President Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire beginning at 5 PM ET today, April 16, following direct conversations with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, beginning at 5 PM ET today, following what he described as “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said he has directed Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work toward a lasting peace agreement. He also invited Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House for what he called “the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983.”

The announcement came after a turbulent morning of diplomacy. Lebanese President Aoun initially declined to speak directly with Netanyahu during a call with Secretary Rubio, with Washington signaling it “understands Lebanon’s position.” Trump then personally called Aoun, and the ceasefire announcement followed within hours.

The deal grew out of direct negotiations that began Tuesday between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States, the first such talks between the two countries in decades. Lebanon had insisted on a ceasefire as a precondition for any broader engagement, while committing to disarm Hezbollah over time.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Thursday morning that “a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a ceasefire in Iran,” framing the Lebanon front as part of the broader regional conflict that has defined 2026.

The Human Cost and Ground Situation

More than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israeli forces began strikes approximately six weeks ago, targeting Hezbollah positions following the outbreak of the US-Iran war in late February. More than one million Lebanese have been displaced. Israel has suffered 21 casualties from strikes tied to both Iran and Hezbollah since the conflict began.

Israeli Defense Forces confirmed they will not withdraw from southern Lebanon during the 10-day pause, maintaining their ground position while the ceasefire holds. Hezbollah is not formally a party to the Lebanon-Israel talks, and Israel had previously denied that any Iran ceasefire framework extended to Lebanon.

Why It Matters Beyond Lebanon

The Lebanon ceasefire adds a second diplomatic track to an already fragile regional situation. Iran had argued that continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon constituted a violation of the existing US-Iran truce, while Washington and Jerusalem denied that connection. The Lebanon announcement removes that point of friction at a moment when the US-Iran ceasefire window is approaching its April 22 expiration.

Prediction markets had priced a Lebanon ceasefire by April 30 at only around 55% as recently as last week, reflecting how uncertain the diplomatic picture had looked. For financial markets, a stable Lebanon ceasefire alongside the Iran truce removes one of several risk premiums that have kept oil elevated and risk assets suppressed since February.

Bitcoin has consistently moved 4 to 5% within hours of credible ceasefire signals across this conflict, with the pattern repeating on April 7, April 8, and April 14. The Lebanon announcement, arriving while BTC already hovers near $75,000, adds to the stack of diplomatic catalysts that analysts say could push BTC past $76,000 if the ceasefire holds through the weekend.

TLDR

• The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 250 BTC worth about $18.47 million, within 24 hours.
• Bhutan has moved 3,247 BTC in 2026, with total outflows valued near $240.4 million at current prices.
• After the latest transfers, Bhutan holds about 3,524 BTC worth between $260 million and $264 million.
• Bitcoin climbed to an intraday high of $76,038 before easing toward the $74,000 range.
• Glassnode identified resistance between $74,000 and $76,000, while CryptoQuant placed key levels near $76,800.

The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred about 250 BTC worth $18.47 million within 24 hours. Arkham data showed 162 BTC and 69.7 BTC moved to new wallet addresses in quick succession. The transactions came as Bitcoin traded above $74,000 and tested resistance levels.

Bhutan Extends Bitcoin Sales as Treasury Activity Continues

Arkham data confirmed that Bhutan shifted 162 BTC and 69.7 BTC to fresh addresses within hours. The transfers formed part of a wider reduction in publicly tracked holdings. Bhutan has moved 3,247 BTC in 2026, with total outflows valued near $240.4 million at current prices.

Other pricing periods placed the yearly sales closer to $198 million. After the latest transfers, Bhutan wallets hold about 3,524 BTC worth between $260 million and $264 million. Analysts linked earlier movements to wallets that later routed funds to Galaxy Digital and OKX.

Arkham reported that no Bitcoin inflow above $100,000 reached Bhutan-linked wallets in over a year. That data drew attention to possible shifts in mining operations or liquidity priorities. Bhutan originally built much of its reserve through hydropower-backed mining using surplus national energy.

On-chain records showed reduced inflows and continued outflows across tracked addresses. The pattern matched earlier sequences where funds moved in structured batches. However, blockchain data has not confirmed the final destination of the newest transfers.

Bitcoin Price Tests Resistance as Market Metrics Shift

Bitcoin price climbed to an intraday high of $76,038 earlier this week before easing toward $74,000. Glassnode said the market is moving through a resistance band between $74,000 and $76,000. CryptoQuant identified $76,800 as the “Traders’ Realized Price” level.

CryptoQuant stated that holders who bought between $65,000 and $76,000 now sit in profit. The firm reported that large deposits rose from under 10% to above 40% of exchange inflows. The shift pointed to heavier activity from larger holders within days.

Daily realized profits reached about $500 million on Wednesday. However, that figure remained below the $1 billion level often seen near local tops. Market data showed Bitcoin trading in the mid-$74,000 range during the latest session.

Mining economics also shifted as prices recovered in recent days. The average all-in production cost stood near $79,500 per BTC as of mid-Wednesday. The gap between cost and spot price narrowed compared to previous months.

