Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that his command is running a Bitcoin (BTC) node and conducting operational tests with the protocol.
The April 21 testimony marked the first time a sitting US combatant commander publicly framed Bitcoin as a national security asset during congressional proceedings.
Bitcoin as a ‘Power Projection’ Tool
Responding to questions from Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Paparo described Bitcoin as “a peer-to-peer, zero-trust transfer of value” and said that anything supporting all instruments of national power “is to the good.”
He characterized the research as focused on computer science rather than monetary policy.
Proof-of-work, he said, “has got really important computer science applications for cybersecurity,” including protecting data and raising the real-world cost for adversaries conducting cyber operations.
“We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now. We’re doing a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol,” he said.
The admiral offered to provide classified details on the tests if requested.
Meanwhile, Major Jason Lowery’s “Softwar” thesis previously proposed proof-of-work as a form of cyber power projection.
Tuberville framed the exchange around competition with China, noting that Beijing’s top monetary think tank has published its own strategic Bitcoin research.
INDOPACOM oversees approximately 380,000 personnel across the Asia-Pacific theater, the primary front for US-China strategic competition.
No official follow-up from the Department of Defense has clarified the scope of the tests as of April 22.
This week the crypto market got hit from every direction at once and held.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil flows, flickered open and closed like a light switch over the weekend. Iran opened it Friday, Trump said the blockade stays, Iran closed it Saturday and ships came under fire. Every headline moved Bitcoin. It opened Monday down 2.5%, bounced back toward $75,000 by mid-morning as institutional buyers stepped in, and that has been the pattern all month: macro shock, dip, institutional buy. BlackRock’s IBIT alone pulled $284M in a single day on April 17. The floor is real. But BTC has failed six times to hold above $76K and the Iran ceasefire clock is still ticking. That weekly close above $76K is the signal I’m watching.
On the DeFi side, KelpDAO got exploited on Tuesday. Attackers found a flaw in the way it verified prices before processing large withdrawals and drained $293 million in 46 minutes. The ripple effect hit Aave, essentially a DeFi lending bank, which was left with $196 million in loans it may not fully recover. If you hold, lend, or earn yield on any cross-chain protocol, the full breakdown is worth reading.
Vercel confirmed a breach on April 19. It’s the platform that hosts the frontend of a huge slice of the Web3 ecosystem, the actual websites you interact with when you use a dApp. Compromised via a supply-chain attack through a third-party AI tool. If you connected a wallet to any Web3 dApp this past week, revoke any approvals you don’t recognize. Full CCS breakdown here.
For all the noise, the market didn’t break. Strategy bought 34,164 BTC for $2.55 billion this week. BitMine bought 101,627 ETH for $235 million. Institutions aren’t waiting for the all-clear signal. They’re buying the chaos.
XYO just went 2-5x faster and most people haven’t noticed yet.
Throughput jump. Dual DataLake SDK. Validator stability. All shipped at once.
Arie Trouw, Co-Founder, CEO, and CTO of XYO, breaks down exactly what changed, what was causing the bottleneck before, and why verifiable data provenance is quietly becoming one of the most important infrastructure layers as AI moves into the physical world.
BTC is still trading below its 100-day and 200-day moving averages and has failed six times to hold above $76K. Total spot ETF inflows now exceed $56 billion — that’s what keeps putting a floor under every dip.
Cautiously Bullish
The structure holds as long as $75K holds. A weekly close above $76K opens the path to $85K–$90K. A breakdown here puts $70K–$72K back in play. The macro overhang from Iran is the single biggest variable on the board right now.
What I’m watching: A confirmed daily close above $76,500 with above-average volume. Without it, every rally is a wick until proven otherwise.
ETH opened down 3.7% on the week and is in recovery mode. Bitcoin is leading and ETH is following, which is the healthy version of this setup. The Vercel breach and KelpDAO hack are headwinds for sentiment, not for the price structure itself.
Bullish — Patient
The next level to watch is $2,701, which is the major resistance before $3,519 comes back into view. ETH outperforming BTC on a percentage basis is the signal I want to see before getting more aggressive.
