Decentral Block Post

Ethereum is entering one of its most precarious periods since its inception. Usage on the base layer is plummeting, core metrics are nearing multi-year lows, and even co-founder Vitalik Buterin is proposing a radical architectural overhaul. 

Institutions aren’t waiting to see how it plays out. Blockchain data shows that long-time supporters such as Galaxy Digital and Paradigm have been slashing their Ether (ETH) holdings in recent weeks. 

So far in April, Ethereum’s base-layer activity has continued to collapse. Ethereum’s network fees are dropping, and inflation has been rising. Though layer-2 networks continue to develop, they’re cannibalizing the base layer’s value capture.

But the story isn’t entirely about Ethereum’s collapse. Some whales are treating this downturn as a rare buying opportunity. Even those who are selling Ether can’t fully let it go.

Ethereum gets dumped by institutions, but for how long?

Institutions are dumping Ethereum, but it’s the ex they keep checking on. It’s not entirely out of the picture — just benched while they explore options like Solana (SOL).

Opinion by: Sasha Shilina, PhD, founder of Episteme and researcher at Paradigm Research Institute

Decentralized prediction markets are gaining ground in the scientific world, offering an intriguing answer to the field’s ongoing reproducibility crisis. While a notable share of research findings fail to replicate in independent tests, supporters believe market-driven forecasting can speed up identifying robust studies.

Detractors remain cautious, worried that introducing financial wagers could compromise the measured, peer-reviewed process that has guided academic inquiry for centuries. The debate hinges on whether blockchain-based forecasting will elevate or destabilize scientific credibility.

Crowdsourcing predictions

Despite these concerns, recent developments point toward real promise. Platforms like Polymarket and Pump.science have shown that crowdsourcing predictions can help refine collective judgment in fields as varied as politics and longevity. This model is being adapted for science, where it could quickly flag dubious claims and reward reproducible ones. 

Although critics highlight potential market manipulation, decentralized science (DeSci) advocates argue that broad participation from multiple stakeholders could democratize the validation process, discouraging one-sided interventions by well-funded groups.

Payments behemoth PayPal plans to offer a 3.7% yield on balances held in its PayPal USD stablecoin.

According to an April 23 Bloomberg report, a PayPal representative said that the measure aims to encourage more usage of the firm’s stablecoin. The program is expected to launch this summer, and the rewards will also be paid out in PayPal USD (PYUSD).

Users will be able to exchange PYUSD for fiat currency, spend it or send it to other users. The rewards will accrue daily and will be paid on a monthly basis. The company hopes this feature will lead to a higher predominance of stablecoin and crypto payments on its platform.

The report follows PayPal USD reaching a $1 billion market cap in the summer of 2024. As of publication, the stablecoin’s market cap is nearly a quarter lower at $873.3 million.

PayPal USD’s market cap chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Tzahi Kanza, CEO of crypto investment firm Syndika, told Cointelegraph that “from a regulatory standpoint, PayPal must ensure that offering interest doesn’t cause its stablecoin to be classified as a security. “When it comes to financial risks for the users, he said that PayPal can keep its promises, and the main risk is losing the peg to the dollar rather than interest-related issues. He said:

Richard Heart, the controversial founder of HEX, is claiming total victory over the US SEC after years of court battles.

On April 21, the SEC said that it would not amend and refile its fraud case against the former child actor and crypto evangelist. A court had dismissed the SEC’s fraud charges against Heart on Feb. 28.

Heart announced on X that HEX had obtained a victory very few crypto projects could boast: “Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely and have achieved regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have.”

HEX may be out of hot water with American securities regulators (for now), but Heart still faces charges in Europe, where he is wanted both for alleged tax fraud and for alleged assault on a minor. 

Richard Heart, real name Richard James Schueler, is still on Interpol’s wanted list. Source: Interpol

SEC claimed Heart used HEX to defraud investors

In July 2023, the SEC filed a complaint against Heart, whose real name is Richard James Schueler, along with HEX, HEX’s layer-1 blockchain project, PulseChain, and the decentralized exchange (DEX) for the PulseChain network, PulseX. 

Gaming giant Ubisoft has partnered with Web3 firm Immutable to launch Might & Magic: Fates, a blockchain-powered strategy card game set in the Might & Magic universe.

According to a news release shared with Cointelegraph, Might & Magic: Fates blends classic strategic gameplay with modern blockchain technology, offering players digital ownership through Immutable’s Web3 infrastructure.

