Crypto World
BlackRock Reports $935M Crypto Inflows, $18.7B AUM Fall
TLDR
- BlackRock recorded $935 million in digital asset inflows during the first quarter of 2026.
- Market declines reduced BlackRock’s digital asset AUM by $18.7 billion in the same period.
- The firm ended the quarter with $60.7 billion in digital assets under management.
- Digital assets represented less than 0.5% of BlackRock’s total $13.9 trillion in AUM.
- BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust increased its holdings to 785,240 BTC by quarter’s end.
BlackRock released its first-quarter 2026 results on April 14 and reported mixed digital asset figures. The firm drew $935 million in digital asset inflows during the quarter. However, market declines reduced its digital asset AUM by $18.7 billion.
BlackRock Digital Asset Inflows Reach $935 Million
BlackRock recorded $935 million in net inflows into digital asset products during the first quarter. The company disclosed the figures in its quarterly earnings report. Finbold reviewed the report on April 15 and confirmed the data.
However, market losses erased $18.7 billion from BlackRock’s digital asset AUM during the same period. The firm also reported a $5 million foreign exchange impact loss. As a result, digital assets closed the quarter at $60.7 billion in total value.
Digital assets accounted for less than 0.5% of BlackRock’s $13.9 trillion in total AUM. The category generated $42 million in base fees during the quarter. This figure represented about 0.77% of $5.4 billion in total base fees.
Digital assets also contributed 0.63% of BlackRock’s $6.7 billion in total revenue intake. For the full year, digital assets brought in $32.3 billion of $744 billion in net inflows. This share represented 4.3% of total net new inflows.
IBIT Expands Bitcoin Holdings as ETHA Reduces Ethereum Exposure
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) increased its Bitcoin holdings during the first quarter. The fund added nearly 15,000 Bitcoin to its portfolio. This move brought total holdings to 785,240 BTC by quarter end.
The company confirmed the updated holdings in its quarterly filing. The increase reflected continued capital allocation to Bitcoin exposure. However, the broader crypto market downturn affected asset valuations.
In contrast, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) reported lower Ethereum holdings in the quarter. The fund reduced its holdings by about 410,750 Ethereum. It closed the period with roughly 3.06 million ETH.
BlackRock continued to expand its digital asset offerings during the quarter. In March 2026, the firm launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB). The product combines spot Ethereum exposure with staking yield.
The company also filed for the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA). The proposed fund seeks to generate yield through a covered call strategy. It plans to use options on existing IBIT holdings.
BlackRock operates under CEO Larry Fink. The firm confirmed its ongoing product development efforts in digital assets during the quarter. It ended the period with $60.7 billion in digital asset AUM.
Allbirds (BIRD) stock gained over 700% on April 15 after the company announced it would ditch footwear entirely and pivot to AI compute infrastructure. The playbook may look familiar.
Less than a year ago, a wave of struggling pharma companies pulled the same move with crypto. Most of those stocks have since collapsed.
From Dead Shoe Brand to 700% Market Frenzy in a Single Day
Allbirds, once valued at $4 billion after its 2021 IPO, sold its shoe brand to American Exchange Group for just $39 million in March.
The remaining shell secured a $50 million convertible financing facility and plans to rebrand as NewBird AI, leasing GPUs to developers facing compute shortages.
“NewBird AI expects to use initial capital from the Facility to acquire high-performance GPU assets, which will be deployed to serve customers requiring dedicated access to AI compute capacity,” read an excerpt in the press release.
Following the news, Allbirds’ stock, BIRD, rallied by over 700%, with prospects for more gains as rising demand continues to clear each local top.
It is imperative to note, however, that the company has no track record in hardware, data centers, or cloud services. Both deals still require stockholder approval at a May 18 special meeting.
Against this backdrop, analysts noted the disconnect between the stock move and the underlying business.
“Feels like the market is rewarding what you could be not what you are … Nothing changed operationally overnight. Just the story. Shoes → dead. AI → alive,” analyst Kyle Doops remarked.
Crypto Tried This First
In 2025, at least four medical firms abandoned their core businesses to become crypto treasury companies.
- Helius Medical rebranded as Solana Company and raised $500 million for a SOL treasury.
- Kindly MD merged with Nakamoto Holdings to hold Bitcoin (BTC).
- MEI Pharma became Lite Strategy, adopting Litecoin (LTC) as its reserve asset.
Each stock spiked on the announcement. The aftermath tells a different story. Helius Medical traded near $25 at its peak and now sits around $2.31.
Nakamoto has fallen to $0.22 and is pursuing a reverse stock split to avoid Nasdaq delisting. Lite Strategy trades at $1.10 with a market cap of roughly $40 million.
Same Hype, Different Label
Master Ventures founder Kyle Chassé called it the “AI effect,” suggesting this may only be the beginning.
“This is the AI effect. Allbirds announced their switch from shoes to AI and then shot up 700% in a single day. It wouldn’t be surprising if other companies started pulling the same moves,” Chassé suggested.