Vercel confirmed a breach via supply-chain attack through a third-party AI tool, exposing API keys and tokens across Web3 frontends. Solana DEX Orca rotated all credentials immediately. If you connected a wallet to any dApp this week, revoke approvals you don’t recognize. Full CCS breakdown
X’s cashtag trading pilot for stocks and crypto generated an estimated $1 billion in volume in its first week
$400 million in crypto shorts were liquidated in a single 4-hour window during the Hormuz chaos
Michael Saylor says it is “impossible to blockade Bitcoin”
$RAVE collapsed 98% in two days, erasing $6.7 billion in market cap following alleged insider manipulation
India is settling Iranian oil payments in Chinese yuan, a notable de-dollarization signal
Qastle Wallet Premium subscribers can claim a free Bitcoin 2026 Pro Pass worth $1,299. Bitcoin 2026 is April 27–29 at The Venetian, Las Vegas. Claim here
Final Word
The ceasefire between the US and Iran expires this week. That single variable has more power over Bitcoin’s price right now than any on-chain metric. If talks break down, expect another dip and another institutional buy. If a deal gets done, $76K becomes the story fast.
Watch the daily close. That’s where this week gets decided.
Ashton Addison
CEO, Crypto Coin Show
What’s moving your thinking more right now — the Iran ceasefire or the DeFi security story?
Users paid $9.7 billion in on-chain fees in the first half of 2025, up 41% year over year and the second-highest total on record.
1kx projects more than $32 billion in on-chain fees for 2026, driven by accelerating application growth. That growth has pushed the word “revenue” into every crypto investor pitch deck, every sector report, and every valuation conversation.
The report added that a Bitcoin drawdown may stress-test protocol fees.
1kx’s April sector analysis finds that nearly every crypto fee category shows a positive correlation with BTC price. There is also wide dispersion across sectors, and the critical variable of downside beta is still unresolved.
The firm says a 0.6 correlation can mean very different things depending on whether sector fees fall at 0.8x Bitcoin’s pace or at 1.5x, and it identifies the decomposed upside versus downside fee sensitivity.
In crypto, a fee line can look like a business in an up market and still trade like amplified BTC beta when macro fear arrives.
A horizontal bar chart ranks crypto fee sectors by BTC correlation, with liquid staking at 0.75 and DePIN at 0.05, the lowest reading shown.
The reflexive fee cluster
The sectors 1kx identifies as most correlated with Bitcoin price share a common economic architecture that improves when prices rise and deteriorates when they fall, often faster than the underlying asset itself.
Liquid staking and restaking sit at the top of that cluster, with their fee streams depending on yields that expand as borrowed capital and risk appetite grow and contract as they retreat.
Vault curators face the same pull, as assets flow in when price momentum is positive and out when sentiment reverses. Launchpads are the most acutely sentiment-driven category in the report, with launch activity accelerating in directional bull markets and stalling when confidence cracks.
Automation and DeFAI protocols, which earn fees tied to transaction activity and strategy deployment, also track the same directional pulse.
1kx says that layer-1 (L1) blockchains’ fee correlation to BTC varies widely, with many inheriting market direction through native token price movements and activity mix, while others show more independence depending on their application base.
That variability makes the directional pull of token prices on on-chain activity mean most L1s still carry meaningful BTC sensitivity in their fee lines.
Reflexivity connects these categories, as their fees are largely an output of the same speculative, position-driven activity that drives Bitcoin itself.
When investors talk about fee growth in these sectors during an up market, they are partly describing business momentum and partly describing the same macro tailwind that lifted every risk asset in the portfolio.
The delivered-services layer
DePIN stands apart in 1kx’s framework as the lowest-correlation category, earning the distinction as the standout for non-directional crypto revenue exposure.
The reason is that DePIN fees track the dollar value of compute, bandwidth, storage, and other delivered services. Demand for those services comes from users with real operational needs, and while token prices affect incentive structures, they do not directly set the fee rate, as asset prices do for yield or launch activity.
1kx projects DePIN fees above $450 million in 2026, sustaining triple-digit growth.
