April 20–27 was another very eventful week for the crypto and financial sectors. From regulatory updates, new developments in institutional investment, and major moves by DeFi firms, the industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace
Monday – $BTC ($84,667)
Monday kicked off the week with major news in crypto. For starters, we got reports that fund manager Canary Capital was exploring a TRX-based financial product. The new fund will be structured as a commodity investment backed by the digital asset $TRX—with staking rewards to be reinvested in that same fund.
Later in the day, Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal publicly pressured the SEC to release its Ethereum 2.0 investigation documents, alleging that the Commission should be more transparent about the case.
The stock market continued its decline as Trump, at the time, began to heavily pressure Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to decrease interest rates.
Tuesday – $BTC ($87,510)
On Tuesday, Gold hit yet another all-time highest value per ounce, reflecting how investors are seeking gold as a hedge amidst growing economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, we saw major leadership changes at the Ethereum Foundation.
Also on this date, we reflected how Trump’s aggressiveness towards Jerome Powell was causing extreme negative pressure on the dollar, with bond markets falling drastically amidst a surge in investor anxiety over political interference in monetary policy. This analysis would later prove valid, as shortly after that date the U.S. President would back down from campaigning for Jerome Powell’s resignation.
Wednesday – $BTC ($94,333)
On Wednesday, we got early signs that the U.S. and China could start negotiating a deal. In expectation that this would lead to a less economically impactful trade war, financial markets all around began gaining huge amounts of value.
This led Bitcoin to regain the $90,000 margin after nearly two months. In this piece, we explained how financial institutions like Strategy and Metaplanet continued to accumulate Bitcoin, even despite the market downturn.
Nearly all cryptocurrencies saw substantial value growth from Tuesday to Wednesday. This caused investors short, aka betting against any potential growth, to see significant losses. On Wednesday, XRP shorters were liquidated for millions of dollars.
Thursday – $BTC ($93,819)
At this point in the week, the SEC policies started taking the forefront of the discussion. We initially got a glimpse of how State regulators across America are now backing off from enforcing regulations until the Commission’s “Crypto Task Force” presents a regulatory guideline to Congress.
We also shared an insight into how cryptocurrency crimes are exponentially rising in the United States. According to this FBI report, elderly Americans are the most affected by crypto scams, losing over $3 billion in 2024 to such crimes.
The market’s third-largest non-stablecoin by market capitalization, XRP, saw yet another financial product based on its currency. On April 24, the CME Group announced the launch of XRP futures, scheduled for May 19.
HBAR ETFs, as well as other crypto ETF applications, were put on hold, as yet again, the SEC signals to wait for regulatory clarity before continuing to work with the crypto industry.
Friday – $BTC ($94,474)
On Rebecca Black’s day, the SEC took on crypto custody, with Chairman Paul Atkins calling for updated regulations to fit blockchains. He criticized outdated rules, warned that uncertainty is stifling U.S. innovation, and pushed for collaboration to modernize financial markets.
Also in the Crypto Roundtable, Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda pushed back against prior regulatory assumptions, arguing that most crypto assets are not securities.
Closing out the week, Strike announced its entry into Bitcoin lending, expanding BTC’s role as a financial product. With CEO Jack Mallers now leading both Strike and Twenty One Capital, speculation is mounting over a possible merger that could form a Bitcoin-powered financial institution.
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