencies, a more predictable compliance process, and a narrower zone of ambiguity about what falls under securities law and what falls under commodities regulation.

The Senate Banking majority’s summary reflects that approach, leaning on the idea that a single framework can impose definitional order on a market that has spent years operating inside regulatory overlap.

For crypto firms, the appeal runs deeper than process. A statute holds out the prospect of capital formation under rules that institutions can underwrite, boards can sign off on, and legal teams can defend without having to rebuild the analysis around every enforcement cycle.

Yield politics turned CLARITY into a fight over the economics of digital dollars

The first camp’s ambition runs straight into the second camp, which has focused the fight around stablecoin yield and the economics of digital dollars. The Bank Policy Institute has made the bank-aligned position unusually plain.

Lawmakers, in that view, need to prevent stablecoin structures from recreating deposit-like products outside the traditional banking perimeter, especially if those products begin passing through rewards or yield that look and feel like interest. Under that logic, the danger is structural.

If tokenized dollars can offer returns or functionally similar incentives at scale, then commercial bank deposits face a new form of competition, payments activity migrates, and the prudential perimeter gets thinner exactly where regulators spent years trying to harden it. That is why the stablecoin rewards fight turned into the bill’s main choke point.

It is the place where market structure meets balance-sheet politics.

Those two camps can still describe their goals with overlapping language. Both can say they want consumer protection, operational integrity, and a framework that channels crypto activity into supervised forms.

The overlap ends when the discussion reaches who captures the economics created by digital dollars. The industry camp wants enough room for product development, distribution, and economic pass-through to make federally compliant crypto businesses worth building.

The bank-aligned camp wants a bright barrier around any feature set that could pull value from deposits into tokenized alternatives. That conflict reaches beyond one provision.

It shapes how lawmakers think about payments, exchange design, brokerage economics, wallet architecture, and the degree of freedom crypto firms would have to compete with institutions that already dominate dollar intermediation. Every concession made to one side tends to drain utility from the bill as imagined by the other.

The result is a negotiation whose formal subject is market structure and whose real center of gravity is control over monetary rails. That is why this phase of the CLARITY debate feels more compressed and more political than the earlier debate over jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction can be split in text. Economic control creates winners and losers with organized lobbies, committee relationships, and a direct financial interest in the final wording.

The first camp still wants a durable federal framework. The second camp wants that framework shaped tightly enough that it does not redraw the economics of digital money in a way that benefits crypto firms at the expense of banks.

Both camps can live with progress. Each one defines progress differently, and that difference is what keeps the bill from moving forward.

The third camp sits within the regulatory apparatus itself and introduced a fresh complication into the bill by moving ahead with practical coordination and interpretive guidance. On March 11, the SEC and CFTC announced a new memorandum of understanding designed to improve coordination on crypto oversight.

Days later, on March 17, the SEC issued a new interpretation clarifying how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets, with the CFTC aligning publicly with the effort. By March 20, the CFTC had added crypto-related FAQs that continued the same line of work.

Those actions did not write a statute, and they did not resolve every contested edge case, yet they changed the terrain around CLARITY in a way lawmakers can feel. Congress had been negotiating a bill designed to provide clarity.

Regulators started supplying pieces of that clarity themselves.

Regulators are shaping the field while structural critics keep the legitimacy fight alive

That shift created two immediate effects. First, it gave industry participants some of the operational breathing room they had been seeking, particularly regarding how certain crypto activities are analyzed through the lens of securities law.

Legal practitioners quickly seized on the importance of the change. In a March 19 analysis, Katten described the SEC and CFTC guidance as a major event for the sector, pointing to a more legible treatment of activities such as airdrops, mining, staking, and wrapping.

Second, the guidance changed congressional leverage. Every increment of clarity delivered through agency action reduces the urgency that once surrounded CLARITY as the exclusive route to order.

That creates a subtle but powerful dynamic. A bill under pressure usually gains energy from scarcity.

Once regulators start producing partial substitutes, lawmakers face a harder sell when they ask wavering factions to make politically costly concessions in the name of a breakthrough.

That shift does not weaken the case for statute across the board. A regulatory interpretation sits lower in the durability hierarchy than a congressional framework, and industry participants with long investment horizons still prefer statutory architecture to agency guidance.

Yet the third camp need not erase the case for CLARITY to affect the negotiation. It only needs to be shown that immediate passage is the only way to restore order.

That is already happening. The more the agencies coordinate, the easier it becomes for lawmakers to accept delay, narrower text, or a compromise version of the bill that settles the most acute fights while leaving some larger structural ambitions for another cycle.

For some senators, that can feel like prudence. For some industry players, it can feel like the center of the bill is being negotiated away in real time.

The regulatory camp also exerts pressure in a second way. It offers a political release valve.

Lawmakers who want to say Washington is making progress on crypto can point to the SEC and CFTC without forcing immediate resolution of every issue inside CLARITY. That lowers the cost of postponement and raises the threshold for what kind of final agreement is worth bringing to the floor.

A bill that once looked indispensable now has to demonstrate added value against the backdrop of agency-led adaptation. That is a difficult standard, especially for a coalition already carrying internal conflict over stablecoin rewards, federal preemption, DeFi treatment, and investor-protection language.

The fourth camp continues to ask the question that lies beneath every crypto bill in Washington: Does this framework integrate the sector into existing law, or does it carve out a special lane that weakens protections the rest of finance still carries?

That concern has animated groups such as Better Markets and has appeared in prior testimony from former CFTC Chair Timothy Massad, who argued that proposals such as CLARITY can create artificial distinctions between securities and commodities in ways that reduce the reach of investor protections.

This camp does not have to win the whole argument to shape the bill. It only has to keep the legitimacy challenge alive.

Once that challenge enters the center of the debate, every provision gets viewed through a second lens. A disclosure regime becomes a question about whether disclosure replaces stronger obligations.

A jurisdictional transfer becomes a question about whether oversight is being softened through classification. A pathway for token markets becomes a question about whether the path relies on exemptions that older sectors would never receive.

This is where the four camps collide most sharply. Senate and industry backers want a framework that firms can use at scale.

Bank-aligned critics want to close off yield dynamics that could pressure deposits and payments economics. Regulators are already showing that some clarity can emerge through agency action, reducing the pressure to accept a broad legislative bargain on weak terms.

Structural critics keep pushing on the question of whether the bill preserves the integrity of long-standing protections. A compromise that satisfies the first camp by preserving broad utility may alarm the second and fourth camps.

