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Demand from financial institutions could push the price of Bitcoin (BTC) as high as $200,000 per coin in 2025, according to two research reports reviewed by Cointelegraph. 

Analysts from Standard Chartered and Intellectia AI said institutional Bitcoin demand from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and traders seeking to hedge against macroeconomic risk could cause Bitcoin’s price to more than double this year.

“While the forecast is optimistic, it's also conditional. Any black swan — from a major regulatory clampdown to a geopolitical event — can disrupt trajectories,” Fei Chen, Intellectia AI’s chief investment strategist, told Cointelegraph. 

Related: US Bitcoin ETFs clock biggest inflows since January as crypto markets gain

Bullish sentiment

The reports come as Bitcoin broke past $90,000 on April 22 for the first time in six weeks, reflecting traders embracing Bitcoin and gold as potential hedges against looming trade wars and geopolitical volatility. 

Bitcoin’s (BTC) value relative to gold (XAU) may be poised for a steep 35% drop as it mirrors historical bear market signals and reacts to massive turbulence that has wiped out $13 trillion from the US stock market.

Bitcoin’s breaks below key gold support

As of April 22, the BTC/XAU ratio had closed below its 50-period exponential moving average (50-period EMA; the red wave) on the two-week chart for the first time since April 2022.

Historically, a decisive close below the 50-period EMA has led to an extended downtrend toward the 200-period EMA (the blue wave).

For instance, in both 2021 and 2022, BTC/XAU experienced an initial bounce after testing the 50-EMA, only to eventually break below it and decline toward the 200-EMA, as shown above.

Related: Bitcoin longs cut $106M — Are Bitfinex BTC whales turning bearish above $86K?

Bitcoin (BTC) hit six-week highs on April 22 as US trade war tensions emboldened crypto bulls.BTC/USD 1-hour chart with 200SMA. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin lines up resistance flips around $90,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD above $91,000 after the Wall Street open — its highest since March 7.

Bitcoin and gold benefited from increasing market nerves over how China, Japan and others would respond to US trade tariffs.

XAU/USD set fresh all-time highs on the day, while BTC/USD faced a key bull market support trend line that has been acting as resistance since early March.

For traders, the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at $88,370 thus became the level to flip back to support on daily timeframes.

Opinion by: Ahmad Shadid, CEO of O.xyz

The DeepSeek saga made it abundantly clear that cheaper AI models can offer breakthrough advantages. DeepSeek challenges traditional investments with low-cost, high-performance technology. Yet its rise brings serious risks. 

The most concerning aspects of such models are data privacy and security issues. The fact that such advanced models can be developed at a fraction of the standard expense does boost innovation and investment prospects, but at what cost?

Cost-cutting AI models can create dangerous vulnerabilities, even if they democratize AI development. A recent Cisco study found that DeepSeek’s R1 model had a 100% attack success rate. In simple terms, the model failed to block a single harmful prompt. Why does security take a backseat during such innovation?

DeepSeek sparks AI frenzy in China 

DeepSeek developers claim that its R1 chatbot costs a fraction of what rivals like OpenAI spend. Industry voices labeled this as the biggest AI chatbot story since November 2022. Microsoft and Amazon Web Services moved quickly to support DeepSeek.

Bitcoin mining firm Bitdeer secured $60 million in loans to ramp up its Bitcoin ASIC manufacturing efforts as global mining competition intensifies amid record-breaking network hashrates.

According to its annual report, Bitdeer entered a loan agreement in April with affiliate firm Matrixport, a crypto financial services company founded by Bitdeer’s chairman, Jihan Wu.

The facility offers up to $200 million, backed by Bitdeer’s Sealminer hardware, with a floating interest rate of 9% plus market benchmarks. As of April 21, Bitdeer had drawn $43 million from the credit line.

The latest funding adds to a $17 million unsecured loan obtained in January, alongside previous capital raises totaling $572.5 million via convertible notes in 2024. Bitdeer also issued over six million shares, raising nearly $119 million in equity markets this year.

Related: Top Bitcoin miners produced nearly $800M of BTC in Q1 2025

Mantra founder and CEO John Mullin has begun an $80 million burn of OM tokens to regain users’ trust following the token’s crash earlier in April. However, the question of the underlying reasons for the crash remains unanswered, blockchain investigators told Cointelegraph.

Unpacking Mantra’s OM crash would require a detailed forensic study rather than just basic blockchain analysis, said Natalie Newson, senior blockchain investigator at the blockchain security firm CertiK.

