Gold leads, Bitcoin to follow?

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Standard Chartered predicts $2T stablecoin boom by 2028

Key points:

• Standard Chartered expects the stablecoin market to jump from $230B to $2T by 2028.

• The U.S. GENIUS Act and STABLE Act are expected to legitimize the sector and enforce strong reserve standards.

News - Standard Chartered has projected a nearly tenfold surge in the stablecoin market, forecasting that total supply could soar to $2 trillion by the end of 2028. The catalyst? The anticipated passage of the GENIUS Act in the U.S., a sweeping regulatory framework designed to legitimize and regulate stablecoin issuers.

The GENIUS Act, which cleared the Senate Banking Committee in March, introduces federal oversight and mandates strict 1:1 asset backing, transparency, and AML compliance. Its companion, the STABLE Act, enforces audit-ready reserve rules, further cementing trust in the sector.

In a research note, Standard Chartered analysts led by Geoff Kendrick wrote that the legislation could spark an unprecedented jump in stablecoin issuance—requiring up to $1.6 trillion in U.S. Treasury purchases over four years. This demand, the bank says, would be sufficient to absorb all new Treasury bill issuance planned during President Trump’s second term, reinforcing U.S. dollar dominance.

Dollar dominance, European concerns - While the U.S. ramps up its stablecoin strategy, Italy’s economy minister has raised red flags about the euro's future. Giancarlo Giorgetti warned that dollar-backed stablecoins, combined with America’s crypto-friendly pivot, may threaten European economic sovereignty. He urged the EU to fast-track the digital euro to counterbalance rising USD-denominated payment rails.

What’s next? - With firms like JPMorgan adding GBP accounts to its blockchain network and the SEC offering exemptions to compliant stablecoins, traditional finance is now racing to catch up. If the GENIUS Act passes as expected, the stablecoin sector could shift from experimental to indispensable.

Bitcoin eyes summer rally as global liquidity surges, gold leads the way

Key points:

• Global liquidity hit a record high in April, with gold rallying past $3,200 while Bitcoin lags 30% below its ATH.

• Analysts expect Bitcoin to follow gold’s rally within 100–150 days, suggesting a summer 2025 breakout.

• Corporations bought over 95,400 BTC in Q1, signaling record institutional demand.

News - Global liquidity reached an all-time high in April 2025, pushing gold above $3,200 for the first time. Bitcoin, however, remains around 30% below its all-time high despite a 7% gain over the past week.

According to Joe Consorti of Theya Research, Bitcoin typically lags behind gold by 100–150 days during bullish cycles, hinting that BTC may rally hard by late summer. Historical data shows Bitcoin often follows gold in strong liquidity environments, and current M2 money supply metrics support that pattern.

Meanwhile, Q1 2025 saw corporations scoop up more than 95,400 BTC, marking the largest quarter for institutional accumulation in Bitcoin’s history, according to Bitwise. This surge in demand is viewed as a key driver of long-term bullish momentum.

Bitcoin’s resilience in a volatile market - While gold surges and equities wobble, Bitcoin has shown surprising resilience. According to Wintermute, BTC’s relative stability during the recent macro downturn signals a behavioral shift, possibly due to growing institutional adoption and its evolving role as “digital gold.”

Bitwise’s CIO Matt Hougan also highlighted that Bitcoin continues to outperform not just gold, but the S&P 500 in the long term—adding more weight to its store-of-value narrative.

What’s next?

• If the BTC-gold lag holds, a significant rally could arrive by July or August.

• Rising liquidity and strong corporate interest might help BTC challenge its all-time highs.

• Trade tensions and inflationary risks could further boost BTC’s appeal as a hedge asset.

Canada approves first spot Solana ETFs with staking, beating U.S. to the punch

Key points:

• Four Solana ETFs with staking launch April 17 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

• Approved issuers: Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ.

• U.S. counterparts remain stalled amid SEC delays.
  

