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Poland Probes Zondacrypto As CEO Reportedly Flees to Israel

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Poland Probes Zondacrypto As CEO Reportedly Flees to Israel

Zondacrypto’s crisis deepened on Friday after Polish outlet Onet reported that CEO Przemysław Kral had gone to Israel as prosecutors investigate the exchange over alleged fraud and investor losses.

According to the report, Kral has been in Israel for about a week and holds Israeli citizenship, a factor that could complicate any potential extradition to Poland. Polish authorities opened an investigation into Zondacrypto last Friday over alleged fraud and investor losses. Cointelegraph also confirmed that Kral’s email address, previously used to communicate with him, has become unavailable.

The developments come a week after Kral admitted last Thursday that Zondacrypto’s cold wallet holding 4,500 Bitcoin was inaccessible, marking his last publicly known communication at the time of reporting. Polish prosecutors have identified several hundred possible victims and potential losses of at least 350 million Polish zloty (around $97 million), according to Notes from Poland, citing prosecutor spokesperson Michał Binkiewicz.

The case has added pressure to one of Central and Eastern Europe’s biggest crypto platforms, even as Zondacrypto is much smaller in scale than global exchanges such as Binance.

Zondacrypto board resignations add to pressure

The controversy deepened this week amid resignations from the supervisory board of BB Trade Estonia OÜ, the Estonian company that operates the exchange.

In a Monday post on LinkedIn, former board member Georgi Džaniašvili said the board learned about the scale of the Zondacrypto crisis through media reports rather than internally. He also pointed to “material inconsistencies” between public statements and information available to the board.

Source: Georgi Džaniašvili

“In a governance structure where ownership and executive management are concentrated in one individual, effective oversight depends on transparency, timely communication, and mutual trust,” Džaniašvili wrote, adding: “Regrettably, that foundation has been materially undermined.”

Why is the Zondacrypto case being investigated in Poland?

Although Zondacrypto is registered in Estonia, the company has a significant user base and operational presence in Poland, particularly among Polish-speaking users, which has led Polish authorities to open a criminal investigation following complaints from customers in the country.

Zondacrypto was founded in Katowice in 2014 under the name BitBay by Sylwester Suszek, who has been missing since 2022. In public comments last week, Kral said Suszek was responsible for Zondacrypto not having access to its cold wallet.

Source: Przemysław Kral

The issue has become a hot topic in Polish politics, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk claiming links between Zondacrypto and Russian capital and political influence, citing the exchange’s early history and later growth under new management.

In an official communication on April 17, Tusk said up to 30,000 Zondacrypto users may have been affected and compared the case to past financial scandals in Poland.

Related: Europe’s MiCA regime puts smaller crypto firms under pressure

Tusk also said the lack of a comprehensive legal framework for investor protection meant authorities were only able to act later, referring to Poland’s repeated delays in passing legislation aligned with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.

The case could have broader implications for how the EU approaches crypto supervision under MiCA, with some member states advocating for more centralized oversight rather than national-level enforcement.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

DBS Enhances Spark GenAI Programme to Fast Track SME AI Adoption in Support of Singapore’s AI Ambitions

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DBS Enhances Spark GenAI Programme to Fast Track SME AI Adoption in Support of Singapore’s AI Ambitions

WHY THIS MATTERS: This initiative is a critical blueprint for how major financial institutions can operationalize national technology mandates. The fintech trend here is the move from simply promoting AI awareness to architecting concrete, scalable pathways for SME AI adoption across the entire corporate banking client base. By segmenting guidance into ‘Start’, ‘Accelerate’, and ‘Scale’, DBS has addressed the core friction point identified in its own research: the need for structured implementation advice. This effort is less about selling a banking product and more about de-risking the broader digital transformation journey for businesses. The provision of grant support, along with the ‘Implementing AI for Impact’ playbook, effectively lowers the barrier to entry, ensuring that smaller businesses can invest in capabilities like generative AI without crippling upfront costs. This ecosystem approach, uniting a bank, a development agency (IMDA), and a business enterprise body (EnterpriseSG), sets a global standard for public-private collaboration in tech deployment.

In line with nationwide efforts to accelerate AI adoption, DBS, EnterpriseSG, and the IMDA, announced an enhanced version of its Spark GenAI programme[1] to help SMEs fast track their AI transformation journeys.

