Из жизни альткоинов

Защитники окружающей среды часто критикуют майнинг за высокое тепловыделение. Однако часть компаний научилась использовать это тепло в хозяйственных и промышленных целях — от теплиц до систем отопления и даже производства напитков.

As markets reacted to Tuesday evening’s ceasefire announcement, Iran moved to assert control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz by saying it will demand crypto tolls — chiefly Bitcoin (BTC) — from oil tankers transiting the vital waterway during the two‑week pause in hostilities.

Tankers Must Pay In Bitcoin Within Seconds 

Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told the Financial Times that Tehran intends to assess each vessel seeking passage and levy a fee, communicated by email, that must be paid in digital currency. 

“Iran needs to monitor what goes in and out of the strait to ensure these two weeks aren’t used for transferring weapons,” Hosseini said, noting his industry association works closely with the state. 

Hosseini described a process in which ship operators must disclose cargo details by email, after which Iran will determine the crypto toll and give the vessel only a few seconds to complete payment in Bitcoin so the transaction cannot be traced or seized under sanctions.

The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social in which he said he would suspend strikes on Iran for two weeks, provided Tehran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” 

Trump said that conversations with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, who asked him to hold off on military action, helped shape the decision. 

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has set out a 10‑point basis for negotiations, including a new “protocol for secure passage” developed in coordination with Iran’s armed forces, signaling Tehran’s intent to retain leverage over the waterway even while talks proceed.

Historic Real‑World Use Case

While Bitcoin has broken the consolidation range below $70,000 amid short-term relief for the market, some analysts argue that accepting digital currency for strategic tolls is an unprecedented real-world use of a censorship-resistant asset. 

Analysts at TFTC wrote on social media platform X that this represents “the largest real‑world stablecoin use case ever recorded,” contrasting sovereign adoption to prior crypto activity such as decentralized finance (DeFi) yield farming or non-fungible token (NFT) speculation. 

Their comment underscores the notion long advanced by some in the crypto community: when a state is shut out of the dollar system, it may turn to alternative payment rails to sustain trade and collect revenues.

Already, only a handful of vessels — mainly those with ties to Iran and not connected to the US, Israel, or Gulf states that supported recent strikes — have received approval to transit on restricted routes in the past fortnight. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at around $71,570, having recorded gains of 4.6% over 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL) have followed suit, achieving gains of 6%, 4%, and 5%, respectively, in the same period. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Thai crypto exchanges could soon face stricter scrutiny over who is actually bankrolling their major shareholders — not just who owns shares on paper.

A Net Wide Enough To Catch Indirect Backers

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission put forward a proposal this week that would require regulatory approval not only for direct major shareholders in crypto businesses, but also for anyone providing financial support to those shareholders behind the scenes.

That includes backers working through share acquisitions, guarantors, and parties to contractual arrangements that effectively give them a funding role.

According to the regulator, the new rules are designed to cut off capital flows that may be tied to unlawful activities — money that could expose licensed firms to legal trouble or damage their standing in the market.

The proposal arrives as part of a wider push by Thai authorities to tighten controls across both traditional and digital finance. Reports indicate Thai crypto platforms froze 10,000 accounts earlier this year as part of an anti-money laundering drive.

A separate campaign targeting so-called “gray money” was launched in January, covering physical markets alongside digital ones.

Who Gets Reviewed — And Who Gets A Pass

Under the proposed framework, the approval requirement would extend to financial supporters of legal entities that themselves hold shares in crypto operators — not just the operators’ direct shareholders.

ก.ล.ต. เสนอเพิ่ม “ผู้ให้แหล่งเงินทุน” เป็นผู้ถือหุ้นรายใหญ่ที่ผู้ประกอบธุรกิจหลักทรัพย์และผู้ประกอบธุรกิจสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลต้องขอรับความเห็นชอบ ยกระดับการสกัดกั้นทุนเทาให้เข้มข้นขึ้นhttps://t.co/QoOe6z8xmx

— ThaiSEC_News (@ThaiSEC_News) April 7, 2026

The SEC said the rules would apply to anyone whose financial role gives them, in substance, the standing of a major funder, regardless of how that arrangement is structured.

There is one notable exception. If a major shareholder happens to be a government body — a ministry, public agency, or similar entity — the SEC said it would only look at ownership at that entity’s level.

Officials said those bodies are already under government supervision, making a deeper review unnecessary.

The proposal is open for public comment until April 22.

A Pattern Taking Shape Across Asia

Thailand is not acting alone. Based on reports, South Korea’s regulators are weighing a separate but related measure that would cap ownership stakes in crypto exchanges at 20%.

The back-to-back moves suggest that Asian financial watchdogs are paying closer attention to who controls — and who funds — the companies handling public crypto transactions.

