Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | April 13 - April 19, 2025

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Crypto Weekly Recap

Bitcoin:

• Weekly performance: +2.04%
• US Spot BTC ETFs: +$15.85M
• Bitcoin price increased slightly this week, trading near $85,100 on April 19, up from $83,200 on April 13.
• Key resistance level at $86,000 held firm, with support above $83,500.
• Fed Chair Powell's comments on April 17 dampened rate-cut hopes, leading to short-term market reaction. However, he suggested U.S. banks may soon see relaxed crypto restrictions to balance innovation with consumer protection.
• US-China tariff tensions escalated with increased tariffs leading to market uncertainty, which positioned Bitcoin as a hedge against dollar fragility. 
• The market briefly rebounded after President Trump said he had had nice conversations with China.
• Trump wanted to fire Fed's Powell, but it's not easy and several market commentators warned that this could crash financial markets and undermine investor confidence.
• Whale activity showed minor declines in large wallets, but significant transactions (over $10 million) rose by 18% from April 17 to 19.
• Bitcoin still underperformed gold (+4.64%) this week, but outperformed S&P 500 (+0.52%).
• Analysts suggest a bullish outlook for Bitcoin, highlighting potential for price increases if it closes above $84,500 and anticipates Fed liquidity operations and ongoing tariff negotiations in the upcoming week.

Ethereum:

• Weekly performance: +0.11%
• US Spot ETH ETFs: -$32.17M
• Ethereum had a modest weekly performance gain, trading at $1,599.80 on April 19 after a price range between $1,577.14 and $1,623.77.
• The SEC extended review for Grayscale’s ETH staking ETFs to June 1, amplifying mid-week volatility.
• Institutional interest in staking products remains strong, as indicated by Bitwise's Ethereum Staking ETP and Asia's first Ethereum staking ETF by Huaxia.
• On-chain activity didn't see a good increase, with gas fees hitting a 5-year low at $0.17 on April 17.
• Analysts describe Ethereum as the "institutional foundation for Web3" due to compliance-aligned Layer 2 solutions and its role in tokenizing real-world assets, despite poor performance in price and network activity lately.
• Key price support held at $1,500, with monitoring necessary for ETF developments and macroeconomic factors impacting near-term price direction.

Altcoins:

• AWS outage disrupted exchange services; withdrawals later resumed.
• Tether expanded into mining, tightened CeFi control, and planned U.S. entry.
• Base, backed by Coinbase, faced backlash over Content Coin promo and 90% crash.
• Bybit denied $1.4M listing fee; faced heat over PAWS glitch and campus misconduct.
• Smart money this week bet on Bitcoin, boosted Solana, and eyed a DOJ deal.
• Four tokens crashed this week in a sharp, chaotic market shakeup.
• SEC shifted stance as courts cracked down on crypto frauds and made big arrests.
• Kraken, Visa, and JPMorgan led major TradFi-crypto moves this week.
• Trump reportedly planned to launch a Monopoly-style crypto game.
• OpenAI started building a social platform to compete with Elon Musk’s X.
• Soneium partnered with EigenLayer and AltLayer to reach sub-10s blockchain finality.
• Project 11 offered 1 BTC to anyone who cracked Bitcoin’s longest key.
• Raydium launched LaunchLab to simplify token creation.
• EigenLayer added slashing, completing its original protocol vision.
• Eliza Labs launched auto.fun for creators to build AI agents without coding.
• Aptos proposed cutting staking rewards by 3% over 3 months to spur development.
• Galaxy Research proposed dynamic voting to address Solana inflation.
• DWF Labs opened a NYC office and invested $25M in WLFI.
• Auradine raised $153M in Series C to scale Bitcoin mining and AI networking.

OM Token Plummets 90%, $6B Market Cap Lost Amid Liquidation Panic and Insider Allegations

The OM token of Mantra's real-world asset platform plummeted over 90% on April 13, 2025, from $6.30 to $0.37, erasing $6 billion in market cap. Coinciding with pre-crash large transfers, accusations of insider manipulation emerged. Co-founder John Patrick Mullin attributed the crash to forced liquidations triggered by exchanges during low liquidity hours. Trading volume surged by 2,979% amid panic. Despite a brief rebound, OM stabilized around $0.7. Mantra announced plans for a $109 million Ecosystem Fund and token buybacks, while reassessing risk exposure and seeking transparency in trading activities during this tumultuous incident.

Crypto ETF Update: SEC Delays Ethereum Staking, Canada Launches Solana ETFs, ProShares Unveils XRP Futures

The Crypto Funds Weekly Recap highlights significant developments in the cryptocurrency ETF landscape as of April 2025. The SEC has postponed its decision on Grayscale's Ethereum ETF staking until June 1, while Canada launched its first spot Solana ETFs. ProShares intends to introduce XRP futures ETFs by April 30, with predictions of a 75% chance of spot ETF approval for XRP this year. VanEck's Onchain Economy ETF is set to launch on May 14, and Huaxia Fund plans Asia's first Ethereum staking ETF. HashKey Capital unveiled Asia’s first XRP Tracker Fund, with projected institutional inflows of $8 billion post-approval.