The pattern is consistent. A company with a failing core business sells its operations, attaches itself to the hottest narrative, and watches its stock pop.
With crypto treasuries, the pop faded once markets demanded actual execution.
AI compute demand is real, but so was demand for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana (SOL).
Whether NewBird AI breaks the pattern or follows it may depend on whether $50 million is enough to compete in a market dominated by hyperscalers spending billions.
“I wish the Allbirds people luck in their attempt to pivot to GPUs. Maybe they can do it. But i regard this as the first definitive sign that things have gone too far. What a bunch of jokers and mountebanks they are,” wrote Jim Cramer.
The post Allbirds Stock Rallies 700% On AI Pivot, But Mirrors Failed Crypto Treasury Plans appeared first on BeInCrypto.
The committee, led by Tether’s head of government affairs, reported spending $3 million on advertising through a company co-founded by Tether US CEO Bo Hines.
The latest filing by the crypto-aligned political action committee (PAC) headed by stablecoin issuer Tether’s head of government affairs shows $11 million in contributions from financial institutions.
In a Wednesday filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Fellowship PAC revealed it had received $10 million from financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and $1 million from Anchor Labs, the company behind the crypto bank Anchorage Digital. The January 2026 contributions came amid $3 million in spending by the PAC for “issue advocacy advertising” with the Nxum Group, a marketing company co-founded by former White House crypto adviser and Tether US CEO Bo Hines.
Despite the significant contributions from Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage, Fellowship initially claimed to have “over $100 million” from undisclosed backers aligned with the crypto industry at its launch in September. FEC filings showed no receipts over $200 between Aug. 7, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2025, but did not necessarily include any contributions after March 31.
The 2024 US election season saw crypto-backed PACs spend hundreds of millions of dollars on media to support candidates they considered “pro-crypto” and to oppose those marked as “anti-crypto” by many in the industry. With party control of the US Congress hanging in the balance this year, PAC spending like Fellowship’s signals that the crypto industry could try to repeat their successes of 2024.
Related: US midterm election mirrors 2024 as crypto PACs move into Ohio races
In addition to its $3 million in advertising costs, the PAC reported in April that it had spent $1.5 million in media buys supporting Republican candidates in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District and candidates in US Senate races in Nebraska and Kentucky. Those three US states are scheduled to hold party primaries in May.
PAC’s ties to the crypto industry
Mitchell Nobel, listed as the PAC’s treasurer, has also been Cantor Fitzgerald’s director of digital asset strategy and policy since August 2025, roughly the same time Fellowship filed its statement of organization with the FEC.
Anchorage announced in March that it would be joining Chainlink to support the launch of the Blockchain Leadership Fund, a hybrid PAC that allows contributions directly to candidates as well as independent expenditures. An Anchorage spokesperson told Cointelegraph at the time that the company would make a “meaningful contribution” to be disclosed with the FEC, but no filing was public as of Wednesday.
Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter Brandt
Wall Street closed with S&P 500 and Nasdaq at fresh records as Tesla and Apple led a powerful tech rally while the Dow slipped.
Summary
- S&P 500 and Nasdaq close at all-time highs as megacap tech leads.
- Tesla jumps more than 7%, while Apple gains nearly 3% on heavy volume.
- Dow Jones slips as investors rotate into growth and AI-linked names.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finishing at record levels as a renewed surge in technology shares overshadowed weakness in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Wall Street scales new peak on tech strength
According to market data compiled by Gate, the Dow slipped 0.15%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq added 1.59%, pushing both benchmarks to fresh all-time closing highs in New York.
Tesla shares rallied 7.6% to around $390 after recent losses, extending a rebound that has left the electric-vehicle maker up sharply from its intraday low near $362 earlier in the session.
Apple also advanced, climbing nearly 3% as investors rotated back into the largest U.S. technology and AI-linked names, helping to propel the tech-heavy Nasdaq to its latest record.
SanDisk, by contrast, fell 5.5%, highlighting ongoing dispersion within the broader technology complex even as headline indices notch new peaks.
The latest leg higher leaves the S&P 500 trading just below 7,000 points, extending a powerful run that has seen the index gain more than 16% over the past year alongside expectations for roughly 15% annual earnings growth, according to recent U.S. market research.finance.yahoo+1
Chinese companies listed in New York also participated in the move, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index up 0.7% and NetEase adding about 2%, underscoring renewed risk appetite for growth and internet names.
The advance comes against a backdrop of investors betting that resilient U.S. economic data, strong big-tech balance sheets and ongoing enthusiasm around artificial intelligence will continue to support equities, even as geopolitical tensions and higher-for-longer rates remain in focus.
In this environment, Wall Street strategists have pointed to April’s historical tendency to deliver strong equity performance, with the S&P 500 averaging gains of roughly 1.4% in the month over recent decades, reinforcing seasonal tailwinds behind the latest breakout.