The game will launch on iOS and Android. The title introduces fresh mechanics, faction-based strategies and a wide array of legendary heroes and creatures.

Players can collect, trade, and customize decks using hundreds of cards, crafting unique strategies in a competitive environment where success is driven by skill and tactical decision-making.

Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson teases major announcement. Source: Robbie Ferguson

“The game is free-to-play with no hard progression barriers. Players advance by collecting cards and in-game currency through gameplay,” Justin Hulog, chief studio officer for Immutable, told Cointelegraph.

Cryptocurrency staking protocol Symbiotic closed a $29 million Series A funding round led by Web3-focused investment firms, including Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures, to support the launch of a new economic coordination layer for blockchain security.

The round included more than 100 angel investors, with participation from major industry players including Aave, Polygon and StarkWare, the company said in an April 23 announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

The closing of the funding round also marks the launch of Symbiotic’s Universal Staking Framework, which aims to be an economic coordination layer that bolsters blockchain security via staking.

The new staking layer enables the use of any combination of cryptocurrencies to secure networks, including monolithic and modular layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains, the announcement stated.

“We’ve created a modular framework that lets protocols evolve security models over time while efficiently coordinating risk,” Misha Putiatin, co-founder of Symbiotic, told Cointelegraph. “This empowers protocols at every stage of their lifecycle to evolve their security models seamlessly without rebuilding infrastructure.”

Michael Saylor, the CEO of top corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), expressed support for newly appointed US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins.

In an April 23 X post, Saylor wrote that “SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will be good for Bitcoin.” The statement follows Atkins’ swearing-in as the 34th chairman of the SEC on April 21.

Source: Michael Saylor

Blue Macellari, the head of digital assets at investment firm T. Rowe Price, also commented positively on Atkins’ swearing in during a recent Bloomberg interview. She seemed hopeful and recognized a change in how the SEC has acted under the new administration, particularly with crypto-related information, including “close to six or seven roundtables” with industry professionals. She said:

“I think that that’s gonna feed into the ability to make thoughtful and considerate policies.”

Vincent Liu , chief investment officer at crypto investment firm Kronos Research, told Cointelegraph that “under Chair Atkins, finalizing custody rules for digital assets is expected to provide the investor protections that institutions demand.” Other issues expected to be resolved are clarification on whether some digital assets are securities or commodities:

“Together, these two moves will help establish clear custody standards and bring much-needed clarity paving the way for the next wave of crypto product innovation.”

Related: SEC and feds charge man over $200M crypto trading scheme

Crypto exchange giant Coinbase is set to expand its footprint by hiring over 130 employees in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of a broader push to tap into emerging fintech talent pools across the US, a company spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph.

“Coinbase is making a new investment in Charlotte with a new physical office and an immediate commitment to hire for 130+ local roles across both Compliance and Customer Support over the next six months,” the spokesperson said.

They added that Coinbase’s focus on Charlotte is in response to the city’s emergence as a key financial and tech center, making it a prime choice for expansion to address increasing customer and compliance demands.

With a fast-growing population and a highly skilled talent pool, Charlotte offers an ideal setting to support Coinbase’s long-term growth, the spokesperson said.

Related: Coinbase Derivatives lists XRP futures

Bitcoin (BTC) has overtaken Alphabet (Google) to become the world’s fifth most valuable asset by market capitalization.

As of April 23, Bitcoin’s market cap surged to $1.87 trillion, edging past Alphabet’s $1.859 trillion valuation, according to asset ranking data. BTC is now behind only gold, Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia.

Top assets by market cap. Source: CompaniesMarketCap.com

Bitcoin beats Nasdaq 100 returns in April

Bitcoin’s edge over Alphabet coincides with its ongoing “decoupling” from its long-standing correlation with US tech stocks, especially in April, when BTC’s price rallied 15% despite the Nasdaq 100’s returns of 4.50% in the same period.

BTC/USD and Nasdaq 100 price comparison chart. Source: TradingView

This decoupling followed months of disappointment for crypto bulls, who expected a stronger post-election rally.

Even with April’s gains, BTC’s price remains 16% below its $109,000 all-time high set in January, when Trump was re-inaugurated as the US president.

Crypto markets have faced a wave of liquidations over the past 24 hours, with total losses reaching $635.9 million, according to market data. Most of the liquidations (over $560 million) came from short positions, signaling growing pressure on bearish traders.

