Category: Business

Bitcoin surged sharply this week, briefly nearing $70,000 before pulling back. The move sparked debate across the market: has Bitcoin finally bottomed, or is this just another relief rally inside a broader bear phase?

Multiple on-chain, derivatives, and institutional indicators show early signs of stabilization. However, key signals still point to a fragile recovery rather than a confirmed bullish reversal.

Options Market Shows Fragile Conditions, Not Strong Support

Bitcoin’s options positioning recently shifted into what traders call a negative gamma regime, according to Glassnode’s GEX heatmap.

In simple terms, gamma measures how options market makers hedge risk. When Bitcoin sits in a negative gamma zone, dealer hedging tends to amplify price moves.

That means rallies can accelerate quickly—but so can selloffs.

The heatmap also shows fewer strong resistance “gamma walls” above current prices. This creates less friction for upward moves, which helps explain Bitcoin’s sudden surge.

However, it also means the market lacks structural stability.

Without strong hedging support, price moves remain fragile and prone to reversal.

Bitcoin Spot Demand Is Improving for the First Time in Months

CryptoQuant data shows Bitcoin’s apparent demand, which measures net accumulation versus new supply, has turned positive for the first time since November.

This is an important early signal. When demand exceeds supply, it suggests buyers are stepping in and absorbing coins from sellers.

However, one positive shift does not confirm a full reversal. During past bear markets, temporary demand increases often occurred before further consolidation.

A sustained trend of rising demand over several weeks would provide stronger confirmation.

Short-Term Holders Are Still Selling at Losses

Another key indicator comes from CryptoQuant’s short-term holder profit and loss data, which tracks whether newer investors are selling at gains or losses.

The data shows short-term holders have been selling at losses consistently since late January. Several major loss spikes occurred in early February and again recently.

This pattern is known as capitulation, where weaker investors exit the market. Capitulation is common near market bottoms, because stronger buyers absorb those losses.

However, the signal has not fully reversed.

Until short-term holders begin selling at profits again, analysts warn that rallies can become “exit liquidity,” where trapped investors sell into strength rather than holding.

Technical and Historical Data Suggest Selling Pressure Is Easing

Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI), a momentum indicator, recently recovered after reaching extremely oversold levels in early February. This suggests selling pressure has weakened.

Historically, such RSI recoveries often lead to short-term rebounds.

Quarterly performance data also shows Bitcoin rarely experiences multiple consecutive quarters of heavy losses.

While this pattern does not guarantee a bottom, it supports the view that the market may be entering a stabilization phase.

Institutional Flows Still Show Weakness

Institutional positioning remains a key concern. Earlier data showed Bitcoin ETFs experienced sustained outflows, and SEC filings revealed large investment advisors and hedge funds reduced exposure significantly in late 2025.

This suggests institutional demand has not fully returned. Strong bull markets typically require consistent inflows from large investors.

Early Bottoming Signs, But Bull Market Not Confirmed

Bitcoin is showing several early bottoming signals. Spot demand is improving, capitulation appears to be getting absorbed, and technical indicators suggest selling pressure is fading.

However, key confirmation signals are still missing.

Short-term holders remain in loss territory, institutional flows remain weak, and options market structure shows fragile conditions.

For now, Bitcoin’s rally appears more consistent with a relief bounce than a confirmed bull reversal.

A sustained recovery will likely require stronger demand, renewed institutional inflows, and price stability above key resistance levels.

The post Bitcoin Rebounds Toward $70,000, But Is It a Momentary Relief or Slow Bull Run Signal? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The dispute between Aave Labs and the Aave DAO appears to be escalating, with DAO delegates ramping up their hostility after Labs’ “Aave Will Win” proposal requested another $51 million in development funding from the DAO.

