Transnational cybercrime gangs in Southeast Asia continue to grow, expanding 
their reach through crypto and custom blockchain services, the UN reports. 
Cybercrime syndicates in Southeast Asia are really stepping up their game, and 
crypto is right at the heart of…

Southeast Asia’s criminal syndicates launch custom infra, stablecoins for global fraud, UN warns

Ethereum is gradually regaining momentum after a recent correction, now 
trading above $1,700, reflecting a 12.2% increase over the past week. This 
recovery has drawn attention from analysts, who seem to be looking into the 
asset’s movement for signs of sustained strength or renewed volatility. 
Despite this short-term rise, ETH remains approximately 63% below its all-time 
high of $4,878 reached in 2021, highlighting the broader downturn that has 
characterized the Ethereum market since late 2021. Related Reading: Ethereum 
Whales Just Accumulated 640K ETH, Is a Bigger Rally Coming? Ethereum 
Derivative Exchange Inflows Point to Potential Volatility Recent on-chain data 
and exchange flows suggest Ethereum’s price trajectory may be influenced by 
broader macro factors and strategic trading behavior. Among the latest 
observations is a notable surge in ETH sent to derivative exchanges, a metric 
often linked to increased speculative activity or changes in trader 
positioning. This trend, coupled with key political developments in the US, 
has raised new questions about what might be next for Ethereum and the wider 
crypto market. According to an analysis by Amr Taha, a contributor on 
CryptoQuant’s QuickTake platform, Ethereum has recorded unusually large 
inflows to derivative exchanges in the past 48 hours, with one spike exceeding 
80,000 ETH. Historically, such inflows are seen ahead of periods of increased 
volatility, as traders shift assets to leverage positions or hedge against 
expected price movements. While not a definitive predictor of direction, this 
behavior suggests rising expectations of short-term market activity. Taha&#8217;s 
analysis notes that the inflow coincided with a recent political statement 
from US President Donald Trump, who confirmed he has no intention of removing 
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. This announcement was interpreted by 
markets as a signal that the Fed will continue to operate independently, 
easing concerns about political interference in monetary policy. Taha notes 
that given how closely crypto markets respond to central bank tone and 
economic indicators, this development added a layer of macro stability to a 
market already reacting to technical signals. BTC Whale Activity and 
Derivatives Data Suggest Tactical Shifts While Ethereum-specific data remains 
the primary focus, Taha also highlighted key movements in Bitcoin markets that 
may have indirect effects on ETH. On April 23, over $600 million worth of BTC 
was transferred from whale wallets to exchanges, marking the largest single- 
day BTC inflow in several weeks. This came after a breakout in the BTC/GBP 
pair, which triggered significant short liquidations. According to Taha, the 
large BTC transfer may reflect a setup where late long entries could face 
downside risk if selling pressure intensifies. For Ethereum, this backdrop 
raises the possibility of a short-term retracement, especially if correlated 
selling occurs across major digital assets. Related Reading: Ethereum Flashes 
Bullish Golden Cross – Is A Major Rally On The Horizon? A buildup of long 
positions sitting just below current price levels, paired with newly added 
exchange supply, introduces liquidity zones that the market may test. As a 
result, both BTC and ETH could see increased volatility in the near term, 
driven by stop-loss hunts or profit-taking activity. Featured image created 
with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

Ethereum Up 12% In a Week, but Derivatives Data Suggests Caution

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States saw over $3 
billion in inflows this week, marking the first full week of consecutive 
inflows in five weeks.
On April 25, the 11 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $380 million in inflows, 
bringing the total for the week to around $3.06 billion over five consecutive 
inflow days, according to Farside data. The last time spot Bitcoin ETFs had a 
full week of inflow days was the week ending March 21.
## Strong inflow week turns April into positive month
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 24 X post that &#8220;ETFs are on a 
Bitcoin bender.&#8221;
&#8220;What&#8217;s really notable here is just HOW FAST the flows can go from 1st gear to 
5th gear,&#8221; Balchunas said, forecasting that some of those flows may be due to 
the &#8220;basis trade back in effect.&#8221;
_Source:__Satoshi Stacker_
Amid ongoing financial and macroeconomic uncertainty, spot Bitcoin ETFs have 
experienced a volatile April, with nine out of the total 18 trading days so 
far being outflow days.
However, a strong surge of inflows over the past week has turned the month 
positive, bringing total net inflows for April to approximately $2.26 billion.
On the same day, Strategy founder Michael Saylor reportedly said at the 
Bitwise Invest Bitcoin Corporations Investor Day that BlackRock&#8217;s iShare 
Bitcoin ETF &#8220;will be &#8220;the biggest ETF in the world in ten years.&#8221;
_**Related:**__**5 Bitcoin charts predicting BTC price rally toward $100K by 
May **_
Just two days prior, on April 23, BlackRock&#8217;s iShare Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was 
awarded the &#8220;Best New ETF&#8221; at the annual etf.com ETF awards. IBIT was also the 
recipient of Crypto ETP of the year.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin&#8217;s spot price continues to hover around the $95,000 price 
level, currently trading at $94,613 at the time of publication, according to 
CoinMarketCap data. Institutions are continuing to raise their bullish price 
targets.
Billion-dollar asset manager ARK Invest recently raised its &#8220;bull case&#8221; 
Bitcoin price target from $1.5 million to $2.4 million by the end of 2030, 
driven largely by institutional investors and Bitcoin&#8217;s increasing acceptance 
as &#8220;digital gold.&#8221;
ARK&#8217;s &#8220;bear&#8221; and &#8220;base&#8221; case scenarios for the price of Bitcoin were also 
bumped up to $500,000 and $1.2 million.
_**Magazine:**__**Pok emon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: 
Asia Express**_