A compromise that satisfies the second and fourth camps by tightening the perimeter may leave the first camp with a framework that carries less strategic value. A compromise that leans heavily on regulator-led clarity may satisfy lawmakers seeking incremental progress while leaving industry participants with a less durable settlement.

That is why the final question has become a matter of coalition arithmetic rather than conceptual agreement. All four camps can say they want order.

Their conditions for the order point are in different directions.

Midterm pressure is turning a policy negotiation into coalition arithmetic

The midterm calendar sharpens every one of those contradictions. November imposes deadlines on attention, legislative bandwidth, and political appetite for complex financial legislation, generating cross-pressures within both parties.

As the calendar advances, the value of waiting rises for any camp that thinks the current bargain costs too much. Banks can wait if the alternative is stablecoin economics they dislike.

Structural critics can wait if the alternative is a framework they view as too permissive. Regulators can keep moving within their own lane.

Industry groups can keep arguing that delay carries a cost, yet that message weakens if the agencies continue to supply enough guidance to keep large parts of the market functioning.

The coalition that can pass CLARITY, therefore, needs more than a shared talking point around clarity. It needs a settlement that provides the first camp with enough usable structure, the second camp with enough protection around dollar economics, the third camp with a role that fits the statute rather than competes with it, and the fourth camp with enough assurance that core protections remain intact.

That path is narrow. It is still navigable, although the room for error has tightened.

A workable reconciliation would likely require lawmakers to frame the bill less as a maximal rewrite and more as a disciplined allocation of authority, paired with narrow guardrails on stablecoin rewards and stronger language on anti-fraud, disclosure, and supervisory obligations. Even then, the politics stay hard.

Each camp would have to accept a result that falls short of its preferred endpoint. The first camp would accept tighter limits than many crypto firms want.

The second camp would accept a federal framework that still gives compliant crypto business lines room to grow. The third camp would accept that agency guidance is a bridge into statute rather than a substitute for it.

The fourth camp would accept that integration can occur without dismantling the regulatory perimeter. Whether that bargain is possible before November is now the central test around CLARITY.

The bill can still move. The harder question is whether these four camps can converge on a version of movement that each side can live with once the votes are counted.

The post A four-way deadlock is now blocking the US Clarity Act crypto bill — and each side can stop it appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Coinbase has officially received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the Coinbase National Trust Company. This move brings the largest U.S. exchange under federal oversight, effectively bridging the gap between Silicon Valley innovation and Wall Street’s regulatory rigors.

Is Coinbase a Bank?

No. While the news is massive, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong clarified that the firm is not becoming a commercial bank. Instead, the national trust charter allows Coinbase to provide fiduciary services, asset custody, and investment management across the entire U.S. under a single federal framework, rather than navigating a patchwork of state-by-state licenses.

What Does the OCC Approval Actually Mean?

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is the primary federal regulator for national banks and federal savings associations. By granting this charter, the OCC is allowing Coinbase to operate as a National Trust Bank.

• Federal Uniformity: Coinbase can now offer custody services nationwide with consistent federal standards.
• Institutional Magnet: Large-scale institutional investors, who are often wary of state-level regulations, now have a federally overseen partner for their digital assets.
• No Retail Deposits: Unlike a commercial bank, this trust cannot take retail demand deposits or engage in fractional reserve lending.

The Perfect Storm: Market Structure Bill and Fundamentals

This approval comes at a pivotal moment. The U.S. Congress is currently advancing the CLARITY Act and other market structure bills aimed at defining how digital assets are regulated. With Coinbase securing a seat at the federal banking table, the fundamental strength of the crypto market has arguably reached an all-time high.

Why This Could Trigger the Biggest Bull Run Yet

The entry of a federally chartered trust company within the Coinbase ecosystem acts as a "green light" for trillions of dollars in sidelined institutional capital. As the crypto market structure becomes more defined, the barriers for pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and major insurance companies to hold $Bitcoin are effectively dissolving.

Institutional Custody and the Future of Payments

According to reports from Coinbase's institutional blog, the new charter will focus heavily on custody and settlement. As of late 2025, Coinbase already held over $370 billion in assets under custody. With this new federal status, that number is expected to skyrocket.

Furthermore, the charter lays the groundwork for advanced crypto payment rails. By working directly with the OCC, Coinbase intends to explore infrastructure products that allow for seamless, instant settlement of digital assets, potentially challenging traditional systems like SWIFT.

What Just Happened in the Markets?

Global markets surged after reports that Iran and Oman are working on a protocol to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The reaction was immediate:

• Over $1.5 trillion added across US markets
• Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow all moved higher
• Risk sentiment briefly flipped bullish

👉 On the surface, this looks like the start of a recovery.

But crypto is telling a completely different story.

Crypto Is Not Following — And That’s the Warning

Despite the bullish backdrop:

• Bitcoin is still trading under pressure
• Ethereum and major altcoins continue to decline
• No strong follow-through from crypto markets

👉 This kind of divergence is rare — and important.

When crypto fails to react to good news, it often signals that something deeper is broken beneath the surface.

The Market Got Bullish News — A Lot of It

Over the past hours, several developments should have supported crypto:

• IMF signaling that tokenization could reshape global finance
• Coinbase gaining conditional approval for a US national trust charter
• $500 million USDC minted, signaling fresh liquidity entering the system
• Equity markets recovering sharply

👉 Under normal conditions, this would trigger a strong crypto bounce.

But it didn’t.

Why Crypto Is Ignoring the Rally

The answer lies in liquidity and macro pressure.

Even though headlines are turning positive, the underlying conditions remain tight:

• Oil prices are still above $110
• Global inflation risks remain elevated
• Central banks are unlikely to ease aggressively
• Capital is still cautious and selective

👉 In this environment, investors are not chasing risk — they are managing exposure.

Crypto, being the most sensitive risk asset, reacts first.

This Is a Classic Late-Stage Signal

Markets often behave like this near key turning points.

First:

• Equities bounce on headlines

Then:

• Crypto refuses to confirm

👉 That disconnect is a warning.

It suggests that the rally may be driven by short-term positioning, not real conviction.

What Smart Money Is Likely Doing

While retail reacts to headlines, institutions tend to act differently.

The signals suggest:

• Positioning into infrastructure (tokenization, custody, stablecoins)
• Preparing liquidity (USDC minting)
• Expanding regulatory positioning (Coinbase trust charter)

👉 This is accumulation — but not in a risk-on environment yet.

What Happens Next?

The market is now at a critical point.