News - Canada has officially approved the world's first spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with staking, with trading set to begin on the Toronto Stock Exchange this Wednesday, April 17. The move places Canada ahead of the U.S. in the race to list altcoin-based ETFs with staking features.

The four ETFs will be launched by Purpose Investments, Evolve ETFs, CI Global Asset Management, and 3iQ, all of which received approval from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on Monday. The funds will hold Solana in physical form and engage in staking activities—potentially providing higher yields than Ethereum-based staking products.

Why it matters - This approval is a significant milestone for the Solana ecosystem and institutional crypto adoption. While two Solana futures ETFs already exist in the U.S. (SOLZ and SOLT), they have attracted minimal assets under management. In contrast, spot crypto ETFs—like those for Bitcoin—have gained billions in inflows globally.

The launch also underscores Canada’s progressive stance on crypto regulation. Meanwhile, major U.S. issuers such as Grayscale, Fidelity, and VanEck remain locked in a holding pattern, awaiting SEC approval for similar products. The SEC has yet to approve staking in any U.S.-listed ETF, although Bloomberg’s James Seyffart predicts movement by late 2025.

With Hong Kong and Australia also greenlighting spot crypto ETFs, the pressure is on for U.S. regulators to catch up in the altcoin ETF race.

AWS outage disrupts Binance, KuCoin, and others; Raises decentralization alarms

Key points:

• AWS outage hits major crypto platforms including Binance, KuCoin, MEXC, and Rabby.

• Trading disruptions, delayed withdrawals, and chart errors reported; most services now restored.

• Event underscores the vulnerability of centralized infrastructure, with calls for decentralized alternatives rising.

News - A large-scale network outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) temporarily paralyzed trading activity across multiple centralized crypto platforms on April 15, exposing a critical point of failure in the industry’s infrastructure.

The outage impacted at least a dozen AWS services, disrupting platforms such as Binance, KuCoin, MEXC, Gate.io, DeBank, Rabby Wallet, and others. The services rely heavily on AWS’s high-throughput cloud infrastructure for real-time trading and user account management.

Binance was one of the first to acknowledge issues, stating that a “temporary network interruption in the AWS data center” had affected user orders. Although some trades were still processing, many failed, prompting users to retry. Binance resumed withdrawals minutes later, but users still reported trading errors throughout the day.

KuCoin and MEXC issued similar warnings, citing delays in order cancellations and abnormal chart behavior. By 1:50 PM UTC, most services had resumed operations—except DeBank, which was still working toward full restoration.

Why it matters - The disruption is a stark reminder of the crypto sector’s overreliance on centralized cloud providers. With AWS powering many major exchanges—including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Kraken, and BitMEX—any technical hiccup has the potential for industry-wide ripple effects.

The event reignited calls for decentralized cloud alternatives. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen called the outage a “solid reminder” to explore decentralized services. Edmund Chua of mETH Protocol went further: “AWS down and 90% of crypto is down. Decentralization is a meme.”

Projects like Filecoin (storage), Akash Network (compute), and Render Network (GPU) are gaining renewed attention as viable Web3-native infrastructure solutions.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

• Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin is worried – Here’s why

• A ‘warning’ for Cardano traders – Will fading FOMO lead to a breach of $0.63?

• Trump to use tariff revenue to buy Bitcoin – Could this push BTC to $90K?

• Is PEPE’s price ready to break out? – Assessing odds of a 20% rally

• Chainlink [LINK] price prediction – Watch out for a defense of THIS key level!

Interesting facts

• Crypto mining helped stabilize Texas’s energy grid. In recent years, Bitcoin miners in Texas have been participating in demand response programs—powering down during peak grid usage. This flexible load behavior is now seen as a strategic asset for grid stability during extreme weather events.

• The first NFT vending machine launched in 2022. A vending machine in New York City allowed users to purchase NFTs using credit cards—no crypto wallet required. Buyers received QR codes linking to their digital collectibles, making NFTs more accessible to non-crypto natives.