The next network difficulty adjustment is scheduled for April 17. Forecasts projected a decline of nearly 3%, which would bring difficulty below 135 trillion hashes. Reports also showed the network hash rate fell 4% during the first quarter of 2026.

Some operators shut down older machines due to unprofitable conditions. Other miners redirected resources toward AI and high-performance computing services. The difficulty adjustment estimate remained the latest scheduled network update.

Foundation, the Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, is shutting down for good after a failed acquisition by digital art display company BlackDove.

Founder Kayvon Tehranian announced the closure in a post on X, explaining that a deal to sell the platform to a buyer “who intended to continue its operations” fell through, and the company does not believe another buyer is worth pursuing.

“Our goal in pursuing a sale was always to see Foundation live on,” Tehranian wrote. “That’s no longer possible. As part of our wind-down process, our infrastructure has already been spun down, and we’re not in a position to bring the platform back online.”

The announcement marks the final chapter in a drawn-out unraveling that began in January, when Tehranian transferred ownership of Foundation to BlackDove. At the time, he framed the move as a transition to a leadership committed to the platform’s long-term future, noting that Foundation had facilitated roughly $230 million in primary sales since its launch and had hosted landmark auctions for artists like Jen Stark, James Jean, and Edward Snowden.

But BlackDove’s involvement was short-lived. The company later said full due diligence was only completed after the operational handover, and BlackDove ultimately concluded that building its own proprietary marketplace was a more viable path.

Foundation’s closure adds to a growing list of NFT platform shutdowns that have accelerated since 2024. MakersPlace, KnownOrigin, RTFKT, Nifty Gateway, and X2Y2 have all wound down operations as monthly NFT trading volumes collapsed from $2.9 billion at the 2021 peak to just $23.8 million by early 2025. Surviving platforms like OpenSea have pivoted aggressively toward fungible token trading to stay afloat.

The shutdown also raises familiar questions about the permanence of NFT media hosted on centralized infrastructure, an issue The Defiant raised as early as 2021. Tehranian said Foundation plans to continue pinning IPFS-hosted media and metadata for another year, but urged the community to take responsibility for personally pinning assets they care about. Users with NFTs listed on Foundation’s marketplace smart contract will need to unlist and retrieve them.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

Market analysts said Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest rally to $76,000 was a “clear momentum shift,” confirming a short-term uptrend for BTC price. 

Bitcoin’s short-term holder (STH) supply in profit, a measure of the share of recently acquired coins currently held at an unrealized gain, suggests that BTC/USD has not exhausted its bear market rally, data from Glassnode shows.

Local tops in bear market rallies have historically formed when this metric approaches its statistical mean of 54.2%, a threshold where the concentration of profitable STHs becomes sufficient to trigger meaningful distribution.

Currently at 43.2%, the STH supply in profit remains “meaningfully below that threshold, suggesting the present rally has not yet reached the zone of typical exhaustion,” Glassnode said in its latest Week Onchain newsletter, adding:

“This leaves slight room for further upside toward the True Market Mean, while also providing a quantitative level to monitor as price advances.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has remained in “deep under extension territory” relative to its 50-week simple moving average (SMA), currently at $96,800, analyst McKenna said in a recent post on X.

Related: Bitcoin traders cash out 63K BTC profit as price rallied above $76K: Will the market rebound?

When markets deviate either to the upside or downside, they usually revert back to their mean.

Combined with “clear momentum shifts and bullish trending signals firing then I would be inclined to be directionally bullish here, the analyst said, adding:

“BTC breaking above $74K and holding this level on a HTF is the final trigger I want to see to be confident in mid to high 80s over the coming weeks.”

Fellow analyst Bitcoin Archive focused on the falling US dollar index, saying that it provides a “massive tailwind for the next leg up” for Bitcoin. 

As Cointelegraph reported, several metrics support Bitcoin’s potential to rise higher, including increasing network activity and a strengthening technical setup. 

Onchain data reveals key Bitcoin price levels to watch

Bitcoin’s 41% drawdown from its $126,000 all-time high has seen the BTC/USD pair drop below key pricing levels, including the active realized price at $85,100, the STH cost basis at $80,950 and the true market mean currently at $78,140.

At $74,000, Bitcoin is 5.2% below the true market mean, a metric tracking the cost basis of active BTC supply. 

While the price is yet to “test and stabilize above this key threshold, the probability of a spike toward and potentially above it remains considerable in the mid-term,” Glassnode added.

The importance of this resistance level is reinforced by cost basis distribution. The heatmap below shows that over 200,000 BTC were acquired for around $78,000.

On the downside, the first major support is at $72,000, where the 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) appear to converge. It is also where investors bought approximately 220,000 BTC.

Lower than that, the $65,000-$70,000 demand zone is a key area to watch. This price band has historically served as a vital support level, as seen between October and November 2024, providing a launching pad for the October 2024-January 2025 rally.

As Cointelegraph reported, a drop below the $70,000 would suggest the bears are back in control, increasing the prospects of a drop toward $60,000.