The enhanced programme reflects an iterative approach by DBS to refine Spark GenAI as business needs evolve. This comes as demand for more structured guidance gains momentum. Findings from the 2026 DBS Business Pulse Check Survey[2] revealed that close to two in five SMEs (39%) are seeking expert advice on how to meaningfully integrate AI into their business operations. This is in line with Singapore’s push to help enterprises adopt AI more widely and effectively under the National AI Strategy 2.0.

A more structured approach to accelerate SME AI adoption

At the heart of the enhanced programme is a three-tier approach that provides more structured guidance tailored to different levels of maturity and business readiness:

  • Start: For SMEs beginning their AI journey, with a focus on ready-to-deploy, off-the-shelf tools that address immediate business needs.
  • Accelerate: For businesses ready to move into more targeted use cases, supported by group-based consultancy and more customised solutions.
  • Scale: For firms looking to integrate AI more deeply across operations, with support including upskilling, bespoke one-to-one consultancy and tailored solutions with backend integration.

Participating businesses will receive advisory and training support, including complimentary workshops by IMDA. They will gain access to an expanded ecosystem of solution providers through IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform (OIP), which connects SMEs to a global network of over 16,000 solution providers. Companies can also explore IMDA’s pre-approved list of AI-enabled solutions, with eligible SMEs receiving grant support of up to 50% of eligible costs from EnterpriseSG.

To support implementation, businesses can leverage DBS’ suite of financial solutions, including cyber protection coverage, to invest in AI adoption while strengthening their digital resilience. DBS will also organise quarterly engagements on AI trends, insights and industry-focused case studies to help businesses keep abreast of developments.

Chen Ze Ling, Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking, DBS, said: “Our learnings from client conversations over the past year point to growing interest from SMEs in how AI can create real value for their businesses. What many are looking for is practical support on where to begin and how to move forward. This is why we have enhanced our Spark GenAI programme – to reduce the friction around adoption, accelerate implementation and support businesses as they build capabilities that can future-proof them. In doing so, we hope to contribute to Singapore’s greater push to help enterprises put AI to work in meaningful ways.”

Johnson Poh, Assistant Chief Executive, Enterprise Transformation and Innovation Group, IMDA, said: “AI is fast becoming a key driver of business competitiveness, and it is important that our SMEs are well-equipped to harness its potential. Through this enhanced partnership with DBS and EnterpriseSG, IMDA is bringing forth our suite of enterprise resources, from complimentary hands-on workshops, pre-approved AI solutions, to our Open Innovation Platform, which actively matches SMEs to a global network of solution providers for customised AI deployments. This means that regardless of where a business is in its AI journey, there is a clear and supported pathway. We look forward to working with our partners to help more Singapore enterprises move from awareness to meaningful AI adoption.”

Geoffrey Yeo, Assistant Managing Director, Capabilities, Enterprise Singapore said: “Enterprise Singapore is pleased to deepen our collaboration with DBS and IMDA through the expanded Spark GenAI programme. This partnership reflects our commitment to ensure that SMEs have the practical tools, resources and support they need to harness Gen AI. We look forward to seeing more enterprises embrace Gen AI as a driver of productivity, innovation and growth.”

Complementing the tiered approach is a new playbook – “Implementing AI for Impact” – developed with knowledge partner KPMG and supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). This is part of DBS’ efforts under the SME AI Skills Launchpad, aimed at equipping businesses with the capabilities to adopt AI in a practical and scalable way.

Designed for businesses owners and decision makers, the playbook brings together practical use cases, real success stories, frequently asked questions and a readiness diagnostic tool that categorises firms into four stages of readiness: AI Observer, AI Explorer, AI Practitioner and AI Trailblazer. It also provides an accessible introduction to AI, helping companies build a pragmatic understanding of key concepts before moving into implementation, as well as supporting the workforce to develop the skills needed to adopt and apply AI effective.

Chen added, “As more business owners explore AI opportunities, many are looking for a clear way to understand what is relevant for them and what to do next. “Implementing AI for Impact” is designed to take the guesswork out of that journey by breaking down what can seem like a complex transformation process into incremental steps. In doing so, it empowers businesses to assess where they stand, learn at their own pace and identify the next step that makes the most sense for them. As a SkillsFuture Queen Bee[3], we see this playbook as part of a broader effort to support SMEs in building the capabilities needed for transformation.”