• In 2024, Austria’s postal service expanded its NFT stamp program. Österreichische Post released limited-edition blockchain-backed stamps that were both physically collectible and verifiable as NFTs. The initiative blended philately with Web3 tech, attracting both crypto users and traditional collectors.

Top 3 coins of the day

Raydium (RAY)

Key points:

• At press time, RAY was trading at $2.20, reflecting a 9.23% increase over the last 24 hours.

• The RSI climbed to 59.28, while Bollinger Bands indicated increased volatility amid a sustained price breakout.

What you should know: 

Raydium recorded a strong intraday rally, pushing past the $2.20 mark after weeks of gradual accumulation. The breakout occurred on rising volume, suggesting growing trader confidence amid broader optimism in the Solana ecosystem. Technically, RAY’s price closed above the midline of the Bollinger Bands and continued its ascent toward the upper band, signaling the start of a potential short-term uptrend. The RSI surged toward the overbought threshold, reinforcing growing bullish momentum without entering overheated territory just yet.

If buying pressure continues, traders should watch for a possible breakout past the upper Bollinger Band near $2.30, which could open the door to a retest of the $2.60–$2.80 resistance zone. On the downside, $2.00 now acts as an immediate support level, and a pullback below it may invite consolidation toward the midline at $2.12. While the recent rally has been impressive, traders are advised to monitor volume sustainability and RSI cooling for signs of whether this move has legs or risks short-term exhaustion.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Key points:

• At press time, BTC was trading at $85,379, reflecting a 0.93% increase over the last 24 hours.

• It hovered just above the 20-day SMA, with the RSI nearing 54, suggesting moderate bullish momentum.

What you should know: 

Bitcoin extended its consolidation phase near the $85K mark, maintaining its footing despite broader market caution. This steady performance came amid growing speculation that the recent recovery was part of a broader bear trap reversal, potentially setting the stage for a retest of the $90K psychological level. From a technical standpoint, BTC’s daily close above the 20-day SMA and near the 50-day SMA hinted at improving bullish control, while volume levels remained relatively stable. The RSI trended higher toward 54, reflecting growing buying interest without entering overbought territory. However, the MA Ribbon continued to show flattening longer-term SMAs (100-day and 200-day), signaling that macro resistance still loomed overhead. 

Traders should monitor a decisive breakout past the $86,500–$87,500 region, which would confirm trend reversal and open the door to a test of $90,000. Failure to clear this zone may trigger a pullback toward support around $82,800 or even $80,000. Recent reports highlighted investor optimism around macroeconomic stability and easing regulatory tensions, factors that could strengthen BTC’s case for a Q2 rally.

Helium (HNT)

Key points:

• At press time, HNT was trading at $3.45, reflecting a 4.64% drop over the last 24 hours.

• The token had recently rallied over 50% after the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Nova Labs, sparking short-term bullish momentum.

What you should know:

Helium witnessed a sharp pullback after a strong multi-day rally, which was initially fueled by the news that the U.S. SEC dropped its legal action against Nova Labs—the firm behind the Helium network. This legal resolution had triggered bullish sentiment and significant accumulation, with HNT briefly surging toward the $4 mark before facing resistance. On the technical front, the price remained volatile, with large wicks and trading volumes reflecting increased participation. The Parabolic SAR dots had flipped below the candles during the rally, signaling bullish momentum, but were now starting to flatten, suggesting the uptrend may be losing steam. Meanwhile, the MACD showed a bullish crossover last week, with the MACD line rising above the signal line and histogram bars remaining in green. However, the narrowing gap between the two lines hinted at a slowdown in upward momentum. Volume levels had spiked significantly during the rally but were seen tapering off as price consolidation took hold.

If buyers manage to defend the $3.20–$3.30 support zone, HNT could attempt another retest of the $4 psychological resistance. A sustained breakout beyond that might set the stage for a move toward the $5 target outlined by bullish traders. Conversely, failure to hold current levels could pull HNT back toward the $2.60–$2.80 demand zone. Traders should monitor MACD behavior and the next SAR dot position closely for directional confirmation.