Bitcoin (BTC) led the liquidation charts, with $293 million in short positions wiped out as BTC surged past $94,000, marking a 6.29% gain within one day, according to CoinGlass data.

Ether (ETH) followed, with over $109 million in short liquidations as its price climbed nearly 10% to $1,787.

Data from exchanges showed Binance accounted for the largest share of liquidations at $18.7 million in the last four hours, with 78% of that targeting short positions. Bybit and OKX also saw significant liquidation volumes, reflecting widespread volatility across major platforms.

Crypto market sees a wave of liquidations. Source: CoinGlass

Related: Bitcoin breaks downtrend with spike toward $92.6K, but who’s behind the price momentum?

Investments in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rebounded to levels last seen in January, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment from concerns about global trade tariff escalations.

US spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs had over $912 million worth of cumulative net inflows on April 22, marking their highest daily investment in more than three months since Jan. 21, Farside Investors data shows.

Bitcoin ETF Flow, millions. Source: Farside Investors

“Bitcoin ETPs just saw the largest daily inflows since 21st January in a dramatic improvement in sentiment,” according to James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.

Related: Bitcoin still on track for $1.8M in 2035, says analyst

Investor sentiment appeared to improve after US President Donald Trump said that import tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially,” adopting a softer tone in negotiations.

Crypto drainers, malware designed to steal cryptocurrency, have become easier to access as the ecosystem evolves into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model.

In an April 22 report, crypto forensics and compliance firm AMLBot revealed that many drainer operations have transitioned to a SaaS model known as drainer-as-a-service (DaaS). The report revealed that malware spreaders can rent a drainer for as little as 100 to 300 USDt (USDT).

Crypto drainers report image. Source: AMLBot

AMLBot CEO Slava Demchuk told Cointelegraph that “previously, entering the world of cryptocurrency scams required a fair amount of technical knowledge.” That is no longer the case. Under the DaaS model, “getting started isn’t significantly more difficult than with other types of cybercrime.”

Demchuk explained that would-be drainer users join online communities to learn from experienced scammers who provide guides and tutorials. This is how many criminals involved with traditional phishing campaigns transition to the crypto drainer space.

Related: North Korean hackers target crypto devs with fake recruitment tests

Key points:

Whales on Binance join Coinbase in adding BTC exposure as Bitcoin recovers above $90,000.

The Coinbase premium is back in the green amid a broad risk-asset relief rally.

Resistance attributed to an entity dubbed “Spoofy the Whale” at $90,000 disappears.

Bitcoin (BTC) has fresh whale buying pressure across major exchanges as large-volume investors boost BTC price gains.

Binance is set to implement new compliance measures for South African users, requiring sender and receiver information for all crypto deposits and withdrawals.

In an announcement on April 23, the largest exchange in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies said the move comes in response to local regulatory demands.

Starting April 30, Binance users in South Africa will be prompted to provide additional information when transferring crypto.

For deposits, users must disclose the sender’s full name, country of residence, and, if applicable, the name of the originating crypto exchange. Similarly, withdrawals will require beneficiary details before processing.

Binance to require information for all crypto transfers in South Africa. Source: Binance

The update will only impact crypto deposits and withdrawals, leaving trading and other platform features unaffected.

Ethereum’s price has surged after having been in the doldrums for weeks, helping boost its market share after it hit record lows.

Ether (ETH) has surged almost 15% over the past 24 hours, topping $1,800 on April 23. It has outperformed Bitcoin, which notched a 6% gain, and the wider crypto market, which has climbed almost 5% to reclaim a total market value of $3 trillion. 

Ether has now managed to recover almost 30% since its April 9 crash to $1,400, leading some analysts to suggest that the worst may be over for the world’s second-largest crypto asset.

“You can hate Ethereum all you want, but when it has a big day, the entire crypto ecosystem goes up,” crypto trader and analyst “Income Sharks” commented to their 640,000 X followers.

Market analyst “Ash Crypto” said ETH was “about to explode,” drawing comparison from the current chart pattern for Ether to that for Bitcoin’s performance in late 2024. 

Bitcoin’s 12% rally over the week and a surge in related exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows have analysts thinking it could soon reach $100,000, but one crypto analyst has said to temper hopes as a key indicator is still giving mixed signals.

“Given that our stablecoin minting indicator has yet to return to high-activity levels, we remain cautious about the sustainability of the current Bitcoin rally,” 10x Research head of research Markus Thielen said in an April 23 markets report.