For Thai crypto firms, the practical impact of the new rules will depend heavily on how regulators define terms like “significant funding” once the consultation period closes and a final version is drafted.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

A fascinating debate about XRP and stablecoins like USDT has emerged between former Ripple CTO David Schwartz and members of the XRP community. During the exchange, questions were raised about whether banks would choose XRP despite Ripple’s concentrated token ownership—and whether the cryptocurrency still remains relevant in an era dominated by stablecoins. Schwartz responded with detailed explanations, highlighting XRP’s advantages for banks and the factors that make it a more attractive alternative to stablecoins. 

Ex-Ripple CTO Reveals Why Banks Will Choose XRP

Crypto enthusiast Mason Versluis has raised a sharp and legitimate concern about the incentive structures behind XRP’s adoption by banks. In a post on X, Versluis asked holders why they believe global banks will use XRP, and drive a price rally that could make Ripple one of the wealthiest financial institutions in the world. 

Versluis noted that Ripple currently owns over 40% of XRP’s total supply, which is roughly 34 billion escrowed tokens. If banks widely adopt XRP, the value of this already substantial holding could rise sharply, making Ripple wealthier.

His argument points to a potential conflict of interest, questioning whether banks, which are essentially being asked to enrich a competitor, would willingly go along. In other words, he’s basically asking why banks such as JPMorgan or HSBC would want to be the engine that makes Ripple richer than all of them. 

Schwartz responded with a dismissive one-liner, essentially mocking the logic behind the concern. The former Ripple CTO argued that it would be irrational for banks to reject a genuinely useful and innovative technology simply because it also benefits the company monetarily. His sarcastic comment suggested that banks would rather evaluate XRP’s technology on its merits rather than worry about inadvertently enriching Ripple. 

Why XRP Has An Edge Over Stablecoins Like USDT

During the discussion between Schwartz and Versluis, a different crypto community member raised a more strategic question. He asked if XRP’s “technology is still relevant in the age of stablecoins.”

Related Reading: Are Institutions About To Trigger A Massive XRP Supply Shock? Here’s How Much They’re Holding

Notably, stablecoins like USDT and USDC have exploded in adoption precisely because they address the volatility and stability issues that make most cryptocurrencies impractical for payments. Schwartz, however, pushed back thoughtfully against this view, providing a more detailed answer than his earlier response to Versluis. 

The former Ripple CTO outlined “three big advantages” cryptocurrencies like XRP have over stablecoins. His first point addressed cross-border transfers, noting that stablecoins are usually pegged to a single currency. As such, users could face difficulties sending money to multiple countries with different currencies because they may not find a stablecoin widely accepted and easily convertible in many jurisdictions. 

His second point focused on centralization, control, and security. Schwartz stated that stablecoins can be frozen or seized by their issuers, who are subject to legal and government pressure. He described a scenario where AI agents or individuals in unclear legal situations may not be able to rely on a court to protect their assets from being frozen. In contrast, decentralized cryptocurrencies like XRP, designed to be censorship-resistant, mitigate this risk, giving users greater freedom and protection.

Lastly, Schwartz highlighted the potential gains from holding cryptocurrencies compared to stablecoins. While USDT remains idle, generating no returns and could even lose buying power due to inflation, XRP offers an attractive combination of speed, cross-border payments, and the potential for price appreciation.

While the price of XRP has been struggling with volatility, this downside performance might be starting to hinder sentiment across the market as on-chain activity gradually fades. During the bearish period, there has been a significant decline in activity on the XRP Ledger, which points to weakening sentiment among investors and users.

Active Wallet Count On XRP Ledger Falls Sharply

After a period of growth, activity on the XRP Ledger appears to be losing momentum at a substantial rate as investors exit the network. Data from Santiment, a popular market intelligence and on-chain data analytics platform, shows that the number of active wallet addresses on the network has fallen sharply in recent sessions.

This reduction points to a slowdown in user engagement, with fewer users engaging with the network through transactions and transfers. Over the past year, the average wallet addresses that have been active on the Ledger have seen an average 41% drop in their investments. When on-chain activity drops to this level, it may be the result of declining demand or a brief pause in usage after periods of increased interest from users.

According to the on-chain platform, this marks the lowest MVRV (Mean Value to Realized Value) for XRP traders since the FTX collapse that took place in November 2022, triggering a bear market phase that ran for several months. The positioning suggests a cooling phase for the XRP ecosystem, which could play a key role in its long-term prospects.

In the meantime, this development could influence trading activity. Santiment highlighted that large negative average returns derived from actual trader yields indicate that there is significantly less risk than average when purchasing or increasing your XRP positions. 

This is possible because cryptocurrencies are zero-sum trading games. However, it is largely attributed to the fact that competing traders are already in a severe condition, which the platform flags as “blood in the streets’ territory. 

Is The Altcoin In Its Bottoming Phase?