Bitcoin ETFs on $3B ‘bender,’ notch first full inflow week in 5 weeks

Switzerland’s fierce defense of tradition faced a seismic crypto challenge as 
calls to add bitcoin to national reserves intensify amid global economic 
turmoil and geopolitical shifts. Swiss National Bank Chairman Warns Bitcoin’s 
‘Very High’ Volatility Risks Currency Stability Swiss National Bank (SNB) 
Chairman Martin Schlegel strongly opposed integrating bitcoin into the 
institution’s currency reserves during […]

Swiss National Bank Slams Bitcoin Reserve Push as Inflation Storm Brews

As Bitcoin (BTC) edges closer to the psychologically significant $100,000 
milestone, several technical and on-chain indicators suggest that a major 
breakout could be on the horizon. One such metric &#8211; Bitcoin’s Apparent Demand 
&#8211; has shown a strong rebound, signalling renewed interest and sustained 
accumulation in the market. Bitcoin Sees Sharp Rebound In Apparent Demand 
According to a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake post, contributor IT Tech pointed 
to a significant rise in BTC’s Apparent Demand. Most notably, this key 
indicator has returned to positive territory after spending several 
consecutive weeks in the red. Related Reading: Bitcoin Enters New Phase: 
Analyst Predicts Positive Movement In 2025 For the uninitiated, Bitcoin&#8217;s 
Apparent Demand (30-day sum) measures the cumulative net demand for BTC over 
the past 30 days by tracking wallet accumulation and exchange outflows. A 
sharp increase in this metric suggests strong, sustained buying pressure, 
which can indicate bullish sentiment and potential for a price rally. The 
following chart illustrates this rebound in BTC’s Apparent Demand, which 
essentially reflects net changes in one-year inactive supply adjusted by daily 
block rewards &#8211; a metric designed to better represent organic demand growth. 
Previously, this metric had fallen deeply into negative territory &#8211; dipping 
below -200,000 (highlighted in red) &#8211; suggesting waning demand. However, its 
recent reversal into positive territory signals that long-dormant capital is 
flowing back into the market. As noted in the post: The demand pivot is 
closely aligned with the recent price rebound above $87K, implying this 
recovery is underpinned by real on-chain behavior rather than purely 
speculative flows. This marks the first positive Apparent Demand reading since 
February and aligns with rising inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded 
funds (ETFs), as well as growing accumulation by long-term holders. Data from 
SoSoValue shows that US-based spot BTC ETFs have recorded five consecutive 
days of net positive inflows, totalling more than $2.5 billion. The cumulative 
net inflow into spot BTC ETFs now stands at an impressive $38.05 billion. Is A 
BTC Rally In Sight? IT Tech noted that past reversals in Apparent Demand have 
historically preceded either significant rallies or periods of strong price 
support. If the current trend continues, BTC may have the momentum needed to 
challenge the $90,000 level in the near term. Related Reading: Bitcoin 
Surpasses Realized Price Of Recent Buyers — Rally Incoming Or Double Top? 
However, analysts caution that Bitcoin must hold its current support around 
$91,500 to maintain upward momentum. This level is particularly important 
because it is close to the realized price of short-term BTC holders, according 
to CryptoQuant contributor Crazzyblockk. Further adding to this outlook, 
prominent crypto analyst Rekt Capital emphasized that Bitcoin needs to secure 
a weekly close above $93,500 and reclaim it as support in order to establish a 
clear path to $100,000. At press time, BTC trades at $94,492, up 2% in the 
last 24 hours. Featured image from Unsplash, charts from CryptoQuant and 
Tradingview.com

Cryptocurrency price in USD