The enhanced Spark GenAI programme is part of DBS’ ongoing efforts to help customers leverage AI more effectively in their business transformation journeys. In 2025, DBS was named the World’s Best AI Bank by Global Finance.

For more information on Spark GenAI and the “Implementing AI for Impact” playbook, please visit here.

FF NEWS TAKE: This program undeniably moves the needle, demonstrating the shift from theoretical AI strategy to practical, tiered industrial policy. The crucial aspect is the embedding of financial products, such as cyber protection, directly into the adoption journey, ensuring digital resilience. We must now watch for quantitative outcomes: specifically, how the ‘Scale’ tier performs and what real-world ROI the new playbook delivers for different business readiness stages.

XRP Risks 40% Dip Versus Bitcoin Despite Persistent ETF Inflows

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XRP Risks 40% Dip Versus Bitcoin Despite Persistent ETF Inflows

XRP (XRP) has fallen about 5% against Bitcoin (BTC) over the past week, and the confirmation of a bearish pattern now points to the risk of more losses ahead.

Key takeaways:

  • XRP/BTC’s descending triangle pattern on the weekly chart points to a possible 40% drop toward 0.000011 BTC.
  • Persistent institutional demand through US-based spot ETFs supports the case for a recovery in XRP price. 

XRP’s descending triangle breakdown is underway

Since late 2024, the XRP/BTC ratio has been consolidating inside a descending triangle on the weekly time frame.

In technical analysis, descending triangles are typically viewed as bearish patterns. The pattern was confirmed when the price produced a weekly candlestick close below the triangle’s lower trend line at 0.000096 BTC, as shown in the chart below.

The downside target is derived by taking the height of the triangle and placing it lower from the point where the price breaks below the pattern’s lower trend line.

XRP/BTC weekly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Using that method, the XRP/BTC pair’s measured downside target comes in near 0.000011 BTC, about 40.5% below current levels.

“$XRP/BTC looks edgy,” technical analyst ChartNerd said in a recent post on X, adding that losing support at $0.000091 would lead to further losses in the XRP/BTC ratio as well as the XRP/USD pair.

XRP/BTC weekly chart. Source: Chart Nerd

However, the RSI is near oversold at 33, levels that have previously marked macro bottoms for the ratio, as seen in mid- and late 2024. This suggests that the current downtrend could soon come to an end.  

As Cointelegraph reported, a similar recovery could be seen in XRP price as several technical and onchain indicators send bottoming signals.

XRP ETF demand makes a comeback

Institutional demand for XRP investment products has been strengthening, according to data from SoSoValue.

US-based spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted $3.89 million in net inflows on Thursday. This marked nine consecutive days of net inflows, totaling $73.78 million. This streak has pushed cumulative inflows to nearly $1.28 billion and AUM to $1.1 billion.

US spot XRP ETF flows chart. Source: SoSoValue

This indicates an increased institutional appetite for XRP products, despite the price declining 22% in 2026 and lagging against Bitcoin.

“$XRP ETF inflows continue,” analyst Don Digital Finance said in a Friday X post.

It signals “steady institutional demand as accumulation continues despite sideways price action,” the analyst added.

“Institutional demand is rising fast as big money continues flowing into XRP exposure,” fellow analyst Ledger Man said, adding:

“This could be a major signal that confidence in XRP is growing stronger than ever.”

India pushes digital rupee through welfare pilots as BRICS CBDC plan takes shape

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India pushes digital rupee through welfare pilots as BRICS CBDC plan takes shape

India is turning to welfare payments to drive adoption of its central bank digital currency as it prepares to put the CBDC in the spotlight at a summit of BRICS nations later this year.

The Reserve Bank of India is running about 10 pilot programs routing portions of the country’s roughly $80 billion welfare system through the e-rupee, Reuters reported Thursday. The effort aims to reduce leakage and corruption in subsidy programs while giving the CBDC a clearer use case after a slow rollout.

In Maharashtra’s Phulenagar village, farmers are receiving programmable subsidies covering up to 80% of drip-irrigation costs, spendable only at approved vendors. A separate pilot in Gujarat aims to onboard all 7.5 million households eligible for subsidized food by June, effectively using targeted transfers to scale adoption.

The push underscores a core challenge for CBDCs globally: usage. The e-rupee has grown to about 10 million users from roughly 7 million earlier this year, but cumulative transactions since its December 2022 introduction total just $3.6 billion. That remains small compared with India’s Unified Payments Interface, which processes about $300 billion each month.

