Runes continues to make up the vast majority of Bitcoin transactions, however the fees earned by Bitcoin miners from Runes has slightly tailed off since the record-setting halving day.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the court to order Terraform Labs and Do Kwon to pay around $5.3 billion as part of the final judgment against the two defendants. This sum includes $4,192,147,847 in disgorgement and $545,748,909 in prejudgment interest. SEC Seeks Final Judgment Against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon The […]

President Biden’s move to introduce a 44.6% federal capital gains tax probably wouldn’t affect most people in crypto, according to crypto tax commentators.

Solana attempted a recovery wave above the $140 level. SOL price is now struggling to clear the $160 and $170 resistance levels. SOL price recovered higher and tested the $160 resistance against the US Dollar. The price is now trading below $160 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). There is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $146 on the 4-hour chart of the SOL/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair could start another decline if it stays below $160 and $170 for a long time. Solana Price Faces Resistance Solana price started a major decline below the $170 and $160 support levels. SOL tested the $115 zone and recently started an upside correction, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. There was a decent increase above the $130 and $140 levels. The price climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward wave from the $205 swing high to the $115 low. It even spiked above the $155 zone and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). However, the bears are active near the $160 zone and the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward wave from the $205 swing high to the $115 low. The price struggled and corrected gains. Source: SOLUSD on TradingView.com Solana is now trading below $160 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). There is also a key bullish trend line forming with support at $146 on the 4-hour chart of the SOL/USD pair. Immediate resistance is near the $155 level. The next major resistance is near the $160 level. A successful close above the $160 resistance could set the pace for another major increase. The next key resistance is near $170. Any more gains might send the price toward the $188 level. Another Decline in SOL? If SOL fails to rally above the $160 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $145 level and the trend line. The first major support is near the $132 level, below which the price could test $120. If there is a close below the $120 support, the price could decline toward the $100 support in the near term. Technical Indicators 4-Hours MACD – The MACD for SOL/USD is gaining pace in the bearish zone. 4-Hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for SOL/USD is below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $146, and $132. Major Resistance Levels – $155, $160, and $170.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF inflow streak ended on April 24 after IBIT recorded no inflows for the day, according to data from Farside.

Edward Snowden criticized the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for targeting app developers aimed at restoring financial privacy, responding to the arrest of the founders and CEO of cryptocurrency mixing service Samourai Wallet on charges related to money laundering and operating without a license. Snowden’s remarks show his ongoing support for financial privacy within the […]

Ethereum price failed to clear the $3,280 resistance zone. ETH declined below the $3,200 support and is now consolidating losses above $3,100. Ethereum struggled to clear the $3,250 and $3,280 resistance levels. The price is trading below $3,200 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $3,190 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could continue to move down if it trades below the $3,100 support. Ethereum Price Trims Gains Ethereum price struggled to clear the $3,250 and $3,280 resistance levels. ETH started a fresh decline and traded below the $3,200 support to enter a short-term bearish zone, like Bitcoin. Besides, there was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $3,190 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The pair even declined below $3,150 and tested $3,100. A low has formed at $3,105 and the price is now consolidating losses. Ethereum is now trading below $3,200 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. It is testing the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $3,291 swing high to the $3,105 low. Immediate resistance is near the $3,180 level and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. The first major resistance is near the $3,200 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $3,291 swing high to the $3,105 low. Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com The next key resistance sits at $3,220, above which the price might gain traction and rise toward the $3,250 level. A close above the $3,250 resistance could send the price toward the $3,280 resistance. If there is a move above the $3,280 resistance, Ethereum could even test the $3,350 resistance. Any more gains could send Ether toward the $3,500 resistance zone. More Losses In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $3,200 resistance, it could continue to move down. Initial support on the downside is near the $3,120 level. The first major support is near the $3,100 zone. The main support is near the $3,030 level. A clear move below the $3,030 support might increase selling pressure and send the price toward $2,850. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,650 level in the near term. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Level – $3,100 Major Resistance Level – $3,200

