Bitcoin Leads the Pack as Global Markets Show Signs of Strain
🚀 Bitcoin Nears $86K, Dominance Hits 4-Year High
Bitcoin is proving to be the ultimate survivor, brushing off global economic jitters and climbing closer to its all-time “Liberation Day” high — now less than 3% away from the $86,000 mark. Its market dominance has surged to 63.8%, a level not seen since January 2021, outshining U.S. equities like the Nasdaq 100, which is still 5% away from its comparable peak.
📉 Wall Street Woes: Death Cross for the S&P 500
The S&P 500 just flashed a classic “death cross”—a bearish technical signal—as its 50-day MA dipped below the 200-day MA. Historical data shows this can lead to either a temporary rally or prolonged decline. Meanwhile, bearish sentiment continues with rising NVDA put buying in the options market.
💬 Inside Washington: No Panic Over Treasuries—Yet
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reassures markets: “We’re not seeing a dumping of U.S. Treasuries.” But concerns linger as the DXY (Dollar Index) dropped below 100, losing 10% in recent weeks. Notably, the Trump administration is reportedly scouting a new Fed Chair, potentially replacing Jerome Powell.
🔥 Crypto Calendar – What’s Ahead This Week
🔗 Blockchain Events & Upgrades
- April 15: SmarDEX (SDEX) halving begins
- April 16: HashKey Chain (HSK) mainnet upgrade
- April 17: EigenLayer activates slashing penalties
- April 18: Pepecoin (PEP) halving
- April 20, 11 p.m.: opBNB mainnet hard fork
- April 21: Coinbase Derivatives may list XRP futures (pending CFTC approval)
🏦 Macro Events to Watch
- April 15, 8:30 a.m.: Canada CPI data
- April 16: U.S. retail sales & Bank of Canada interest rate decision
- April 17: U.S. jobless claims & housing starts
- April 17, 7:30 p.m.: Japan CPI report
💸 Token Unlocks & Listings
- April 15: Sei (SEI) unlock ($10M); WCT listed on major exchanges
- April 16: Arbitrum (ARB) unlock ($27M); Binance delists 13 tokens
- April 18: Major unlocks — TRUMP ($325M), FTN ($82M), UXLINK ($18M), IMX ($10M)
- April 22: Hyperlane (HYPER) airdrop
🗳️ DAO Discussions Heating Up
- Venus DAO: Proposes forced liquidation of exploiter’s BNB-backed debt
- Aave DAO: Weighs sunsetting sUSD on Optimism
- GMX DAO: Considers bridging $500K to Solana
- Treasure DAO: Might shut down Treasure Chain infra on ZKsync due to financial stress
🎙️ Upcoming Governance & AMA Sessions
- April 15, 10 a.m.: Injective X Spaces with Guardian
- April 16, 7 a.m.: Aergo AMA on decentralized AI
- April 16, 3 p.m.: Zcash Town Hall on LockBox
🧨 Volatile Moves: IP & OM Tokens Dive
- Story Protocol (IP tokens) dropped 20%, then rebounded amid speculation of insider activity
- MANTRA (OM) fell over 90% (from $6.30 to $0.37), wiping out $5B before rebounding to $0.63
- Laser Digital and Shorooq denied dumping OM, citing collateral transfers
📊 Derivatives & Market Positioning
- BTC shorts liquidated on most exchanges (except BitMEX, Gate.io)
- XRP OI dropped significantly despite price recovery
- ETH & BTC options show preference for protective puts
- Hot futures interest: SUI, ONDO, ADA, APT — with XMR showing the strongest net buy pressure
📈 Markets at a Glance
- BTC: $85,877.18 (+1.35% 24h)
- ETH: $1,645.30 (-1.97% 24h)
- CoinDesk 20: +0.99%
- Gold: $3,245.30 (+1.26%)
- Silver: $32.35 (+0.81%)
- DXY: 99.70 (unchanged)
- BTC Dominance: 63.80%
- BTC-to-Gold Market Cap: 7.56%
💼 Crypto Stocks
- MSTR: $311.45 (+3.82%)
- COIN: $176.58 (+0.62%)
- MARA: $12.95 (+3.52%)
- RIOT: $7.01 (-0.71%)
- CLSK: $7.78 (+3.73%)
- EXOD: $39.43 (-10.55%)
🌐 Conference Circuit
- Ongoing: Morocco WEB3FEST, BUIDL Asia (Seoul), World Financial Innovation Series (Hanoi), NexTech Week (Tokyo)
- April 22-24: Money20/20 Asia (Bangkok)
- April 23-24: Blockchain Forum 2025 (Moscow)
- April 23: Crypto Horizons 2025 (Dubai)
💬 Final Thought
While traditional markets flash warning signs, Bitcoin and top cryptos are pressing forward with remarkable resilience. Keep an eye on volatility, governance shifts, and unlock schedules — the week ahead is loaded with signals that could shape the next breakout… or breakdown.
