Bitcoin and altcoin prices continued their recovery, and are on track for their best weekly close since January. The Bitcoin (BTC) price has jumped for three consecutive weeks and is now 28% above its lowest level this month. Most altcoins…

As Bitcoin and altcoin prices rise, should you sell in May and go away?

United States Senator Cynthia Lummis says the crypto industry may be 
celebrating too soon over the US Federal Reserve softening its crypto guidance 
for banks.
&#8220;The Fed withdrawing crypto guidance is just noise, not real progress,&#8221; Lummis 
said in an April 25 X post. Lummis called the Fed&#8217;s April 24 announcement &#8212; 
withdrawing its 2022 supervisory letter that had discouraged banks from 
engaging with crypto and stablecoin activities &#8212; &#8220;just lip service.&#8221;
## Lummis&#8217; tone was different from the rest of the crypto industry
Lummis, a pro-crypto advocate known for introducing the Bitcoin (BTC) 
Strategic Reserve Bill in July 2024, pointed out several flaws in the Fed&#8217;s 
announcement, even as Strategy founder Michael Saylor and crypto entrepreneur 
Anthony Pompliano suggested it was a step forward for banks and crypto.
_Source:__Anthony Pompliano_
She argued that the Fed continues to &#8220;illegally flout the law on master 
accounts&#8221; and still relies on reputational risk in its bank supervision 
practices. It comes as the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) is 
working on a rule to stop examiners from considering reputational risk when 
reviewing a bank&#8217;s operations, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Lummis also highlighted the Fed&#8217;s policy statement in Section 9(13), which 
hasn&#8217;t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered 
&#8220;unsafe and unsound.&#8221;
She also reiterated many of the same staff behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0 are 
still involved in crypto policy today.
&gt; &#8220;We are NOT fooled. The Fed assassinated companies within the industry and 
&gt; hurt American interests by stifling innovation and shuttering businesses. 
&gt; This fight is far from over.&#8221;
&#8220;I will continue to hold the Fed accountable until the digital asset industry 
gets more than a life jacket, Chair Powell &#8212; they need a fair shake,&#8221; Lummis 
said.
_**Related:**__**If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?**_
Custodia Bank founder and CEO Caitlin Long seemed to share a similar view to 
Lummis.
&#8220;THANK YOU for seeing this for what it is,&#8221; Long said.
_Source:__David Sacks_
However, many crypto executives praised the Fed&#8217;s announcement as a positive 
development for the industry. Saylor said in an April 25 X post that the Fed&#8217;s 
move means that &#8220;banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin.&#8221;
Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm 
Fideum, said the Fed&#8217;s decision &#8220;is a significant development, as it will 
simplify the path to institutional adoption.&#8221;
_**Magazine:**__**Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi 
tokenization race**_

Crypto banking rule withdrawal by Fed ‘not real progress’ — Senator Lummis

A report from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has revealed how Bitcoin 
investors have recently been realizing an hourly profit 17% above the 
baseline. Bitcoin Realized Profit Has Spiked Alongside Recovery Rally In its 
latest weekly report, Glassnode has talked about the recent trend in the 
Realized Profit of Bitcoin. The &#8220;Realized Profit&#8221; here refers to an on-chain 
indicator that, as its name suggests, measures the total amount of profit that 
the BTC investors are realizing through their selling. Related Reading: 
Litecoin Conviction Remains Strong: More Than 20% Of Supply Frozen Since 5+ 
Years The indicator works by looking at the transaction history of each coin 
being transferred or sold on the network to check what price it was previously 
transferred at. Sales of coins that have a price lower than the latest spot 
value are assumed to be resulting in profit realization equal to the 
difference between the two. The Realized Profit sums up this difference for 
each token being sold at a profit to gauge the network total. Another 
indicator called the Realized Loss keeps track of the sales of the opposite 
type. Now, here is the chart for the hourly Bitcoin Realized Profit shared by 
the analytics firm in the report: As is visible in the above graph, the 
Bitcoin Realized Profit has witnessed a sharp spike recently. The increase in 
the indicator has come as BTC has been rallying, so it would appear that the 
investors have been looking to cash in on the opportunity. So far, the 
indicator has achieved a peak of $139 million per hour, which is about 17% 
higher than the baseline value of $120 million per hour. While this level 
isn&#8217;t too high when compared to the profit-taking sprees from the last bull 
rally (highlighted in green), it&#8217;s still notable, especially when considering 
how much lower it has been during the last couple of months. &#8220;If the market 
can absorb this selling pressure without breaking down, it paints a more 
constructive picture on the road ahead,&#8221; notes Glassnode. &#8220;Conversely, failure 
to hold these levels, under heavy profit realization, could mark this move as 
another dead cat bounce, which would be consistent with prior relief rallies 
that faded under similar conditions.&#8221; As for which side of the Bitcoin market 
is involved in this profit-taking event, data points toward the short-term 
holder cohort. The short-term holders (STHs) refer to the BTC investors who 
purchased their coins within the past 155 days. Related Reading: Bitcoin 
Whales Back In ‘Full Force’ For The Rally, Glassnode Reveals Below is a chart 
that shows the trend in the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), a metric that 
keeps track of the ratio between Realized Profit and Realized Loss, for the 
STHs. From the graph, it&#8217;s apparent that the Bitcoin STH SOPR has seen a 
sustained move above the 1.0 mark, which suggests profit-taking is now notably 
outweighing loss-taking from these investors. BTC Price At the time of 
writing, Bitcoin is floating around $94,600, up almost 12% in the last week. 
Featured image from Dall-E, Glassnode.com, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin Holders Realizing $139 Million In Profit Per Hour This Rally, Report Says

Dubai&#8217;s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and the Dubai Land Department have 
issued a public warning about entities falsely claiming involvement in their 
real estate tokenization project pilot. Possible Violation of Dubai’s Virtual 
Assets Regulation The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has issued a 
public alert cautioning consumers and market participants about entities 
misrepresenting their involvement […]

Investors Beware — Dubai Authorities Warn of Fake Tokenized Property Offerings

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