Two scenarios can unfold:

Bullish Case:

• Oil drops
• Tensions ease further
• Crypto catches up to equities

Bearish Case:

• Oil stays high
• Geopolitical risk returns
• Crypto leads the next leg down

👉 Right now, crypto is leaning toward the second scenario.

Final Take: This Is Not Strength — It’s a Signal

Crypto is not lagging by accident.

It is reacting to real underlying conditions, not headlines.

👉 When markets rally but crypto doesn’t follow, it usually means one thing:

The risk isn’t gone — it’s just being ignored.

Bitcoin ($BTC) plummeted below the critical $66,000 threshold on April 2, 2026. This sudden downward movement has sent shockwaves through the derivatives market, resulting in the liquidation of over $251,940,000 worth of long positions within the last 24 hours.

Why is Bitcoin Dropping Today?

The current decline is fueled by a "perfect storm" of fundamental and technical factors. Reports indicate that rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a hawkish shift in U.S. trade policy—specifically recent tariff announcements—have pushed investors toward a "risk-off" stance.

Furthermore, institutional demand through spot $Bitcoin ETFs has cooled significantly. Data shows net outflows exceeding $170 million in recent sessions, suggesting that the aggressive buying pressure seen in previous months is tapering off. This lack of immediate demand has left the market vulnerable to the "long squeeze" we are currently witnessing.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Why is Bitcoin Down?

Analyzing the 4-hour chart of BTC/USD, several bearish signals are evident that traders should monitor closely.

1. The Descending Resistance Line

A prominent yellow trend line (descending resistance) has been capping Bitcoin's price action since mid-March. Every attempt to break above this line has been met with aggressive selling pressure. As of April 2, Bitcoin remains trapped beneath this diagonal resistance, currently situated near the $67,500 – $68,000 zone.

2. Immediate Support Levels

Bitcoin is currently testing a horizontal support zone identified on the chart at $65,581.

• Crucial Support: The $65,500 – $65,800 range is acting as the primary line of defense for bulls.
• Secondary Target: If $65,500 fails to hold, the next significant psychological and technical floor is at $63,000.

3. RSI and Momentum

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently hovering around 38.02. This indicates that while the market is approaching "oversold" territory (typically below 30), there is still room for further downside before a relief bounce becomes a high-probability event. The momentum is clearly in favor of the bears in the short term.

Market Sentiment and Liquidation Heatmap

The $251 million in long liquidations suggests that many retail traders were positioned for a breakout that failed to materialize. When these positions are forcibly closed (liquidated), it adds "sell-side" pressure to the market, often leading to a cascading effect where the price drops further, hitting more stop-losses.

According to data from CoinGlass, the majority of these liquidations occurred on major exchanges like Binance and OKX.

Bitcoin Future Outlook: Bull Trap or Consolidation?

The big question is whether this is a "healthy correction" before a move toward $100,000 or the start of a deeper bearish phase. For a bullish reversal to be confirmed, Bitcoin must:

• Hold the $65,500 support on a daily closing basis.
• Break out above the yellow descending trend line with significant volume.
• Reclaim $70,000 to shift the narrative back to a positive bias.

Safe Havens Are Failing — What’s Happening Right Now?

Global markets are entering an unusual phase where traditional safe havens are no longer behaving as expected. Despite escalating geopolitical tensions and ongoing military threats involving Iran, assets like gold and silver are declining instead of rising.

Silver has dropped below $70, losing nearly 7–8% in a single day, while gold has fallen under $4,600, wiping out over $1 trillion in market value. At the same time, oil prices are surging above $100, reflecting growing fears of supply disruptions.

Meanwhile, crypto markets are also under pressure, with Bitcoin struggling to hold key levels and altcoins seeing sharper declines.

👉 This is not a normal market reaction.

Why Gold and Silver Are Dropping During a War

In a typical risk-off environment, investors rotate into safe-haven assets like gold. However, this time the opposite is happening.

The reason lies in inflation expectations and interest rate pressure.

Rising oil prices are increasing fears of sustained inflation. When inflation rises:

• Central banks are less likely to cut rates
• Interest rates remain higher for longer
• Yield-bearing assets become more attractive

Gold and silver, which do not generate yield, become less appealing in this environment.

👉 As a result, even traditional safe havens are being sold.

The Oil Shock Is Driving Everything

The key driver behind this market behavior is the surge in oil prices.

Following statements that the US will continue strikes on Iran for the next 2–3 weeks, markets are now pricing in prolonged geopolitical instability. At the center of this risk is the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global oil route responsible for nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

Any disruption in this region could push oil prices significantly higher.

👉 And higher oil means higher inflation.

This creates a chain reaction across all markets.

Why Crypto Is Falling Despite Bullish News

Under normal conditions, recent developments should support crypto markets:

• Progress on stablecoin regulation
• Continued institutional involvement
• Growing adoption narratives

Yet, crypto is declining.

This is because macro conditions are overriding crypto-specific fundamentals.

When liquidity tightens and uncertainty increases, investors reduce exposure to risk assets — and crypto is one of the first to be sold.

👉 Bitcoin is not trading on news — it is trading on macro.

The Real Risk: A Liquidity Shock

What markets are facing now is not just geopolitical uncertainty — it is the risk of a broader liquidity tightening cycle.

The sequence is clear:

• Oil prices rise
• Inflation expectations increase
• Rate cuts get delayed
• Liquidity shrinks

This environment puts pressure on all major asset classes simultaneously — including stocks, commodities, and crypto.

👉 That’s why everything is falling together.

What Investors Should Watch Next

The next phase of the market will depend on a few critical developments:

• Escalation or stabilization in the Iran conflict
• Movement in oil prices above or below $100
• Signals from central banks regarding rate policy

If oil continues to rise, markets could see further downside across both traditional and digital assets.

Conclusion: This Is No Longer a Normal Market

The current environment marks a shift from isolated market movements to a fully interconnected macro-driven system.

Safe havens are failing. Risk assets are under pressure. And geopolitical uncertainty is dictating market direction.

👉 This is no longer a crypto market — it’s a macro battlefield.

As tensions in the Middle East reached a boiling point, risk assets—including $Bitcoin and major altcoins—faced a sharp "risk-off" liquidation. However, as diplomatic channels begin to signal a potential de-escalation, savvy investors are looking at the "blood in the streets" as a generational entry point.

Historically, markets overreact to geopolitical shocks. If a resolution is reached in early April, the pent-up liquidity currently sitting in stablecoins is expected to flood back into high-conviction projects that were unfairly hammered during the panic.