Stablecoin issuers and real-world asset protocols sit in a similar lower-correlation band, with 1kx estimating their BTC correlation at roughly 0.2. Their fee economics depend more on issuance volume, reserve management, and AUM than on speculative trading alone.
A lower correlation indicates a fee structure less tied to BTC price direction. 1kx’s framework supports “more differentiated revenue exposure” and stops well short of claiming immunity to a selloff.
The more precise claim is that DePIN and issuance-linked businesses have a better structural case for defending their fee lines during a BTC-specific drawdown.
Sector group
Main fee driver
Behavior in an up market
Likely stress in a drawdown
Article takeaway
Liquid staking / restaking
Yield, leverage, risk appetite
Fees expand quickly
Yields compress, activity fades
Most reflexive
Vault curators
AUM, momentum, inflows
AUM rises with price
Outflows can hit faster than BTC
High downside sensitivity risk
Launchpads
Sentiment, launch activity
Strong in bull phases
Launch volume can stall fast
Highly cyclical
Automation / DeFAI
Strategy deployment, transaction activity
Benefits from active markets
Usage may fall with risk appetite
Directional fee exposure
DePIN
Compute, bandwidth, storage demand
Growth tied to service usage
More insulated from BTC-specific shocks
Most differentiated
Stablecoin / RWA
Issuance, reserves, AUM
More gradual growth
Less directly tied to BTC moves
Lower-correlation fee exposure
DEX / Lending / Perps
Volume, rates, volatility, leverage
Can benefit from activity
Mixed; volatility helps, unwinds hurt
Contested middle ground
Decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, and perpetuals platforms occupy a contested middle ground. 1kx puts DEX median correlation at roughly 0.33 and lending at around 0.3, while derivatives show wide variation, sometimes exceeding 0.4.
Volatility can support trading volume even in down markets, providing these sectors with a partial buffer. Still, fee-rate compression and position unwinds during stress episodes make their revenue lines unstable in ways that simple average correlation fails to capture.
Why valuation is the real payoff
1kx’s broader revenue report shows that price-to-fee ratios across crypto sectors span several orders of magnitude. Blockchains had a median P/F ratio of 3,902x in the third quarter of 2025, with L1s at around 7,300x, compared with 17x for DeFi and finance.
DePIN’s median P/F ratio had fallen to 211x from roughly 1,000x a year earlier. Blockchain valuations still account for more than 90% of the analyzed fee-generating market cap, even though DeFi and finance produce most of the fees.
1kx also says fee changes lead valuations in DeFi and finance, and to a lesser extent in blockchains.
If that directional relationship holds on the downside, with fees dropping first and multiples compressing in the weeks that follow the initial price move, then a BTC drawdown that exposes fee fragility in high-correlation sectors could trigger a second-order valuation adjustment.
Investors who had assigned business-quality valuations to beta-exposed fee streams would face a rapid repricing.
In that environment, fee lines across most sectors would continue to expand, and the downside beta would remain theoretical. 1kx projects application-led fee growth accelerating into 2026, with DeFi and finance expanding above 50% year over year.
The risk in that scenario is that the market continues to treat cyclically strong fee growth as evidence of durable business quality. Launchpad activity stays elevated in a buoyant market, restaking yields look robust when risk appetite is healthy, and vault curators report strong AUM figures.
The audit gets postponed, and capital keeps flowing into sectors whose fee quality has never been tested under real stress. The environment of falling oil, easing inflation fears, and revived Fed-cut bets is exactly the kind of environment where that postponement extends.
February repeats at scale
On Feb. 5, Bitcoin fell 14.1% to an intraday low of $62,254.50 in a single session as risk sentiment weakened, tech stocks sold off, and ETF outflows accelerated.
The crypto market shed roughly $2 trillion from its October peak during that episode. Launchpad activity cooled, borrowed-capital positions unwound, and restaking yields compressed.
Fee lines that had looked impressive through the end of 2025 showed their directional dependence within a matter of weeks.
A repeat of that pattern would move the downside-beta question from 1kx’s stated next step to a live market event.