After falling sharply, analysts are predicting a possible bottoming phase for XRP as the downward trend stalls. According to Crypto X AiMan on X, this might be the bottom for XRP. Currently, the altcoin’s price is sitting around $1.30, down from $3.50 last year, which is one of the signs that the crash might be nearly over.

The analyst has also drawn attention to key indicators such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI), reinforcing this narrative. Data shows that the RSI has moved into extremely oversold levels in addition to a collapse in crypto interest on Google Trends and X. Historically, the expert claims this is when bottoms are formed.

Other events, such as impending rate cuts, cooling global tensions, and renewed liquidity into risk assets, add an extra layer to this bottoming narrative. AiMan added that the crypto market cap, valued at $2.3 trillion, is still tiny compared to the stock market, which is why many believe crypto is still in its early stages.

Years from now, he claims investors will look back at current prices as a gift when the sector takes off. As a result, he believes that XRP may have already reached its bottom for this cycle.

The public has 60 days to weigh in. That’s how much time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is giving Americans to respond to its newly proposed framework for regulating stablecoin issuers — a plan built around 144 specific questions the agency wants answered before it finalizes anything.

A Framework Built On Reserve And Risk Standards

The FDIC’s board voted this week to put forward rules that would set standards for reserves, redemptions, capital requirements, risk management, and custody practices for coin issuers operating under its watch.

The proposal applies to FDIC-supervised banks and savings institutions — more than 2,700 of them — and is tied to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, better known as the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law last July.

The law handed the FDIC formal authority over transaction activity inside the institutions it already supervises. Full implementation is scheduled for January 18, 2027, unless the rules take effect earlier.

Today, our Board of Directors approved a proposed rule that would establish requirements under the GENIUS Act for FDIC-supervised stablecoin issuers.https://t.co/VAnMhwyGo5 pic.twitter.com/1A8sqGRlvk

— FDIC (@FDICgov) April 7, 2026

This is the agency’s second move to put the GENIUS Act into practice. Back in December, the FDIC put forward a separate plan to set up an application process for insured depository institutions wanting to issue payment stablecoins through subsidiaries. Tuesday’s announcement builds on that earlier step.

The Coverage Gap Stablecoin Users Should Know About

Here’s the part that may surprise some holders. While the reserves that back a stablecoin would be insured under the proposed rules, the people actually holding those stablecoins would not be.

The FDIC said extending deposit insurance directly to stablecoin holders would conflict with the text of the GENIUS Act itself, which explicitly bars payment stablecoins from being covered by federal deposit insurance.

The agency acknowledged the limitation but argued the rules would still benefit everyday users. A more tightly regulated environment, officials said, means stablecoin holders get stronger assurances that the issuers behind their tokens are being held to serious regulatory standards — even if a federal safety net doesn’t cover them directly.

A Bigger Regulatory Picture Taking Shape

The FDIC is not working alone. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is running its own parallel effort to bring the GENIUS Act to life. Its reach goes further — covering national bank subsidiaries and certain nonbank stablecoin issuers that fall outside the FDIC’s jurisdiction.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

XRP has bounced with the rest of the crypto market, but that rebound is exactly what analyst CasiTrades is warning traders not to misread. The cryptocurreny has just come off a little bounce above $1.35, but technical analysis shows that the setup can be more dangerous than it looks. 

CasiTrades’ rationale is that this is not a true change in structure yet, but another move inside a larger bearish pattern that has still not been invalidated.

This Bounce Could Be A Trap

According to the chart shared with the analysis, XRP is shown pushing into resistance in a completed five-wave move. The analyst paired that with bearish divergence on the RSI, where the momentum ticked higher even as price failed to produce a stronger breakout. As it stands, the RSI is pressing near the upper end of its recent range, which supports an idea of a bearish reversal proposed by CasiTrades.

The idea from the analyst is that the latest strength may be more exhaustion. There have been bullish candlesticks on the hourly timeframes over the past few days, but according to the analyst, this is exactly where traders get caught. Despite the green candlestick, the XRP price is yet to make a new high above $1.4. Instead, the five-wave move mentioned above is starting to meet resistance. 

A fast rebound can feel like the start of a reversal, especially when price snaps back into the same zone that recently rejected it. However, without a new high, nothing has changed. This is still just noise inside the same larger pattern.

The Price Levels That Matter Most

The basis of this analysis is a warning that the XRP price is still going to reverse into another extended crash that eventually brings it below $1. According to CasiTrades, XRP is still trading right between support and resistance, and multiple degrees are aligning to the downside. 

The chart lays out a very specific roadmap of the price levels that matter most on the way down. The first downside target is at $1.13, which CasiTrades treats as the initial leg lower once the current noise clears out. This would mark a return to XRP’s price bottom during the early February crash.

The projection allows for a short relief bounce after touching $1.13 before another move into the macro 0.786 support around $1.08. The final leg in the bearish sequence is a projected break below $1 and into the 0.854 support zone around $0.87. This move would be the end of a larger corrective impulse wave 2.