Stablecoin absence may limit Bitcoin upside

Thielen explained that a measured move from the falling wedge pattern, which traders perceive as a potential bullish reversal signal, shows that Bitcoin (BTC) may reclaim $99,000.

He added, however, that “the absence of strong stablecoin inflows raises questions about follow-through.”

Markus Thielen is watching the stablecoin minting indicator before confirming the Bitcoin uptrend is sustainable. Source: 10x Research

Bitcoin was trading at $93,133 at the time of writing, up 11.42% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Brandon Lutnick, chair of investment banking firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is reportedly partnering with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex to create a $3 billion crypto acquisition company.

Lutnick and the consortium hope to create a publicly listed crypto acquisition company to capitalize on the market under crypto-friendly US President Donald Trump, and replicate Michael Saylor’s company Strategy, the Financial Times reported on April 23, citing three people who have been briefed on the plan.

Cantor Equity Partners raised $200 million in January for the new firm called 21 Capital. At the same time, stablecoin issuer Tether will fork out $1.5 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), Japanese investment holding firm Softbank Group will contribute $900 million, and the crypto exchange Bitfinex will add $600 million.

Lutnick’s new venture hopes to raise another $350 million in convertible bonds and a separate $200 million private equity placement to buy additional Bitcoin.

Eventually, Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank’s Bitcoin investments will be converted into 21 Capital shares, with the value of the Bitcoin locked in at $85,000 per coin and shares costing $10 a pop.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has said it doesn't intend to refile its securities fraud complaint against Hex founder Richard Schueler, who goes by Richard Heart.

“Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission provides this notice that it does not intend to file an amended complaint in this matter,” the regulator’s lawyer, Matthew Gulde, stated in an April 21 letter to New York District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon. 

The court had previously dismissed the SEC’s original complaint on Feb. 28 as Judge Amon said the regulator failed to establish that it had jurisdiction over Heart’s activities, which she said were not specifically targeted at US investors.

She granted leave for the SEC to file an amended complaint by March 20, later extending the deadline to April 21.

Heart posted to X on April 22 that “Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely and have achieved regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have.”

Letter from the SEC to Judge Amon. Source: PACER

Heart added that the SEC walked away from some of its other cryptocurrency cases voluntarily, but claimed his was the only case where “the SEC lost and crypto won across the board, with a dismissal in court of every single claim the SEC brought.”

Tesla has held onto its Bitcoin during the first quarter of 2025 as CEO Elon Musk promised shareholders that he would scale back his time working as the Trump administration’s cost-cutting czar.

Musk’s comment appears to have been the main catalyst behind Tesla’s (TSLA) 5.4% price jump in after-hours trading on April 22 to $250.80 after closing the trading day up 4.6%, according to Google Finance. 

It comes as the automaker’s Q1 results released the same day show revenues hit $19.34 billion, missing Wall Street estimates by 7.85% and marking a 9.2% fall from the same period last year.

Tesla’s net income of $409 million also marked an 80.8% quarter-on-quarter drop and a 70.5% fall from Q1 2024.

Source: Tesla

Tesla’s digital asset holdings dropped 11.61% in value from $1.076 billion to $951 million in Q1, alongside Bitcoin’s (BTC) 11.56% price fall to $82,514 over the same time, according to CoinGecko data.

Bitcoin has broken above $93,000 for the first time in seven weeks, extending its post-Easter rally as recent macro events have analysts expecting more upside.

Bitcoin (BTC) has climbed 5.62% over the past 24 hours and surpassed $93,000 on April 22 for the first time since March 3, continuing a 12% price rally its seen over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin traders eye “craziest one-minute candle”

Bitcoin quickly jumped from just below $91,500 to $93,000 in minutes, leaving traders guessing where the rally could go next.

“This is the craziest one-minute candle I’ve ever seen on the Bitcoin chart,” Bitcoin commentator Michael Sullivan said in an April 22 X post.

Edit the caption here or remove the text

Pseudonymous crypto trader Crypto General said Bitcoin “is going as planned, as stated in the last post, a breakout was eyes and today we witnessed our breakout.”

US President Donald Trump’s media conglomerate, Trump Media and Technology Group, has signed an agreement with crypto exchange Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds “with a Made in America focus.”

Trump Media, which operates the social media site Truth Social, said on April 22 that it signed a binding agreement with Crypto.com and asset manager Yorkville America Digital to launch ETFs, which “are expected to comprise digital assets as well as securities with a Made in America focus spanning diverse industries such as energy.”

