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Ether (ETH), the native token of Ethereum, is showing signs of bullish exhaustion after a steep 65% decline over the past three months. The pace of the downtrend and the oversold conditions shown by various ETH price metrics have investors wondering if a market bottom is approaching.

ETH fractals point to a drop to $1,000

Ether’s current price action mirrors a familiar fractal pattern seen in 2018 and 2022. In both instances, ETH price saw euphoric rallies that ended with sharp breakdowns and prolonged bear markets.

Each of these cycles shared the following key traits:

Higher price highs were accompanied by lower highs in the relative strength index, which is a classic sign of bearish divergence and weakening momentum.

ETH/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

Asset manager BlackRock is partnering with Anchorage Digital for crypto custody services, a move aimed at addressing the rising demand for digital assets from retail and institutional investors.

According to an April 8 announcement, BlackRock is the world’s largest investment firm, with $11.6 trillion in assets under management. The company ranks among the largest providers of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), with holdings totaling $45.3 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and $1.7 billion in Ether (ETH), according to data from Arkham.

BlackRock’s crypto holdings. Source: Arkham Intelligence

Anchorage is the only federally chartered crypto bank in the United States. Along with custody services, it will provide BlackRock access to digital assets staking and settlement. Anchorage currently supports BlackRock’s BUIDL fund — a $2 billion tokenized fund backed by US Treasurys and focused on real-world assets.

BlackRock relies on Coinbase for custody of the Bitcoin held in its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has dropped 5.6% over the past seven days, closing three daily candles below the $80,000 support for the first time since Nov. 9, 2024.

Data from Glassnode highlighted Bitcoin witnessing a 64% rise in futures volume during the same period. The analytics platform said that “this marks a reversal from the past month,” when futures volume progressively decreased.

A rise in futures volumes suggested heightened market activity, but further analysis of the broader futures market revealed a more complex outlook. Bitcoin’s open interest (OI), representing the total value of outstanding futures contracts, declined 19% over the past two weeks.

Bitcoin futures volume chart by Glassnode. Source: X.com

This reduction suggests that while trading volume is increasing, some traders are closing their positions rather than keeping them open, possibly to lock in profits or mitigate risk with respect to Bitcoin’s bearish market structure.

Bitcoin’s surprise rebound to $81,180 — which was influenced by fake news regarding a pause on US tariffs — has all but evaporated following White House confirmation that 104% tariffs on China will start on April 9.

S&P 500 drops intra-day gains follow White House tariff confirmation. Source: X / Kobeissi Letter

After dropping below the $75,000 level for the first time since Nov. 6, 2024, BTC retested a key demand zone that traders hope will provide a safe haven for the bulls.

The safe haven is a fair value gap located between $77,000 and $73,400, and this zone was created during the November 2024 Trump pump.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Binance is planning to delist 14 tokens from its platform on April 16 in a move designed to purge low-quality projects that do not adhere to the crypto exchange’s tighter listing requirements. 

The tokens are being delisted following a “comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors,” including the exchange’s first “vote to delist” results, where community members nominated projects with less than stellar metrics, Binance announced on April 8.

Other factors included the team’s commitment to the project, development activity, trading volume and liquidity, network stability, responsiveness to Binance’s due diligence requests and new regulatory requirements. 

The tokens selected for delisting are Badger (BADGER), Balancer (BAL), Beta Finance (BETA), Cream Finance (CREAM), Cortex (CTXF), Aaelf (ELF), Firo (FIRO), Kava Lend (HARD), NULS (NULS), Prosper (PROS), Status (SNT), TROY (TROY), UniLend (UFT) and VIDT DAO (VIDT).

Source: Binance

Bitcoin (BTC) danced around $80,000 at the April 8 Wall Street open as US stock markets staged a fresh recovery, but unresolved tensions between China and the US continue to put a damper on BTC’s upside.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Hayes: Bitcoin can repeat historic China inflows

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price volatility cooling while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index gained up to 4.3% in the first few hours of trading.

Stocks built on a strong rebound that had accompanied the start of the week’s TradFi trading, alleviating fears of a 1987 “Black Monday” style crash. 

US trade tariffs nonetheless stayed top of the agenda for traders, who in particular eyed the ongoing war of words with China.

Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road is a “defining moment” for the blockchain payments company, potentially unlocking more use cases for the XRP Ledger among institutions, said David Schwartz, Ripple’s chief technology officer. 

“Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road is a defining moment for the XRP Ledger and XRP,” Schwartz said on social media on April 8. 

Hidden Road is a prime brokerage and credit network with more than 300 institutional customers. On a typical day, it clears more than $10 billion and processes more than 50 million transactions across traditional rails. 