On Feb 20, delegate BGD Labs announced its intent to halt its work with the DAO due to Labs’ focus on Aave V4 rather than “a very mature and successful V3.” The decision came after Aave Labs co-founder Stani Kulechov stated in the proposal that “Once V4 is mature, V3 parameters should be gradually adjusted to encourage migration, following the same approach used in past version transitions.”

Marc Zeller, the founder of Aave-Chan Initiative (ACI), another service provider to the Aave DAO, called BGD’s impending departure from the DAO a major change and sold a portion of his $AAVE holdings.

Today, the feud between the DAO and Labs was cranked up a notch after Zeller published a full audit of Labs’ performance in the Aave governance forum, bashing Aave Labs’ product delivery, profitability, and business development (BD).

Zeller referred to Labs’ standalone products, including Lens Protocol, $GHO v1, and Horizon, as “The Product Graveyard,” citing “zero successes.” He went on to point out that even its more successful launches, such as Horizon, which has commanded over $500 million in total value locked (TVL), still resulted in a negative 96% return on investment (ROI), and that Aave’s stablecoin, $GHO v1, depegged and had to be rebuilt by BGD and TokenLogic.

The report went on to criticize Aave Labs’ BD department, noting that Labs was set to work with prominent entities in DeFi and traditional finance like Coinbase’s Layer 2 Base, World Liberty Financial, Apollo, and Mantle.

Morpho emerged as the most notable competitor in these relationships and now serves as the backend of Coinbase’s decentralized lending product, and recently announced a partnership with $800 billion asset manager Apollo Global Management.

While the relationship between the DAO and Labs continues to crack, Aave remains DeFi’s leading protocol by TVL, accounting for more than 28% of the DeFi market with $27.5 billion across all chains.

Meanwhile, Morpho is the second largest lending protocol and sixth largest in DeFi with $5.8 billion.

Despite Aave’s leading position in terms of TVL and brand recognition, its native $AAVE token is trading near multi-year lows at just $122, or a $1.9 billion fully diluted valuation, after reaching as high as $380 in December 2024 and $660 in 2021.

Aave Labs did not respond to The Defiant’s request for comment.

A former contender for governor of California has been banned from Kalshi after betting on his own candidacy last year in violation of insider trading rules, the prediction market platform said on Wednesday.

According to a statement from Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault, the politician bet about $200 on his candidacy for governor of California and posted about it on X, leading to a five-year suspension on the prediction market platform and a $2,000 penalty.

Kalshi did not name the politician, but said he is no longer running for governor and is now running for Congress.

The description appears to fit Kyle Langford, a former Republican turned Democrat who is now running for election to the US House to represent the California’s 26th Congressional District.

In an X post published on May 25, 2025, Langford shared a video of himself placing the bet on Kalshi, putting $98.76 on the odds of him winning.

Kalshi said the account did not withdraw any profits and that the case was reported to the CFTC.

Cointelegraph reached out to Langford for further comment but didn’t receive an immediate response.

Meanwhile, Kalshi said it also handed out penalties to a YouTube editor who traded about $4,000 on YouTube stream markets between August and September 2025 — also violating Kalshi’s insider trading rules, resulting in a two-year penalty and a roughly $20,000 fine.

“Our surveillance systems flagged his near-perfect trading success on markets with low odds, which were statistically anomalous,” said Kalshi, which, with the help of other traders on the platform, identified where he worked and concluded that he likely had access to material non-public information.

While Kalshi didn’t name the YouTube editor, mainstream media have widely reported that to be Artem Kaptur, an employee of the popular YouTuber MrBeast.

Kalshi, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated platform, said it has investigated 200 cases and frozen several flagged accounts. It has more than a dozen active cases.

Earlier this month, Kalshi strengthened its surveillance efforts by establishing a surveillance audit committee and partnering with crypto trading surveillance platform Solidus Labs to “detect, investigate, and address market abuse.”

Those efforts come in response to an uptick in regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets as they enter the mainstream.

US lawmakers introduced a bill last month to restrict trading by government insiders after one Polymarket user made over $400,000 on bets tied to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, placing wagers hours before US forces captured him in Caracas.