Ethereum has managed to keep the price above the $2,300 level, pulling away from the mid-March dip near $1,940. The latest price action arrives amid a broader sense of resilience, underpinned by spot demand and a resurgence in futures activity that traders are watching closely for signs of a lasting momentum shift after a long run of attempts to reclaim the $2,400 mark.
According to CoinGlass, ETH futures open interest has climbed to about $25.4 billion, suggesting growing appetite for leveraged exposure even as spot demand plays a key role in supporting prices. The move comes as the market consolidates a more constructive tone after weeks of struggle to reestablish the $2,400 threshold, with price action stabilizing near the current range as macro headlines ebb and flow.
Key takeaways
- Spot demand and institutional inflows anchor the rally: US-listed Ether spot ETFs saw about $248 million in net inflows over the past 10 days, reinforcing a narrative of solid cash-based buying. Bitmine Immersion’s ETH holdings have grown to 4.87 million ETH, equating to roughly $11.46 billion at current prices.
- Abstract risk remains despite price momentum: The perpetual ETH funding rate has struggled to stay above 5% since Friday and has dipped into negative territory at times, signaling cautious sentiment among bulls even as futures exposure expands.
- DApp activity wanes even as demand indicators hold: Ethereum weekly DApps revenue has slipped to about $11 million, down from roughly $24 million in early February, raising questions about near-term on-chain demand and ETH’s ability to sustain a broader network activity rebound.
- Market backdrop and ETF flows temper the upside: Ether ETFs report about $13.7 billion in assets under management, down from $20.5 billion three months earlier, while the S&P 500 hit new all-time highs—creating a mixed macro environment for crypto risk assets.
Spot demand versus on-chain activity
From a price perspective, ETH’s current zone of support around $2,300 has coincided with a pickup in spot-market interest. The net inflows into U.S.-listed Ether spot ETFs over the last 10 days provide a tangible signal that some market participants prefer owning ETH outright rather than relying solely on derivatives to express exposure. Those inflows come at a time when spot demand appears to be the primary driver behind recent price stability, even as derivatives metrics present a more nuanced story.
Bitmine Immersion—a digital asset treasury company—announced a fresh tranche of ETH purchases totaling about $312 million, boosting its holdings to 4.87 million ETH. That stockpile is valued today at roughly $11.46 billion. However, data from CoinGecko shows those holdings are trading approximately 13% below their acquisition cost, underscoring that the profitability of such stockpiling is sensitive to price swings and timing. The broader ETF ecosystem reflects a similar narrative: Ether’s US-listed ETF assets under management sit around $13.7 billion, down from $20.5 billion three months prior, highlighting a shifting appetite for passive exposure alongside ongoing volatility in crypto markets.
Complicating the picture is a macro backdrop where traditional equities have shown strength, with the S&P 500 reaching new highs on the same trading day as ETH’s rally. In this environment, investors appear to be weighing the potential for a systemic crypto rebound against competing macro drivers and sector-specific headwinds.
Derivatives sentiment and price action
Despite rising futures exposure, the market’s sentiment signals remain cautious. The ETH perpetual futures funding rate has not convincingly held above the 5% annualized threshold since last Friday, with several readings dipping below zero. In theory, a healthy long-speculation premium would be expected when bulls are confident, but the data suggests that the market continues to price in considerable risk and a need to justify the rally with more concrete on-chain activity or macro catalysts. Still, some analysts argue that the current price action is more reflective of spot demand supporting prices than of a wholesale shift in derivatives positioning.
Data from Laevitas tracking perpetual funding rates paints a nuanced picture: periods of neutrality—roughly in the 5% to 10% range under typical conditions—have given way to readings that imply a tilt toward neutral-to-cautious positioning. In other words, while more capital appears to be entering ETH futures, the cost of carry signals a measured approach rather than an unreserved bullish bet.
All told, the divergence between rising open interest and middling funding signals suggests a market in which investors are content to accumulate exposure through a mix of spot and regulated derivatives, yet remain wary about extending momentum without clearer catalysts. In this context, the rally to the mid-$2,300s—around the $2,350 mark at times—could prove to be a test of whether spot demand alone can sustain a more durable upside, or if a fresh burst of on-chain activity and ecosystem development is needed to push ETH back into the $2,400 realm and beyond.
DApps activity and competitive dynamics
One of the more telling questions for ETH’s medium-term trajectory is whether on-chain activity can rebound alongside price. Data tracked by DefiLlama shows Ethereum’s weekly DApps revenue sliding to about $11 million, down from roughly $24 million in February. While the burn mechanism built into Ethereum’s consensus layer continues to be cited by supporters as a structural incentive for long-term holders, near-term on-chain throughput and usage have not yet picked up in a way that would meaningfully lift network activity across the board.
Investors are also contending with an increasingly competitive landscape. While Ethereum remains the dominant smart contract platform, other blockchains focused on specialized use cases—such as high-throughput cross-chain solutions and niche dApp ecosystems—are drawing developers and users with tailored incentives and efficiency gains. This competition complicates the narrative that ETH is simply a one-way bet on rising on-chain demand. The divergence between rising price and stagnating or contracting on-chain activity underscores a nuanced risk-reward balance for traders and long-term holders alike.
