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The funding rate for XRP perpetual futures on Binance has remained consistently negative this year, indicating an excessive level of bearish sentiment, according to on-chain analyst Darkfost. He noted that positions betting on an XRP decline are heavily skewed, suggesting a market-wide consensus has formed. Darkfost explained that when a majority crowds into the same position, the price structure becomes asymmetrical, and such agreements often materialize late. He highlighted that even with XRP currently down 60%, bets on further declines are more prevalent than expectations of a rebound. The analyst pointed out that in the past, extreme sentiment structures have often preceded price movements in the opposite direction, citing a previous instance where similar conditions led to a 127% rally for XRP, from approximately $1.6 to $3.6.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Khatibzadeh said on April 17 that Iran will not accept any form of temporary ceasefire and is demanding a complete end to the conflict in the region. Speaking to reporters at the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, he emphasized that any truce must cover the entire conflict zone, from Lebanon to the Red Sea, a condition he described as a red line for Iran. Khatibzadeh added that the vicious cycle of conflict must be brought to a complete end.

As Bitcoin's rally slows near the $76,000 resistance level, a wait-and-see sentiment is growing in the market, with investors looking for signals of genuine economic normalization, CoinDesk reported, citing QCP Capital. The firm stated that specific indicators are needed, such as the normalization of energy supplies, a reduction in oil price premiums, and progress on disinflation. Meanwhile, while the environment for risk assets has improved due to a drop in the U.S. Treasury volatility index, SOL and DOGE could see increased volatility due to rising leverage.

A U.S. senator has asked the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice to review their oversight of Binance in connection with approximately $1.7 billion in Iran-linked cryptocurrency fund flows, Solid Intel reported.

The following is an order book analysis chart for the BTC/USDT spot pair. The top section shows the Volume Heatmap, while the bottom section displays the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD). - The Volume Heatmap tracks trading volume at specific price levels. The background color brightens when the price remains in a certain range for an extended period or experiences significant movement. Brighter areas may act as potential support or resistance levels. - The CVD indicator represents buy and sell orders categorized by trade size. As buy orders increase, the corresponding colored line rises. The yellow line tracks orders between $100 and $1,000, while the brown line represents large orders ranging from $1 million to $10 million.

U.S. President Donald Trump is desperate to end the war with Iran, a fact demonstrated by the temporary ceasefire he brokered between Israel and Lebanon, Politico reported. While significant differences remain between the U.S. and Iran, Trump's invitation to Israeli and Lebanese leaders to the White House suggests a shift in the American position in recent days. By pushing for an end to Israeli bombing, Trump removed a potential obstacle to an agreement that Iran could have raised. Facing domestic pressure after negotiations in Pakistan last weekend concluded without success, Trump may be more willing to accommodate Iran's demands than his public statements suggest. A senior Gulf official familiar with the peace negotiations stated that Trump is likely to accept more compromises. The official noted that while the president is very eager to end the conflict, Iran has so far not offered terms that would allow him to withdraw honorably while saving face.

Tokenizing illiquid assets does not automatically make them liquid, an executive from Ondo (ONDO) argued at Paris Blockchain Week. According to Cointelegraph, Oya Celiktemur explained that while some may believe tokenization magically transforms illiquid assets, this is not the case. She noted that assets like real estate and private credit are inherently illiquid, and simply bringing them on-chain cannot create new liquidity. Celiktemur suggested that only certain assets, such as bonds, money market funds, and stablecoins, can achieve stable liquidity in the tokenized market.

Sony is pursuing an on-chain strategy for its intellectual property (IP) using its proprietary Ethereum Layer 2 network, Soneium, Japanese media outlet Nada News reported. The company has made the on-chain migration of its IP assets—spanning music, animation, games, and movies—a core objective for this year. It is currently building an IP infrastructure on Soneium while simultaneously designing the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks. Additionally, Sony plans to attract external capital to expand investments in applications and entertainment within the Soneium ecosystem.

The on-chain indicator RHODL (Realized HODL) has risen to 4.5, suggesting the market is nearing a bottom, according to an analysis by Glassnode reported by CoinDesk. The RHODL ratio, which tracks the balance between long-term and short-term Bitcoin holders, is now at its third-highest level ever. Glassnode noted that a recent 50% price correction over the past six months has led to a significant exit of short-term speculative funds, increasing the proportion of long-term holdings. The only two times the RHODL ratio has been higher were in 2015 and 2022, both of which coincided with market bottoms. However, the analytics firm cautioned that a complete bottom formation would require short-term demand to shrink to a near-disappearance, a level that has not yet been reached.

Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) has announced the launch of a stablecoin issuance and exchange service. Institutional clients can now convert fiat currency into stablecoins through their SGB accounts, with 24-hour real-time settlement. The service currently supports USDC transactions of over $100,000, with plans to expand to include USDT, USDe, and USDG.

