US Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that if President Donald Trump eventually 
moves to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, it could undermine investor 
confidence in the integrity of US capital markets and trigger a financial 
crash.
During an appearance on CNBC, the Massachusetts Senator said the President 
does not have the legal authority to remove Powell from his position. 
Moreover, removing Powell would weaken the financial infrastructure of the US, 
Warren added:
&gt; &#8220;If Chairman Powell can be fired by the President of the United States, it 
&gt; will crash the markets. The infrastructure that keeps this stock market 
&gt; strong and, therefore, a big part of our economy strong, and a big part of 
&gt; the world economy strong, is the idea that the big pieces move independently 
&gt; of politics.&#8221;
&#8220;If interest rates in the United States are subject to a president who just 
wants to wave his magic wand, this doesn&#8217;t distinguish us from any other two- 
bit dictatorship,&#8221; Warren continued.
_Trump discusses US economic policies with reporters. Source:__The White 
House_
President Trump has repeatedly called for Powell&#8217;s termination, citing the 
chairman&#8217;s hesitancy to lower interest rates. Lower interest rates are usually 
considered a positive catalyst for risk-on asset prices, including 
cryptocurrencies, and could reverse the market downturn brought on by the 
trade war and current macroeconomic pressures.
_**Related:**__**Fed&#8217;s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation**_
## Trump&#8217;s feud with the Federal Reserve chairman
Trump criticized Powell for not cutting interest rates and called for his 
termination again in an April 17 Truth Social post, which inflamed speculation 
that he would follow through on threats and find a way to remove the chairman.
Senator Rick Scott echoed Trump&#8217;s calls to remove Powell. &#8220;It&#8217;s time to clean 
house of everyone working at the Federal Reserve who isn&#8217;t on board with 
helping the American people and fighting for their best interests,&#8221; Scott 
wrote in an opinion piece published on Fox News.
_Source:__Donald Trump_
The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that lowering interest rates is 
a top priority. Market analyst and investor Anthony Pompliano recently 
speculated that Trump deliberately crashed financial markets to force lower 
interest rates.
At the time, Pompliano cited a reduction in the yield of the 10-year US 
Treasury Bond to just 4%. The 10-year bond yield has climbed back up to 4.3% 
since then.
_**Magazine:**__**Meebits and CryptoPunks are like Hot Wheels for adults: New 
MeebCo owner Sergito**_

Firing Jerome Powell will crash financial markets — Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Crypto analyst Quinten recently revealed that Bitcoin has entered oversold 
levels. However, analyst Dr. Cat has warned that, contrary to public opinion, 
this development is bearish, not bullish, for the flagship crypto. In an X 
post, Dr. Cat stated that Bitcoin entering oversold levels is “super-bearish” 
and overbought levels are “super-bullish.” He explained that for the 
oscillator to reach oversold values, it means that the price action has been 
extremely bearish, indicating why investors are selling their holdings. Why 
Bitcoin Entering Oversold Levels Is Bearish The crypto analyst further 
remarked that Oscillators are range-bound indicators, so they can’t go beyond 
0 and 100, as they are limited by their mathematical formulas. However, he 
added that the Bitcoin price can go lower or higher. Dr. Cat then alluded to 
Bitcoin’s bull markets, noting that all of them are in overbought territory on 
the weekly chart. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price To Break $125,000 But Sell 
Everything In October, Analyst Warns The analyst stated that if an investor 
buys an oversold condition on a lower timeframe when Bitcoin’s higher 
timeframe is bullish, this is a good move. However, he remarked that whoever 
advises buying a weekly oversold chart based on the claim that it is bullish 
because it is oversold has no idea what they are talking about. He remarked 
that many altcoins are oversold on the higher timeframe and can remain 
oversold as they approach zero, where the analyst claims they are eventually 
headed. Dr. Cat also explained that in a bull market, oversold conditions on 
the daily chart may mark higher lows on the weekly or monthly chart. However, 
in a bear market, oversold conditions may persist or just lead to some 
consolidation before more downside. Dr. Cat then alluded to Quinten’s chart, 
which he said showed what daily oversold conditions led to one year earlier in 
different broader market conditions. The analyst cautioned that he wasn’t 
discussing whether Bitcoin is in a bull or bear market or where it is headed, 
but simply clarifying the misconception about oversold and overbought RSI. 
BTC’s Supply Overwhelming Demand At The Moment In an X post, CryptoQuant CEO 
Ki Young Ju revealed that Bitcoin’s supply is currently greater than its 
demand at the moment, providing a bearish outlook for the flagship crypto. 
This supports the idea of BTC being in oversold conditions right now, with 
holders selling their coins rather than buying. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price 
Forms This Bullish Pennant On Daily Chart That Could Trigger Rise To $137,000 
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez recently revealed that whales have been taking 
profits during the recent Bitcoin rally, offloading over 29,000 BTC since 
April 9. It is worth mentioning that Ki Young Ju recently asserted that 
Bitcoin’s bull market is over, noting that the flagship crypto is witnessing 
significant selling pressure. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is 
trading at around $84,600, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from 
CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Bitcoin Enters Oversold Levels, Analyst Warns This Is Bearish, Not Bullish