What to watch next
As ETH hovers in a $2,300–$2,350 corridor, investors will be watching for a few key signals. A sustained increase in spot ETF inflows would reinforce the case for a renewed, spot-driven uptrend, especially if institutional buyers continue to accumulate ETH rather than diversify into alternatives. Conversely, a meaningful rebound in DApps activity or a shift in the funding-rate dynamic that points to stronger bullish conviction could catalyze a more decisive move toward the $2,400 level and beyond.
Macro drivers remain pivotal: any acceleration in risk appetite among traditional markets, or a rollback of tethered risk within the broader crypto ecosystem, could alter ETH’s trajectory. For now, the market presents a mixed picture—spot demand and institutional buying provide a floor, while on-chain activity and competitive pressures keep the upside under scrutiny.
This article reflects data from CoinGlass, SoSoValue, CoinGecko, Laevitas, and DefiLlama, among others, and is intended to illuminate how recent developments might shape ETH’s near-term path. As always, readers should monitor evolving liquidity, funding signals, and real-world usage to gauge whether the current rally can translate into a sustained recovery or remains a tactical pause before the next leg.
The Take It Down Act has secured its first federal conviction, with an Ohio man pleading guilty to using more than 100 AI models to create and distribute nonconsensual deepfakes of women and children, putting the first real enforcement stamp on a landmark AI-specific law.
Summary
- James Strahler II, 37, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty on April 7 to cyberstalking, producing child sexual abuse material, and publishing digital forgeries under the Take It Down Act.
- The law, signed by President Trump in May 2025, makes it a federal crime to publish nonconsensual AI-generated intimate imagery and requires platforms to remove it within 48 hours of a valid report.
- Online platforms have until May 19, 2026 to establish formal takedown procedures or face Federal Trade Commission enforcement action.
The Take It Down Act has its first conviction. James Strahler II, a 37-year-old Columbus, Ohio man, pleaded guilty on April 7 to three federal counts: cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse material, and publishing digital forgeries, the law’s term for nonconsensual deepfakes. The Department of Justice confirmed he is the first person convicted under the law.
Between December 2024 and June 2025, Strahler used over 100 AI models to create sexually explicit images and videos of six adult victims and distribute them to their coworkers and families. He also generated deepfake content involving children and uploaded hundreds of images to a child sexual abuse website before his arrest in June 2025.
The Take It Down Act, introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Amy Klobuchar and signed into law on May 19, 2025, criminalizes the knowing publication of nonconsensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated content depicting real people. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House by 409 to 2.
Penalties under the law include up to two years in prison per offense involving adult victims and up to three years when minors are involved. Strahler has not yet been sentenced.
U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace said the prosecution sends a direct message: “We will not tolerate the abhorrent practice of posting and publicizing AI-generated intimate images of real individuals without consent.”
What the Law Requires of Platforms
Beyond criminal prosecution, the Take It Down Act creates mandatory obligations for online platforms. Covered platforms, including public websites and mobile applications that host user-generated content, must remove reported nonconsensual imagery within 48 hours of a valid victim request and make reasonable efforts to find and delete identical copies.
The compliance deadline is May 19, 2026, just over a month away. Platforms that fail to establish a formal removal process face enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission. The law does not preempt state-level protections, and at least 45 states have their own AI deepfake laws in place.
Why It Matters for AI Regulation
The Take It Down Act is widely described as the first major federal law in the United States that directly restricts harmful uses of AI. Its passage reflects growing bipartisan urgency around AI-generated abuse at a moment when deepfake tools have become widely accessible. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 1.5 million AI-related exploitation tips in 2025 alone.
The same technology that enables nonconsensual intimate imagery is also fueling deepfake scams across the crypto sector, where AI-generated impersonations of prominent figures have been used to defraud investors. The deepfake crisis across financial platforms saw AI-powered vishing attacks surge 28% year over year in Q3 2025, underscoring why federal-level intervention carries broad implications beyond intimate imagery alone.
First Lady Melania Trump, who championed the legislation as part of her Be Best initiative, said she was proud of the first conviction.
DeXe (DEXE) surged 22% on April 15, 2026, pushing to $12.19 and entering a resistance zone that capped the token’s October 2024 rally. Open interest across all exchanges has recovered to approximately $20 million, up from near-zero levels recorded in January 2026.
The move places DEXE directly at the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement level on the weekly chart. That threshold now determines whether the recovery from January lows continues toward $15 or stalls under concentrated selling pressure.
Open Interest Climbs Back Toward Pre-Correction Levels
DEXE open interest peaked at roughly $39 million in early October 2024 before collapsing alongside price. The liquidation wave erased most leveraged exposure. By late January 2026, open interest had fallen to approximately $5 million, per Coinglass data.
Since February 2026, open interest has rebuilt steadily alongside price, reaching approximately $20 million as of April 15. When OI and price rise together, it may signal fresh capital entering the market rather than a short squeeze closing out losing positions.