The funds will launch through Trump Media’s decentralized finance brand, Truth.Fi, and will be available through Crypto.com’s broker-dealer, Foris Capital. The funds are expected to go live later in 2025, subject to regulatory approval. 

Trump Media plans to invest some of its cash reserves into the ETFs, which will be launched alongside a number of Truth.Fi Separately Managed Accounts. The US law firm Davis Polk will be advising on the development and launch of the products.

The initiative is part of the firm’s financial services and fintech strategy, using up to $250 million custodied by Charles Schwab following a partnership agreement with the bank in January. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors have charged a man they allege created a crypto scheme that swindled 90,000 people out of $200 million in the hopes of earning returns from Bitcoin and forex trading.

The SEC said on April 22 that it had charged Ramil Palafox, a dual citizen of the US and the Philippines, claiming he misappropriated over $57 million in investor funds gained through his company, PGI Global, between January 2020 and October 2021.

The regulator alleged Palafox used a multilevel marketing model to execute a “Ponzi-like” scam until the company’s collapse in 2021. The SEC said he lured investors through “false claims of crypto industry expertise and a supposed AI-powered auto-trading platform.”

The SEC claimed Palafox hosted lavish events in Dubai and Las Vegas to recruit new members who were offered referral bonuses to recruit others and used investor funds to pay other investors to further promote the scheme, as well as to line his own pockets.

Excerpt from the SEC’s complaint against Ramil Palafox. Source: SEC

“Palafox attracted investors with the allure of guaranteed profits from sophisticated crypto asset and foreign exchange trading, but instead of trading, Palafox bought himself and his family cars, watches, and homes using millions of dollars of investor funds,” said Scott Thompson, associate director of the SEC’s Philadelphia office. 

The Federal Court of Australia has sided with fintech firm Block Earner in an appeal against a ruling that found it was required to hold a financial services license for its now-discontinued crypto-related products. 

Block Earner’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning product is not a financial product, or a managed investment scheme, and is not a derivative under the Corporations Act, Justices David O’Callaghan, Wendy Abraham and Catherine Button said in an April 22 judgment. 

The trio said Block Earner’s yield product couldn’t be classed as an investment or financial product because users loaned crypto under fixed terms for interest payments and didn’t pool contributions to generate further benefits. The terms and conditions framed it as a loan, and users had no exposure to the firm’s business outside of the agreed interest rate, they added.

A court has dismissed the legal proceedings against Block Earner and ordered Australia's financial regulator to pay costs. Source: ASIC

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), which first brought the case, has been ordered by the court to pay costs for the proceedings, including appeals. The regulator said in an April 22 press release that it is currently “considering this decision.”

Block Earner’s chief commercial officer, James Coombes, told Cointelegraph the court decision brings clarity that crypto assets shouldn’t be treated differently from other asset classes when applying existing laws. 

Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton confirmed that he has been appointed as the interim US Attorney for the Southern District of New York after the Democratic Party’s Senate leader used a “blue slip” to block a vote confirming Clayton’s position.

The appointment comes a little over five months after US President Donald Trump nominated Clayton to take on the role. He replaces Damian Williams, who played a major role in the conviction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other high-profile crypto cases.

Clayton said on April 22 his top priorities would be to protect public safety, ensure the integrity of the US financial system, defend national security interests and combat fraud, particularly against the elderly and most vulnerable.

The temporary nature of Clayton’s appointment resulted from Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s use of a blue slip to block Clayton’s confirmation on April 16, effectively preventing a Senate vote and official confirmation of his position. 

Blue slips can be used by senators to block US attorney or district court judicial nominees in their home states. 

Chiliz, a SportsFi company, has met with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss an investment and reentry into the US crypto market under the crypto-friendly White House and increased push for regulatory clarity surrounding digital assets.

According to the meeting request made public by the SEC, Chiliz plans a reentry into the US market around the time of the 2026 FIFA World Cup international football (soccer) tournament. The comeback would be accompanied by a $50 million to $100 million investment in the local market. National Basketball Association and National Football League teams are said to be interested in launching fan tokens if regulatory clarity improves.

The meeting with the federal agency was held on April 22 — the same day Chiliz CEO Alexandre Dreyfus shared a photo with Bo Hines, executive director of Trump’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, suggesting a second meeting with White House officials.

Source: Alexandre Dreyfus

According to the meeting document, Chiliz discussed the proposed structure of a fan token and why “it should not be classified as a security.” Broadly, a security is an investment wherein the investor expects a profit due to the efforts of someone other than the investor.