Is April a Good Time to Buy Crypto?

Potentially, as April 2026 is shaping up to be a prime recovery month. With many tokens trading at 20-30% discounts from their Q1 highs, the current "oversold" conditions on the RSI (Relative Strength Index) suggest a relief rally is imminent.

1. Ethereum (ETH): The Race Back to $3,000

$Ethereum remains the backbone of the decentralized economy. During the recent March turbulence, ETH slipped below its psychological support, but the fundamentals remain unshaken.

• Recovery Catalyst: The successful implementation of the "Prague" upgrade earlier this year has further reduced Layer-2 costs.
• Price Target: Analysts expect a swift recovery to the $3,000 mark as institutional ETH ETFs see renewed inflows once the global macro outlook stabilizes.

Investors should monitor the ETH price closely, as its recovery usually leads the broader altcoin market.

2. PEPE: The Volatility King

For those with a higher risk appetite, $PEPE remains the go-to memecoin for catching rapid bounces. Memecoins often act as high-beta plays on market sentiment; when the market turns green, PEPE tends to move twice as fast as the majors.

• Current State: PEPE lost significant ground in March but has maintained a strong community floor.
• Why Buy: Its extreme volatility makes it an ideal candidate for a "relief rally" play. As retail investors return to the market in April, the low-unit bias of PEPE often attracts massive speculative volume.

3. XRP: Regulatory Clarity Meets Institutional Adoption

$XRP has faced a double-whammy of geopolitical pressure and a temporary "capital flight" toward safer havens. However, its role in cross-border payments, especially in the Middle East, makes it a unique asset to watch as regional stability returns.

• Market Position: Having secured full regulatory clarity in late 2025, XRP is no longer a "gamble" but a utility-driven asset.
• Outlook: It has lost nearly 15% in the last month, making the XRP price highly attractive for those betting on the continued expansion of RippleNet.

4. Cardano (ADA): The "Deep Value" Opportunity

$Cardano is currently one of the most oversold "blue-chip" altcoins. While critics point to its slower price action, the network's resilience and growing DeFi TVL (Total Value Locked) suggest it is undervalued.

• The Dip: ADA has hit multi-month lows, hovering near critical demand zones.
• The Play: Historically, ADA performs well in the second stage of a market recovery.

5. Solana (SOL): The Ecosystem Powerhouse

No "Top 5" list for 2026 is complete without $Solana. Despite the market-wide dip, Solana continues to lead in retail transaction volume and NFT activity.

• Technical Outlook: SOL has shown incredible strength in bouncing off the $80-$100 support range.
• Why April: With the Firedancer upgrade nearing full optimization, Solana's throughput is unmatched. Any return of "risk-on" sentiment will likely see SOL outperform Bitcoin in percentage gains. You can compare Solana's performance against other majors on our exchange comparison page.

Top 5 Cryptos to Buy in April 2026

The multi-year partnership covers the US and Canada, marking Polymarket's continued expansion into traditional sports markets.

Naoris Protocol says its blockchain network uses quantum-resistant cryptography, as the wider crypto industry prepares for future threats.

Publicly traded stablecoin issuer Circle is launching a new token, cirBTC, its own wrapped Bitcoin alternative.

A Google DeepMind paper maps six attack categories against autonomous AI agents—from invisible HTML commands to multi-agent flash crashes.

Will Elon Musk's X finally zap crypto scams? Here's why one exec says the changes "should kill 99% of the incentive."

As RLUSD volume surges to $277 million, Ripple's stablecoin achieves a rare milestone: Direct trading pairs against PAXG and XAUT.

Long traders have suffered more losses as the crypto market liquidation almost hit $300 million.

Shiba Inu community trashes Shytoshi Kusama as he goes deeper into religion and further from SHIB.

Dogecoin's state turns much more bullish than before, as pressure on bearish traders builds up.

Tom Zschach, the chief innovation officer at SWIFT for the past six years, has announced his resignation.

Key Highlights

• Major brokerage examines investment in leading exchange under proposed regulations
• New 20% shareholder limit accelerates ownership discussions
• Strategic move aims to bolster digital asset market position
• Regulatory framework may trigger significant ownership adjustments
• Exchange becomes focal point amid industry consolidation wave

A significant transformation is underway in South Korea’s financial landscape as Korea Investment & Securities explores an investment in Coinone amid evolving regulatory requirements. This development represents a strategic response to proposed ownership restrictions that could fundamentally alter crypto exchange control structures. Currently, negotiations remain in preliminary stages with no binding agreements established.

KIS Initiates Due Diligence for Strategic Exchange Investment

Korea Investment & Securities has launched comprehensive internal assessments regarding a potential investment in the digital asset platform. The firm is simultaneously consulting with regulatory bodies to navigate compliance requirements. This strategic initiative corresponds with emerging guidelines governing ownership structures in cryptocurrency trading venues.

The brokerage seeks to enhance its footprint in the digital currency sector through this calculated move. Furthermore, the company maintains robust financial positioning after delivering strong performance throughout 2025. This investment opportunity complements its broader strategy to penetrate regulated blockchain infrastructure.

Industry insiders suggest that negotiations are still in exploratory phases, with neither party committing to specific terms. Korea Investment & Securities continues examining valuation metrics and transaction frameworks. Consequently, the acquisition timeline may advance once regulatory parameters become more defined.

Proposed Ownership Restrictions Catalyze Investment Activity

South Korea is pushing forward with legislation that would limit individual shareholders to a maximum 20% stake in cryptocurrency exchanges. This regulation directly affects current ownership arrangements, including the chairman’s substantial holding in Coinone. A partial divestment could serve as a practical mechanism for regulatory compliance.

The proposed regulatory structure grants exchanges a three-year transition period for ownership alignment. Consequently, controlling shareholders may reduce their positions while preserving operational oversight. Within this context, a partial equity transfer emerges as a feasible solution under the revised framework.

Regulators are focused on enhancing governance standards and mitigating concentration risks across digital trading platforms. Additionally, officials are working to harmonize cryptocurrency markets with conventional financial supervision protocols. The current investment evaluation reflects both regulatory requirements and institutional appetite for compliant market entry.

Financial Sector Competition Heats Up Over Exchange Assets

The investment discussions unfold amid heightened rivalry among prominent financial institutions. Mirae Asset Group has already positioned itself to acquire majority control of Korbit. Korea Investment & Securities views this opportunity as a competitive counter-move within the evolving sector.