Early adoption efforts have at times been engineered. CoinDesk reported in 2024 that several major banks, including HDFC, Kotak Mahindra and Axis Bank, credited employee salaries into CBDC wallets to help the system surpass 1 million daily transactions in December 2023, a milestone that did not persist.

India’s domestic experimentation comes as policymakers consider a larger geopolitical role for the technology. The Reserve Bank of India has urged the government to advance a proposal for linking CBDCs across the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa at the bloc’s 2026 summit, aiming to streamline cross-border trade and reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar.

That ambition carries political risk. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on BRICS countries pursuing alternatives to the dollar and has already imposed duties on Indian imports tied in part to its purchases of Russian crude, raising the stakes for any coordinated monetary effort.

UPDATE (April 24, 90:27 UTC): Rewrites headline to explain CBDC acronym.

Aptos (APT) gains 3.5%, leading index higher

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Aptos (APT) gains 3.5%, leading index higher

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2130.2, up 0.7% (+14.28) since 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.

All 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: APT (+3.5%) and AAVE (+3.2%).

Laggards: CRO (+0.0%) and XLM (+0.2%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

The Last XRP Wave E Resistance To Watch Before The Surge

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The Last XRP Wave E Resistance To Watch Before The Surge

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

XRP is nearing a key technical level as analyst CasiTrades highlights price action moving into the final Wave E resistance of its current consolidation. With several critical levels now aligning, attention is on how XRP reacts at this zone, which could shape its next major move.

XRP Wave E Resistance Backed By Fibonacci Confluence

In a recent X post, CasiTrades presents XRP as being in the final leg of a multi-wave consolidation, with Wave E marking the last phase before resolution. She posted a chart illustrating a well-defined Elliott Wave structure, including smaller subwaves that collectively guide price toward a resistance cluster between $1.50 and $1.53.

The chart also shows multiple Fibonacci levels converging within this range, including a 1.618 extension near $1.51 and overlapping retracement levels that tighten the resistance area. In addition, a descending resistance trendline intersects this same region, adding another layer of technical pressure. These combined elements explain why the analyst identifies this range as a major test for XRP.

XRP last wave
Source: X

The structure leading into this resistance is equally important. A rising trendline supports the entire move, connecting higher lows and maintaining upward momentum throughout the formation. This trendline reinforces the idea that XRP is still progressing through its final consolidation phase.

At the same time, CasiTrades emphasizes that this outlook depends on XRP holding above $1.39. The chart clearly marks this level as critical support, aligning with previous price reactions and Fibonacci backing. A break below this point would invalidate the wave structure and cancel the expectation of a final push toward resistance.

Momentum Conditions Building Around Key Zone

Extending this analysis further, CasiTrades links XRP’s approach to resistance with both momentum indicators and broader market movement. The chart’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) shows momentum hovering around mid-range levels, suggesting that price still has room to move higher, but without strong acceleration. This supports the expectation of a gradual climb into the $1.50–$1.53 zone.

The analyst also draws attention to Bitcoin’s role in this setup, noting that a move toward the $79,000 resistance region could align with XRP reaching its own resistance. This synchronization is presented as a key timing factor, where both assets may approach critical levels simultaneously.

If that alignment plays out, CasiTrades suggests XRP may face rejection before fully reaching $1.53, creating a scenario where the move falls short of the upper boundary. In such a case, downside targets are identified between $1.09 and $0.87, marking a potential retracement after the Wave E structure completes. These levels correspond with deeper support zones and Fibonacci retracements shown on the chart.

Overall, the analysis positions the $1.50–$1.53 range as the final resistance within the current structure. As presented by CasiTrades, this zone represents the point where XRP’s consolidation is expected to resolve, making it the key resistance level to monitor before any potential surge. 

XRP price chart from Tradingview.com
Price fails to maintain bullish momentum | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Lotus Taps WisdomTree Money Market Fund to Build Yield Floor into DeFi Lending

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Lotus Taps WisdomTree Money Market Fund to Build Yield Floor into DeFi Lending

WisdomTree’s WTGXX holds nearly $860M in distributed asset value, mostly on Ethereum.

