Key Takeaways:

US GDP shrank -0.3% in Q1, far below +0.3% forecasts, sparking recession fears.

Bitcoin faces selling pressure with its spot volume delta dropping $300 million in 3 days.

Whales are accumulating BTC, but smaller holders are selling, hinting at profit-taking.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price dropped under $93,000 on April 30, after the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data revealed a -0.3% contraction in Q1. While the GDP missed expectations of +0.3%, the GDP Price Index soared to 3.7%—the highest since August 2023. Polymarket odds of a recession in 2025 hit 67%, with consumer confidence at its lowest since May 2020.

Quarterly US GDP growth data. Source: X.com

Meanwhile, in March 2025, PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) inflation fell to 2.3% (above the expected 2.2%), and Core PCE dropped to 2.6% (in line with expectations). Still, February’s Core PCE was revised from 2.8% to 3.0%, signaling mixed inflation trends.

Short-term bearish, long-term bullish for Bitcoin?

During the 2020 COVID-19-induced market crash, BTC initially followed traditional markets before rallying over 300% by year-end as the global M2 money supply increased, reflecting its appeal during periods of monetary expansion. However, stagflation, highlighted by the -0.3% GDP contraction in Q1 2025 and a 3.7% GDP Price Index, pose short-term risks. 

Cointelegraph noted that high inflation often deters retail crypto investment, as seen in 2022 when BTC fell 60% amid Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The March 2025 PCE inflation data suggests cooling pressures that could ease Fed rate hike fears and support Bitcoin.

On the other hand, February’s upward revisions (headline PCE from 2.5% to 2.7%, Core PCE to 3.0%) signal persistent inflation, keeping the Fed’s next moves uncertain. While fear of stagflation may pressure BTC in the short term, its long-term hedge potential remains valid.

Related: Bitcoin macro indicator that predicted 2022 bottom flashes ‘buy signal’

Bitcoin sees $300 million in spot selling pressure

Bitcoin’s spot volume delta dipped over $300 million over the past three days, increasing potential sell-off pressure for BTC around the $95,000 level. 

Data from Glassnode indicates the 7-day moving average of BTC spot volume delta recorded negative flows over consecutive days. The negative inflows progressively increased with a minor $16 million flush on April 26, followed by $30.9 million on April 27, $76.1 million on April 28, and $193.4 million on April 29.

Bitcoin Spot volume delta chart. Source: Glassnode

This sharp decline signals aggressive selling and weakening spot demand, a signal to profit-taking or a potential short-term trend reversal. Despite the sell-off, the analytics platform noted that accumulation trends among Bitcoin holders paint a more nuanced picture. Whales holding over 10,000 BTC remain in an accumulation mode, with a trend score near 0.95.

However, smaller holders show signs of distribution. The 10–100 BTC group is trending toward 0.6, while those with 1–10 BTC (0.3) and less than 1 BTC (0.2) are net sellers. 

This top-down accumulation suggests the current selling pressure stems from short-term holders potentially taking profit around the $95,000 level. Termed as a “profit-taking pressure test” for BTC, the current market is at a key decision point, where profit-taking is a pivotal metric to monitor. 

BTC: realized profit data. Source: Glassnode

Last week, the total realized profit on an hourly chart surged to $139.9M/hour, roughly 17% above its $120M/hour baseline. With the current spot delta outflows, the realized profit may hit new highs this week. 

Related: Bitcoin traders predict BTC price gains ahead of $96K liquidity clash

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, said most European countries were moving “nowhere” in terms of the adoption of digital currencies.

Speaking at the Token2049 conference in Dubai on April 30, Zhao said that areas of the United Arab Emirates were “extremely pro-business,” leading to crypto adoption in Dubai, while others like Bhutan were building national Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) stockpiles.

According to Zhao, the US was pressing other countries’ hands by exploring its own policies for a crypto reserve, but those in Europe didn’t seem to be reacting.

“I don’t see Europe in this discussion,” said Zhao, highlighting one exception. “Montenegro is actually quite pro-crypto. We had an active dialogue with [the] prime minister there, and he’s a very forward-thinking person, leader. But other than Montenegro, I don’t have any other, it’s kind of missing on the map.”

Related: ‘Wealthiest US prisoner’: How did Binance founder CZ get there?

Zhao, who has a home in Dubai, resigned as Binance CEO in November 2023 as part of a plea deal with US authorities pursuing charges against the exchange. Since leaving Binance and serving four months in prison in the US, he has become more involved with his educational platform, Giggle Academy. 