The bearish case does not remain valid forever. CasiTrades makes that clear by pointing to the 0.618 zone overhead as the level bulls need to reclaim and flip into support. That target is around $1.40.

Bitcoin’s price has fallen over 50% from its all-time high achieved in October 2025, triggering a bearish market phase across the board as investors exit their positions to cut down losses. Despite falling this hard, the downside action does not seem to have reached its end yet, as key metrics point to an extended period of bearish activity.

Bitcoin Market Is Still Bearish

An increasing amount of on-chain data is starting to give Bitcoin a wary outlook, as a crucial market indicator suggests that downward pressure is likely to persist. This signal emerges from the Bitcoin Tactical Bull-Bear Sentiment Index (TBBI), a key metric that captures multi-year sentiment cycles and reveals the real structure positioning of the market beyond short-term volatility. 

Joao Wedson, the founder of Alphractal and market strategist, stated that this chart shows that bears are hiding from the market, and it is currently sitting in extreme bearish territory. While price action has shown signs of consolidation, this is a sign that selling momentum may not yet be exhausted.

Historically, this zone appears when retail investors are exhausted, narrative shifting fully negative, liquidity draining completely, and smart money begins absorbing supply quietly. In Wyckoff terms, this trend aligns with selling climaxes, springs, and final shakeouts. This is where trends tend to terminate, not where they begin to collapse.

At this point, Wedson claims that downside risks are still present. However, it tends to be more limited and contained, as any further drops here are likely to be smaller in magnitude. During this period, a sharp move like a $15,000 shakeout remains on the table for Bitcoin, the kind that creates one final wave of panic across the market.

Despite how significant this drop could affect Bitcoin, Wedson stated that structurally, this resembles a late-stage fear. Over the next few weeks, sentiment is expected to remain depressed while BTC’s price moves sideways or slightly lower. Typically, this is the right time when the market feels the most hopeless, which ultimately triggers the shift.

In the meantime, the expert anticipates a gradual shift into bullish territory again while the broader market is still losing interest. A trend like this could mark the final 5 months of fear and disinterest in Bitcoin, followed by 5 months of steady accumulation by Bitcoin OG investors.

Investors’ Activity Hints At A Recovering Market

Despite Bitcoin’s persistent sideways price action, some indicators have flipped into positive territory once again. CW, a data analyst and verified author at CryptoQuant, has drawn attention to the BTC Inter-Exchange Flow Pulse (IFP) indicator, which shows the underlying market structure.

Currently, the metric is positioned at the borderline between a bull market and a bear market. However, after a period of indecision, the indicator has moved back to a bull market signal, suggesting a sign of recovery underneath the surface. 

CW noted that the indicator is becoming increasingly confusing. Meanwhile, the most realistic signal here is that the balance of BTC whale investors is rising extremely fast.

The crypto market is facing volatility and uncertainty as the US-Israel-Iran conflict continues to develop. Markets are reactive. Capital is cautious. And an XWIN Research Japan report has just added a dimension to the current risk landscape that has nothing to do with geopolitics — and everything to do with what happens to crypto users when attention is elsewhere.

The FBI’s 2025 fraud data reveals a number that demands to be read in full: crypto-related losses reached $11.3 billion last year — the largest single fraud category in federal law enforcement reporting. Investment scams alone accounted for $8.6 billion. Romance scams, impersonation schemes, and tech support fraud completed the picture, each one using crypto as the payment rail of choice precisely because of the properties that make it valuable — irreversibility, pseudonymity, and instant settlement.

The demographic data removes any comfort in the idea that scams target only the unsophisticated. Those aged 60 and above suffered approximately $4.4 billion in losses, the largest single age group. But victims span every demographic. The common thread is not naivety. It is structural: once a crypto transaction is sent, it cannot be recalled.

In a volatile market where attention is consumed by geopolitical risk, the $11.3 billion figure is a reminder that the threat to crypto participants does not always come from the chart.

The Market Is Moving Toward Freedom. Freedom Has a Cost

The XWIN Research Japan analysis identifies a structural shift that runs parallel to the fraud surge — and makes it more consequential, not less. On-chain data shows persistent outflows from exchanges as users move assets into self-custody wallets.

Institutional custody strategies, long-term holding conviction, and rising awareness of counterparty risk are all contributing to the same directional behavior: coins leaving platforms and entering wallets where only the holder controls the keys.

Ethereum makes the trend most visible. Smart contract deployments continue to grow, reflecting real and expanding usage across DeFi, NFTs, and stablecoin payment infrastructure. Ethereum’s architecture is built around direct wallet interaction — every meaningful on-chain action requires a user to sign with their own key. The network is not just accommodating self-custody. It is structurally designed around it.

