Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Virtuais Protocol, rising 99.80%.
Bitcoin outperformed gold and tech stocks in April, sparking renewed debate over its role as a safe haven amid market turbulence. The cryptocurrency's 12% gain since April 1 has been driven by investors seeking protection from rising policy uncertainty and institutional instability. According to Bloomberg, experts expect Bitcoin to continue its rally as a hedge against systemic financial risk, with some viewing it as more effective than gold due to its decentralized nature.
- El Salvador’s economy minister confirms that the government is still buying Bitcoin, despite a loan agreement with the IMF that required them to stop accumulating the token. The IMF deal, which provided $1.4 billion in funding, was made in exchange for El Salvador’s commitment to shore up its fiscal accounts and scale back Bitcoin purchases, writes Bloomberg.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was Ethena, down 15.82%.
- Nike is being hit with a class action lawsuit demanding over $5 million in damages after shutting down its Web3 NFT platform RTFKT in January, reports Bloomberg. A group of RTFKT users filled the lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York on April 25, claiming that they suffered “significant damages” after Nike touted its sneaker-themed NFTs to win investors before pulling the plug on the platform.
- Data compiled by CryptoSlam, an on-chain crypto market data aggregator and a multi-chain NFT collection explorer, shows that the global NFT market has plunged again in trading sales volume. From April 1 to April 30, the global NFT token market recorded a trading sales volume of $389 million, down 39.8% from the past month, according to an article by Inside Bitcoins.
Opportunities
- BlackRock has filed to launch a new share class of its $150 billion money market fund that is registered on a blockchain, utilizing distributed ledger technology (DLT) to record share ownership and streamline fund operations. The DLT share class will be managed by Bank of New York Mellon which will represent ownership of the shares through tokenization, writes Bloomberg.
- Morgan Stanley is working on a plan to add cryptocurrency trading to its E*TRADE platform with a potential launch next year. The firm is considering partnership with established crypto firms to set up the service which would allow clients to buy and sell popular tokens like Bitcoin and Ether.
- Bitcoin is approaching $100,000 and reaching its highest level since late February, driven by investors’ renewed appetite for risk across financial markets. Exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin and Ether saw significant inflows last week, writes Bloomberg, and demand for upside exposure in the options market has increased with call options with a strike price of $100,000 seeing the most open interest.
Threats
- Seven of the eight biggest publicly traded U.S.-based Bitcoin miners are expected to post a loss in their first-quarter earnings report due to increased competition, tariffs, and declining mining revenue. The miners are struggling despite Bitcoin’s record high price in January, with adjusted net income falling by almost $1.3 billion in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, writes Bloomberg.
- A former 1st Million executive, Arley Ray Johnson, lost his appeal to undo convictions for conspiracy, wire fraud, and securities fraud, writes Bloomberg. Johson was accused of defrauding over 1,000 investors between 2017 and 2019 and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison with three months of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $15.4 million.
- The U.S Treasury Department has launched a major enforcement move against the Cambodian financial firm Huione Group. The network is accused of crypto laundering proceeds. From online investment scams, cryptocurrency fraud and cyber heists, according to Bloomberg.