“A full forensic investigation, akin to what we saw post-FTX, would be needed to substantiate claims of calculated exploitation,” Newson told Cointelegraph, highlighting challenges of tracing over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.

Newson’s perspective on the OM crash came days after Mantra released its post-crash statement, asking centralized exchange partners to collaborate on further unpacking the incident.

Onchain activity versus opaque OTC deals

Addressing the OM token crash, Newson stressed the importance of distinguishing between public onchain activity and the “more opaque nature of OTC deals.”

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $89,000 on April 22, its highest level since early March, buoyed by strong spot demand during US trading hours on April 21. The recovery, however, faced a serious challenge in breaking above $90,000 as sell-side liquidity blocked the way.BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin price faces stiff resistance on the upside

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price has been steadily moving toward the $89,000 level over the last six hours, leading to questions about whether the barrier at $90,00 will finally give in.

“BTC is closing in on the big $ 90 K-$91 K horizontal area which acted as the previous range low,” said popular trader Daan Crypto Trades in an April 22 post on X. 

The trader explained that the price had swept the $89,000 level as it was consolidating below it. Note that the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) is currently located just above this level, reinforcing its significance.

Daan Crypto Trades said that the price needs to overcome these barriers in order to confirm a breakout. 

Organized crime groups across Southeast Asia have scaled their operations by exploiting cryptocurrency and launching their own coins, exchanges and blockchain networks to launder billions of dollars, according to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The report said criminal syndicates are no longer just using existing crypto infrastructure. Instead, they are actively building tailored financial ecosystems to evade detection.

One example cited in the report is the Chinese-language ecosystem and marketplace known as Huione Guarantee, now rebranded as Haowang, which has processed more than $24 billion in crypto linked to fraud over the past four years.

Headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the platform has grown to more than 970,000 users and thousands of interconnected vendors.

“Concerningly, Huione has recently launched a range of its own cryptocurrency-related products, including a cryptocurrency exchange and trading application, online gambling platform, blockchain network, and US dollar-backed stablecoin designed to circumvent government controls,” the report stated.

Cryptocurrency firms and exchanges are increasingly moving into Wall Street territory, launching more traditional investment offerings and showcasing the increasing connection between crypto and traditional finance (TradFi).

“There’s a growing synergy between traditional financial investments and the emerging crypto space,” according to Gracy Chen, the CEO of Bitget, the world’s sixth-largest crypto exchange.

“Crypto players are now checking out traditional finance as they see the opportunity to bridge it,” Chen told Cointelegraph.

“The lines are blurring — investors want flexibility, and products that can straddle both worlds are naturally attractive,” Chen said. “Some players see TradFi as a safety net; others, like Bitget, see it as a launchpad for broader adoption.” She added:

Related: Trump’s tariff escalation exposes ‘deeper fractures’ in global financial system

The cryptocurrency market has witnessed a surge in the adoption of automated trading solutions, with trading bots gaining prominence for their ability to analyze vast data sets and execute trades with precision.

Cointelegraph has dissected historical bot revenues and token price rollercoasters and backtested strategy returns against the buy-and-hold yardstick to decode what bots shine brightest — and when — so you can pick the perfect bot to match your style and stomach for risk.

We have examined three types of trading bots: Telegram bots trading on decentralized exchanges (DEX), non-Telegram bots trading on DEXs and on centralized exchanges (CEXs), and the recently evolving AI agent bots.

Choosing the right trading bot depends on the user’s goals, risk tolerance and experience. At a glance:

Telegram bots are ideal for fast, opportunistic trading like token launches and memecoins.

Cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) showed signs of recovery last week with minor inflows, after shedding more than $1 billion in outflows in the previous two weeks.

Crypto investment products saw inflows of $6 million during the week of April 14–18, reflecting mixed investor sentiment, CoinShares reported on April 22.

“While the week began with minor inflows, stronger-than-expected US retail sales figures mid-week likely triggered outflows of $146 million,” CoinShares’ head of research James Butterfill wrote.

Total assets under management (AUM) in crypto ETPs edged up 1.4% from $129 billion as of April 11 to $131 billion on April 18.

All US Bitcoin ETFs are red in April so far

According to the report, BlackRock’s iShares exchange-traded funds saw the biggest inflows last week at $182 million, while major issuers like Fidelity saw $123 million of outflows from the issuer’s crypto ETPs.

A Solana address with over 1 million tokens is sitting on more than $153 million in profit after a four-year staking play on the crypto asset. 

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain flagged the wallet address of a whale that staked nearly 1 million Solana (SOL) tokens in 2021. At the time of the staking, Solana tokens were worth around $27, which means the trader spent about $27 million to execute the play. 