The paradox the report names is precise and uncomfortable. Scams are at record levels. Network usage is expanding. Assets are leaving exchanges. These three developments are happening simultaneously — and they are not contradictory. They are the same story told from different angles. More users are taking direct control of their assets at exactly the moment when the consequences of a single mistake or a single scam are permanent and irreversible.

Self-custody is not a safety upgrade. It is a responsibility transfer. In a market where $11.3 billion was lost to fraud last year, that transfer is not trivial — it is the most important risk decision a crypto participant currently makes. Price will recover from a drawdown. A compromised wallet does not.

Total Crypto Market Cap Stabilizes

The total crypto market cap is currently consolidating around $2.4 trillion after a sharp rejection from the $3.8–$4.1 trillion region, marking a clear loss of momentum from the 2025 expansion phase. The weekly structure shows a transition from a strong uptrend into a corrective environment, with price now trading below the 50-week (blue) and testing the 100-week (green) moving average.

The rejection from the highs was accompanied by a notable increase in volume, signaling distribution rather than a low-liquidity pullback. Since then, price action has compressed, forming a tentative base just above the 200-week moving average (red), which continues to trend upward. This level now acts as the primary macro support defining whether the broader cycle structure remains intact.

Short-term attempts to reclaim the 50-week moving average have repeatedly failed, indicating that upside momentum remains weak. However, the absence of continued aggressive selling suggests that the market is not in capitulation but in equilibrium.

This zone is structurally important. A sustained hold above current levels would support a continuation of the higher timeframe uptrend. A breakdown below the 200-week moving average, however, would signal a deeper cycle reset, shifting the market from correction into contraction.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

The US Treasury on Wednesday released a joint proposed rule from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that would put meat on the bones of the GENIUS Act, the federal law establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins. 

The draft rule translates the statute’s requirements into concrete anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and sanctions‑compliance obligations for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs), bringing the industry closer to clear standards.

Stablecoin Issuers To Follow Bank Secrecy Act Rules 

The GENIUS Act directs that PPSIs be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and be subject to the full range of federal rules that apply to US financial firms. 

Treasury’s proposal follows that instruction, seeking to tailor requirements to the scale of each PPSI while aiming to reduce potential illicit‑finance vulnerabilities and protect national security. 

In essence, the draft rule sets out how stablecoin issuers must detect, report, and block unlawful activity while maintaining the tools needed to comply with lawful orders.

Issuers would be obliged to establish and maintain anti‑money‑laundering and countering‑the‑financing‑of‑terrorism (CFT) programs. These programs must be structured and documented to align with the core expectations of regulated entities as outlined by OFAC. 

Issuers are also mandated to adhere to recordkeeping and reporting rules, furnishing OFAC with certifications submitted to their primary federal or state payment stablecoin regulator to confirm the presence of a robust sanctions program.

Additionally, these programs are required to include provisions for reporting suspicious activities and technical capabilities to detect and handle transactions that breach federal or state laws, regulations, or court orders promptly. 

Payment stablecoin issuers must also possess the capacity to act swiftly in compliance with lawful orders and maintain effective sanctions compliance programs in accordance with OFAC standards.

Compliance Under The GENIUS Act

Treasury emphasized that the proposal is meant to be proportionate and adaptable. The GENIUS Act tasks the Secretary of the Treasury with issuing regulations tailored to the size and complexity of PPSIs, and the draft rule reflects that directive by focusing on outcomes and capabilities rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all checklist.

If finalized, the GENIUS Act rule would mark a significant step toward integrating payment stablecoins into the US regulatory regime for financial institutions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on the matter: 

President Trump is strengthening American leadership in digital financial technology. This proposal will protect the US financial system from national security threats without hindering American companies’ ability to forge ahead in the payment stablecoin ecosystem.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

The Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin prices are surging today, recording significant gains. This follows an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to a 2-week ceasefire as they work towards a peaceful settlement of the war. 

Why The Bitcoin, XRP, And Dogecoin Prices Are Up Today

The Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin prices are up over 4% today, according to CoinMarketCap data. This comes amid the announcement by both the U.S. and Iran of a 2-week ceasefire. In a Truth Social post, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that both sides had agreed to a temporary ceasefire and that Iran also agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin prices also rose as Trump announced that, as part of the ceasefire, he has agreed to suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for 2 weeks. This came just as the president’s deadline to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure neared, with the president already threatening to wipe out their ‘civilization.’

Trump also signaled that they are close to reaching a peaceful and conclusive settlement of the war, which is also a positive for the Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin prices. He noted that they have already met and exceeded all military objectives and are very far along with a definitive agreement concerning long-term peace with Iran and peace in the Middle East. 

