Stocks were slightly up at open on Monday ahead of major earnings reports, including for the Magnificent Seven. The market looked to bounce even as tariffs remained a key issue that investors are increasingly seeing as a source of major…

Stocks edge higher ahead of big earnings week

**Key takeaways** :
 * US Treasury funds saw $19 billion inflows, the highest since March 2023, as the 30-year yield fell 30 basis points.
 * Foreign central banks cut US Treasury holdings to 23%, a 22-year low, as gold reserves hit 18%.
 * Bitcoin soared in 2020 from $9,000 to $60,000 amid similar trends, hinting at a similar outcome in 2025. 
The global financial tides are shifting significantly, and Bitcoin (BTC) price 
could greatly benefit from it. Recent data indicates that US Treasury funds 
saw $19 billion in net inflows last week, exceeding the 2020 pandemic peak of 
$14 billion, with the 4-week moving average rising to $7 billion&#8211;the highest 
since March 2023.
_US Treasurys inflow chart. Source: X.com_
The 30-year US Treasury yield fell by 30 basis points from its April peak, 
indicating a rise in bond prices as investors are willing to accept lower 
returns in exchange for the safety of these bonds. This surge in demand for 
Treasurys as a safe-haven asset boosts market liquidity and stability while 
lowering US borrowing costs.
However, foreign central banks have pivoted, cutting Treasury holdings to 23% 
of US government debt, a 22-year low. This suggests that while private 
investors were possibly driving inflows, foreign central banks are stepping 
back, possibly due to the ongoing tariff dispute with the US.
_Foreign central banks &#8216; gold and treasury holdings. Source: X.com_
At the same time, gold&#8217;s share of global reserves has surged to 18%, a 26-year 
high, up 8% since 2015, with China doubling its gold reserves to 7.1% since 
2023.
This global de-dollarization trend mirrors a pattern that favors Bitcoin. 
During the 2020 pandemic, when US Treasury inflows spiked amid COVID-19 
uncertainty, Bitcoin soared from $9,000 to nearly $60,000 by early 2021, with 
gold&#8217;s share of global reserves rising by 14.5% in 18 months.
The current environment, marked by a stabilizing bond market and a central 
bank&#8217;s gold rush, implies a similar trigger for Bitcoin&#8217;s next bullish move. 
In 2023, when US Treasury yields rose amid recession fears, Bitcoin gained 47% 
in a month while the Nasdaq dropped 8.7%. With yields easing and central banks 
signaling a lack of faith in the US dollar, Bitcoin&#8217;s appeal as a global store 
of value improves.
However, Bitcoin&#8217;s bullish narrative could falter if global markets enter a 
recession in 2025. This is due to investors&#8217; decision to prioritize liquidity 
and traditional safe-haven assets like cash or US Treasurys during economic 
downturns, as noted last week, over speculative assets like Bitcoin.
_**Related: Bitcoin upside could stop at $100K despite $3B in ETF inflows**_
## Google searches for &#8220;Bitcoin&#8221; at long-term lows, says Bitwise CEO
Anonymous global markets researcher Capital Flows noted that macroeconomic 
liquidity and positioning factors drive Bitcoin&#8217;s bullish price trajectory. 
The analyst highlighted BTC&#8217;s impulse strength in a directional probability 
skew chart, suggesting that it is poised for an upward movement.
_Total macroeconomic positioning in Bitcoin. Source: X.com_
This aligned with Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley&#8217;s observation that Google 
searches for &#8220;Bitcoin&#8221; are near long-term lows, suggesting the rally is fueled 
by institutions, advisers, corporations, and nations rather than retail 
investors.
The lack of retail-driven search interest contrasts with historical trends 
where Bitcoin search volume strongly correlated with its price in the previous 
cycle (r=91%, per SEMrush data), indicating a shift in market dynamics where 
institutional adoption is fueling demand.
_**Related: Bitcoin &#8216;power law&#8217; model forecasts $200K BTC price in 2025**_
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every 
investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their 
own research when making a decision.

Global central bank gold rush could spark Bitcoin price run to new all-time highs

