Treasury Secretary Affirms Crypto Deregulation Stance
Treasury Secretary Bessent affirmed the Trump administration's policy to eliminate all regulatory barriers against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, preceding a rally in the crypto market, particularly for $BTC.
$BTC surged to $74,000, reaching $74,430 in early trading today—a new local high and its highest price since February 4th. It currently trades at $73,175.00, up 2.15% over 24 hours and 7.8% over seven days. Market sentiment registered 77.8% bullish, above its 65-75% baseline, with long positions at 79% and mindshare increasing by 3.3%.
MicroStrategy Expands $BTC Holdings, Targets 1 Million Goal
MicroStrategy continued its Bitcoin accumulation, acquiring an additional 17,994 $BTC, elevating total holdings to 738,731 $BTC. The firm remains committed to accumulating 1 million $BTC by the end of 2026. To meet this goal within 42 weeks, MicroStrategy must acquire approximately 6,158 $BTC weekly.
BlackRock Launches Ethereum Staking ETF
BlackRock launched a new Ethereum staking Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), coinciding with a rally in the $ETH market.
$ETH rose 6.9% over 24 hours to $2256.05, and 12.8% over seven days, reaching its highest price in six weeks. Bullish market sentiment for $ETH reached 77.8%, up from a 65-75% baseline, and its mindshare increased by 0.7%. The ETF launch followed significant institutional interest, with $ETH ETFs recording inflows of $117.40 million and $161 million last week. On-chain data showed record accumulation, with treasury companies holding an all-time high of $ETH. 336,000 $ETH were withdrawn from crypto exchanges in the past week, including a 33,544 $ETH acquisition, valued at $71.2 million, by ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees.
China Rumored to Legalize Digital Assets, $40 Billion XRP Strategy
Unconfirmed reports suggest China may legalize digital assets and develop a $40 billion national strategy focused on $XRP, following years of strict cryptocurrency restrictions.
$XRP climbed 5.0% in 24 hours to $1.48, and 9.6% over seven days. Trading volume for $XRP rose, with futures market data showing increased net buying of long positions and a near absence of short positions. $XRP's mindshare registered a 0.4% change. These reports remain unconfirmed.
Venus Protocol Attacked; Justin Sun's XVS Holdings Affected
Venus Protocol experienced a suspected flash loan attack. On-chain data indicates an address obtained approximately 20 $BTC, 1.5 million $CAKE, and 200 $BNB, coinciding with a transfer of Justin Sun's $XVS holdings.
An address associated with Justin Sun (0x9FCc...19Fe) held 621,071 $XVS tokens for over two years, acquired at an average price of $12.21 per $XVS. The holdings' value dropped to approximately $1.95 million, an estimated 75% floating loss. All tokens were moved to a new wallet address on April 10, 2025.
Venus Protocol has a history of at least five security incidents. The attack led to significant price volatility for $XVS. On Binance Spot, $XVS gained 2.62% in recent trading, while on Binance Futures, it gained 4.65% over 60 minutes and 2.16% over 15 minutes.