Four years later, the whale’s total staked Solana holdings have reached 1.29 million. With Solana appreciating to about $140, the whale’s holdings have increased in value to about $180 million. 

On April 22, the whale started offloading a portion of the token stash to cash out on the gains. Lookonchain reported that the whale had unstaked 100,000 SOL tokens (about $14 million) and sent them to Binance. Sending tokens to crypto exchanges often indicates an intent to sell. 

Lookonchain said the whale still has 1.19 million Solana, worth around $166 million. Since the trader spent $27 million on the play, the total unrealized profit for the address is about $153 million. 

XRP (XRP) has been trapped within a tight range over the last eight days. The altcoin was trading just above its $2.00 support after a marketwide recovery over the weekend.

Onchain and technical data now show that the XRP/USD pair is well-positioned for a breakout toward $3.00.

XRP whale accumulation is back

XRP’s price has been consolidating between $2.03 and $2.13 since April 14. The daily relative strength index (RSI) remained flat at around 49 over the same period, signaling market indecision.

Despite this sideways price action, whale activity paints a promising picture, with onchain data showing large investors took advantage of the drop to $1.61.

Related: Coinbase Derivatives lists XRP futures

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s lawsuit against Coinbase argues that XRP and other digital assets are unregistered securities.

Rayield sued US-based, publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase for allegedly violating Oregon’s securities law. In an April 18 announcement, the Oregon Department of Justice said the suit was part of an effort to fill what it described as a regulatory vacuum left by federal agencies under the Trump administration:

“States must fill enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning these cases under Trump administration,“ the department said.

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal voiced his frustration over the lawsuit in an April 21 X post. Justin Slaughter, the vice president of regulatory affairs at crypto investment firm Paradigm, pointed out that the lawsuit claims a long list of digital assets, including XRP (XRP), are unregistered securities.

Yarden Noy, partner at crypto legal firm DLT Law, told Cointelegraph that if the court ruled these assets are securities, it “would mostly create more confusion in this regard.” It would not be a binding precedent in other cases, not even within Oregon, he added.

US-based publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase confirmed that it is considering applying for a US federal bank charter.

In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, Coinbase said it is considering pursuing a US federal bank charter, according to a company spokesperson.

“This is something Coinbase is actively considering but has not made any formal decisions yet,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

The comments follow recent reports suggesting that Coinbase and multiple other major crypto firms were planning to apply for US banking licenses. Coinbase, stablecoin issuers Circle and Paxos, and crypto custodian BitGo were the other firms mentioned.

Coinbase did not clarify to Cointelegraph why it is considering pursuing a bank charter. Still, a license could potentially allow crypto firms to operate like traditional lenders, taking deposits and making loans. Cointelegraph also reached out to the other firms reportedly considering applying for a charter.

As gold reached new highs above $3,500, Peter Schiff — a prominent gold advocate and Bitcoin critic — argued that the precious metal is money, fueling backlash from the crypto community.

“Gold is not just any commodity, it’s money,” Schiff wrote in an X post on April 22 after gold prices briefly broke above $3,500.

While praising gold, Schiff sounded the alarm about the state of the economy, emphasizing that gold’s abnormal rally in the past few weeks holds negative implications for the US dollar.

“This is the end of the US dollar’s dominance. Life in America is about to change in ways few can imagine,” he stated.

Gold is up 31% YTD, USD is down 9%

Schiff’s comments came amid gold futures surging to a record-breaking $3,500 on April 22, while spot gold has yet to touch the milestone after reaching $3,498 on Tuesday, according to TradingView.

Update April 22, 2:17 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include comments from Cato Institute analyst Nicholas Anthony.

The European Central Bank (ECB) raised an alarm over potential fallout from aggressive US support for the crypto industry, warning that a surge in dollar-backed stablecoins could destabilize Europe’s financial system.

According to a policy paper seen by Politico, the ECB has asked for a revision of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework for cryptocurrencies just months after it came into effect.

The concern is that US reforms backed by President Donald Trump could flood European markets with dollar-denominated stablecoins.

The ECB fears this could trigger a flight of European capital into US assets, undermining EU financial sovereignty and exposing banks to liquidity risks.

Polygon-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) took the top spot in digital collectible sales after surging 20% in the last seven days. 

On April 22, NFT data tracker CryptoSlam showed that Polygon NFTs overtook Ethereum, reaching a $22.3 million volume in the past week. This represented 24% of last week’s overall NFT sales volume, which reached $92.9 million. 

The network also had over 39,000 NFT buyers for the week, an 81% increase over the previous week. 