Whether cryptocurrencies and related assets are securities has been a key issue in the regulation of Web3 within the United States.

The XRP Ledger Foundation has identified a “serious vulnerability” in the official JavaScript library used for interacting with the XRP Ledger blockchain network, the nonprofit said.

On April 22, blockchain security specialist Aikido said in a blog post that XRP Ledger’s open-source JavaScript library was “compromised by sophisticated attackers who put in a backdoor to steal cryptocurrency private keys and gain access to cryptocurrency wallets.” 

The JavaScript library includes programs enabling developers to interact with the XRP Ledger and is distinct from the blockchain network itself. 

‘“[T]his package is used by hundreds of thousands of applications and websites making it a potentially catastrophic supply chain attack on the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” Aikido said. 

The XRP Ledger Foundation has already upgraded the code repository to “remove the previously compromised version,” it said in an April 22 post on the X platform.

Bitcoin (BTC) surged to a 45-day high above $91,000 on April 22, and the upward movement coincided with gold reaching a new all-time high. The price gains reflect investors' concerns over a potential economic recession amid ongoing global trade tensions.

The tides are shifting, but does data support a Bitcoin price rally above $95,000?

Bitcoin 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: Laevitas.ch

In neutral markets, the Bitcoin futures premium typically ranges between 5% and 10% to compensate for the longer settlement period. At present, the annualized premium stands at 6%, which is not considered particularly bullish, even though BTC appreciated by $6,840 between April 20 and April 22. Some analysts interpret this as a sign that Bitcoin is beginning to decouple from the stock market.

Traders’ PTSD could emerge around BTC’s $90K zone

Part of this skepticism among traders stems from Bitcoin’s repeated inability to sustain levels above $90,000 in early March. For example, Bitcoin tested the $95,000 mark on March 3, only to fall to $81,464 the following day. This inconsistent performance since the $109,346 peak on Jan. 20 has contributed to a lack of conviction among bullish investors, especially as gold has continued to set new all-time highs during the same period.

S&P 500 futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Currently, Bitcoin is trading 16% below its all-time high, a figure that closely mirrors the S&P 500’s decline of 14.5%. This suggests that the recent era of excessive risk-taking may be behind us. Notably, even at its lowest point below $75,000, Bitcoin’s 32% drawdown was less severe than those experienced by Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (META), and Tesla (TSLA).

US Securities and Exchange Commission member Hester Peirce, currently leading the agency’s crypto task force, offered a preview of what the industry could expect now that Paul Atkins has been sworn in as the regulatory body’s chairman.

Speaking to Cointelegraph before the US Senate confirmed Atkins’ nomination and he took his position as SEC chair, Peirce said she welcomed the opportunity to work again with the incoming agency leader. Peirce worked as Atkins’ counsel from 2004 to 2008 during the then-commissioner’s first term at the SEC.

“He cares about economic growth and how the markets that we regulate can support economic growth,” Peirce told Cointelegraph. “I would love the chance to work with [Atkins] on trying to reorient the agency so that it does take into consideration all aspects of our mission.”

Related: Atkins becomes next SEC chair: What’s next for the crypto industry

Atkins, appointed by US President Donald Trump in what many saw as a nod to the crypto industry to replace former chair Gary Gensler, was sworn in on April 21. During his confirmation hearing in the Senate Banking Committee, lawmakers questioned Atkins on his ties to the crypto industry, potentially presenting conflicts of interest in his role helping regulate digital assets. 

Bitcoin (BTC) price surged over the Easter weekend, jumping 9% and crossing the $91,000 threshold on April 22. This strong performance diverged sharply from the stock market’s lukewarm rebound and mirrored gold’s bullish behavior, which briefly touched a new all-time high of $3,500. 

While the BTC rally and its growing decoupling from equities are noteworthy, it's the derivatives market that offers an even more bullish signal.

According to data from CoinGlass, Bitcoin open interest (OI) soared by 17%, reaching a 2-month high at $68.3. OI measures the total capital invested in BTC derivatives, and such an uptick shows a growing bullish sentiment among traders. 

The market is currently in contango — a situation where futures prices (notably CME Bitcoin futures) are higher than the spot price. This typically occurs because investors anticipate rising prices and take advantage of leverage tools offered by exchanges, allowing them to gain greater exposure through futures than they could with direct spot purchases.

This raises two questions: Who is buying, and why?