Worldwide challenges dealing with crypto

Montenegro’s finance minister touted efforts to make the country the “center of innovation in blockchain technology” in 2022, but other parts of Europe continue to work on regulatory frameworks for digital assets and encourage innovation. The European Union began to implement its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework in December 2024.

However, efforts by EU nations to introduce a strategic crypto stockpile seem to be falling short of those in the US, where lawmakers at the state and federal levels are pushing for it. In January, Czech National Bank representatives cited Bitcoin’s “significant volatility” in considering the cryptocurrency as a reserve asset, and many elected officials have been silent on the issue.

The Token2049 conference will bring together representatives of some of the largest crypto firms and policymakers in the world in Dubai. Speakers at the 2025 event include Zhao, Binance CEO Richard Teng and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 20 – 26

Asset manager Grayscale launched the Grayscale Bitcoin Adopters exchange-traded fund (ETF), an investment vehicle that tracks companies employing a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury, or holding strategy.

According to the April 30 announcement, the ETF will provide exposure to companies across seven business sectors, including Bitcoin mining firms, automotive companies, and energy.

Some of the most notable firms in the ETF include Michael Saylor’s Strategy, mining company MARA, automotive manufacturer Tesla, BTC treasury company Metaplanet, and aerospace energy firm KULR Technology Group.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Adopters ETF highlights the growing trend of Bitcoin acquisition companies using the scarce digital asset to drive up shareholder prices and to protect their corporate financial reserves against the inflation inherent in fiat currencies.

Public companies with Bitcoin holdings. Source: River

Related: Cantor plans $3B crypto venture with SoftBank, Bitfinex and Tether: Report

Bitcoin treasury companies and the effect on BTC markets

Blockstream CEO Adam Back recently wrote that Bitcoin treasury companies will cause BTC to surge to a $200 billion market capitalization in the coming years.

According to the CEO, companies adopting BTC are “front-running” market participants in their early bet that hyperbitcoinization — a reference to a point where BTC becomes the dominant store of value — will happen.

Fidelity Digital Assets released metrics suggesting that the supply of BTC on exchanges is dwindling due to heightened buying pressure from companies like Strategy that regularly acquire Bitcoin for their corporate reserves.

“Public Companies have bought over 30,000 bitcoin per month so far in 2025,” Fidelity Digital Assets wrote in an April 24 X post.

The miner reserve ratio, a metric tracking the total number of BTC held in miner wallets, continues to decline. Source: CryptoQuant

Michael Saylor’s Strategy is currently the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, outside of crypto exchange companies like Coinbase, and continues accumulating BTC regularly.

Adam Livingston, the author of “The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest,” said that Strategy’s aggressive BTC buying is synthetically halving the newly minted BTC supply.

Livingston added that institutions like Strategy are purchasing an average of 2,087 BTC per day, dwarfing the daily output of miners, who collectively produce around 450 BTC per day.

The rapid accumulation of BTC by institutions outpacing miner output should create a supply crunch that will drive the price of Bitcoin to heights unaffordable for most retail investors, Livingston concluded.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

April 2025 witnessed crypto markets rocked by more tariffs at the direction of US President Donald Trump — controversial policies that could have influenced the outcome of Canada’s elections on April 28. On April 2, Trump levied “discounted reciprocal tariffs” on 185 countries and territories. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,200 points on April 4, while the S&P 500 dropped nearly 6%, its largest decline since March 2020. Bitcoin (BTC) went along for the ride but broke from stocks as it recovered toward the end of the month. 

Blockchain adoption metrics for Ethereum are looking good, as the network now boasts 60% real-world asset (RWA) tokenization value. Major firms like BlackRock are sure the blockchain will be the standard for RWAs, but other observers believe that scaling issues could create problems.

On matters of policy, pro-crypto legislators in a number of US states are pushing their respective bills; two states have introduced new legislation in April. In Canada, pro-crypto Conservatives lost to the Liberals, but the victors must form a minority government. Here’s April in numbers.

“Liberation Day” sees markets plunge, Bitcoin up 16% on the month

On April 2, the US president levied retaliatory tariffs on all US trade partners, sending Wall Street into a spiral. Between the announcement after market close and the end of trading on April 8, global markets wiped off more than $8.5 trillion in asset value. By the same date, the S&P 500 had fallen by just north of 12%.