Ethereum remained second in sales, with a $19.2 million NFT sales volume for the week. Mythos Chain followed with $14.3 million, while Bitcoin-based collections ranked fourth with $14.1 million for the week. 

RWA NFT collection drives Polygon surge

The Polygon NFT surge was driven by a single real-world asset (RWA) NFT collection, highlighting that the RWA narrative has reached the NFT space.

Bitcoin is decoupling from the US stock market and starting to trade more like precious metals, in another signal of Bitcoin’s growing role as a safe-haven asset against global economic disruption.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is showcasing its growing maturity as a global asset, becoming “less Nasdaq — more gold” over the past two weeks, according to Alex Svanevik, co-founder and CEO of the Nansen crypto intelligence platform.

Bitcoin staged a 12% recovery in the two weeks leading up to April 22, despite ongoing tariff escalation between the world’s largest trading nations. The US increased reciprocal tariffs on China to 125% as of April 9, while China raised import tariffs from 84% to 125% effective April 12.

Bitcoin was “surprisingly resilient” amid the trade war compared to altcoins and indexes like the S&P 500, but remains vulnerable to economic recession concerns, Svanevik told Cointelegraph, adding:

Still, Bitcoin will continue benefiting from regulatory development and the US Bitcoin Reserve-related news, particularly with more developments on how the “Treasury is looking for ways to swap reserves into BTC,” added Svanevik.

Bitcoin (BTC) traders see a BTC price reversal beginning as classic resistance stops bulls in their tracks.BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

200-day moving average keeps BTC price pinned

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows BTC/USD cooling after hitting new April highs of $88,874.

Having found strength at the start of the week, Bitcoin raised hopes of a gold copycat move as the latter set multiple all-time highs.

Those highs continued on April 22, while BTC price action conversely saw rejection at the key 200-day simple moving average (SMA).

“Interesting spot. Broke above the Daily 200EMA (Blue) and diagonal resistance. So far, saw a sharp rejection from the Daily 200MA (Purple),” trader Daan Crypto Trades said in a post on X alongside an explanatory chart. 

A US judge has granted Binance’s motion to transfer a case involving allegations it facilitated money laundering to the Southern District of Florida due to a similar case that had already been before the courts there.

The case, filed in August 2024 in Washington, focused on the same core issue as a suit filed in June 2023 in Florida, accusing Binance of allowing cybercriminals to use the platform for money laundering, US District Judge Barbara Rothstein said in an April 21 order. 

“Although the two complaints describe the proposed classes in slightly different terms, both encompass the same proposed class of individuals whose cryptocurrency was stolen and transferred to a Binance.com account during the relevant period,” Judge Rothstein said.

“Therefore, this Court concludes that the classes of plaintiffs are sufficiently similar to warrant application of the first-to-file rule.”

The first-to-file rule allows a court to decline a ruling on a matter when a complaint involving the same parties and issues has already been filed in another district. Generally, the court that first hears the case usually retains jurisdiction, according to legal resource LSD Law.

US-based Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had their largest day of net inflows since late January, as crypto markets remained buoyant over the Easter weekend.

The 11 Bitcoin (BTC)-tracking funds saw a joint net inflow of $381.3 million on April 21, largely carried by a $116.1 million inflow into the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), according to CoinGlass data.

It's the largest inflow day for the ETFs since the funds had a $588.1 million joint net inflow on Jan. 30, days after Bitcoin hit a peak and was trading with a six-figure price tag.

The ETFs have struggled to maintain inflows over the past few weeks amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war threats. CoinGecko shows Bitcoin fell below $100,000 in early February and hit a 2025 low of $74,773 on April 7, days after Trump placed tariffs on every country, which also caused a stock market slump.

The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw the second-largest inflow for April 21, with $87.6 million, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and the company’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) saw joint net inflows of $69.1 million.

A planned settlement between the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and crypto exchange KuCoin will likely be delayed after a policy shift at the CFTC to deprioritize cases against crypto companies under the Trump administration.

CFTC attorney John Murphy submitted a letter on April 21 to District Judge Valerie Caproni, asking for more time to secure approval for a deal negotiated under the Biden administration, reported Law360.

“It appears unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term,” he said, referencing a recent statement by acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham that the agency’s enforcement division was to deprioritize cases against crypto companies.

The CFTC charged KuCoin with “multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations” in March 2024.

According to the Justice Department, which also filed charges against KuCoin and two founders for violating Anti-Money Laundering laws, the exchange received more than $5 billion and sent more than $4 billion in “suspicious and criminal funds.” 