Sectors with reflexive fee structures would face the hardest examination, with the market looking for launchpads seeing launch volume decline, restaking yields compressing as borrowed capital exits, and vault curators watching AUM decline faster than token prices.
DePIN and issuance-linked businesses would still face headwinds, but their relative fee resilience would become legible in the data for the first time.
If fee changes drive valuations in DeFi and finance higher, the same mechanism works in reverse.
A two-path line chart shows a February-style drawdown triggering fee compression and multiple rerating, while the stress-deferred path keeps the valuation audit postponed.
Protocols that report fee compression in the first quarter of the next down cycle give the market a reason to compress their multiples before the full macro picture has even resolved.
Investors who had assigned business-quality valuations to beta-exposed fee streams would face a rapid repricing.
Bitcoin is currently around $78,000, holding near the top of its recent range from the April geopolitical relief rally, exactly the window in which the fee-quality question sits unresolved.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $75,000 on April 19 as the Strait of Hormuz shut down entirely and Iran rejected a second round of negotiations with the United States.
The developments mark a sharp escalation in the US-Iran standoff, with zero oil tankers passing through the strait and diplomatic channels appearing to collapse.
Strait of Hormuz Shuts Down as Diplomacy Stalls
No oil tankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closing the waterway that handles roughly 20% of global seaborne oil trade.
“It appears that the Strait of Hormuz is now completely closed for the first time in history. The US “blockade” and Iran’s closure are in full force,” wrote The Kobeissi Letter.
Reportedly, thirteen tankers had already turned back mid-route the day before, freezing shipping flows through the critical chokepoint.
Iran’s state media confirmed that Tehran rejected participating in a second round of talks with Washington. Iranian officials cited what they called “deception” from President Trump, pointing to “inconsistency with what is actually happening” during negotiations.
President Trump accused Iran of firing on ships in the strait in violation of the ceasefire agreement. He threatened to “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran” if Tehran refuses a deal.
General sentiment is that both countries are on the verge of a new round of escalation, with futures markets set to open within hours.
Bitcoin has faced sustained pressure from the US-Iran conflict since February 28. The pioneer crypto previously fell from above $100,000 when Iran first moved to close the strait earlier this year. Amid Sunday’s risk-off sentiment, the king of crypto fell below $75,000 for yet another time.
Michael Saylor’s company has already lined up the money. Now the question is how much Bitcoin it plans to buy with it.
Saylor’s Signal Fires Up The Market
Strategy’s executive chairman posted his well-known “Orange Dots” chart on X over the weekend, adding just three words: “Think even Bigger.”
The chart maps every Bitcoin purchase the company has ever made. In crypto circles, its appearance has become a reliable preview of an imminent acquisition announcement — and Monday is the day Strategy most commonly makes those announcements public.
The post landed after a string of major purchases. On April 13, Strategy spent $1 billion on Bitcoin. The week before that, it dropped $330 million.
Both buying rounds were preceded by the same chart. This time, Saylor’s caption suggests the next move could top them both.
A War Chest Already Sitting Ready
The fuel for that purchase appears to already be in place. Strategy’s STRC instrument has raised enough capital to fund up to $1.76 billion in Bitcoin acquisitions, based on reports tracking the company’s fundraising activity.
The company routinely uses proceeds from STRC to bankroll its Bitcoin buying program, so the timing of that capital raise lines up with the weekend post.
At the time of writing, Strategy holds 780,897 Bitcoin across its corporate treasury. The company’s average purchase price sits at $75,577 per coin.
At current market prices, the entire stash is valued at roughly $58 billion — a figure that would shift significantly with any large new purchase.
Bitcoin Price Holds Flat Despite The News
The market has not moved much on Saylor’s hint. Bitcoin was trading around $75,500, down less than 1% in the 24 hours following the post.
Geopolitical pressure has been a drag on price action, with US President Donald Trump accusing Iran of violating ceasefire terms — a development that has kept risk appetite subdued across financial markets.