Specifically, Trump revealed that they had received a 10-point proposal from Iran and that they believe it is a workable basis for negotiation. He added that almost all the points have been agreed to by the U.S. and Iran, and that the two-week period will allow them to finalize and consummate the agreement. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also posted a statement on X confirming the 2-week ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran war. He stated that Iran will cease its defensive operations as long as U.S.-Israeli attacks are halted. Araghchi also confirmed that they will ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz over the next two weeks. 

More Short Positions Liquidated 

The Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin prices have also surged as more short positions are liquidated in the last 12 hours amid the agreement to a 2-week ceasefire by the U.S. and Iran. Over this period, $400 million in short positions have been liquidated while $110 million in long positions have been liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. 

It is worth noting that oil prices have crashed following the agreement of a ceasefire. Both Brent crude and WTI oil futures have crashed below $100, down 14% and 8%, respectively, in the last 24 hours. This comes as traders begin to price in a long-term settlement between the U.S. and Iran, which is a positive for the Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin prices.

Bitcoin surged above $72,000 yesterday and is holding above $70,000 today. The narrative of a bottom is building. And an XWIN Research Japan analysis is asking the more important question: not whether Bitcoin has bounced, but whether anyone understands why it fell.

The report from XWIN Research Japan reframes the past six months in a way that changes how the current recovery should be read. Bitcoin is not, in their framework, a standard risk asset that rises and falls with market sentiment. It is a terminal liquidity asset — the last recipient in a hierarchical financial system where capital flows from central banks to government bonds to equities and finally, at the very end of the chain, to crypto. When the upstream flow weakens, Bitcoin does not experience demand destruction. It receives nothing. The capital simply never arrives.

That is what happened over the past six months. Elevated US interest rates, a strengthening dollar, and rising Japanese bond yields simultaneously tightened global liquidity from multiple directions. Japan — one of the largest external investors in global markets — reduced its capital exports as domestic bond yields made home markets more attractive. The result was not investors selling Bitcoin. It was investors who never bought it.

The bounce above $72,000 is visible. Whether the conditions that prevented the capital from arriving have changed is the question the price chart cannot answer.

The Sell-Off Was Not Spot. It Was Credit

The analysis adds the second layer that completes the structural picture. As global liquidity tightened and capital stopped reaching Bitcoin, the derivatives market compounded the damage through a mechanism separate from — and more destructive than — simple selling.

Excess leverage accumulated during the bull run began unwinding in cascading liquidations. Each forced exit consumed demand that would have entered the market in future sessions. The downside was not just the selling that happened. It was the buying that was destroyed before it could occur.

The on-chain data confirms this interpretation without contradicting it. STH-SOPR holding below 1.0 for sustained periods reflected short-term holders realizing losses — an outcome of the liquidity squeeze, not its cause. The Coinbase Premium Gap staying negative reflected weak US spot demand — again, an outcome. These indicators describe what was happening to participants at the retail level while the structural cause operated several layers above them in the global capital hierarchy.

The forward conditions are equally structural and equally precise. A new all-time high requires capital to flow back through the system — from central banks, through bonds, through equities, and finally to the terminal edge where Bitcoin waits. Two catalysts could accelerate that flow specifically: US midterm elections influencing fiscal expansion and rate expectations, and a potential Japan Bitcoin ETF that would open access to one of the largest pools of household savings in the world.

The past six months were not a verdict on Bitcoin. They were a consequence of where it sits in the financial system. The next major move will arrive when the system above it changes — not when the narrative does.

Bitcoin Reclaims $70K but Trend Structure Remains Unresolved

Bitcoin has pushed back above the $70,000 level after a sharp recovery from its February lows, but the broader structure remains technically fragile. The chart still reflects a clear downtrend sequence from late 2025, with price consistently trading below the 100-day (green) and 200-day (red) moving averages. Both remain downward sloping, indicating that the macro trend has not yet shifted despite the recent bounce.

The February capitulation event marked a local exhaustion point, with a spike in volume and a rapid wick below $60,000, followed by stabilization. Since then, the price has formed a range between roughly $62,000 and $72,000, with multiple failed attempts to sustain a breakout above resistance. The recent move above $70,000 is notable, but it has not yet been accompanied by a decisive expansion in volume or follow-through.

Short-term momentum has improved, as Bitcoin is now testing the 50-day moving average (blue), but this level has acted as dynamic resistance throughout the downtrend. A confirmed reclaim of this zone would be the first structural signal of strength. Until then, the current move appears corrective within a broader bearish framework, not a confirmed trend reversal.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

A Ponzi scheme worth $200 million. A fake token sale that pulled in $100 million from unsuspecting investors. These are the kinds of cases the US Securities and Exchange Commission says it now wants to focus on — not the pile of enforcement actions it quietly admitted this week were a waste of time.

SEC Turns On Its Own Track Record

The SEC released its 2025 enforcement results on Tuesday, and buried inside was a striking admission: a large number of cases brought in prior years against crypto companies produced no real benefit for investors.