Pre-launch DeFi lending protocol Lotus has announced that WisdomTree’s Treasury Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX) will serve as part of the reserve framework backing LotusUSD, its core vault token, according a press release shared with The Defiant. The DeFi protocol said the move marks one of the first instances of a money market fund being referenced within a DeFi lending protocol.

LotusUSD reserves are composed of USDC and tokenized short-duration U.S. Treasuries. According to the release, WTGXX integration is designed so that lenders earn a baseline yield even at zero utilization, sidestepping the structural problem in standard DeFi lending where returns dry up when borrowing demand is low.

WTGXX currently tokenizes over $857 million in U.S. Treasuries, primarily on Ethereum with a secondary allocation on Arbitrum, and carries a 7-day APY of 3.49%, per data from RWAxyz.

The integration is made possible in part by WisdomTree’s recently granted Securities and Exchange Commission exemptive relief permitting 24/7 instant settlement of WTGXX shares — a prerequisite for compatibility with around-the-clock DeFi infrastructure.

“We are seeing growing interest in connecting regulated financial assets, such as WTGXX, with blockchain-based infrastructure,” Maredith Hannon, head of BD for digital assets at WisdomTree said in the release. “This momentum reflects broader exploration of how tokenized traditional assets may be used within emerging digital ecosystems.”

Lotus also uses a tranched market structure, letting lenders select explicit risk profiles within a single connected liquidity pool rather than accepting uniform pool-wide exposure, per the protocol’s documentation.

The announcement comes days after the Kelp bridge exploit, which saw an attacker mint unbacked rsETH and use it as collateral on Aave to borrow nearly $200 million in real assets, and left Aave modeling between $124 million and $230 million in bad debt. Lotus founder and CEO David Reising drew a direct line between that event and the protocol’s design thesis, telling The Defiant:

“Yield in DeFi lending markets is too reliant on risky, volatile collateral. This was highlighted by this weekend’s KelpDAO exploit and the subsequent $15B Aave fallout — one of many events that have demonstrated the need for risk that’s predictable, bounded, and priced fairly.”

Reising argues the problem is structural, continuing in comments to The Defiant: “The desire to lend against subprime assets, like rsETH, is a market structure issue that can be eliminated by letting people sit at a variety of risk levels in asset markets containing high-quality collateral. Collateral risk isn’t the only option to generate high returns.”

On how Lotus’s design addresses it, Reising added:

“When lenders earn a reliable base rate on stable assets via productive debt, opaque collateral becomes less attractive by default, and platform-level tail risk shrinks before an exploit happens.”

Lotus lists pre-deposit vaults opening in May 2026, with general availability to follow. Early access requests are open on the protocol’s launch page.

Tokenized Treasuries have seen strong DeFi adoption, with protocols like Aave’s Horizon RWA Market now accepting them as collateral — a trend Lotus is extending further into lending market design.

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

ClearBank Celebrates 10th Anniversary with a Third Consecutive Year of UK Profitability

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ClearBank Celebrates 10th Anniversary with a Third Consecutive Year of UK Profitability

ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking, has released its financial results and annual report for the year ending 31 December 2025. Marking its 10th year since launching, the fintech reported its third consecutive year of profitability in the UK, alongside significant growth in payment volumes, deposits, and fee-based revenue.

At the Group level, ClearBank’s normalised revenue increased 34 per cent year-on-year to £121.6million, reflecting a substantial rise in fee income and transaction volumes. In the UK alone, normalised revenue grew 32 per cent to £117.7million, bolstered by strong demand across its embedded banking, agency banking, foreign exchange, and multi-currency services.

UK pre-tax profit rose 53 per cent to £12.2 million, up from £8.0 million in 2024. ClearBank’s strong UK performance, operational resilience, and capital strength were further validated by achieving an Investment Grade (BBB-) credit rating from S&P.

Surging transaction volumes and deposits

Throughout 2025, ClearBank experienced major growth in both customer balances and transaction volumes. Total deposits managed by the bank surged by 65 per cent, reaching £17.8billion by the end of the year—up from £10.8 billion in 2024. According to the firm, this surpasses the deposit amounts currently managed by established neobanks Monzo and Starling.

The business recorded a 57 per cent jump in payment scheme transaction volumes, processing 262 million payments over the course of the year. This surge in volume directly supported a 51 per cent growth in fee-based income, which rose to £88million.