XRP’s price outlook has taken an unexpected twist as one of its most ardent 
supporters, EGRAG CRYPTO, issued a short-term bearish prediction. Known across 
the crypto community for his unwavering bullish stance on XRP, EGRAG&#8217;s latest 
forecast has caught many by surprise. In a post shared on social media 
platform X, the analyst warned that the current market structure could push 
XRP into a significant short-term decline before any meaningful recovery 
unfolds. EGRAG CRYPTO Warns Of Potential Drop Toward $1.24 Before Rally 
According to EGRAG CRYPTO, the immediate technical outlook for XRP points to 
the possibility of a sharp correction. Backing up his forecast, EGRAG CRYPTO 
shared a detailed price chart showing the current position within a broader 
bull market structure. The chart shows how XRP is currently trading below the 
bull market support band. Notably, XRP&#8217;s position below the bull market 
support band has dragged on for over month, ever since it broke below in the 
middle of March. The longer XRP continues to trade below this band, the higher 
the possibility of a significant retest. Related Reading: XRP Surpasses 
Ethereum In This Major Metric After Outperforming For 6 Months EGRAG CRYPTO 
noted that the XRP price has failed so far to reclaim the $2.33 and $2.45 
resistance zones, which sit at the upper edge of the bull market support band 
on the daily timeframe chart. He explained that as long as the price continues 
to trade under the $2.33 and $2.45 thresholds, bears could remain in control 
and drag the asset lower toward the 0.702 Fib extension level. In terms of a 
price target, this 0.702 Fib is currently sitting at $1.24, which means the 
price could crash towards this level before rebounding above the bull market 
support band. Interestingly, this $1.24 zone coincides with an important 
breakout structure from November 2024, which served as the launchpad for XRP’s 
rally to $3.4. Consequently, retesting this zone could serve as a validation 
of prior breakout strength and ultimately fuel a more sustainable long-term 
uptrend. EGRAG CRYPTO&#8217;s Advice: Accumulate XRP Instead Of Panic Selling 
Despite his short-term bearish tone, EGRAG urged holders not to panic or make 
emotional decisions. Addressing concerns he anticipated from followers, he 
made it clear that he does not advise selling XRP to try and time a lower re- 
entry. Instead, he encouraged the community to continue accumulating during 
the predicted dip, rather than chasing short-term market trends. Related 
Reading: XRP ETFs And A Price Surge: What To Expect If The SEC Gives 
Greenlight A dip to $1.24, while unsettling for some, could pave the way for a 
much larger rally that would push the altcoin into the long-anticipated 
double-digit territory. In another analysis, EGRAG CRYPTO predicted a long- 
term XRP price target of $27. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $2.27, 
up by 5.13% and 7.26% in the past 24 hours and seven days, respectively. This 
comes as a response to ProShares securing SEC approval to launch three XRP 
Futures ETFs on April 30. Similarly, the first XRP Spot ETF was recently 
launched by crypto asset manager Hashdex in Brazil. Featured image from Adobe 
Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto Analyst Reveals XRP Price Crash In The Short-Term, Here’s The Target

The hacker behind the $5.8 million recent Loopscale exploit is in talks to 
return the stolen funds in exchange for a bounty, the Solana-based protocol 
said.
The exploiter pilfered approximately 5.7 million USDC (USDC) and 1,200 Solana 
(SOL) tokens from two of Loopscale&#8217;s yield vaults on April 26, prompting the 
decentralized finance protocol to temporarily pause its lending markets.
The following day, the hacker sent a message on the Etherscan blockchain 
scanner &#8220;indicat[ing] a willingness to return the exploited funds in exchange 
for a bounty,&#8221; Loopscale said in an April 27 X post.
&#8220;We are agreeable to collaborating with you to reach a white hat agreement. 
However, we would like to negotiate the bounty percentage; our expectation is 
20%,&#8221; the hacker said. &#8220;To demonstrate our commitment to a cooperative 
approach, we will immediately return the 5,000 wSOL funds following the 
transmission of this message,&#8221; they added.
Negotiations are ongoing for the remaining funds, according to the public 
messaging exchange on Etherscan.
_Messages exchanged with the Loopscale hacker. Source:__Etherscan_
 _**Related:**__**Solana&#8217;s Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack**_
## The exploit
Web3 protocols frequently offer bounties to hackers in exchange for returning 
lost funds. However, only a small portion of the more than $1.6 billion in 
crypto stolen during the first quarter of 2025 has been successfully 
recovered.
The Loopscale exploit only impacted the protocol&#8217;s USDC and SOL vaults, with 
losses representing around 12% of its total value locked (TVL), Loopscale co- 
founder Mary Gooneratne said in an April 26 X post.
_Source:__Loopscale_
In the aftermath of the attack, Loopscale temporarily halted lending but has 
since &#8220;re-enabled loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing,&#8221; it said in an X 
post.
&#8220;All other app functions (including Vault withdrawals) are still temporarily 
restricted while we investigate and ensure mitigation of this exploit,&#8221; 
Loopscale said.
Launched on April 10, Loopscale is a DeFi lending protocol that aims to 
improve capital efficiency by directly matching lenders and borrowers.
Additionally, Loopscale facilitates specialized lending markets, such as 
&#8220;structured credit, receivables financing, and undercollateralized lending,&#8221; 
it said in an April announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
_**Magazine: **__**Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF &#8216;s mysterious prison move: 
Hodler&#8217;s Digest, April 20 &#8211; 26**_

Loopscale hacker in talks to return stolen crypto

U.S. stocks fell as traders await key earnings from major tech giants. Nvidia 
is leading the declines.

Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq slide as tech earnings fears and tariff tensions collide

Michael Saylor’s Strategy took advantage of a slight dip in the bitcoin price, 
adding more than $1.4 billion worth of the digital asset to its treasury. 
Bitcoin Climbs Back to $94K as Strategy Adds to Its Stash After surging to a 
two-month high last week, bitcoin ( BTC) dipped to around $92K over the 
weekend, […]