“Now imagine even a portion of that activity on the XRP Ledger — and that’s exactly what Hidden Road plans on doing — not to mention future use of collateral and real-world assets tokenized on the XRPL,” said Schwartz. 

Source: Ripple

Opinion by: Jay Jog, co-founder of Sei Labs 

When CryptoKitties crashed the Ethereum network in 2017, the industry learned a hard lesson about blockchain scalability. Today, with over $100 billion locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) and millions of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) being traded, that lesson is more relevant than ever. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — the engine that powers this activity — is reaching its limits.

So far, the crypto community’s answer has been layer 2 solutions — separate chains that process transactions and report back to Ethereum. But what if the community’s been looking for answers in the wrong place?

Layer 2s are not the solution

Layer 2 blockchains have long been touted as the solution to the EVM’s performance challenges, given their ability to offload the computational work from Ethereum to a secondary chain. Layer-2 solutions have proven to be nothing more than a “quick fix” instead of a permanent solution, as many hoped for. As Gemini reported, a new layer 2 appeared every 19 days in 2024, indicating that the competitive landscape is creating more problems instead of solving them.

Layer 2 solutions come with their own challenges, primarily tied to centralization and interoperability. Many of today’s layer 2 blockchains run with centralized sequencers that could expose the network to transaction censorship, transaction reordering and more. Additionally, Vitalik Buterin stated in a recent blog post that layer 2s are struggling to maintain interoperability. This called attention to the disorganized state of layer 2s, further contributing to liquidity fragmentation and a complex user experience. 

Despite the ongoing market meltdown on US trade tariffs, executives at major cryptocurrency firms Messari and Sygnum are bullish on institutional Bitcoin adoption later in 2025.

Speaking on a panel at Paris Blockchain Week on April 8, Messari CEO Eric Turner and Sygnum Bank co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said they expect a significant shift in the banking sector’s involvement with crypto in the second half of the year.

According to the executives, the global banking push into Bitcoin (BTC) services has great potential to happen in the second half of 2025 as regulators embrace crypto, including stablecoins and crypto services by banks.

“I think we’re probably looking at a muted Q2, but I’m really excited for Q3 and Q4,” Messari’s Turner said during the panel discussion moderated by Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, forecasting “really interesting” things coming to the crypto market in 2025.

Crypto adoption is not just about Trump

While some investors focus on the pro-crypto stance of US President Donald Trump, Turner emphasized that broader regulatory momentum is what matters most.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) has announced the launch of a new Bitcoin futures derivative product.

According to an April 7 announcement, Cboe plans to launch the FTSE Bitcoin Index futures on April 28, which is based on the VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF), if approved by regulators.

The new product will be cash-settled, and like XBTF, it will represent one-tenth of the value of the FTSE Bitcoin Index. The futures will settle on the last business day of each month.

This is the first product that was launched as a result of Cboe’s collaboration with the London Stock Exchange Group’s index subsidiary, FTSE Russell. The new Bitcoin derivative product is reportedly meant to complement its recently launched Bitcoin options offerings Bitcoin US ETF Index Options (CBTX) and Bitcoin US ETF Index Options (MBTX). Catherine Clay, global head of derivatives at Cboe, said:

“This launch comes at a pivotal time as demand for crypto exposure continues to grow and market participants are increasingly seeking more capital-efficient and versatile ways to gain and manage that exposure.”

Related: Largest ever CME gap has just printed in Bitcoin futures

Dubai’s real estate and crypto regulatory authorities have signed a new agreement aimed at expanding digital asset adoption in the real estate sector.

On April 6, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced an agreement with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). According to the announcement, the agreement will link Dubai’s real estate registry with property tokenization through a governance system. 

The agreement aims to improve digital infrastructure and attract global investment by enhancing market liquidity and property management efficiency.

It also aims to support Dubai’s broader economic strategy, which includes a goal of doubling the city’s gross domestic product over the next decade.

Related: Mantra and Damac sign $1B deal to tokenize Middle Eastern assets

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are often praised for offering around-the-clock trading access, but that constant availability may have contributed to a steep sell-off over the weekend following the latest US trade tariff announcement.

Unlike stocks and traditional financial instruments, Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies enable payments and trading opportunities 24/7 thanks to the accessibility of blockchain technology.

After a record-breaking $5 trillion was wiped from the S&P 500 over two days — the worst such drop on record — Bitcoin remained above the $82,000 support level. But by Sunday, the asset had plummeted to under $75,000.

Sunday’s correction may have occurred to due Bitcoin being the only large tradable asset over the weekend, according to Lucas Outumuro, head of research at crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock. 