One signal watched closely by analysts did break out over the weekend, though. Bitcoin Dominance — the share of total crypto market value held by Bitcoin — pushed above a key resistance level on the three-day chart, clearing a descending trendline it had been stuck under for some time.
Reports from crypto analysts indicate that if the breakout holds, more capital could rotate into Bitcoin at the expense of smaller coins.
For Strategy’s playbook, that kind of market shift would not be unwelcome.
Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin’s price was halted at its multi-month peak at over $78,000 on Friday, and the subsequent conflicting actions and statements from Iran and the US have led to another retracement to under $75,000 as of press time.
The latest set of blame-throwing came minutes ago, as reports emerged that Iran believes they are “facing deception” from US President Donald Trump due to “inconsistency with what is actually happening.”
Moreover, Iranian officials said they believe the two sides are “on the verge of a new round of escalation,” as reported by The Kobeissi Letter.
However, the US blockade remained in place, and Iran decided to close the Strait just a day later. Trump started to threaten once again, while also saying that both nations’ delegations will meet again in Pakistan for another round of peace talks. In contrast, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said there were no such plans.
Trump then alleged that there’s a “divide” in the Iranian government and threatened to “blow up” the entire country if the two nations fail to reach an agreement.
This rather escalating uncertainty, with just a few days left until the ceasefire deal ends, led to a weekend correction for BTC, as the asset just slipped below $75,000. It’s now down by almost $4,000 since the Friday peak.
However, more volatility is to be expected later this evening when the futures legacy markets open and tomorrow morning, as it has happened in previous instances following major weekend developments.
Bitcoin seems to have finally broken out of weeks of stagnation with an 11% rally, signaling a notable shift in its market momentum. Expectedly, this move has drawn renewed attention from various market participants who may be eager to re-enter the market.
However, an influential on-chain analyst has come out to explain why Bitcoin traders should be cautious during this phase of the cycle. According to the market pundit, the most optimal entry point might actually not be close to current price levels.
MVRV Ratio, Realized Price Reveal Short-Term Strength, But Not Market Top
In a recent Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, on-chain analyst GugaOnchain delved into the reasons why it might not be time to re-enter the Bitcoin market. The pundit began by highlighting changes in the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio, alongside that from the Realized Price metric.
According to GugaOnchain, the MVRV ratio currently sits above its 30-day moving average of 1.2947, indicating that Bitcoin’s recent upward price movement has gained validity. Supporting this trend, the Bitcoin Taker Buy/Sell Ratio on Binance has also shown increased buying aggression, reinforcing the notion that market participants are actively pushing prices higher.
Meanwhile, the bigger macroeconomic picture shows that the market is yet to enter an overheated phase. This is because the current MVRV reading around 1.3856 is significantly lower than the SMA-365 (known as the macro line), which stands at around 1.8620.
Technical Indicators Signal Overextended Bitcoin Market — Correction Next?
From a price action perspective, though, the Bitcoin price might indeed be due for a retracement. According to the market pundit, Bitcoin recently broke out of an ascending channel resistance on the daily timeframe — a move typical of bullish continuations.
However, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is now showing signs of strain. This is due to recent RSI readings at 67.85, which stands near the overbought region at 70.
As such, the Bitcoin market has higher chances of a pullback in the near-term. The analyst then concluded that it would be best to buy Bitcoin “not at this resistance breakout,” but at the bottom of the retracement instead.
In the scenario where the Bitcoin price pulls back, the crypto expert explained that this would be towards a “channel support” — specifically at levels between $70,000 and $65,000. As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $77,014, reflecting a 2.8% jump since the past day.
The S&P 500 and Bitcoin printed new local highs on the same week. Most people will see that and call it a good week. I want you to understand why it’s more than that.
For two years the story was simple: Bitcoin trades like a risk asset. When equities bleed, crypto follows. A lot of portfolios learned that the hard way in 2022 when BTC dropped 65% alongside a 20% equity selloff. This week was the opposite. Synchronized strength — both markets up, same window, no lag.