Market value has since inched back upward as some countries court the Trump administration seeking tariff relief, but major partners such as China still haven’t budged. While markets have recovered slightly, losses still amount to a “mere” $1 trillion, according to investment managers AJ Bell. 

Crypto saw losses as well. Bitcoin’s price decreased 9% between the Liberation Day announcement and April 8. However, unlike stock markets, which are still seeing losses, Bitcoin has managed to close out the month higher than where it started. At the time of writing, BTC is up 16.16%, trading at $94,729.

Canada’s crypto-skeptic Liberals win, but fall 3 seats short of majority

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has claimed victory in the country’s federal parliamentary elections, which took place on April 28.

Despite their victory, the Liberals secured 169 seats, three short of the 172 needed to form a majority. A minority Liberal government means they must rely on other parties for legislative initiatives.

The outcome will be meaningful for Canada’s crypto policy. Carney, himself a former central banker, has been public about his skepticism for cryptocurrencies. When serving as governor of the Bank of England, Carney said “they are failing” as a form of money. He has also called for “equivalent protections to those for commercial bank money” for private stablecoins.

Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for crypto

At the same time, Carney has signaled his openness to digital forms of money and the ledger capabilities of blockchain technology. He voiced support for a central bank digital currency, seeing it as another step in the evolution of money. 

The Liberals started the year trailing well behind the Conservatives as former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down. On Trump’s inauguration day, Conservatives led polling at a 44% polling average to the Liberals’ 21%.

Conservative rhetoric, including that of the pro-crypto party leader Pierre Poilievre, was decidedly pro-Trump. This connection may have been the Conservatives’ undoing, as quickly after taking office, Trump said that Canada should become America’s 51st state while simultaneously ramping up tariffs on Canadian goods.

Ethereum’s market share of RWAs is up 20%

The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) has been one of the rising use cases for blockchain technology in April. Ethereum is leading the way, with the value of the RWA tokenization on the network increasing to $6.2 billion. This marks a 20% increase over the month of April. 

RWAs are increasingly adopted by established financial firms launching tokenization pilot projects in real estate, commodities like gold, and even carbon credits. Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, has noted that tokenized RWAs allow for instant trading and transfers like a “digital deed.”

Related: Five reasons RWAs are taking off in 2025

As reported in Cointelegraph Magazine, Ethereum advocates and developers have generally assumed that Ethereum will be the logical choice for firms exploring RWAs. Indeed, Fink said there’s “no question that the blockchain we would start our tokenization on would be Ethereum, and that’s not just a BlackRock thing. That’s the natural default answer.”

Two new crypto laws introduced at US state level

Two states, Texas and Georgia, introduced new blockchain- and crypto-related bills in their state legislatures in April.

In Texas, HB 5352 would establish a State Blockchain Technology Pilot Program by the Department of Information Resources. The pilot aims to see how blockchain technology could improve “transparency, security, and efficiency in government operations.”

In Georgia, HR 905 seeks to “implement a public awareness campaign for grade levels K-12 regarding blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3.” The bill states that technological literacy is important for all ages and “blockchain computation represents the future of how the world interacts online and shares information through a permanent record of transactions on an open ledger.”

In Arizona, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill to expand a state regulatory sandbox program to include digital assets. But she signed and enacted a bill into law that now prohibits towns “from banning or restricting individuals from using computational power or running blockchain nodes in their own homes.” 

The law’s definition of “computational power” can be broadly interpreted to mean AI, scientific research, blockchain activities and cloud computing. It effectively protects home crypto miners from local and municipal zoning laws and bans.

Stablecoin adoption grows $4 billion in April

Stablecoins have seen steady growth in 2025, and April was no exception. The total market capitalization of stablecoins grew $4 billion in April, according to CoinGlass.

Growing stablecoin value comes as a number of jurisdictions develop legal frameworks for the assets and soften their regulatory approach. 

In the US, the House of Representatives bill on stablecoins passed a critical committee vote on April 2. The STABLE Act provides rules around stablecoin issuance and reserves and will proceed to the floor for a vote. 

Related: Stablecoin adoption grows with new US bills, Japan’s open approachThe Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a case against PayPal’s stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), on April 29. In a form, the SEC said an inquiry regarding a 2023 subpoena was being closed “without enforcement.”Market volatility provides another incentive for stablecoin growth, according to crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock. According to the analytics firm, these assets are increasingly seen as “safe havens in the current uncertain market.”