United States asset manager Canary Capital has filed to list an exchange- 
traded fund (ETF) holding the Tron blockchain network&#8217;s native token, TRX 
(TRX), regulatory filings show.
The fund intends to hold spot TRX and stake a portion of the tokens for added 
yield, the filing said.
According to CoinMarketCap, the TRX token has a total market capitalization of 
more than $22 billion. Staking TRX generates an annualized yield of 
approximately 4.5%, data from Stakingrewards.com shows.
The filing is the latest in an outpouring of submissions aimed at listing ETFs 
holding alternative cryptocurrencies, or &#8220;altcoins.&#8221;
However, Canary&#8217;s proposed fund is relatively unique in requesting permission 
to stake its crypto holdings in its initial application. Other US ETFs, such 
as those holding the Ethereum network&#8217;s native token, Ether (ETH), have sought 
approval for staking only after successfully listing a fund holding the spot 
token. They are still waiting for a regulatory decision.
Tron is a proof-of-stake blockchain network founded by Justin Sun, who also 
owns Rainberry (formerly Bittorrent), the developer of the BitTorrent 
protocol.
In March 2023, the SEC sued Sun for allegedly fraudulently inflating the 
prices of the Tron token and BitTorrent&#8217;s BTT token.
In February, the SEC and Sun asked the judge overseeing the lawsuit to pause 
the case to allow the parties to enter into settlement talks.
_Platforms for staking TRX. Source:__Stakingrewards.com_
 _**Related: **__**Canary Capital proposes first Sui ETF in US SEC filing**_
### **Altcoin ETF season**
Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, US regulators have 
acknowledged dozens of filings for proposed crypto investment products.
They include plans for ETFs holding native layer-1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) 
as well as memecoins such as Official Trump (TRUMP).
Since 2024, Canary has filed for several proposed US crypto ETFs, including 
funds holding Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP), Hedera (HBAR), Axelar (AXL), Pengu 
(PENGU), and Sui (SUI).
Some industry analysts doubt that ETFs holding non-core cryptocurrencies will 
be embraced by traditional investors.
&#8220;Most crypto ETFs will fail to attract AUM and cost issuers money,&#8221; crypto 
researcher Alex Kruger said in a March post on the X platform.
_**Magazine: **__**SEC &#8216;s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered**_

Canary Capital files for staked TRX ETF

An Aptos community member submitted a proposal on April 18 to slash staking 
rewards for the network&#8217;s native token, Aptos (APT), by nearly 50%
The proposal, submitted by a community member called MoonSheisty, aims at 
reducing reward yields from 7% to 3.79% in a three-month period, aligning 
Aptos staking rewards with other layer-1 blockchains and encouraging capital 
efficiency.
The proposal has sparked curiosity on X, but early comments on GitHub show 
some initial resistance.
A community member going by ElagabalxNode noted that reducing the staking 
reward without &#8220;compensatory mechanisms like a robust delegation program&#8221; 
could push smaller validators out of the network, thus weakening the Aptos 
blockchain&#8217;s decentralization and long-term resistance.
_**Related:**__**Aptos to accelerate innovation with new tech, investment in 
India**_
The proposal addresses the validators&#8217; role in the network, stating that Aptos 
should consider a community validator program to give grants and stake to 
small validators contributing to the ecosystem.&#8221;
Aptos was founded in 2021 by a group of former Meta engineers. According to 
DefiLlama, the Aptos blockchain has a total value locked of $974 million as of 
April 18, with nearly a $320 million coming from lending protocol Aries 
Markets.
_Aptos TVL and other metrics. Source:__DefiLlama_
While high staking rewards can incentivize users to lock up tokens on Aptos, 
MoonSheisty argues that they may also discourage participation in higher-risk, 
higher-reward opportunities within the ecosystem, such as restaking, DePIN 
infrastructure, MEV, and decentralized finance.
## Staking &#8216;real reward rates&#8217; vary considerably
Staking rewards can vary significantly across blockchains. According to 
CoinLedger, real returns on the BNB Smart Chain are among the highest at 
7.43%, while Cardano offers one of the lowest at just 0.55%.
Staking offers multiple benefits: It incentivizes users to lock their tokens 
on-chain, supports validators and helps secure the network. Rewards work 
similarly to interest earned on a savings account &#8212; but instead of cash, 
stakers earn crypto, which can fluctuate in fiat value.
_**Related:**__**Coinbase &#8216;s Ethereum staking dominance risks 
overcentralization: Execs**_
From time to time, proposals emerge aiming to modify staking procedures. In 
June 2024, Polkadot introduced a proposal to reduce the time needed to unstake 
to just two days. In September, the Starknet community voted to pass a new 
staking mechanism, while Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed 
solutions to staking issues a few weeks later.
While staking gives the community a true &#8220;stake&#8221; in the network, there are 
risks associated with it, including the consolidation of smaller pools into 
larger ones. This trend can undermine decentralization and weaken the 
blockchain&#8217;s overall resilience.
_**Magazine: Ethereum restaking &#8212; Blockchain innovation or dangerous house of 
cards?**_

Aptos community proposal seeks to slash staking rewards by nearly 50%

Today commemorates the 13th anniversary of the first altcoin, the crypto asset 
Namecoin (NMC), whose network debuted on April 18, 2011. Although the token 
has dimmed over time, the network remains under active development and its 
proof-of-work (PoW) hashrate ranks among the highest in the crypto ecosystem. 
While Often Forgotten, the First Altcoin Turns 13 […]

Cryptocurrency price in VEF