The buyers who showed up in March during Extreme Fear are sitting on 20% in three weeks. ETF inflows haven’t dried up. Strategy has added over 500,000 BTC to its balance sheet since 2020 and is still buying. Japan has passed financial asset recognition legislation. The US Treasury now briefs crypto firms the same way they brief Goldman Sachs. These aren’t narratives. They’re structural facts building on top of each other.
$78,000 is not the top. It’s the floor of the next range. $80K is the number the whole market is watching, and Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas starts in ten days. Pay attention.
$78KBTC new local high
7,126S&P 500 all-time high
+20%BTC from March lows
10Days to Bitcoin 2026 LV
This Week’s Featured Video
HiGlobeFeatured Interview
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Bitcoin has broken $78,000 and is holding above it. Today’s high touched $78,333 before pulling back slightly, with price now consolidating above $77,000.
The daily is bullish across every shorter timeframe. RSI sits at 67.9, elevated but not yet overextended. On the weekly chart, MACD has flipped bullish for the first time since September 2025. That is the higher timeframe signal that matters most this week. One caveat: the weekly candle is still reading bearish on the dashboard. All shorter timeframes are bullish. That split tells you the daily trend is recovering while the weekly has not yet confirmed. A strong weekly close fixes that.
My bias: BULLISH, accelerating. Bitcoin is testing a descending trendline for the second time this year. A confirmed daily close above $78,500 with above-average volume breaks that trendline and opens the path to $80,000 and $82,000 before Bitcoin 2026 Las Vegas. If we see a rejection back below $76,000, I will reassess. The structure does not suggest that is the likely outcome.
What I’m watching: That daily close above $78,500. Volume is the confirmation signal. Without it, the move is a wick until proven otherwise. Let the market do the work. Don’t fight the structure.
ETH is trading at $2,427, up 3.37% on the day. Bitcoin is leading this move and ETH is following, which is the healthy version of this setup.
RSI sits at 65.2, neutral with room to expand. Smart Money is balanced. No distribution signals on the 4H. Like Bitcoin, the weekly is still reading bearish while all shorter timeframes are bullish. The key Fibonacci level to watch is the 0.618 retracement at $2,701. That is the next meaningful resistance. A clean daily close above it opens the path toward the 0.382 at $3,519.
My bias: BULLISH, patient setup. ETH needs that close above $2,701 to become the louder story this week. Until then, Bitcoin is the focus and ETH is the opportunity building quietly underneath.
What I’m watching: ETH beginning to outperform BTC on a percentage basis. That is the signal altcoin season is approaching. Historically when Bitcoin leads, alts follow with higher beta. If BMNR continues accumulation toward their stated 5% ETH supply target, the structural demand side of this market has a very different floor than most people are pricing in.
The Original DePIN Protocol, Now with Its Own Layer One. 10M+ nodes. A decade of proof-of-work. XYO’s Layer One is built for high-volume data, AI infrastructure, and real-world asset tokenization, with dual tokens $XYO and $XL1.
The biggest stories this week, filtered for signal. CCS coverage linked where relevant.
⭐⭐⭐
Bitcoin broke $78,000 as the S&P 500 closed at a new all-time high of 7,126 on the same day. Three consecutive all-time highs on the S&P this week (7,022 → 7,050 → 7,126) alongside Bitcoin’s move is the synchronized strength story of the year. This is what institutional co-movement looks like.
⭐⭐⭐
Charles Schwab announces spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for retail clients, launching in the coming weeks. Schwab manages $12 trillion in client assets. This is the largest traditional brokerage to offer direct crypto trading and puts BTC and ETH on the same screen as stocks for millions of everyday investors.
⭐⭐⭐
Goldman Sachs files for a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The $3.5 trillion bank is moving beyond its existing Bitcoin ETF exposure into yield-generating BTC products. Institutional product development is accelerating.
Kraken confidentially files for a US IPO. The second-largest US crypto exchange going public is a legitimacy milestone for the industry and a signal of how much the regulatory environment has shifted in 12 months.
SEC officially ends the Pattern Day Trader rule, eliminating the $25,000 minimum for day trading. A decades-old barrier to retail participation in active markets is gone. This expands the addressable market for crypto and equities trading platforms simultaneously.