As the Trump administration marks its first 100 days, markets are begging for relief, but none seems forthcoming. Despite claims from the White House, China says that no high-level talks are underway to negotiate the tariffs.

Despite this, some observers insist that, for crypto at least, one should keep their eyes on the prize: the regulatory framework making its way through the US federal Congress.

Magazine: Your AI ‘digital twin’ can take meetings and comfort your loved ones

April 2025 witnessed crypto markets rocked by more tariffs at the direction of US President Donald Trump — controversial policies that could have influenced the outcome of Canada’s elections on April 28. On April 2, Trump levied “discounted reciprocal tariffs” on 185 countries and territories. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,200 points on April 4, while the S&P 500 dropped nearly 6%, its largest decline since March 2020. Bitcoin (BTC) went along for the ride but broke from stocks as it recovered toward the end of the month. 

Blockchain adoption metrics for Ethereum are looking good, as the network now boasts 60% real-world asset (RWA) tokenization value. Major firms like BlackRock are sure the blockchain will be the standard for RWAs, but other observers believe that scaling issues could create problems.

On matters of policy, pro-crypto legislators in a number of US states are pushing their respective bills; two states have introduced new legislation in April. In Canada, pro-crypto Conservatives lost to the Liberals, but the victors must form a minority government. Here’s April in numbers.

“Liberation Day” sees markets plunge, Bitcoin up 16% on the month

On April 2, the US president levied retaliatory tariffs on all US trade partners, sending Wall Street into a spiral. Between the announcement after market close and the end of trading on April 8, global markets wiped off more than $8.5 trillion in asset value. By the same date, the S&P 500 had fallen by just north of 12%.

Market value has since inched back upward as some countries court the Trump administration seeking tariff relief, but major partners such as China still haven’t budged. While markets have recovered slightly, losses still amount to a “mere” $1 trillion, according to investment managers AJ Bell. 

Crypto saw losses as well. Bitcoin’s price decreased 9% between the Liberation Day announcement and April 8. However, unlike stock markets, which are still seeing losses, Bitcoin has managed to close out the month higher than where it started. At the time of writing, BTC is up 16.16%, trading at $94,729.

Canada’s crypto-skeptic Liberals win, but fall 3 seats short of majority

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has claimed victory in the country’s federal parliamentary elections, which took place on April 28. 

Despite their victory, the Liberals secured 169 seats, three short of the 172 needed to form a majority. A minority Liberal government means they must rely on other parties for legislative initiatives.

The outcome will be meaningful for Canada’s crypto policy. Carney, himself a former central banker, has been public about his skepticism for cryptocurrencies. When serving as governor of the Bank of England, Carney said “they are failing” as a form of money. He has also called for “equivalent protections to those for commercial bank money” for private stablecoins.

Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for crypto

At the same time, Carney has signaled his openness to digital forms of money and the ledger capabilities of blockchain technology. He voiced support for a central bank digital currency, seeing it as another step in the evolution of money. 

The Liberals started the year trailing well behind the Conservatives as former PM Justin Trudeau stepped down. On Trump’s inauguration day, Conservatives led polling at a 44% polling average to the Liberals’ 21%.

Conservative rhetoric, including that of the pro-crypto party leader Pierre Poilievre, was decidedly pro-Trump. This connection may have been the Conservatives’ undoing, as quickly after taking office, Trump said that Canada should become America’s 51st state while simultaneously ramping up tariffs on Canadian goods.

Ethereum’s market share of RWAs is up 20%

The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) has been one of the rising use cases for blockchain technology in April. Ethereum is leading the way, with the value of the RWA tokenization on the network increasing to $6.2 billion. This marks a 20% increase over the month of April. 

RWAs are increasingly adopted by established financial firms launching tokenization pilot projects in real estate, commodities like gold, and even carbon credits. Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, has noted that tokenized RWAs allow for instant trading and transfers like a “digital deed.”

Related: Five reasons RWAs are taking off in 2025

As reported in Cointelegraph Magazine, Ethereum advocates and developers have generally assumed that Ethereum will be the logical choice for firms exploring RWAs. Indeed, Fink said there’s “no question that the blockchain we would start our tokenization on would be Ethereum, and that’s not just a BlackRock thing. That’s the natural default answer.”

Two new crypto laws introduced at US state level

Two states, Texas and Georgia, introduced new blockchain- and crypto-related bills in their state legislatures in April.