Crypto law firm Burwick Law has called out Solana-based non-fungible token platform Metaplex’s plan to sweep unclaimed Solana (SOL) into its treasury instead of returning it to investors, suggesting it could be at risk of litigation if it follows through with the plan.

Last year, Metaplex, an NFT protocol, discovered a way to reduce the amount of onchain storage required for certain NFTs. By resizing the NFTs, Solana NFT holders can claim a small amount of SOL.

In October, Metaplex said that Metaplex Token Metadata (TM) NFT holders will be able to execute a “resize optimization” for all TM accounts with a deadline of April 25.

Those who didn’t do it voluntarily by the deadline would have their excess SOL transferred to the Metaplex DAO automatically, with how they’re to be used yet to be determined.

However, Burwick criticized the firm’s plan to sweep unclaimed funds to its DAO treasury instead of returning them to NFT holders.

Update (5:50 am UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Christina Macedon.

The Supreme Court of Gibraltar has reversed its decision to freeze 542 million PLAY tokens in a court battle between two companies tied to the Web3 game-creation platform PLAY Network.

In an April 17 judgment, Gibraltar Supreme Court Judge John Restano undid his earlier February freeze of the tokens, finding it could have hurt the value of the tokens and that the evidence filed was insufficient to continue the freeze.

“Whilst there may be many reasons for the drop in value of the tokens, the evidence before the court suggests that these proceedings are a factor in that regard,” he wrote.

US-based Ready Makers, which operates as Ready Games, and its founder, David Bennahum, have filed a legal dispute against its Gibraltar-based subsidiary, Ready Maker (Gibraltar) Limited, and its CEO, Christina Macedon. The suit claims she took over the firm and its PLAY token that is used as a reward on the PLAY Network.

Crypto markets avoided the fallout caused by US President Donald Trump’s latest salvo against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which saw the US stock market slump and the dollar continue to weaken over uncertainty.

Stock markets across the United States ended April 21 in the red, with the S&P 500 dropping 2.4%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipping 2.5%, and the Dow Jones losing 2.5%, or nearly 1,000 points, according to Google Finance. 

The S&P 500 has now declined by more than 12% since the beginning of the year, and the Nasdaq is down almost 18% in the US tech stock exodus. 

The stock slide follows escalating tension between Donald Trump and Jerome Powell and growing concern over the impact of trade tariffs. 

“‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates are being called for by many,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on April 21. 

Indian crypto exchange WazirX, which was hacked for $234 million last July, says it is on track to restart its operations pending a May 13 court decision on its restructuring proposal and user compensation plan. 

If Singapore’s High Court gives the nod, WazirX parent company Zettai PTE Ltd can restart the exchange and begin its compensation scheme for affected users within 10 business days, WazirX said in an April 21 update to X.

WazirX lost $234 million of crypto from a Safe Multisig wallet mid-July 2024 in an attack since attributed to North Korean hackers, forcing them to temporarily pause all crypto and Indian rupee withdrawals on the platform.

“Zettai has completed all prior required steps, and the next key step is the sanction hearing, which the Singapore High Court has scheduled for May 13, 2025,” the firm said.

“This hearing is essential for the Scheme to become legally effective. While we’ve worked to stay aligned with the previously shared timelines, court proceedings operate independently, and we respect that process.”

Key takeaways

Staking Solana allows you to earn passive income through staking rewards while participating in network governance.

There is no minimum requirement for staking Solana, but the practical minimum is around 0.01 SOL.

All you need to start staking Solana is a SOL-compatible wallet.

Staking is considered one of the safer ways to participate in crypto ecosystems.

Solana is a blockchain network known for its fast transaction speeds and extensive ecosystem of decentralized applications (DApps). It also combines the proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-history (PoH) consensus mechanisms, allowing you to stake its native currency, SOL (SOL), to earn rewards. 

Mantra founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin has started unstaking 150 million of his Mantra (OM) tokens in preparation for sending them to a burn address in an attempt to restore the token’s value by tightening supply. 

Mantra announced on April 21 that the unstaking process had begun, and would be completed by April 29, at which point Mullin's Mantra (OM) tokens will be sent to the burn address and permanently removed from circulating supply.

Mullin said it was a “first step in rebuilding trust with the community, but far from the last.” 

Mantra said it was also in talks with “key ecosystem partners” about burning a further 150 million OM to bring the total burn amount to 300 million.

With 150 million fewer OM, Mantra’s total supply will decline to 1.67 billion, and its number of staked tokens will drop by over 26% from 571.8 million OM to 421.8 million OM.