Coinone has grown its market presence despite posting financial losses in recent periods. Its standing as a prominent trading platform continues to draw institutional interest. The exchange represents an attractive entry point for firms pursuing digital asset service capabilities.

Previous acquisition attempts by other entities stalled due to disagreements over valuation metrics. Korea Investment & Securities possesses substantial capital reserves to facilitate negotiations. Therefore, discussions may progress more effectively if parties reach consensus on pricing frameworks.

The broader ecosystem demonstrates consolidation patterns driven by regulatory pressures and economies of scale. Financial institutions are synchronizing digital currency initiatives with comprehensive integration objectives. The current investment review indicates a fundamental transformation in South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem.

Coinone has acknowledged exploratory conversations with several interested parties while refraining from designating a preferred partner. Korea Investment & Securities has indicated that no final determination has been reached. The investment process continues to develop as regulatory and market dynamics evolve.

The post KIS Explores Strategic Investment in Coinone as South Korea Tightens Crypto Ownership Rules appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Plug Power secured a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract to deliver a 275 MW GenEco PEM electrolyzer system for Hy2gen Canada’s Courant facility in Baie-Comeau, Québec.
• This marks one of the most significant electrolyzer awards in the company’s history.
• The Courant facility aims to manufacture low-carbon ammonium nitrate for Canada’s mining sector, powered by renewable hydroelectric energy.
• Shares of PLUG jumped more than 7% following the announcement, currently trading near $2.42 — a stark contrast to its reverse split-adjusted IPO level of $150.
• Wall Street projects Plug Power’s revenue will expand at an 18% compound annual growth rate, hitting $1.2 billion by 2028.

On Wednesday, April 2, Plug Power (PLUG) announced a major contract win that propelled its shares up over 7% during the trading session.

Plug Power Inc., PLUG

The hydrogen technology company has been selected to provide the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for a 275 MW GenEco PEM electrolyzer system at Hy2gen Canada’s “Courant” facility, situated in Baie-Comeau, Québec.

This ambitious project is being designed to become one of the largest decarbonized ammonium nitrate production plants in North America. The renewable ammonium nitrate produced will serve the explosive requirements of the Canadian mining sector.

Under the terms of the agreement, Plug’s responsibilities encompass comprehensive engineering work and system design activities, including electrolyzer integration, facility layout planning, and performance enhancement. The project will draw electricity from Hydro-Québec’s grid, leveraging Canada’s abundant hydroelectric power resources.

The strategic positioning of the plant in Baie-Comeau provides advantageous access to deep-water port facilities and well-established industrial infrastructure — critical elements for a venture of this magnitude.

According to CEO Jose Luis Crespo, this contract win “underscores Plug’s ability to support large-scale hydrogen and hydrogen-derived products” and emphasized that the company’s gigafactory capabilities were instrumental in being selected for such a substantial undertaking.

Cyril Dufau-Sansot, CEO of Hy2gen, noted that the partnership merges Hy2gen’s project development capabilities with Plug’s advanced electrolyzer technology to push forward a sustainable chemical production initiative serving the mining industry.

This collaboration represents a continuation of the relationship between the two organizations. The Courant agreement expands upon previous joint ventures focused on renewable hydrogen initiatives in Europe, along with existing hydrogen supply agreements.

Stock Performance Remains Challenged Despite Recent Gains

PLUG stock has endured a challenging journey. Currently priced around $2.42, the stock has plummeted 99% from its reverse split-adjusted IPO valuation of $150 back in 1999. Over the past year, shares have fluctuated between $0.69 and $4.58.

Throughout 2024, Plug Power experienced a 29% revenue decline while net losses expanded. However, 2025 marked a turning point: revenues increased 13%, and losses contracted as hydrogen project demand resurged and green hydrogen sales showed improvement.

The company’s “Project Quantum Leap” cost-reduction program has contributed to this stabilization effort. Plug has successfully installed more than 74,000 fuel cell systems worldwide across five continents, serving major clients including Amazon and Walmart.

Analyst Outlook and Growth Projections

Looking ahead to the 2025-2028 period, Wall Street analysts anticipate Plug Power’s revenue will grow at an 18% compound annual rate, ultimately reaching $1.2 billion. The company maintains an enterprise value near $3.7 billion, representing approximately five times its projected current-year sales.

The Courant FEED contract award arrives as Plug Power accelerates domestic green hydrogen production capacity in the United States while simultaneously pursuing large-scale industrial hydrogen projects on a global scale.

The post Plug Power (PLUG) Surges 7% on Major Québec Electrolyzer Deal: Is Now the Time to Invest? appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• AAOI shares climbed over 20% following a $71M purchase order for 800G transceivers from a leading hyperscale client
• Combined orders from this single customer now total $124M since mid-March
• A separate $200M contract for 1.6T transceivers was also recently disclosed
• Wall Street analysts have increased price targets, with Rosenblatt holding a Buy rating at $140
• The stock has skyrocketed 441% over the last year, with 110% revenue expansion anticipated in 2026

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) experienced a substantial rally on Thursday, finishing more than 20% higher after disclosing a $71 million purchase order for 800G single-mode data center transceivers from a prominent hyperscale customer.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., AAOI

This latest order pushes the cumulative business from this particular client to $124 million since mid-March — effectively more than doubling the backlog from this account within just weeks.

The company anticipates deliveries for the original $53 million purchase to commence in Q2 2026, wrapping up in Q3. The more recent $71 million commitment is scheduled for shipment throughout the remainder of the year.

CEO Dr. Thompson Lin noted that the order “demonstrates the customer’s trust in AOI and highlights the expanding appetite for 800G optical solutions.”

The rally extended beyond AAOI. Lumentum (LITE) rose more than 8%, while Coherent (COHR) advanced approximately 4% during the same trading session, as the optical components industry continued its upward momentum.

AAOI has now surged over 441% during the past twelve months. This includes a remarkable gain exceeding 90% in February alone.

The firm also recently delivered 10,000 units of an 800G transceiver to another hyperscale customer, further illustrating robust near-term market demand.

Growing Order Book

In addition to the 800G contracts, Applied Optoelectronics revealed a $200 million order for 1.6T transceivers. This agreement signals demand not only at existing speeds but also for next-generation high-speed optical networking infrastructure.

Several Wall Street analysts have lifted their price objectives following the recent order announcements. Rosenblatt maintained its Buy rating while keeping its price target at $140.

InvestingPro identified the stock as trading above its Fair Value, including it on its Most Overvalued list — a consideration worth noting given the rapid ascent.