According to a recent Bloomberg report, a group of investors and customers of cryptocurrency exchange FTX have agreed to drop their claims against co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.  In exchange, Bankman-Fried has agreed to cooperate with the plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuits against other defendants related to the collapse of FTX. Sam  Bankman-Fried And Insiders Settle Per the report, if approved by a judge, this agreement would release Bankman-Fried from civil liability just weeks after being sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud stemming from allegations of stealing billions of dollars from FTX.  The settlement, filed in federal court in Miami, stipulates that the plaintiffs in the multi-district litigation will resolve all current and future claims against Bankman-Fried. Related Reading: Newbie Bitcoin Whales Hold 2x As Much As Veterans: What’s Behind This Trend? Other FTX insiders, including former executives Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, and Nishad Singh, who testified against Bankman-Fried, were also sued by investors. However, they have agreed to settle and have already started providing information to support the plaintiff’s case, as stated in the court filing.  Notably, this leaves the high-profile celebrities, sports stars, and social media influencers who promoted FTX to investors and customers as the remaining defendants. As part of the settlement agreement, Bankman-Fried has committed to assisting the plaintiffs’ lawyers in pursuing the remaining FTX endorsers. Additionally, he will provide all nonprivileged documents related to his assets and his investment in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic.  Bankman-Fried will also submit an affidavit certifying his net worth as negative and share documents about other defendants involved in the expansive civil litigation. The list of defendants in the consolidated FTX lawsuits is extensive, with financiers and celebrity endorsers such as Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, and Gisele Bundchen accused of promoting “unregistered securities” and luring investors into a Ponzi scheme.  Bankman-Fried’s agreement includes providing any relevant information about venture capital firms that invested in FTX and accountants and lawyers who worked with the exchange. If successful, the plaintiffs could potentially win substantial amounts in damages. According to court filings, the settlements with the promoters involved in the agreement are estimated to be valued at around $1.3 million. FTX Scandal Update Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson, Mark Botnick, stated that his client is determined to make amends. Botnick emphasized that since the collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried has focused solely on returning the estate’s assets to customers and ensuring they are made whole at current prices.  Botnick expressed Bankman-Fried’s commitment to continue working with Adam Moskowitz and his team, representing the plaintiffs, to achieve this goal. In their request for the judge’s approval of the settlement, the plaintiffs’ attorneys acknowledged the uncertainty and litigation risks associated with pursuing Bankman-Fried. They concluded that Bankman-Fried’s cooperation would be “valuable” in the remaining legal proceedings. Related Reading: Analyst Singles Out VeChain And XRP For Parabolic Surge, Here Are The Targets Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty at trial late last year and sentenced in late March, is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, before being transferred to the prison where he will serve his term. He intends to appeal both his sentence and conviction. Featured image from Reuters, chart from TradingView.com

Meta’s shares dropped 15% in after-hours trading following announcements in April of plans for significant investment in AI, alongside a weaker revenue outlook and continued losses in its metaverse division, Reality Labs. The company anticipates its expenses will soar to between $96 billion and $99 billion for the fiscal year, attributing the increase to higher […]

According to a report from S&P Global Ratings, the introduction of the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act on April 17, 2024, promises to significantly reshape the U.S. stablecoin market. Authored by Mohamed Damak and Andrew O’Neill, the report outlines the potential for enhanced regulatory clarity and increased institutional adoption. S&P Global Ratings Analyzes Impact of New […]

The crypto market saw extra turbulence after Samourai Wallet’s CEO and chief technology officer faced legal action from the U.S. DOJ.

Bitcoin price failed to clear the $67,000 resistance. BTC trimmed gains and is now struggling to stay above the $63,650 support zone. Bitcoin started another decline after it failed to surpass the $67,200 resistance zone. The price is trading below $65,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $66,200 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair could correct higher, but the bears might remain active near the $65,500 zone. Bitcoin Price Dips Again Bitcoin price struggled to clear the $67,000 and $67,200 resistance levels. BTC formed a short-term topping pattern and started a fresh decline below the $66,000 level. There was a move below the $65,500 support. Besides, there was a break below a key bullish trend line with support at $66,200 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair even spiked below $63,650. A low was formed at $63,583 and the price is now consolidating losses. Bitcoin price is now trading below $65,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. Immediate resistance is near the $64,500 level or the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $67,195 swing high to the $63,583 low. The first major resistance could be $65,350 or the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $67,195 swing high to the $63,583 low. A clear move above the $65,350 resistance might send the price higher. The next resistance now sits at $65,850. If there is a clear move above the $65,850 resistance zone, the price could continue to move up. In the stated case, the price could rise toward $67,000. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com The next major resistance is near the $67,200 zone. Any more gains might send Bitcoin toward the $68,800 resistance zone in the near term. More Losses In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $65,350 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $63,500 level. The first major support is $62,600. If there is a close below $62,600, the price could start to drop toward $61,200. Any more losses might send the price toward the $60,000 support zone in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $63,500, followed by $62,600. Major Resistance Levels – $65,350, $65,850, and $67,000.