On a statutory basis prepared under IFRS, net fee income represented 46 per cent of total Group revenue in 2025. The shift toward high-quality, recurring fee income strengthens the long-term resilience of the business model by reducing exposure to interest rate fluctuations and increasing revenue predictability.

Embedded banking and client expansion

ClearBank served a total of 279 clients in 2025, adding 61 new clients to its portfolio. This growth was driven largely by expanding its embedded banking partners from six to nine.

The bank achieved several major milestones in its embedded banking offerings:

  • It launched corporate embedded banking, securing PayCaptain as its first corporate partner.

  • Savings accounts officially went live with LemFi and Coinbase.

  • The bank deepened its relationship with Revolut and supported Capital on Tap, which reached £1billion in deposits held with ClearBank by January 2026—achieved within just 12 months of the savings product’s UK launch.

  • Tide, utilising the bank’s embedded banking platform, expanded its reach to serve nearly 800,000 SMEs.

Scaling European operations
Mark Fairless, chief executive officer at ClearBank

While the UK operations posted strong profits, the Group reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £16.7million. This reflects a planned investment strategy to accelerate growth and strengthen core capabilities for ClearBank Europe during its first full year of operations since securing a banking licence in July 2024.

The European division successfully onboarded 21 new clients in 2025, bringing its total to 28. It closed the year with €44million in customer deposits and saw its monthly payment scheme transaction volumes surpass one million. Furthermore, the bank opened a new branch in Paris to drive French growth and successfully passported its services into 21 European Union countries by early 2026.

Mark Fairless, group CEO of ClearBank, reflected on the milestone year.

“2025 was a year of significant growth, but also one of investing for the future success of the group as we expand our propositions and geographic footprint for 2026,” Fairless stated. “We have built unrivalled infrastructure and are scaling it efficiently across new propositions, new jurisdictions and new segments, with the foundations laid for the next phase of our expansion.”

David Samper, Group CFO of ClearBank, added: “Our performance this year reflects a business delivering exactly what we said it would. Strong growth and profitability in our core UK business, continued scaling and maturation in Europe, and ongoing product innovation demonstrate a model that is both resilient and repeatable, reinforced by ClearBank UK achieving an Investment Grade credit rating from S&P.”

BTC price steady near $77,500 as derivatives signal cooling momentum, cautious sentiment

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BTC price steady near $77,500 as derivatives signal cooling momentum, cautious sentiment

Crypto volatility cooled on Friday, with bitcoin BTC$78,307.77 stuck between $77,500 and $78,500 range since midnight UTC.

The muted price action follows a failed breakout attempt near $80,000 on Wednesday, although the broader trend remains constructive, with the BTC price grinding higher through April and printing a series of higher highs and higher lows.

Ether (ETH) matched bitcoin’s performance on Friday, losing around 0.9% since midnight while also remaining in a narrow trading range.

U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq 100 futures rising by 0.5% on the back of strong tech earnings and S&P 500 futures slipping 3 basis points.

The Dollar Index (DXY) was little changed despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump confirming that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been extended by three weeks. The dollar fell roughly 0.5% when the ceasefire was first announced on April 16.

Derivatives positioning

  • Bitcoin futures open interest has declined by over 6% to 744.3K BTC in 24 hours, as the rally in spot price pulls back to $77,500 after failing to hit $80,000 early this week. The moves suggest traders are unwinding leveraged positions and that bullish momentum is cooling in the near term.
  • BTC’s 24-hour open interest–adjusted cumulative volume delta has flipped negative, meaning sellers are hitting the bid more than buyers are lifting the ask over the period. Annualized perpetual funding rates remain slightly negative, indicating dominance of bearish short positions.
  • Futures tied to other major cryptocurrencies, such as ether (ETH), solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP), have seen lackluster trading over the past 24 hours.
  • Privacy-focused zcash (ZEC), however, stands out. Open interest in its futures has climbed nearly 7.5% to a 10-day high of 1.88 million tokens, while 24-hour trading volume has surged 80%.
  • The token also boasts one of the strongest positive CVD readings alongside positive funding rates, indicating sustained aggressive buying interest and bullish positioning overall.
  • While BTC and ETH prices have come under pressure, investors likely see it as a brief pause in the rally. That’s evident from the continued slide in bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV. It has dropped to 42%, the lowest since Jan. 31. ETH’s index has dipped below 65%, also the lowest since Feb. 1.
  • On Deribit, bitcoin and ether risk reversals continue to show a bias for put options across all time frames. It shows persistent downside hedging by market players and upside volatility selling via covered calls.