CFTC sends strong warning to future violators

On Thursday, CFTC Chair Mike Selig said the agency established a prediction markets advisory to collaborate with industry participants in efforts to catch insider traders.

Selig warned that those engaging in insider trading will face consequences:

“Let me be clear: if you attempt to engage in manipulation, fraud, or insider trading, we will find you and take action.”

Based on the 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio, Ethereum ($ETH) is mildly undervalued at -5.5%. Bitcoin ($BTC), $XRP ($XRP), and Chainlink ($LINK) remain neutral at -1.4%, -0.1%, and +3.3%, respectively. By contrast, Cardano (ADA) is mildly overvalued, with an MVRV ratio of +6.8%.

Source: Santiment

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market showcase a bullish trend reversal

The past day has seen an upward trend reversal in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, despite recent bearish momentum and sentiment.

Data shows that the average Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has slightly surpassed its 9-day average, indicating a weak bullish momentum reversal.

$BTC was up 7.78% in the past day to trade at $69,050 as $ETH gained 13.31% to reclaim its $2,000 psychological level. Meanwhile, $XRP and $LINK gained +9.37% and 16.07%, respectively. Uniquely, Cardano has experienced a striking 20.07% upsurge to trade at $0.3115.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Events leading up to the recent crypto rally

Tech company Nvidia recently reported record-breaking earnings driven by demand in artificial intelligence (AI). Due to the strong correlation (98%) of crypto with the S&P 500, the news fueled renewed risk appetite in investors of both stocks and crypto.

Capital rotation from $BTC to altcoins has contributed to their recent rallies as investors seek higher returns from riskier assets. Bitcoin dominance is now at 58-60%, while the Altcoin Season Index reads 34/100, indicating a mixed market for Bitcoin and Altcoins.

This week, Bitcoin ETFs saw $257.7M in net inflows, effectively ending a five-week outflow streak.

Near-term market outlook

At press time, the overall crypto market cap totaled $2.38 trillion, having gained 7.50% in the last 24hours.

Should the current rally hold, the crypto market could test the $2.59T (50% Fibonacci) level. Falling below $2.35T (78.6% Fib) would indicate a loss in momentum, validating a weak bullish theory.

Based on the 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio, Ethereum ($ETH) is mildly undervalued at -5.5%. Bitcoin ($BTC), $XRP ($XRP), and Chainlink ($LINK) remain neutral at -1.4%, -0.1%, and +3.3%, respectively. By contrast, Cardano (ADA) is mildly overvalued, with an MVRV ratio of +6.8%.

Source: Santiment

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market showcase a bullish trend reversal

The past day has seen an upward trend reversal in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, despite recent bearish momentum and sentiment.

Data shows that the average Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has slightly surpassed its 9-day average, indicating a weak bullish momentum reversal.

$BTC was up 7.78% in the past day to trade at $69,050 as $ETH gained 13.31% to reclaim its $2,000 psychological level. Meanwhile, $XRP and $LINK gained +9.37% and 16.07%, respectively. Uniquely, Cardano has experienced a striking 20.07% upsurge to trade at $0.3115.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Events leading up to the recent crypto rally

Tech company Nvidia recently reported record-breaking earnings driven by demand in artificial intelligence (AI). Due to the strong correlation (98%) of crypto with the S&P 500, the news fueled renewed risk appetite in investors of both stocks and crypto.

Capital rotation from $BTC to altcoins has contributed to their recent rallies as investors seek higher returns from riskier assets. Bitcoin dominance is now at 58-60%, while the Altcoin Season Index reads 34/100, indicating a mixed market for Bitcoin and Altcoins.

This week, Bitcoin ETFs saw $257.7M in net inflows, effectively ending a five-week outflow streak.

Near-term market outlook

At press time, the overall crypto market cap totaled $2.38 trillion, having gained 7.50% in the last 24hours.