Analysts are forecasting 110% revenue expansion for the company this year, alongside an expected return to profitability.

Industry Momentum

AAOI isn’t the only beneficiary of AI infrastructure investment. Companies including Fabrinet (FN), Corning (GLW), Lumentum, and Coherent have all posted impressive gains this year as data center expansion drives demand for optical interconnect technology.

Lumentum has surged more than 1,100% over the past twelve months. Coherent has appreciated approximately 270% during the same timeframe.

The recent Optical Fiber Communication Conference underscored rising demand for AI-focused optical technologies, providing additional momentum to investor interest in the sector.

Year-to-date, AAOI stock has climbed roughly 147%, even prior to Thursday’s advance.

The company maintains manufacturing and research facilities in Sugar Land, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Taipei, Taiwan; and Ningbo, China.

Applied Optoelectronics’ Q1 2026 revenue outlook was robust, which also fueled the optimistic sentiment surrounding the stock leading into Thursday’s trading.

The post Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Stock Soars 20% on $124M Hyperscale Customer Orders appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• TD Cowen reduced LUV’s price target from $56 down to $46, keeping its Buy recommendation intact
• Goldman Sachs maintains the Street’s most pessimistic stance with a Sell rating and $30 target
• Jet fuel costs have jumped approximately 70% following the start of U.S.-Israel military operations against Iran
• LUV ranked among Thursday’s worst performers in the S&P 500, declining 1.6%
• Wall Street consensus stands at Hold with a mean price objective of $43.72

Shares of Southwest Airlines (LUV) declined 1.6% during Thursday’s trading session as escalating jet fuel expenses and ongoing Iran military operations pressured airline sector equities broadly.

Southwest Airlines Co., LUV

President Trump’s Wednesday address disappointed investors hoping for signals of an imminent conflict resolution. His remarks instead indicated the military engagement may continue, potentially sustaining elevated fuel expenses.

Jet fuel costs have rallied roughly 70% since military operations with Iran commenced. The U.S. Gulf Coast Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel Spot price reached $4.344 per gallon on March 20 — marking its highest point since May 2022. Prior to the conflict on Feb. 27, it traded at $2.428 per gallon.

TD Cowen’s Tom Fitzgerald reduced his LUV price objective from $56 to $46 on Thursday while preserving his Buy recommendation. The revised target still suggests approximately 27.8% potential upside from Thursday’s closing level.

Fitzgerald expressed his team’s “skepticism of the resiliency of travel demand” considering probable higher energy costs and weakening credit card spending trends. He revised downward his projections for all six major U.S. carriers, observing that fuel expenses appear poised to remain elevated through the remainder of 2026.

Southwest wasn’t the only carrier under pressure. United Airlines tumbled 3% to $92.21, Delta retreated 1.2%, JetBlue decreased 0.7%, and American Airlines shed 2.6%. The U.S. Global JETS ETF fell 1.4%.

TD Cowen identified American Airlines, JetBlue, and Alaska Air Group as the airlines most vulnerable to fuel price volatility, pointing to elevated leverage ratios and heightened fuel cost sensitivity.

Wall Street Price Targets Under Pressure

Current analyst sentiment on LUV remains divided. Eight analysts assign it a Buy recommendation, eight suggest Hold, and four recommend Sell. The consensus price target stands at $43.72.

Goldman Sachs lowered its objective to $30 from $32 while maintaining its Sell position. Bank of America reduced its target to $40 with an Underperform rating. Wells Fargo decreased to $44 with Equal Weight. Raymond James cut to $45 from $55, and BMO reduced to $45 from $57.50.

Among the optimists, Barclays upgraded LUV to Overweight in December with a $56 objective. Jefferies marginally increased its target to $42 while keeping a Hold stance.

Latest Quarterly Results Show Revenue Shortfall

Southwest’s latest quarterly report arrived on January 28. The carrier delivered EPS of $0.58, surpassing the $0.56 Street estimate by $0.02.

Revenue totaled $7.44 billion, narrowly missing the $7.51 billion analyst consensus. This nonetheless represented a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

Southwest has issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.00 and Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.45. The equity’s 52-week trading range spans from $23.82 to $55.11.

The stock’s 50-day moving average rests at $45.70, considerably above its current price of $37.61.

The post Southwest Airlines (LUV) Stock Tumbles Amid Soaring Jet Fuel Costs and Iran Conflict appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• FDA announced it will not pursue enforcement action against certain hemp-derived oral CBD products
• The cannabis sector ETF surged 16% for the week, marking its best performance since December
• Major players including Tilray, Canopy Growth, and Curaleaf experienced significant share price increases Thursday
• The announcement follows President Trump’s executive order from December that moved marijuana to Schedule III classification
• Industry experts note the policy remains limited in scope and falls short of comprehensive regulation

Major cannabis companies experienced their most impressive weekly performance of the year following an FDA announcement regarding CBD product enforcement. The regulatory shift propelled leading cannabis stocks significantly higher and positioned the sector for its strongest weekly showing in months.

In a Wednesday correspondence, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary indicated the agency would refrain from enforcing specific sections of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act against hemp-sourced oral products solely due to CBD content. This enforcement discretion extends to items marketed as dietary supplements and products administered under physician supervision.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, represents a non-intoxicating component of cannabis plants. Consumers utilize it for various wellness applications, and it appears in numerous health and lifestyle products.

The cannabis sector’s upward momentum started Tuesday, preceding the White House and FDA’s launch of a four-part meeting series with industry representatives to address CBD compliance and enforcement strategies.

This FDA policy shift complements President Trump’s December executive action, which rescheduled marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III classification under federal drug regulations. That directive also tasked the FDA, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with developing pathways to broaden CBD access for therapeutic applications.

Cannabis equities experienced a temporary boost following December’s executive order before retracing gains. The industry continues to grapple with challenges including limited banking services, stock exchange listing restrictions, and interstate trade barriers stemming from federal regulations.

Tilray Brands

Tilray emerged as a standout performer during this week’s rally. Shares climbed 6.7% in Thursday’s session alone, positioning it among the sector’s highest by dollar volume. The enterprise conducts research, cultivation, processing, and distribution of medical cannabis throughout numerous nations including Canada, Germany, Australia, and Argentina.

Tilray Brands, Inc., TLRY

Canopy Growth

Canopy Growth advanced 2.6% during Thursday trading. The organization markets cannabis and hemp-based products for recreational and therapeutic purposes across the US, Canada, Germany, and additional global markets. Its operations include the Storz and Bickel division, which manufactures cannabis vaporization devices. Canopy joined Tilray as one of the week’s most actively traded cannabis equities.