For this signal to remain constructive, OI would need to hold above $15 million on any near-term retracement. A drop back below that level would suggest today’s move attracted primarily spot buyers without durable derivatives-backed conviction.
Weekly Fibonacci and Bollinger Bands Create a Decisive Threshold
The weekly chart shows DEXE trading at $12.21, pinned to the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement at $12.17. This level marks the midpoint of the token’s full range between the $0.14 all-time low and the $24.20 all-time high.
A Bollinger Band expansion on the weekly timeframe suggests price is pushing toward the upper band after months of contraction inside a tightening range. However, a declining volume trendline drawn across the weekly chart from October 2024 remains intact.
Price has outpaced volume participation. It suggests the current move may require broader buying to confirm a genuine breakout rather than a temporary spike.
The RSI panel, which had been flagged as oversold in early 2026, has recovered to a neutral-to-bullish position. A confirmed weekly close above $12.17 would set the 0.618 retracement at $15.01 as the next target, the level highlighted in yellow on the chart.
DEXE Price Prediction — $15 Target Hinges on Clearing $13.50
The daily chart shows DEXE entering a red resistance zone spanning approximately $12.50 to $13.50. This zone previously capped the October 2024 rally and is now being tested following a multi-month recovery from the January 2026 lows near $2.50.
Today’s candle opened at $9.97 and reached an intraday high of $12.82. It marks one of the strongest single-session advances of the entire 2026 recovery. A daily close above $13.50 would flip this resistance into support and open the path toward $15.01, aligning with the weekly 0.618 Fibonacci target.
On the downside, a rejection from the red zone would likely send DEXE back toward the upper green support band between $7.00 and $7.80. That zone held price on multiple daily closes throughout the February and March 2026 consolidation.
A deeper pullback would find support in the lower green band between $4.80 and $5.30.
Given the pace of today’s advance, the RSI is likely extended on the daily timeframe. This raises the probability of short-term consolidation before any sustained move above $13.50.
Whether DEXE holds above the red zone or gets rejected will determine whether the recovery from January lows extends toward the mid-$15 range or resets for another base-building phase.
The post DeXe Joins the Altcoin Rally, Price Hits Nearly 1-Year High appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Key takeaways:
-
Institutional ETH accumulation remains robust as Ether ETFs and Bitmine Immersion lead a healthy, spot-driven recovery.
-
Lackluster DApp revenue and negative ETH funding rates suggest that traders are skeptical of the rally.
Ether (ETH) price managed to sustain above $2,300 on Wednesday, distancing itself from the $1,940 lows seen on March 29. The recent rally has caused ETH futures open interest to reach $25.4 billion, indicating increased demand for leveraged positions. The movement suggests a potential turn in momentum for ETH bulls after 10 weeks of failed attempts to reclaim the $2,400 level.
To determine whether the shift in positioning is driven by bulls, one must assess the ETH futures funding rate. The ETH perpetual futures funding rate has failed to hold above 5% since Friday, indicating a lack of confidence among bulls.
The metric has dipped below 0% multiple times, indicating excess demand for bearish leveraged positions. Under neutral conditions, the indicator should range between 5% and 10% to compensate for the cost of capital.
Still, one could argue that such data reinforces that Ether’s recent rally to $2,350 has been sustained by spot demand.
US-listed Ether spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) accumulated $248 million in net inflows over the past 10 days, validating the thesis of healthy spot-driven Ether bullish momentum. In parallel, the digital asset treasury company Bitmine Immersion (BMNR US) announced the acquisition of $312 million worth of ETH. Bitmine now holds 4.87 million ETH, equivalent to $11.46 billion.
While institutional accumulation is generally a positive sign, Bitmine’s ETH holdings are trading 13% below their acquisition cost, according to CoinGecko data. Similarly, US-listed Ether ETF assets under management stood at $13.7 billion on Wednesday, down from $20.5 billion three months prior. Ether’s failure to reclaim $2,400 also happened as the S&P 500 index jumped to a new all-time high on Wednesday.
Weak Ethereum network activity, increased competition
Part of investors’ reduced appetite for cryptocurrencies can be pinned to the declining activity in decentralized applications (DApps). Almost every corner of the cryptocurrency industry has been negatively impacted by the 2026 bear market, including memecoin token launch platforms, synthetic derivatives trading, collateralized lending, digital collectibles, decentralized exchanges and cross chain bridges.
The few positive highlights, including prediction markets and real-world assets, had no impact on Ethereum network activity. Investors are starting to question whether ETH is well-positioned to capture an eventual surge in demand for DApps, given the emergence of competing blockchains focused on solving specific issues, such as Hyperliquid and Plasma.
Related: ETH/BTC ratio hits 10-week high as Ether outpaces Bitcoin–Are new price highs next?
Ethereum’s weekly DApps revenue has plummeted to $11 million per week, down from $24 million in early February. The primary reason for investors to accumulate ETH is the expectation of higher onchain processing demand and the subsequent burn mechanism, which creates incentives for long-term holding.