Houston-based energy land management company EagleRock Land has filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker "EROK," Bloomberg reported. The company, which owns and manages approximately 236,000 acres in the Permian Basin, is pursuing revenue diversification by leasing land for cryptocurrency mining.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $76,000. BTC is trading at $76,175.16 on the Binance USDT market.

Bitcoin long-term holders have accumulated 3.06 million BTC over the past three months, on-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr. said on X. He noted, however, that some long-term holdings are being sold at a loss. Adler Jr. explained that while the market has not entered a full capitulation, it is difficult to interpret the accumulation alone as a bullish signal.

An address believed to belong to a whale or an institution has purchased approximately 4.5 million LDO, valued at around $1.86 million, in an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction following a recent token buyback by Lido. According to EmberCN, the same address also acquired 10,000 AAVE, worth about $1.15 million, from Wintermute and FalconX within the past day.

Binance has announced it will delist the DEGO, DENT, and TRU spot trading pairs at 3:00 a.m. UTC on April 28.

Mitsui's digital subsidiary, Mitsui Digital Commodities (MDC), announced it will issue its gold-pegged RWA token, Zipangcoin (ZPG), on the Optimism (OP) network. ZPG has been issued under Japan's regulatory framework since 2022. The token was previously issued on the Miyabi network, a private blockchain developed by bitFlyer.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need to expand the use of euro-denominated stablecoins, urging European banks to more actively adopt deposit tokens. Speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in Paris, Lescure expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation, noting that the scale of euro stablecoins is small compared to their U.S. dollar counterparts, Reuters reported. He added that he encourages banks to more actively consider offering deposit token products.

Representative Kim Sang-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Stock and Digital Asset Value-Up, is calling for the swift enactment of the second phase of the Digital Asset Basic Act, focusing on stablecoins while excluding proposed restrictions on crypto exchange ownership, Edaily reported. Kim said he feels a sense of responsibility for the significant delays in drafting the government's version of the bill. He emphasized that he would do his best to ensure a globally competitive digital asset bill is prepared as soon as possible.

According to data from CoinGlass, approximately $123.74 million in short positions on major centralized exchanges will be liquidated if BTC breaks through $75,715. Conversely, a drop below $73,583 would trigger the liquidation of $215 million in long positions.

Demand for stablecoins is on the rise despite the broader cryptocurrency market's weakness, according to an analysis by on-chain analyst Darkfost. In a contribution to CryptoQuant, Darkfost noted that since February, average weekly inflows into crypto lender Nexo have nearly doubled from around $8 million to $15 million. This trend suggests that investors are increasingly using stablecoins to manage idle funds and pursue interest-bearing opportunities, he explained.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced it will offer subsidies to companies that use yen-denominated stablecoins issued in Japan for payments and remittances. The program will provide grants of up to $260,000 per project.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced it is removing Venus (XVS) from its delisting watchlist. The move comes after the exchange determined that the issues that initially led to the designation have been resolved.

The shift by Bitcoin mining companies toward the AI infrastructure business could pose a serious threat to network security, Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards pointed out on X. He projected that for major mining firms, the share of revenue from mining is expected to plummet from the current 90% to the 30% range within the next two to three years. Edwards also expressed concern that the hash rate, the foundation of BTC's security, is rapidly declining ahead of the threat from quantum computing, and that many miners have halted the introduction of new mining equipment. In response, Blockstream CEO Adam Back argued that if the BTC hash rate falls, the profitability for remaining miners increases, eventually reaching an equilibrium between mining profits and AI conversion profits. He added that higher mining profitability would lead to less selling by miners, which could in turn create a virtuous cycle that drives up the price of BTC.

DeFi needs to shift its focus from high-yield marketing to prioritizing risk management, according to Juan Manuel Pellicer, vice president of research at Sentora, formerly known as IntoTheBlock. In an interview with DL News, he argued that existing DeFi vaults have been overly focused on Annual Percentage Yield (APY) and have failed to transparently provide users with specific risk metrics. Pellicer stressed the need for intelligent, automated systems that put risk management first. He added that the ecosystem will only grow if DeFi evolves from being a simple means of depositing assets into a financial infrastructure that operates on transparent rules.

Ethereum network transactions surpassed 200 million in the first quarter of this year, reaching an all-time high, CoinDesk reported. This figure is more than double the low of 90 million transactions seen in 2023. The majority of these transactions occurred on Layer 2 networks such as Base and Arbitrum. However, some observers point out that the price of ETH has not risen in proportion to the increase in network activity, suggesting that the growth in Layer 2s may be masking the mainnet's lower profitability.