Canopy Growth Corporation, CGC

Curaleaf Holdings

Curaleaf delivered the most impressive gains among major cannabis companies Thursday, surging 8.4%. This domestically-focused cannabis enterprise has captured significant investor attention as market participants monitor potential federal policy changes that could enable cross-state commerce for cannabis operations.

The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis exchange-traded fund climbed 4.6% Thursday and advanced 16% across the week, tracking toward its strongest weekly gain since December.

An industry expert observed the policy represents a “narrowly scoped” approach that falls short of establishing a comprehensive framework for the wider cannabis marketplace, urging Congressional legislative action.

The FDA conducted its initial stakeholder discussion on CBD policy Wednesday, with three additional sessions planned in the continuing series.

The post FDA CBD Policy Shift Triggers Massive Rally in Cannabis Stocks appeared first on Blockonomi.

Since the onset of the Middle East conflict, crypto markets have remained volatile in the short term but directionless overall. Several major assets, including XRP, have moved sideways during this period.

At the same time, XRP transaction activity on Binance has declined sharply, with both deposits and withdrawals falling to their lowest levels since 2025.

XRP Stagnation Deepens

Over the past 30 days, deposit transactions were found to be at approximately 310,500, while withdrawals reached around 329,400. This resulted in a net negative transaction count of about 18,900, which indicates continued net outflows from the exchange. In its latest analysis, CryptoQuant explained,

“This decline reflects a continued net outflow from the platform; however, it comes amid a significant drop in the total number of transactions, suggesting a period of market stagnation.”

Since mid-2025, activity has sharply contracted, as earlier periods of the year often saw combined deposit and withdrawal transactions surpass 6 million within a 30-day window. Following the decline, transaction volumes have stabilized at consistently low levels and have now reached their weakest point since that earlier peak period.

The data essentially showed that short-term investor interest and speculative trading have both decreased, contributing to a quieter market environment. Such low activity levels are typically associated with reduced price volatility, as buying and selling pressures weaken simultaneously. Despite this, the continued imbalance where withdrawals exceed deposits may indicate that some users are still moving assets off exchanges. The analytics platform stated that this behavior is often linked to accumulation strategies or transfers to private wallets, especially during periods when trading activity remains subdued and market momentum is limited.

XRP declined by nearly 3% over the past week, but still moved ahead of BNB in market cap rankings. It recorded a market value of $81.02 billion, slightly higher than BNB’s $80.1 billion.

On the institutional side of things, spot XRP ETFs recorded a small daily inflow of $64,610 on April 2, according to data compiled by SoSoValue. However, overall demand stayed low, as weekly outflows stood at $3.56 million. The weak flows suggest that investor confidence remains limited, as geopolitical tensions continue to reduce risk appetite across financial markets.

BBB Rating to Ripple Prime

Against this backdrop, Ripple’s brokerage arm has gained credibility among institutional players. As recently reported by CryptoPotato, ratings agency KBRA has assigned a BBB issuer rating to Ripple Prime. The agency cited the company’s progress in areas such as clearing and intermediation services, especially across derivatives trading and fixed income repo markets.

Since introducing its ETF platform two years ago, the firm has significantly expanded its operations. Its repo segment, for instance, achieved meaningful scale in 2025. Profitability was also reached during the year, aided by roughly $500 million in capital support from Ripple and continued balance sheet growth.

KBRA said that Ripple’s financial strength, including billions in cash reserves and large XRP holdings, played a major role in supporting the rating. It also projected margin expansion in 2026 as the business matures.

The post XRP Transactions Hit Lowest Levels Since Mid-2025: Here’s What It Means for Ripple appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Amid ongoing online criticism of some of its features, the Core Team behind the controversial project has issued a more comprehensive guideline on what users need to do to ensure they successfully participate in the second migrations.

Meanwhile, the project’s native token continues to bleed, dropping by over 8% in the past week alone.

Second Migrations to Do List

In the highly anticipated Pi Day (March 14) celebratory post, the team praised the ecosystem developments in the past few years, but also outlined some of the new key features for users. One of them appeared particularly appealing, second migrations, as its sole purpose is to allow users to migrate their tokens to Mainnet – something the community has been begging for years.

Since then, the number of users who reportedly completed second migrations has grown to over 119,000 (as of the end of March), but many continue to be unhappy about the process. In fact, most of the comments below the Core Team’s posts on X are from people claiming that they have been waiting for months or even years for their tokens to be migrated, only to be stuck in some of the KYC pages.

Perhaps that’s why the team published new guidelines, informing that Pioneers “must set up Pi Wallet two-factor authentication (2FA) through Step 3 of the Mainnet checklist” to complete first or second migrations. This step is needed to “further strengthen the account and wallet security” before the actual tokens are transferred.

To complete first or second migrations, Pioneers must set up Pi Wallet two-factor authentication (2FA) through Step 3 of the Mainnet Checklist.

This step is required to further strengthen account and wallet security before real Pi is transferred, an irreversible and immutable… pic.twitter.com/1Q9Zk2vPzU

— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) April 2, 2026

PI Continues to Slide

The protocol’s native token peaked in mid-March at roughly $0.30 after Kraken announced its upcoming listing. Once PI went live for trading, the bears stepped up, and this classic sell-the-news event drove the asset south to under $0.20 within a couple of days.

It has been mostly sideways struggles since then, and the past week and day haven’t been particularly kind. PI is down by over 8% weekly, and has dropped by nearly 4% in the last 24 hours. It dipped to $0.167 earlier, and even though it has rebounded slightly, it still struggles to reclaim the $0.17 level.

There are some warning signs on the token unlock schedule, as the average number of coins to be released in the next month is 8 million. Moreover, a few days will see the unlocking of 18 million or more tokens, which could intensify the immediate selling pressure.

The post Pi Network Issues Key Clarifications, But PI Price Keeps Falling appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Toobit is a popular, award-winning cryptocurrency exchange with an international presence. Just recently, the venue announced a new high-yield opportunity window for USDC – the second-largest stablecoin in the industry.

What You Need to Know

Beginning on April 7th, Toobit will offer a 30% annual percentage rate (APR) for USDC fixed earn. This is a short-term opportunity for those traders who want to capture yield on their stablecoin liquidity.

This most recent addition to the suite of opportunities available on Toobit Earn follows the successful launch of a 28.88% APR fixed earn product for USDT in late March.