“There was a bit of optimism last week that Bitcoin might be uncorrelating and fairing better than traditional stocks, but the [correction] did accelerate over the weekend,” Outumuro said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly disbanding the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET).

NCET’s disbandment was noted in a four-page memo by United States Deputy General Todd Blanche, according to a Fortune journalist who claims to have seen the document in an April 8 report. The official is quoted saying in the note:

“The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator. However, the prior Administration used the Justice Department to pursue a reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution.”

Blanche is the second-highest-ranking official in the DOJ and served as US President Donald Trump’s defense attorney in high-profile cases, including the New York hush money case and federal cases related to classified documents and the 2020 election.

Related: Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

What is the NCET?

The NCET’s launch was established in October 2021 under President Joe Biden. At the time, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said that the unit was aimed at going after platforms “that help criminals launder or hide their criminal proceeds.” She said:

Blockchain-based payments network Ripple announced it has acquired crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road in one of the largest mergers in the cryptocurrency industry to date.

Ripple is acquiring Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, the company officially announced on April 8.

The deal will make Ripple the first crypto firm to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. According to the company’s April 8 announcement, the acquisition is expected to position Ripple as the world’s largest non-bank prime broker, with Hidden Road currently clearing more than $3 trillion across more than 300 institutions.

The acquisition also aims to reinforce the position of Ripple USD (RLUSD), an institution-focused stablecoin launched by Ripple in December 2024.

Ripple has been a Hidden Road customer for years

Ripple has been a customer of Hidden Road for years and “knows their breadth of expertise firsthand,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an X post on April 8.

Weekly active developers in the crypto space dropped by almost 40% in one year as “narrative-led” developments took over the industry. 

Crypto data and analytics platform Artemis Terminal shows that on March 17, 2024, the number of active developers tagged on open-source repositories in a week was 12,380. The number dropped to around 7,600 on March 16, signaling a 38.6% drop in weekly active developers in one year. 

The number of active developers working across over 1,500 ecosystems is used as an indicator of the Web3 ecosystem’s overall health. Developer activity suggests increased innovation and maintenance of protocols, which contributes to long-term sustainability. 

Weekly active developers in the crypto space. Source: Artemis Terminal

Community calls for more developer-led narratives

The drop in developer activity across the Web3 space spurred calls for more developer-led narratives on social media. 

Key takeaways

ChatGPT can analyze crypto news headlines and generate actionable trade signals, helping traders make faster and more informed decisions.

Well-crafted prompts are essential — the more specific your instructions, the more accurate and useful ChatGPT’s responses will be.

News-based signals work best when combined with broader market context, like Bitcoin trends or altcoin momentum, for a complete trading picture.

AI is a tool, not a guarantee — always verify its insights with other research, charts and risk management practices before executing trades.

The cryptocurrency market moves fast, and staying ahead of the curve can feel overwhelming — especially for beginners. News plays a huge role in driving crypto prices, but how do you sift through the noise and turn it into actionable trade signals? 

Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.

Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.

However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.

“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:

“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”

Source: Raoul Pal

A maximal extractable value (MEV) bot lost about $180,000 in Ether after an attacker exploited a vulnerability in its access control systems. 

On April 8, blockchain security firm SlowMist reported that the MEV bot lost 116.7 Ether (ETH) because of the lack of access control. Threat researcher Vladimir Sobolev, also known as Officer’s Notes on X, told Cointelegraph that an attacker exploited a vulnerability in the bot, causing it to swap its ETH to a dummy token. 

Sobolev said this was done through a malicious pool created by the attacker within the same transaction. The threat researcher added that this could have been prevented if the MEV owner implemented stricter access controls. 

Just 25 minutes into the exploit, the MEV’s owner proposed a bounty to the attacker. The owner then deployed a new MEV bot with stricter access control validation. 

Sobolev compared the exploit to a similar incident in 2023, where MEV bots lost $25 million after being exploited. On April 23, 2023, bots who performed sandwich trades lost their crypto to a validator that went rogue. 

Update 1:17 pm UTC: This article has been updated with the corrected US dollar figure that the user paid at the time.

One presumably panicked Bitcoin user paid nearly 0.75 BTC (nearly $60,000 at the time) in a replace-by-fee (RBF) transaction fee.

The transaction in question was sent about 30 minutes after midnight UTC on April 8. It was the second attempt at performing an RBF that changed the transaction's target address, sending 0.48 Bitcoin ($37,770) with 0.2 BTC of change ($16,357).

Second Bitcoin RBF transaction. Source: Mempool.Space

Anmol Jain, vice president of investigations at crypto forensics firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that the original transaction featured a “default or conservative” fee. The first RBF raised the fee to nearly double the amount and changed the output address.