In Texas, HB 5352 would establish a State Blockchain Technology Pilot Program by the Department of Information Resources. The pilot aims to see how blockchain technology could improve “transparency, security, and efficiency in government operations.”

In Georgia, HR 905 seeks to “implement a public awareness campaign for grade levels K-12 regarding blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3.” The bill states that technological literacy is important for all ages and “blockchain computation represents the future of how the world interacts online and shares information through a permanent record of transactions on an open ledger.”

In Arizona, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill to expand a state regulatory sandbox program to include digital assets. But she signed and enacted a bill into law that now prohibits towns “from banning or restricting individuals from using computational power or running blockchain nodes in their own homes.” 

The law’s definition of “computational power” can be broadly interpreted to mean AI, scientific research, blockchain activities and cloud computing. It effectively protects home crypto miners from local and municipal zoning laws and bans.

Stablecoin adoption grows $4 billion in April

Stablecoins have seen steady growth in 2025, and April was no exception. The total market capitalization of stablecoins grew $4 billion in April, according to CoinGlass.

Growing stablecoin value comes as a number of jurisdictions develop legal frameworks for the assets and soften their regulatory approach. 

In the US, the House of Representatives bill on stablecoins passed a critical committee vote on April 2. The STABLE Act provides rules around stablecoin issuance and reserves and will proceed to the floor for a vote. 

Related: Stablecoin adoption grows with new US bills, Japan’s open approachThe Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a case against PayPal’s stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), on April 29. In a form, the SEC said an inquiry regarding a 2023 subpoena was being closed “without enforcement.”Market volatility provides another incentive for stablecoin growth, according to crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock. According to the analytics firm, these assets are increasingly seen as “safe havens in the current uncertain market.”

As the Trump administration marks its first 100 days, markets are begging for relief, but none seems forthcoming. Despite claims from the White House, China says that no high-level talks are underway to negotiate the tariffs.

Despite this, some observers insist that, for crypto at least, one should keep their eyes on the prize: the regulatory framework making its way through the US federal Congress.

Magazine: Your AI ‘digital twin’ can take meetings and comfort your loved ones

Crypto was born from an open-source ethos, where code was shared publicly, accessible for review and shaped by community contributions. Transparency and verifiability are foundational principles that enable trust in Bitcoin.

But as the space matured, some disadvantages of open source surfaced. Innovative smart contract platforms and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications were forked to create direct competitors — from the wave of Uniswap clones to Ethereum forks — which prioritized speed and lower fees over decentralization.

As a result, some projects opted for closed-source development to protect proprietary designs and reduce the risk of exploits, hoping to delay or deter malicious actors by making the code harder to analyze. This approach is often criticized as “security through obscurity,” where hiding vulnerabilities instead of fixing them becomes a line of defense.

Closed-source systems run counter to crypto’s original vision of decentralization and transparency. What started as a grassroots movement among cypherpunks and hackers is now increasingly mainstream and integrating with the very institutional system it once sought to disrupt.

Solana Loopscale exploit shows why open source can still be more secure

An exploit on Solana’s Loopscale protocol shows that closed source is not a one-size-fits-all solution for keeping malicious actors out. On April 26, just weeks after launching, the closed-source DeFi lending platform suffered a $5.8-million exploit.

A hacker reportedly manipulated collateral parameters to take out a series of undercollateralized loans, draining funds from the protocol.

Related: Why do crypto bros like freedom cities?

While the incident ended on a relatively positive note — Loopscale was able to negotiate with the attacker to return the funds — it reignited concerns about the prevalence of closed-source projects on Solana and in crypto more broadly.

Closed source is no silver bullet for security. Source: Nirlin

“Jordan,” an engineer at Solana research firm Anza, called out this issue in a 2023 critique, describing closed-source DeFi protocols and wallets as one of the network’s biggest weaknesses. He argued that when a small group can change code without oversight, users are forced to blindly trust teams rather than verifiable smart contracts.

According to DefiLlama data, closed-source protocols dominated Solana’s DeFi ecosystem in its early days but shared half of the stage with open-source alternatives in late 2021. Since then, the shift has been gradual but clear. As of April 29, open-source protocols accounted for nearly 90% of the value locked in Solana’s DeFi space.