It’s important to note that the product requires a 3-day commitment. Upon maturity, both the principal and the earned interest are automatically credited to the trader’s spot account.

The Details of the Subscription

The asset in question for which this opportunity applies is USDC. The subscription window will be from April 7th at 10:00 AM UTC to April 10th at 10:00 AM UTC. The term is fixed at three days.

The yield is 30% annually, while capacity will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Toobit Earn ecosystem consists of both fixed and flexible options. The 30% APR event is a fixed-term commitment, as we mentioned above, but the exchange continues to provide a range of flexible products that offer an array of daily interest distribution and on-demand redemptions.

The preference for regulated stablecoins has already managed to push USDC to achieve a total circulating supply of a whopping $77 billion as of March 2026. This comes on the back of a 160% surge that happened in Q1 on-chain volume.

The post Toobit Offers 30% APR on USDC, Leading High-Yield Opportunities appeared first on CryptoPotato.

This Friday, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid in greater detail.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum has been flat this week, and the price managed to hold above $2,000, which can be considered a bullish signal. Market participants returned to ETH as soon as it dipped below $2,000.

While holding around $2,000 is a promising sign, the cryptocurrency remains in a clear range between the support at $1,800 and the resistance at $2,400. Only when Ethereum leaves this range can we get excited about a possible rally.

Looking ahead, ETH is in a long consolidation that has been ongoing for over a month now. Usually, a major move can be expected eventually once the balance of power between buyers and sellers loses its current equilibrium.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP is down by 3% this week after buyers failed to hold above $1.4. With the price in a clear downtrend, the way is now open towards the key support at $1. For that to happen, sellers will have to push the price under $1.3 and keep it there.

On the other hand, a look at the volume shows bears appear absent. The volume has been falling week-over-week, and this lack of conviction may open an opportunity for buyers to make a stand here.

Looking ahead, the bias on this price action is bearish, with new lows likely. However, sellers will need to pick up the pace if they want to hold onto the price in the future.

Cardano (ADA)

ADA is not looking good this week after falling by 5%. The price is inches away from the key support at $0.24. A breakdown there would spell disaster for this cryptocurrency that has never fallen below this level since 2021.

Expect major volatility in the days and weeks to come, as market participants battle over this key level to determine who will control this cryptocurrency. If sellers win, then ADA may fall to 20 cents. If buyers take over, then they may send it towards 28 cents next.

Looking ahead, Cardano is at a key junction, maybe the most important moment of the year. A break-it-or-make-it moment. All eyes are on the $0.24 level, as it will determine where this cryptocurrency goes next.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin also had a rough week, falling 7%. The price crashed to the key support at $580 after a brief encounter with the $690 resistance. Sellers have taken over the price, and they don’t appear keen to let go anytime soon.

If the key support at $590 won’t hold, then buyers will most likely retreat to $500 next. That would erase more than half of its valuation since its all-time high at $1,300.

Looking ahead, BNB’s downtrend shows no signs of stopping, with lower lows likely ahead. While the battle at $590 continues, sellers maintain the upper hand and may eventually look to $500.

Hype (HYPE)

HYPE fell by 8% this week, marking a major reversal that saw the price lose support at $36. If that level cannot be reclaimed soon, then HYPE has a major problem since lower lows are likely to follow. Key areas of support after that will be found at $30 and $26.

Since the rejection at the $43 resistance level, HYPE has failed to regain the initiative and sustain its major uptrend that began in January. While pullbacks are normal, this could also transform into a major reversal, especially if the overall market remains bearish.

Looking ahead, HYPE has lost some of its sparkle recently and may struggle to return to an uptrend. That will become even more difficult if it stays under $36 and falls towards $30 next.

The post Crypto Price Analysis Apr-03: ETH, XRP, ADA, BNB, and HYPE appeared first on CryptoPotato.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent speech on the Iran conflict sent Bitcoin (BTC) tumbling from $69,000 to below $67,000, erasing gains made in the previous session as markets repriced the odds of a prolonged war.

XWIN Research Japan has released a bearish report that says the sell-off wasn’t just a reaction to headlines; it showed that there are serious problems with the structure of Bitcoin’s derivatives market that could cause prices to drop by as much as 80% in the worst case.

What Trump’s Speech Changed, and Why It Matters for BTC

Markets had been expecting Trump to signal a wind-down of the conflict. Instead, he said the situation would get worse over the next two to three weeks.

Investors responded by selling. The S&P 500 and the Dow both fell, the former closing down 0.23% and the latter 0.39%. Asian markets were also hit, with South Korea’s KOSPI losing 4.2%. Additionally, the price of oil went up 11.41% to $111 a barrel, and the value of the U.S. dollar went up.

According to XWIN, all of that is bad news for Bitcoin, because when oil rises, inflation expectations go up, and when the dollar strengthens, money becomes tighter globally. Both conditions tend to push investors away from risk assets like crypto.

Furthermore, XWIN noted that a widely watched measure of stock market fear, the VIX, climbed to around 25, and stress indicators in the U.S. bond market widened by 27%, pointing to deteriorating liquidity conditions across traditional finance, which historically weigh on BTC just as heavily as on equities.

The analysts identified a specific structural vulnerability at the center of all this: CME Bitcoin futures open interest has reached around 18,000 to 20,000 BTC, which are heavily concentrated in short-dated contracts.

According to them, this means price discovery is being driven more by leveraged positioning than by underlying spot demand, and under stress, those positions won’t roll over; they’ll liquidate and create cascading sell pressure that can amplify price moves well beyond what spot flows alone would justify.

Bitcoin had already been struggling before Trump’s speech, narrowly avoiding closing March in the red for a sixth consecutive month by finishing with a minor 1.8% gain. However, the quarterly picture was bad, with Q1 2026 seeing a 22.2% decline, the worst first-quarter performance since the 2018 bear market.

How Bad Could It Get?

XWIN Research outlined three scenarios, all pointing lower.

The first, and mildest case, could occur if current conditions persist without getting significantly worse, and here, Bitcoin could slide from around $70,000 to $50,000, which would be a drop of 25% to 30%.

Now, if Bitcoin ETFs see sustained outflows and buyers stay on the sidelines, the researchers said the price could fall further to between $20,000 and $30,000, a 60% to 70% decline.

Finally, XWIN says that if the Strait of Hormuz were completely blocked, or if there were a full-blown war in the region, BTC’s price would drop to $10,000, which is about 80% less than current levels.

The post Bitcoin’s Worst-Case Scenario: Analysts Warn of 25–80% Crash appeared first on CryptoPotato.