On-chain data shows that the Bitcoin whales’ holdings have grown to 25.16% of the entire supply, and their net accumulation has continued recently. Bitcoin Investors With 1,000 To 10,000 BTC Have Continued To Buy Recently According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, the BTC whales have accumulated more than 266,000 BTC since the start of the year. The indicator of interest here is the “Supply Distribution,” which keeps track of the percentage of the total circulating Bitcoin supply that the various wallet groups are holding right now. The addresses are divided into these cohorts based on the number of coins they currently have in their balance. The 10 to 100 coins group, for example, includes all wallets that own at least 10 and, at most, 100 BTC. Related Reading: Newbie Bitcoin Whales Hold 2x As Much As Veterans: What’s Behind This Trend? The Supply Distribution sums up the amount that investors belonging to a particular group as a whole are carrying and calculates what percentage of the supply they contribute. The 1,000 to 10,000 BTC cohort is of interest in the current discussion. At the current exchange rate, the lower limit for this cohort is $65 million, while the upper one is $650 million. Clearly, the investors belonging to the group are quite massive, and as such, they are popularly known as “whales.” As the whales can quickly move large amounts, they have the potential to influence the market. Due to this, their behavior can be worth watching. There are whales beyond this cohort’s 10,000 BTC upper limit as well, but at such massive scales, entities like exchanges also start coming into play, who aren’t exactly normal investors. Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin Supply Distribution for the 1,000 to 10,000 coins group over the last few months: The value of the metric seems to have observed a spike in recent days | Source: Santiment on X As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Supply Distribution for this key investor group has observed a net rise over the year 2024 so far. The whales have bought 266,000 BTC ($17.2 billion) over this period. However, this accumulation hasn’t been consistent. As is visible in the chart, the whales sold into the rally that would eventually lead to the asset’s new all-time high, and they bought back in once the drawdown was over. As BTC has consolidated, so has its supply. Still, the latest change in the metric has been towards the upside, implying that these humongous holders are perhaps backing the current recovery push. Following the latest accumulation, the 1,000 to 10,000 coins group holds 25.16% of the supply, which means that more than a quarter of all Bitcoin in circulation is sitting in the wallets of these large investors. Related Reading: Is The Bitcoin Top Already Here? This Historical Pattern Says So While whale buying is bullish, the current investor sentiment may not be so. As the data for the “Weighted Sentiment” metric attached by Santiment in the chart suggests, investors are currently showing FOMO towards the asset. Historically, Bitcoin has tended to move against the majority’s expectations, so FUD/fear has been ideal for uptrends to start. FOMO/greed, on the other hand, has been where tops have become probable. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,700, up more than 7% over the past week. Looks like the price of the asset has retraced some of its recent recovery over the last few hours | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Vivek Kumar on Unsplash.com, Santiment.net, chart from TradingView.com

On Wednesday, Block, the financial services firm, disclosed that merchants using Square can convert their daily sales into bitcoin through the Cash App. Block’s founder, Jack Dorsey, revealed this update on X, and as of today, merchants have the option to transfer between 1-10% of their Square-generated earnings into bitcoin, the leading crypto asset by […]

While Bitcoin struggles to extend gains, on-chain data shared by Ki Young Ju, the founder of CryptoQuant, on X shows increased movement of old coins. As the Bitcoin Average Dormancy chart shows, this trend recently hit a 13-year high.  More Old Whales Moving Coins The Bitcoin Average Dormancy shows the average number of days each BTC has been dormant. On-chain data indicates that coins held for 3 to 5 years have changed hands and moved to new owners.  While there was movement, interestingly, data shows that they were not transferred to exchanges. Instead, it is highly likely that they were traded over the counter (OTC). Related Reading: Brace For Impact: Worldcoin Team Plans To Sell 1.5 Million WLD Tokens Every Week For 6 Months Usually, any transfer to centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase could suggest the intention of selling. The more coins hit these exchanges, especially from whales, the higher the chance of price dumping. However, if trades are made via OTC, the impact on spot rates is negligible, which is a positive for bulls. Further analysis of these transfers using the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) indicator suggests that whales moving them made decent profits. Historically, whenever whales dump and register profits, prices tend to dip. Will Bitcoin Prices Retest All-Time Highs However, in a post on X, one analyst says prices will likely increase because of the impact of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These derivatives are like a buffer against price drops, considering the pace of inflows in the past weeks. Spot ETFs allow institutions to gain regulated exposure to BTC. Coupled with decreasing outflows from GBTC, the odds of prices rising remain elevated.  According to Lookonchain data, GBTC unloaded 750 BTC on April 23. However, Fidelity and other eight spot ETF issuers bought 1,513 BTC on behalf of their clients. Spot Bitcoin ETF issuers sell shares representing BTC holdings. These coins can be purchased from secondary markets like Binance, via OTC platforms, or directly from miners.  BTC prices remain muted and capped below $68,000, representing April 13 highs. Related Reading: Solana Market Cap Skyrockets $11 Billion As Price Jumps 17% – Details To define the uptrend, there must be a high volume expansion above this liquidation line, reversing recent losses.  Even so, looking at the BTCUSDT candlestick arrangement in the daily chart, bulls must break above all-time highs for a clear trend continuation. Ideally, the uptick above $73,800 and the current range should be with expanding volumes, confirming the presence of buyers. Feature image from DALLE, chart from TradingView