Funds locked in Solana DeFi have moved to open-source protocols. Source: DefiLlama

“Audited, open-source code is the best way forward. By keeping your code closed source, you are just hiding back doors, otherwise known as ‘security by obscurity.’ By being open source, getting audited and having a bounty program, protocols can get more eyes on their code while also incentivizing everyone to do the right thing,” said Max Kaplan, founder of Sol Strategies.

Crypto is growing up and moving away from open source

Though there are strong voices pushing to keep crypto open source, many in the industry have raised concerns about a growing shift toward closed-source development.

Paradigm partner “Frankie” shares observations of crypto moving away from the open-source era. Source: Frankie

Closed source is a standard design choice in the corporate world, used to protect intellectual property, preserve competitive advantage, and reduce the risk of exploits. Increasingly, crypto firms are adopting that same mindset — not to replace traditional infrastructure, but to integrate with it.

Many of the most prominent players in the space are no longer trying to disrupt the financial system outright. Firms are reportedly seeking bank charters, building institutional rails and engaging regulators. In that context, closed-source code isn’t viewed as a betrayal of crypto’s ideals, but rather a practical step toward becoming part of the world they once sought to displace.

Some builders are sick of getting their work stolen. Source: Hoss

This debate isn’t limited to crypto. In early 2025, China’s DeepSeek shook global markets with the release of a powerful, low-cost and open-source AI model. It showcased how open-source innovation can challenge Western AI dominance.

But according to Matt Pearl, director of the strategic tech program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, open-source AI can be dangerous without safety guardrails.

Related: DeepSeek privacy concerns raise international alarm bells

Pearl and his co-authors argued in a February commentary that open-source AI allows anyone to download, modify and strip out safeguards. Pearl said DeepSeek can easily be jailbroken to produce malware, phishing kits or disinformation, making it more likely to be abused by cybercriminals than closed models.

Proponents wants to keep crypto open source

One common argument for closing off smart contract code is that regular users do not read it, while malicious actors do. However, Mikko Ohtamaa, founder of Trading Strategies, said this misses the point.

“Even if 99% of DeFi users are code illiterate and do not know what the code says, it takes only one honest person to debunk bad code and warn other users,” he said, adding that projects can still protect their intellectual property through licensing, citing examples like Uniswap v3’s business license model.

Research also supports the case for open-source security. A 2022 report by software firm Red Hat, based on a survey of nearly 1,300 IT leaders, found that most consider enterprise open-source software to be as secure or more secure than proprietary alternatives.

“Transparency is the fundamental property of cryptography and blockchain systems. Without transparency, there is no verify. With no verify, any low trust system like a blockchain is no better than a centralised system,” Ohtaama said.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Cryptocurrency hackers stole more than $90 million in April, dealing another blow to the industry’s mainstream reputation despite ongoing efforts to improve cybersecurity.

Hackers made off with $92 million of digital assets across 15 incidents in April, according to an April 30 research report by blockchain cybersecurity firm Immunefi.

The total marks a 124% month-over-month increase from March, when hackers stole $41 million.

Crypto stole in April 2025. Source: Immunefi

The month’s largest hack on open-source platform UPCX accounted for most of the damage in April, with over $70 million in losses, while KiloEx lost $7.5 million as April’s second-largest hack.

The KiloEx exploiter returned the stolen funds just days after the attack occurred.

All of April’s reported attacks targeted decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Centralized exchanges reported no incidents during the month, the report noted.

Top 10 losses in April. Source: Immunefi

Immunefi, which says it helps protect $190 billion in user funds, has paid more than $116 million in bounties to white hat hackers.

Related: Bitcoin volatility lowest in 563 days, Hayes predicts $1M BTC by 2028

State-backed threats raise alarms

The report comes nearly two months after Bybit exchange lost over $1.4 billion on Feb. 21 — the largest hack in crypto history.

“The sheer scale of the attack shows how state-backed actors are arguably the most pressing threat to our industry,” according to Mitchell Amador, Founder and CEO of Immunefi.

“This is a reminder of the need for security measures that protect the entire security stack and help protocols prevent catastrophic attacks before they happen,” Amador told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Protocols must be built for resilience under the assumption that attackers will find a way in, and investors must assume that even the safest-looking interfaces or emails might be traps.”

He called for protocols to adopt a “zero-trust” approach and implement more robust protections across the entire technology stack.

Related: Bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, expands into crypto

Bug bounties, regular audits and formal verifications will be essential to ensure to security of smart contracts and backed infrastructure, he said.