Despite the increased demand for ETH futures, derivatives metrics failed to flip bullish. Among the potential causes are the losses in Ethereum strategic reserve companies and increased competition in the DApps industry.
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research before making any decisions. Cointelegraph makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information presented, including forward-looking statements, and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content.
Bitcoin (BTC) has demonstrated notable resilience amid the US-Iran war, climbing over 12% since February 28. As uncertainty grips global markets, one question continues to dominate investor sentiment: has Bitcoin already found its bottom, or is more downside still ahead?
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Benjamin Cowen, CEO of Into The Cryptoverse and former NASA researcher, weighed in on where the market may be headed next.
When Will Bitcoin Bottom?
Cowen explained that Bitcoin’s cycle timing has remained remarkably consistent. He noted that, measured against the two previous cycles, Bitcoin topped within one week of when those earlier cycles peaked.
Based on this pattern, Cowen expects the bottom to arrive roughly a year after the top.
“The base case has to just simply be that it’ll bottom when the other two cycles bottom, which is about a year after the top most likely scenario is October of 2026,” Cowen told BeInCrypto.
He acknowledged a scenario where Bitcoin could bottom as early as May. But for that to happen, there would need to be a massive capitulation event well below what historical midterm years typically produce.
As long as Bitcoin’s year-to-date returns remain within the standard deviation band of prior midterm years, Cowen sees no reason to pivot from the October thesis.
“And if you look at the year-to-date ROI of Bitcoin in 2026 and you compare it to the average of prior midterm years, you throw in a standard deviation on that average. As long as we’re within this band, it’s hard to assume that we’re going to exit the band, especially this early in the midterm year,” he explained.
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The outlook aligns with other market analysts’ views. Joao Wedson, CEO of Alphractal, observed that Bitcoin’s cycle top occurred 534 days after the April 2024 halving, the shortest cycle peak compared to the previous one.
Based on this decaying pattern across cycles, his analysis suggests the market bottom could emerge roughly 912 to 922 days after the halving, pointing to a timeframe in late September or early October 2026.
Estimates from CryptoQuant broadly support this view, with models indicating a potential bottom between June and December 2026, and September through November as the most probable window.
Why This Cycle Topped on Apathy, Not Euphoria
One of Cowen’s key observations is that while Bitcoin’s peak in the current cycle aligns with previous timelines, it emerged under very different conditions.
He noted that in 2017 and 2021, Bitcoin peaked amid widespread retail euphoria. This, in turn, triggered a rotation into altcoins after it topped.
This time, social interest in crypto has been trending down since 2021. Bitcoin topped on apathy, and as a result, the usual altcoin rotation did not materialize.
“This is a cycle where Bitcoin topped on apathy rather than euphoria, and the only other time it topped on apathy was actually back in 2019. When you top on apathy, you don’t get that same rotation,” he mentioned.
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Overall, Cowen maintained his view that the four-year cycle remains intact. Bitcoin is currently trading at $73,831, still more than 40% below its October 2025 all-time high near $126,000. If Cowen’s analysis holds, further downside may still be ahead before the cycle finds its floor.
The post When Will Bitcoin Price Bottom Out? Benjamin Cowen Predicts appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Chainlink price is at $9.32 on April 15, up 1.64% on the 4H session, after clearing all four SMAs simultaneously for the first time since the February decline, with the ribbon compressed into a $0.14 band before the breakout and the 4H MACD holding a positive crossover above the zero line.
Summary
- Chainlink price is at $9.32 on April 15, +1.64% on the 4H chart, after breaking above a compressed four-SMA ribbon where SMA 20 at $9.01, SMA 50 at $8.99, SMA 100 at $8.87, and SMA 200 at $8.98 all converged within a $0.14 range.
- The 4H MACD (12,26,9) has printed a bullish crossover with the histogram at +0.02, the MACD line at 0.07, and the signal at 0.05, with both lines above zero, confirming momentum acceleration rather than simple exhaustion reduction.
- A 4H close above the annotated $9.99 resistance confirms a breakout and opens the $10 to $11 zone; a return close below the SMA 20 at $9.01 signals the breakout has failed and extends the consolidation.
Chainlink (LINK) price is at $9.32 on April 15, up 1.64% on the 4H Binance chart, as price has broken above a fully compressed SMA ribbon consisting of SMA 20 at $9.01, SMA 50 at $8.99, SMA 100 at $8.87, and SMA 200 at $8.98. The four moving averages converged into a $0.14 range before the breakout, a degree of compression that is unusual across timeframes and typically precedes a significant directional expansion. The 4H volume of 481.04K LINK confirms active participation in the move rather than a lowvolume drift above the ribbon.
The breakout comes as an ascending trendline from the February 2026 lows continues to hold below, connecting successive higher lows across the recovery from the nearterm bottom. Price has been above this trendline throughout the current advance and the trendline has absorbed each pullback during April without a confirmed 4H close below it.