According to the agency, 95 enforcement actions and $2.3 billion in penalties tied to record-keeping violations since fiscal year 2022 “identified no direct investor harm.”

The SEC added that seven cases involving crypto firm registrations and six others centered on the legal definition of a dealer also fell into that category.

Those cases, the agency said, reflected a bias toward racking up numbers rather than protecting the people the commission exists to serve.

That self-criticism landed with force. It was a direct indictment of the approach taken under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who for years pursued what critics called regulation by enforcement — using legal action as a substitute for clear rules in the crypto space.

The agency itself used the phrase “unprecedented rush” to describe the push to file cases in the weeks before US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.

Atkins Refocuses The Agency

Paul Atkins took over as SEC chair in April 2025 and moved quickly to change course. Officials said the commission has since redirected its attention toward fraud, market manipulation, and breaches of trust — the categories of misconduct that cause the clearest damage to ordinary investors.

Atkins said the old model prioritized “volume and record-setting penalties” over genuine protection.

Data shows the numbers back that up. Based on reports from consulting firm Cornerstone Research, SEC enforcement actions against public companies — including crypto firms — fell roughly 30% in fiscal 2025 compared to the year before.

Despite the pullback, the commission has not gone quiet. In May 2025, the SEC sued Unicoin and four of its executives, alleging the company raised $100 million by misleading investors about token rights and equity. Unicoin has disputed the agency’s version of events.

Ethereum’s current price structure is being compared to a phase that once played out in a major stock price, where years of sideways movement and repeated rejections eventually gave way to a powerful breakout above resistance. The comparison, shared by crypto analyst Crypto Tice on X, points out that what looks like long-term stagnation around $2,000 on Ethereum’s chart may be a setup that has appeared before in Netflix’s price history.

A Repeating Structure Inside A Range

Technical patterns have a way of resurfacing across different markets, which is why analysts often study past price behavior of one cryptocurrency to predict how another cryptocurrency could also play out in the future. In many cases, these comparisons stay within the crypto market itself or extend to traditional stores of value like precious metals, where similarities in cycles and investor behavior are easier to justify.

This analysis, however, takes a different approach by stepping outside those usual comparisons. It provides a comparison between Ethereum’s current price structure and the way Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) traded between 2003 and 2009.

The chart highlights a sequence of six distinct interactions with range boundaries in both assets. In Netflix’s case, the price spent years bouncing between support and resistance, forming a compressed structure with multiple failed breakout attempts. Each rejection added to the range but also built pressure over time.

Ethereum’s price action on a multi-year timeframe is showing a nearly identical formation. Since 2021, the Ethereum price has repeatedly pushed into resistance around $4,900, pulled back to support, and returned again for another attempt. 

The current price action, which is the sixth interaction, places Ethereum near the lower boundary of the range, which is just the same stage Netflix was before its eventual breakout.

Price Chart Comparison. Source: @CryptoTice_ On X

Pressure Building. What Comes Next?

The structure outlined in the chart ultimately points to one outcome: a breakout rally. This is how Netflix broke out of the resistance trendline in 2009. The important thing for Ethereum now is reclaiming and holding above resistance above $4,900 with conviction. However, there are other intermediate price targets that Ethereum needs to break above before this move. These targets include $2,150, $2,350, $3,100, $3,900, and $4,600.

The analogy, however, is not without its critics. Some comments argue that comparing Ethereum to Netflix ignores the fundamental differences between the two. One comment, for instance, noted that Netflix’s consolidation took place during a period of steady business expansion, with clear growth in subscribers and revenue supporting its long-term trajectory.

Ethereum’s situation, on the other hand, is more layered and has a different economic regime. The rise of Layer 2 networks has moved activity away from the base layer, reducing fee generation at the protocol level. These factors, and many others, introduce unknowns that cannot be represented through chart structure.

Американская майнинговая компания CleanSpark закрыла свою майнинговую ферму мощностью 25 МВт, проработавшую пять лет в округе Вашингтон штата Теннесси. На шум фермы жаловались местные жители.

Иран планирует взимать $1 за каждый баррель нефти, провозимой через Ормузский пролив во время двухнедельного перемирия, только что достигнутого с США. Расчеты будут проводиться в биткоинах, сообщил Financial Times представитель Союза иранских экспортеров нефти и газа Хамид Хоссейни (Hamid Hosseini).

In a strange move, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has clarified shortcomings in its past approach by dropping seven lawsuits against crypto companies, among them Binance and Coinbase.

Another Crypto-Mishap…But From Regulators

Strange things are happening in crypto today. Not only a top U.S. legacy outlet released a piece claiming to have uncovered Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity, but the SEC’s new Fiscal Year 2025 Enforcement Report contains an unusually blunt self‑critique: it admits prior leadership misallocated enforcement resources to chase media headlines and raw case counts instead of real investor protection.