Global Crypto Policy Shifts: Google Enforces MiCA Licensing, Panama City Embraces Crypto Payments, and More

Significant developments in global crypto policies include Google's enforcement of MiCA licensing for cryptocurrency ads in Europe starting April 23, aimed at reducing fraud. Panama City allows tax payments in Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins to boost its digital economy. Ethena Labs will exit Germany, limiting USDe access to its international branch due to regulatory challenges. Argentina has launched a tokenization framework for asset digitization, while Swedish MPs propose adding Bitcoin to national reserves. Slovenia is considering a 25% tax on crypto trading profits, and Vietnam plans a crypto trading pilot with Bybit in May 2025.

Powell Eases Crypto Rules, OKX Relaunches in U.S., and States Battle Over Stablecoin Regulations

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled potential easing of crypto restrictions for U.S. banks to promote innovation, while the FDIC aims to withdraw previous guidelines for banks’ crypto activities. OKX reentered the U.S. market after a $505 million settlement, launching a new exchange and emphasizing compliance. Additionally, intense competition for U.S. stablecoin regulation is evident among Bank of America, Tether, and Circle. Arizona advanced its Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill for a crypto reserve, while Oklahoma's Bitcoin reserve bill failed. Finally, a Pennsylvania man pled guilty to evading over $3 million in taxes from NFT sales.

VanEck Proposes BitBonds: A Bold Plan to Use Bitcoin to Reduce U.S. $14 Trillion Debt

VanEck has proposed a novel financial instrument called BitBonds, which would allow the U.S. government to issue bonds backed by Bitcoin to tackle its $14 trillion debt. This initiative would enable the government to purchase Bitcoin, potentially positioning the U.S. favorably in the global race for cryptocurrency reserves. VanEck estimates a 36.6% annual growth rate for Bitcoin, suggesting that if maintained, this strategy could eliminate $50 trillion in national debt by 2045. With BitBonds, the U.S. seeks to attract new investors and address economic shifts without increasing taxes or printing more currency.

Kraken Layoffs Precede U.S. IPO Amid Expansion and New Trading Offerings

Kraken has laid off hundreds of employees across various departments to streamline operations ahead of a potential U.S. IPO. This follows a 15% workforce reduction in late 2024 and coincides with the acquisition of NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion to expand into retail futures trading. On April 14, Kraken launched commission-free trading for over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs via its FINRA-regulated Kraken Securities division, initially available in ten states with plans for international expansion. Additionally, Kraken introduced perpetual forex futures for GBP/USD and EUR/USD pairs with up to 20x leverage on Kraken Pro. On April 22, Kraken will list Binance Coin (BNB) with trading pairs in USD, EUR, USDC, and USDT, marking its first support for the asset.

ZKsync Exploit Results in $5M Loss and 20% Token Plunge After Unauthorized Minting of 111M Tokens

A significant exploit in ZKsync's airdrop contracts led to the unauthorized minting of 111 million ZK tokens, resulting in a $5 million loss. The breach, linked to a compromised admin key, allowed access to a previously exposed function, causing a 20% price drop from $0.047 to under $0.04. The attacker transferred approximately 1.7 million tokens to Ethereum, triggering panic. ZKsync assured that no user funds or core protocol were affected and is collaborating with security teams and exchanges to address the situation. The incident underscores vulnerabilities in airdrop contracts and the importance of robust smart contract practices.

KiloEx Recovers $7.5M from Oracle Exploit, Marks Swift Resolution Amid Rising Crypto Theft Trends

KiloEx, a decentralized exchange backed by Binance, suffered a $7.5 million exploit due to a price oracle vulnerability, prompting an operational halt on April 14, 2025. The attacker manipulated Ethereum prices, draining funds across multiple blockchains. KiloEx offered a $750,000 bounty for the return of 90% of the stolen assets, threatening legal action if the attacker did not comply. Remarkably, on April 19, KiloEx announced the full recovery of the stolen funds, facilitated by a white-hat hacker, showcasing the effectiveness of ethical hacking. This recovery contrasts with a broader industry trend, where Q1 2025 losses reached $1.67 billion.

Top Weekly Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Core CORE (+25.57%)

Raydium RAY (+24.93%)

Helium HNT (+15.68%)

Hyperliquid HYPE (+14.04%)

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance FET (+13.25%)

Losers:

MANTRA OM (-90.03%)

Movement MOVE (-27.55%)

Walrus WAL (-13.86%)

Fartcoin FARTCOIN (-11.95%)

Ethena ENA (-9.74%)