SMA ribbons compress when the rate of price change equalizes across multiple timeframes, producing a coillike structure where all moving averages converge toward a single price cluster. The compression in the Chainlink 4H ribbon, where four SMAs converged within $0.14 of each other, represents one of the tightest SMA clusters recorded for LINK in the current cycle. When price breaks above a fully compressed ribbon on volume, as Chainlink has done on April 15, the compression typically resolves into a directional expansion in the direction of the breakout.
The 4H MACD (12,26,9) has confirmed a bullish crossover with the MACD line at 0.07 and signal at 0.05, both above zero. The histogram at +0.02 is positive and expanding. A MACD crossover that occurs with both lines above the zero line is a stronger signal than a subzero crossover, because it reflects genuine upward acceleration rather than a slowdown in selling pressure. Solana and XRP printed subzero MACD crossovers on April 14; the Chainlink 4H crossover occurring above zero distinguishes the quality of the current momentum signal.
Analysts at FXStreet noted on April 10 that Chainlink’s Open Interest-Weighted Funding Rate turned positive at 0.0042%, with traders building long positions as the token tested the SMA cluster. The positive funding rate maintained through a period of broader market uncertainty confirms the long bias in LINK derivatives has persisted through the consolidation and into the current breakout attempt.
Key Levels: Support, Resistance, and Price Targets
The compressed SMA cluster between $8.87 and $9.01 is now the support zone. A 4H close back below $9.01 returns price inside the ribbon and indicates the breakout has failed. A 4H close below $8.87, the SMA 100 and floor of the ribbon, is the full invalidation level and would shift the structure back to ranging.
The annotated horizontal resistance at $9.99 is the immediate target and the level that has capped multiple 4H rallies since February. A confirmed 4H close above $9.99 clears this ceiling and opens the $10 to $11 zone as the primary bull case target. An extended move through $11 brings the $12 area into focus, where the 200-day EMA on the daily chart sits.
Invalidation: a 4H close below $8.87.
On-Chain and Market Data Context
Coinglass data shows Chainlink open interest at $361.55 million, with 24-hour futures volume of $361.51 million. The near-equal ratio of open interest to daily futures volume indicates active position turnover rather than static exposure, suggesting traders are actively repositioning around the breakout level. Approximately $42,599 in Chainlink futures positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, a small figure confirming the move is not driven by a short squeeze. A breakout built on genuine buying rather than forced short covering historically produces more durable price continuation.
Chainlink controls approximately 64% of the oracle market, with over $41 billion in total value secured and a $644 million buyback program supporting longterm token demand.
If LINK maintains 4H closes above the SMA ribbon cluster at $8.87 to $9.01 and the ascending trendline holds, a test of the $9.99 annotated resistance is the primary nearterm target. A confirmed close above it opens $10 to $11 as the extended bull case.
CoreWeave, a publicly traded AI cloud infrastructure provider, announced a $6 billion deal with quantitative trading firm Jane Street to power its trading and research operations with CoreWeave’s AI-focused cloud compute. In a separate move, Jane Street bought $1 billion worth of CoreWeave Class A common stock at $109 per share. The news lifted CoreWeave’s stock modestly, with shares trading around $119.04 after the announcement and up about 1.5% for the session, according to Yahoo Finance.
The agreement arrives just days after CoreWeave revealed a partnership with Anthropic to run Claude AI models on its infrastructure, underscoring the company’s rapid pivot from crypto mining to high-performance AI compute.
CoreWeave’s strategic shift, which has positioned the company as a leading player in what Bernstein researchers describe as the “neocloud” — GPU-powered cloud services tailored for AI workloads — highlights how miners and crypto-focused operators are repurposing assets to tap growing demand for AI computing power in a climate of tightening crypto margins.
Key takeaways
- Jane Street’s $6 billion AI cloud agreement with CoreWeave signals robust demand for GPU-accelerated compute in quantitative trading and research.
- The $1 billion equity investment at $109 per share cements a long-term alliance and injects strategic capital into CoreWeave’s expansion.
- Market reaction was modest but positive, with CoreWeave’s shares rising about 1.5% to the low-$120s range after the news.
- The Anthropic deal, announced a week earlier, reinforces CoreWeave’s role as a preferred compute backbone for leading AI developers powering large language models like Claude.
- Analysts at Bernstein describe CoreWeave as a standout in the neocloud space, supported by a diversified revenue base and prominent AI model providers already using its platform.
Jane Street’s AI compute pact: scale, scope, and implications
At the core of the announcement is a multi-year, multi-facility arrangement in which Jane Street will leverage CoreWeave’s data-center footprint to run its trading and research workloads. The announcement notes that compute will be sourced from several CoreWeave facilities, illustrating a broad deployment rather than a single-site reliance. While terms other than the $6 billion compute commitment remain undisclosed, the scale signals Jane Street’s intent to anchor its research and execution capabilities in a GPU-optimized cloud environment tailored to AI and data-intensive tasks.