As of the end of April, hackers have already stolen more than $1.7 billion worth of digital assets in 2025, already surpassing the estimated $1.49 billion in losses for all of 2024, according to Immunefi.

The state-backed  North Korean Lazarus Group’s pause in the second half of 2024 may have been a repositioning in preparation for staging the world’s largest hack on Bybit, Eric Jardine, Chainalysis’ cybercrimes research Lead, told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Cryptocurrency hackers stole more than $90 million in April, dealing another blow to the industry’s mainstream reputation despite ongoing efforts to improve cybersecurity.

Hackers made off with $92 million of digital assets across 15 incidents in April, according to an April 30 research report by blockchain cybersecurity firm Immunefi.

The total marks a 124% month-over-month increase from March, when hackers stole $41 million.

Crypto stole in April 2025. Source: Immunefi

The month’s largest hack on open-source platform UPCX accounted for most of the damage in April, with over $70 million in losses, while KiloEx lost $7.5 million as April’s second-largest hack.

The KiloEx exploiter returned the stolen funds just days after the attack occurred.

All of April’s reported attacks targeted decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Centralized exchanges reported no incidents during the month, the report noted.

Top 10 losses in April. Source: Immunefi

Immunefi, which says it helps protect $190 billion in user funds, has paid more than $116 million in bounties to white hat hackers.

Related: Bitcoin volatility lowest in 563 days, Hayes predicts $1M BTC by 2028

State-backed threats raise alarms

The report comes nearly two months after Bybit exchange lost over $1.4 billion on Feb. 21 — the largest hack in crypto history.

“The sheer scale of the attack shows how state-backed actors are arguably the most pressing threat to our industry,” according to Mitchell Amador, Founder and CEO of Immunefi.

“This is a reminder of the need for security measures that protect the entire security stack and help protocols prevent catastrophic attacks before they happen,” Amador told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Protocols must be built for resilience under the assumption that attackers will find a way in, and investors must assume that even the safest-looking interfaces or emails might be traps.”

He called for protocols to adopt a “zero-trust” approach and implement more robust protections across the entire technology stack.

Related: Bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, expands into crypto

Bug bounties, regular audits and formal verifications will be essential to ensure to security of smart contracts and backed infrastructure, he said.

As of the end of April, hackers have already stolen more than $1.7 billion worth of digital assets in 2025, already surpassing the estimated $1.49 billion in losses for all of 2024, according to Immunefi.

The state-backed  North Korean Lazarus Group’s pause in the second half of 2024 may have been a repositioning in preparation for staging the world’s largest hack on Bybit, Eric Jardine, Chainalysis’ cybercrimes research Lead, told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Update (April 30, 4:10 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add a comment from Mantra CEO John Mullin.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Mantra has called for industry-wide cooperation to reduce investor risks in the aftermath of its OM token crash.

On April 30, Mantra published its latest update since the sudden collapse of its OM token, claiming that the incident was “bigger than Mantra.”

“Liquidation cascades could happen to any project in the crypto industry,” Mantra CEO John Mullin warned in the post, pointing to the role of “aggressive leverage positions” on exchanges as a broader threat to investor safety.

Mantra’s industry-wide call to action is the biggest section in the latest OM crash update. Source: Mantra

“We’re cooperating with major exchanges to improve market stability, and we’re calling on the rest of our industry to provide input on how exchange policies can minimize — or continue to permit — policies that create risk to investors,” the update states.

Progress includes governance improvements

Aside from calling global centralized exchanges to review their leverage policies, Mantra listed a few key solutions following the OM crash.

The first point concerned governance improvements to the Mantra chain with a focus on decentralization. Mantra has pledged to accelerate its validator diversification efforts by winding down internal validators and adding more support partners.

Related: Mantra unveils $108M fund to back real-world asset tokenization, DeFi

“By the end of Q2 2025, we’ll have reduced internal validators by half and onboarded 50 total external partner validators,” the update states.

Additionally, the update mentioned that Mantra has burned 150 million staked OM tokens, permanently removing them from the total supply.

To enhance transparency, Mantra has introduced a real-time dashboard featuring tokenomics data. It has also begun alpha testing a new Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible testnet called Omstead, aimed at improving technical resilience.

The post highlighted that the Mantra chain continued operating without interruption during the price drop, even with transaction volumes at all-time highs.

OM crash is result of “aggressive leverage positions”

CEO Mullin pushed back on the idea that the broader industry, including exchanges, should be blamed for the OM crash, saying that any listed project could experience a similar downturn.