Token talk

  • The CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) was the only benchmark in the black on Friday, posting a gain of less than 0.2% while the DeFi Select Index (DFX) and Computing Select Index (CPUS) lost about 1% each.
  • DeFi tokens lido (LDO) and MORPHO$1.8732 led the sector’s losses, falling by between 3% and 3.8% since midnight UTC as sentiment continues to suffer following last weekend’s $290 million KelpDAO exploit.
  • Privacy coin zcash (ZEC) gave back 0.5% of its gains on Friday, but remains up by more than 7% over the past 24 hours, buoyed by Thursday’s listing on popular retail trading app Robinhood.
  • CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” index ticked back up to 39/100 on Friday as investors began to make speculative bets while bitcoin remained range-bound.

BTC price, U.S. dollar move in near-perfect opposition. It hasn’t been this extreme in almost 4 years.

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BTC price, U.S. dollar move in near-perfect opposition. It hasn’t been this extreme in almost 4 years.

For bitcoin BTC$78,302.07 traders, the direction of the Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of other currencies, hasn’t mattered this much in nearly four years.

That’s because the 30-day correlation coefficient between the two now stands at -0.90, according to TradingView, the most negative reading since September 2022. A reading below 0 indicates an inverse relationship: When the dollar weakens, bitcoin gains, and vice versa.

Keep in mind, though, that the reading, while widely tracked, can be influenced by bitcoin’s 24/7 trading structure, particularly weekend price action that is not mirrored in the Dollar Index’s weekday-only trading.

The coefficient of determination, or correlation squared, comes in at 0.81, implying that roughly 81% of bitcoin’s short-term price moves are statistically associated with moves in the index.

Notably, bitcoin’s rally has stalled since hitting highs above $79,000 on Wednesday. This comes as DXY bounced to 98.75 from the April 17 low of 97.63.

This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter ‘Daybook.’ Sign up here, if you haven’t already.

The outlook for the Dollar Index appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued U.S.-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.

“Macro is still trying to lean against it [BTC’s continued rally]. Oil has risen for five straight sessions and Hormuz remains effectively constrained. That should be a headwind because it keeps the inflation channel alive and keeps risk premia from fully unwinding,” analysts at Marex said in an email.

One positive is the sustained inflows into the U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). While those are keeping prices supported, industry leaders are still taking a cautious approach.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, said bitcoin may not see a meaningful recovery until October or November, and the current price action aligns with BTC’s four-year reward halving cycle. He said that whales, who hold large numbers of BTC, and long-time holders have continued to sell into ETF-driven demand. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

What’s trending

  • Pentagon email floats suspending Spain from NATO, reassessing UK’s Falklands claim over Iran war rift (Reuters): A memo circulating at high levels in the Pentagon lays out options to punish NATO allies that denied access, basing and overflight rights for the Iran campaign.
  • Morgan Stanley launches Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio, a money-market fund for issuers (CoinDesk): Morgan Stanley Investment Management unveiled MSNXX, a $1 NAV government money market fund holding only Treasuries and government repo, built to meet the Genius Act’s reserve requirements.
  • Wisconsin sues Kalshi, Coinbase, Polymarket, Robinhood and Crypto.com over prediction markets (CoinDesk): Attorney General Josh Kaul’s complaints allege sports event contracts are unlicensed gambling, citing the platforms’ own marketing.
  • DOJ arrests Special Forces soldier who made $400K on Polymarket betting on Maduro’s capture (ABC News): The master sergeant was involved in the January operation and placed around $33,000 in bets hours before Trump announced the capture, netting more than $400,000. This is believed to be the first U.S. insider-trading prosecution tied to a prediction market.

Today’s signal

Ether-bitcoin ratio’s daily chart. (TradingView)

The chart shows daily swings in the ether-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio in candlestick format since July last year.

This week, the ratio fell nearly 3% to 0.02965, its lowest since March 15. The move has two bearish implications.

First, it confirms a downside break from the short-term ascending channel that had guided the recovery from early February lows. Second, it pushes the ratio back below the broader downtrend line that has defined the decline since August.

This breakdown reinforces bearish momentum and increases the likelihood of further downside or extended consolidation in the ETH/BTC pair, that is, it points to continued underperformance of ether relative to bitcoin ahead.

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