Central to an effective enforcement program is determining which cases to bring and responsibly stewarding Commission resources. Regrettably, such resources have been misapplied in prior years to pursue media headlines and run up numbers, and in turn, led to misguided expectations on what constitutes effective enforcement.

According to the statement, since 2022 the Commission brought 95 “off‑channel communications” book‑and‑record cases with $2.3 billion in penalties, plus seven crypto registration and six “dealer definition” actions. The current Commission now says these showed “no direct investor harm”, produced “no investor benefit” and reflected a misinterpretation of federal securities law.

The Commission itself now characterizes these 95 book‑and‑record cases and 13 crypto matters as resource misallocation driven by a “bias for volume of cases brought versus matters of investor protection.”

The statement also notes that the SEC has dropped seven crypto-focused cases since February 2025, targeting Coinbase, Binance, Cumberland, Consensys Software, Payward (Kraken), Dragonchain, and Balina.

The Atkins Era: Crypto Enforcement 2.0

The SEC is publicly distancing itself from earlier, more expansive readings of securities law in crypto, implying that some marquee cases were built on legal glosses that will not be repeated and that may be harder to defend in court going forward. The recent interpretive release on crypto assets and the SEC‑CFTC alignment are part of the same course correction toward clearer categories of what is or isn’t a security, rather than treating tokens themselves as inherently embodying an investment contract.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who assumed the role in April 2025, has faulted his predecessors, claiming the agency did not keep pace with technological innovation. With Atkins, the SEC is recentering enforcement on classic fraud, market manipulation, and breaches of fiduciary duty. The FY 2025 results show 456 actions focused on misconduct that directly harms investors and market integrity

The Trump‑era shift has already seen crypto enforcement actions fall to their lowest level since 2017.

Market Implications

The SEC admission should reduce some litigation overhang and may encourage more projects to operate in the U.S., but fraud, market manipulation, and deceptive offerings remain squarely in the SEC’s crosshairs.

Enforcement reset could gradually improve risk sentiment around high‑quality assets and U.S. venues, though the unwinding of old cases and the new legal framework will likely produce periods of regulatory volatility and headline risk.

This represents a move from opaque, adversarial tactics toward clearer lines between commodities, tools, and true securities. Sophisticated traders should watch how quickly this policy shift flows into actual dismissals, settlements, and new listings.

Cover image from Perplexity. BTCUSD chart from Tradingview.

Рост биткоина выше $71 000 оказался всего лишь реакцией на объявление перемирия между США и Ираном — но риски дальнейшего падения актива сохраняются, предположили аналитики компании QCP Capital.

Bitcoin moved back above $72,000 after US President Donald Trump said he would pause military action against Iran for two weeks, a shift that quickly eased pressure across markets.

The move came after days of rising tension and landed just hours after Trump had warned Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on key infrastructure.

Trump’s Deadline Eases Pressure

Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” he said.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council then accepted the ceasefire, while stressing that the pause did not mean the war was over. Bitcoin jumped 2.55% in the hour after the news and reached $72,150 at the time of publication.

The rebound pushed Bitcoin above a level it had not seen since March 18. It also came after a rough stretch for the crypto market, where sentiment had weakened and traders had been bracing for more conflict. The last few sessions had been marked by caution rather than confidence.

That reaction fit a pattern seen before. When geopolitical stress climbs, risk assets often take a hit. When the pressure eases, money can move back just as fast. Bitcoin has been caught in that swing during past flare-ups, and this one was no different.

NEW: The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan on April 7 and will begin negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11. The Iranian Supreme National Security Council announced that the regime agreed to the ceasefire on April 7, several… pic.twitter.com/HXJssnavbX

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) April 8, 2026

Fear Still Lingered In Crypto Trading

Even after the pop, the market picture was far from calm. Market observers pointed to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which sat at an “Extreme Fear” reading of 11 on Tuesday. That suggested many traders were still wary despite the price bounce.

Trump had already added to the tension a day earlier, saying on Monday that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the situation continued. By Tuesday, the tone had changed, but only for now. The ceasefire was tied to a short window, not a lasting settlement.

A Fast Move, But A Fragile One

The speed of Bitcoin’s rise showed how quickly traders were ready to buy when the threat of more fighting eased. The price crossed $72,000 for the first time in 20 days, but the backdrop was still unstable, with both sides signaling that the conflict was not fully resolved.

For now, the market is treating the pause as relief, not closure. Bitcoin’s jump was sharp, but it was built on a ceasefire that could still shift if talks break down or the fighting resumes.

Featured image from Reuters-Yonhap, chart from TradingView

Консорциум крупнейших банков Швейцарии начал тестировать государственный стейблкоин, обеспеченный швейцарским франком (CHF). Если апробация пройдет успешно, власти страны рассчитывают запустить токен для расчетов внутри страны и трансграничных платежей в 2027 году.