Should the current rally hold, the crypto market could test the $2.59T (50% Fibonacci) level. Falling below $2.35T (78.6% Fib) would indicate a loss in momentum, validating a weak bullish theory.

Based on the 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio, Ethereum ($ETH) is mildly undervalued at -5.5%. Bitcoin ($BTC), $XRP ($XRP), and Chainlink ($LINK) remain neutral at -1.4%, -0.1%, and +3.3%, respectively. By contrast, Cardano (ADA) is mildly overvalued, with an MVRV ratio of +6.8%.

Source: Santiment

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market showcase a bullish trend reversal

The past day has seen an upward trend reversal in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, despite recent bearish momentum and sentiment.

Data shows that the average Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has slightly surpassed its 9-day average, indicating a weak bullish momentum reversal.

$BTC was up 7.78% in the past day to trade at $69,050 as $ETH gained 13.31% to reclaim its $2,000 psychological level. Meanwhile, $XRP and $LINK gained +9.37% and 16.07%, respectively. Uniquely, Cardano has experienced a striking 20.07% upsurge to trade at $0.3115.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Events leading up to the recent crypto rally

Tech company Nvidia recently reported record-breaking earnings driven by demand in artificial intelligence (AI). Due to the strong correlation (98%) of crypto with the S&P 500, the news fueled renewed risk appetite in investors of both stocks and crypto.

Capital rotation from $BTC to altcoins has contributed to their recent rallies as investors seek higher returns from riskier assets. Bitcoin dominance is now at 58-60%, while the Altcoin Season Index reads 34/100, indicating a mixed market for Bitcoin and Altcoins.

This week, Bitcoin ETFs saw $257.7M in net inflows, effectively ending a five-week outflow streak.

Near-term market outlook

At press time, the overall crypto market cap totaled $2.38 trillion, having gained 7.50% in the last 24hours.

Should the current rally hold, the crypto market could test the $2.59T (50% Fibonacci) level. Falling below $2.35T (78.6% Fib) would indicate a loss in momentum, validating a weak bullish theory.

Based on the 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio, Ethereum ($ETH) is mildly undervalued at -5.5%. Bitcoin ($BTC), $XRP ($XRP), and Chainlink ($LINK) remain neutral at -1.4%, -0.1%, and +3.3%, respectively. By contrast, Cardano (ADA) is mildly overvalued, with an MVRV ratio of +6.8%.

Source: Santiment

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market showcase a bullish trend reversal

The past day has seen an upward trend reversal in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, despite recent bearish momentum and sentiment.

Data shows that the average Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has slightly surpassed its 9-day average, indicating a weak bullish momentum reversal.

$BTC was up 7.78% in the past day to trade at $69,050 as $ETH gained 13.31% to reclaim its $2,000 psychological level. Meanwhile, $XRP and $LINK gained +9.37% and 16.07%, respectively. Uniquely, Cardano has experienced a striking 20.07% upsurge to trade at $0.3115.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Events leading up to the recent crypto rally

Tech company Nvidia recently reported record-breaking earnings driven by demand in artificial intelligence (AI). Due to the strong correlation (98%) of crypto with the S&P 500, the news fueled renewed risk appetite in investors of both stocks and crypto.

Capital rotation from $BTC to altcoins has contributed to their recent rallies as investors seek higher returns from riskier assets. Bitcoin dominance is now at 58-60%, while the Altcoin Season Index reads 34/100, indicating a mixed market for Bitcoin and Altcoins.

This week, Bitcoin ETFs saw $257.7M in net inflows, effectively ending a five-week outflow streak.

Near-term market outlook

At press time, the overall crypto market cap totaled $2.38 trillion, having gained 7.50% in the last 24hours.

Should the current rally hold, the crypto market could test the $2.59T (50% Fibonacci) level. Falling below $2.35T (78.6% Fib) would indicate a loss in momentum, validating a weak bullish theory.