“To be specific, exchange policies that allow investors to take aggressive leverage positions on top of their own tokens are enormously risky,” Mullin told Cointelegraph.

Source: Liam/Mantra

The CEO did not point to any particular leverage positions or exchanges, stating:

“There are reasons that these kinds of positions are allowed by exchanges, but we should acknowledge that it does increase risk for projects across the industry and it’s a conversation we should all be having.”

Mantra has refrained from naming any exchange following the OM liquidations, though social media speculation suggests OKX as a possible contributor. “Let’s finish that report,” one commentator to Mantra’s post said on X, adding: “Make sure a liquidation cascade can never happen again on OKX.”

The industry seems unwilling to respond

While Mantra has repeatedly called for collaboration with exchanges, the issue does not appear to have been meaningfully addressed by crypto trading firms.

OKX has declined to comment on the Mantra situation or potential policy collaboration in the aftermath of the OM token crash, despite multiple requests from Cointelegraph.

In the meantime, OKX CEO Star Xu was one of the first crypto executives to highlight the massive scale of the OM crash shortly after the incident occurred on April 13, calling it a “big scandal to the whole crypto industry.”

Source: Star Xu

Binance did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph requests for comment.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Key takeaways:

Macro Chain Index issues first buy signal since 2022, hinting at a new Bitcoin bull run.

RSI crossover on the MCI aligns with past cycle bottoms that preceded 500%+ BTC rallies.

Bitcoin price recovers from $74K to $95K amid rising open interest and positive funding rates.

A key Bitcoin (BTC) indicator that accurately signaled the 2022 market bottom has just flashed another buy signal, suggesting the cryptocurrency may be entering a new bull phase.

Bitcoin metric hints at “absolute bottom”

Dubbed the Macro Chain Index (MCI), the indicator is a composite of several long-term on-chain and macroeconomic metrics.

It analyzes factors such as accumulation behavior, network activity, and supply trends, helping identify whether Bitcoin is undervalued or overvalued relative to its historical cycle position.

The most important part of the current chart is the RSI (Relative Strength Index) of the MCI (purple). In April, the RSI crossed above its 52-week moving average (yellow), which has historically confirmed the start of Bitcoin bull runs.

Bitcoin macro chain index. Source: Alpha Extract

This RSI crossover previously appeared in 2015 ahead of Bitcoin’s surge to $20,000, in 2019 before the run to $65,000, and in late 2022 just before BTC bottomed near $15,500.

If historical patterns hold, the April 2025 crossover means the beginning of a new bull run, particularly as several other indicators also point to Bitcoin breaking above its key psychological resistance at $100,000.

“Our Macro Chain Index fired a long signal, the first buy signal since 2022, when it successfully went long at the absolute bottom,” Alpha Extract, the creator of the Macro Chain Index, stressed further, adding:

“Considering that the fundamentals align and the market structure is gradually following, this is a significant call, imho.”

Related: Bitcoin price always rallies at least 50% after these two patterns emerge

Bitcoin dipped by as much as 32% after establishing a record high of nearly $110,000 in January, a sharp decline caused primarily by US President Donald Trump’s global trade war.

BTC/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

BTC formed a local low below $74,450 in early April, but has since recovered to around $95,650 amid signs that it is “decoupling” from an otherwise bearish US stock market.

Bitcoin open interest rises by $2.2 billion in April

Bitcoin’s recent price rebound is gaining strong support from futures markets, especially on Binance.

Between January and early April, open interest (OI) on the exchange dropped from $11.9 billion to $7.5 billion, marking a 36.9% decline and signaling reduced confidence and lower leverage during the market downturn. But the trend flipped in mid-April.

Over the past three weeks, traders have pushed open interest up by 29.3%, from $7.5 billion to $9.7 billion, aligning with Bitcoin’s price rise in spot markets.

Bitcoin open interest (Binance) daily chart. Source: CryptoQuant

This synchronized rise in price and open interest shows that traders are entering new long positions, not just closing shorts. It signals growing confidence in Bitcoin’s upside.

Funding rates have also stayed mostly positive, which means long-position holders are paying short sellers, a typical sign that the market expects higher prices.

Bitcoin funding rates. Source: CryptoQuant

The rising open interest and positive funding rates are showing renewed bullish momentum, adding weight to the argument that Bitcoin could continue climbing toward $100,000 in the coming days.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.