The arrangement aligns with a broader industry trend where quantitative trading desks increasingly seek cloud-native, GPU-accelerated infrastructure to run complex simulations, backtests, and AI-driven research. CoreWeave has positioned itself as a fit-for-purpose provider in this space, differentiating itself from traditional cloud players by focusing on high-performance GPU workloads that underpin modern AI and ML models.
According to CoreWeave’s own disclosure, the collaboration will leverage the company’s emerging neocloud framework, which Bernstein describes as GPU-driven cloud services built specifically to power AI workloads. This is a key element in understanding why major AI and finance players are gravitating toward CoreWeave: the underlying compute is designed for the heavy lifting demanded by model training, inference, and data-intensive research tasks.
Equity investment deepens the alliance
In conjunction with the compute deal, Jane Street also expanded its stake in CoreWeave by purchasing $1 billion of Class A common stock at $109 per share. The combination of a sizable equity investment and a long-term compute agreement not only strengthens Jane Street’s access to CoreWeave’s hardware and software stack but also signals confidence in CoreWeave’s ability to scale its AI cloud offerings across diverse customer segments.
Market observers will watch how this equity infusion influences CoreWeave’s capital structure and growth trajectory as it accelerates its data-center expansion and product development efforts. The immediate stock move—while modest—reflects investor recognition of a potentially meaningful shift in CoreWeave’s revenue mix toward AI compute contracts alongside on-demand services.
AI compute and the neocloud thesis
CoreWeave’s pivot from crypto mining to AI cloud computing began years before many peers embraced AI-centric infrastructure. Analysts from Bernstein have highlighted CoreWeave’s ahead-of-the-curve positioning in the “neocloud” segment, a term they use to describe GPUs-based cloud providers optimized for AI workloads. The firm’s assessment suggests that CoreWeave has developed a high-quality commercial base relative to competitors such as IREN and Nebius, with a diversified mix of contract-based and on-demand revenue streams.
Among the evidence cited by Bernstein is CoreWeave’s widespread adoption among leading AI model providers. The company has stated that nine of the top 10 AI model developers now leverage its platform, reflecting deep engagement across the AI ecosystem. This broad footprint helps explain the market’s receptivity to the Jane Street deal and the Anthropic partnership, collectively reinforcing CoreWeave’s central role in the AI compute market.
The Anthropic collaboration, announced just days before the Jane Street deal, positioned Claude AI, Anthropic’s flagship model, to run on CoreWeave’s infrastructure. That partnership mirrors a broader industry pattern: AI developers are seeking dependable, scalable compute backbones capable of handling the demanding workloads of large-language models as they scale commercially.
For observers, these developments highlight a meaningful shift in the capital allocation and strategic priorities of AI infrastructure players. CoreWeave’s ability to translate early-mover advantages in the neocloud niche into multi-faceted revenue streams — including long-term compute commitments and equity stakes from major customers — could help it navigate a competitive landscape that features both traditional cloud giants and specialized GPU-focused operators.
From crypto mining to AI compute: what changes, what remains uncertain
CoreWeave’s transformation reflects a broader trend in which crypto-mining infrastructure operators repurpose assets to support high-performance computing and AI workloads. The company’s narrative has shifted from crypto mining to AI compute leadership, a move that appears to be gaining traction given the scale of the deals and the caliber of customers joining its ecosystem. Earlier reporting in the industry has highlighted this transition as a strategic hedge against crypto market volatility and shrinking margins.
Industry observers have pointed to CoreWeave’s long-standing emphasis on GPU-accelerated workloads as a differentiator, positioning it to capture a growing share of enterprise AI compute demand. Bernstein’s analysis suggests that CoreWeave’s commercial machine stands out among neocloud peers, a dynamic that could sustain growth as AI adoption accelerates across finance, tech, and enterprise segments. Still, several uncertainties linger: how deeply CoreWeave’s reliance on marquee clients extends, how competition evolves among GPU-centric cloud providers, and how macro shifts in AI model licensing and deployment affect long-term demand for dedicated AI compute capacity.
For investors and builders, the key takeaway is that CoreWeave’s dual-track strategy — large-scale compute agreements with premier trading firms and strategic equity partnerships with those same customers — could yield a more resilient revenue base. The company’s continued expansion of data-center capacity, its ability to attract top AI developers, and its execution in the neocloud niche will be critical to watch as AI workloads continue to escalate in scale and sophistication.
What to watch next
Market participants will be watching how CoreWeave scales its data-center footprint to accommodate increasing demand from both financial services and AI developers. The pace of expansion, the retention of high-profile customers, and the company’s ability to maintain favorable terms across long-duration compute contracts will be important indicators of its trajectory. Additionally, any further partnerships in the AI space and potential updates on the rollout of Claude and other models on CoreWeave’s infrastructure will help clarify how the neocloud thesis plays out in practice. Investors should monitor regulatory developments around AI compute, potential shifts in cloud pricing, and how CoreWeave’s balance sheet evolves as it funds growth through both debt and equity financings.
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