Morgan Stanley says tokenization is the next major step for its $2 trillion business. When the world’s largest wealth manager says this publicly, it’s not a trend piece. It’s a product roadmap announcement.
X’s cashtag trading pilot for stocks and crypto generated an estimated $1 billion in volume in its first week. The social-to-trade pipeline is real and moving faster than most people expected.
Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin crossed $77K within hours of the announcement as oil prices crashed 13%, traders rotating out of commodity hedges.
Tesla adds $100 billion in market cap in a single day. Up 7%, reflecting broader risk-on sentiment across the week.
SEC issues guidance that certain crypto interfaces supporting self-custodial wallet transactions may not require broker-dealer registration. A meaningful step toward clearer regulatory boundaries for DeFi and wallet infrastructure.
Bitcoin 2026 · April 27–29 · The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas · Ten days away.
Not because it’s speculative. Because it’s been institutionalized.
This isn’t the asset that bleeds when the S&P sneezes anymore. This week proved it. When both markets print new local highs in the same window, that’s capital allocation behaving normally around a mature asset class. The speculation phase built the infrastructure. The infrastructure attracted the institutions. The institutions are now here.
$80K is the next number. I’ll be on the floor at The Venetian in ten days. If you’re going to be there, hit reply. I’d like to know.
Ashton Addison · CEO, Crypto Coin Show
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The Bitcoin Conference Announces 6-Year Partnership with Qastle Wallet | Crypto Coin Show
Partnership · Bitcoin Security
The Bitcoin Conference Announces 6-Year Partnership with Qastle Wallet
BTC Inc. designates Qastle Wallet as the “Official Quantum Wallet of the Bitcoin Conference,” kicking off a multi-year collaboration focused on quantum-resilient Bitcoin infrastructure.
CCS
Crypto Coin Show
Press Release
April 14, 2026
Nashville, TN · United States
🤝
Official Quantum Wallet of the Bitcoin Conference
BTC Inc. (Nakamoto Inc. NASDAQ: NAKA) × Qastle Wallet by Krown Technologies, Inc. Quantum-resilient self-custody · QRNG2-powered key generation · Post-quantum cryptography
Duration
6-Year Partnership
NASHVILLE, TN — The Bitcoin Conference, organized by BTC Inc. — a Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA) company — today announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Qastle Wallet, a quantum-secure hot and cold wallet solution built by Krown Technologies, Inc. As part of the agreement, Qastle Wallet has been designated the “Official Quantum Wallet of the Bitcoin Conference.”
A Strategic Move Toward Quantum-Resilient Bitcoin Infrastructure
As the digital asset ecosystem matures, attention is increasingly turning toward long-term security considerations, including the potential impact of quantum computing on cryptographic systems. Through this partnership, BTC Inc. and Qastle Wallet will collaborate on initiatives focused on quantum resilience, self-custody security, and next-generation wallet infrastructure — helping to ensure Bitcoin remains secure in both current and future computational environments.
“Bitcoin’s long-term success depends on anticipating and addressing emerging risks before they become reality. Our partnership with Qastle Wallet reflects a proactive approach to security, exploring how quantum-resistant technologies can play a role in protecting users and strengthening the broader ecosystem.”
Brandon Green · CEO, BTC Inc.
Qastle Wallet and the Role of Quantum Entropy
At the center of the partnership is Qastle Wallet, a self-custodial wallet designed with a focus on advanced cryptographic security. A distinguishing element of Qastle’s architecture is its integration with Quantum eMotion’s QRNG2 (Quantum Random Number Generator) technology, which introduces true quantum entropy into wallet operations.
QRNG2 leverages quantum processes to produce fundamentally unpredictable values, strengthening the generation of private keys and enhancing resistance against both classical and emerging quantum-based attack vectors. By incorporating quantum entropy alongside post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, Qastle represents an implementation of superior security principles increasingly being explored across the industry.
Partnership at a Glance
Partners
BTC Inc. × Qastle Wallet
Duration
6 Years
Designation
Official Quantum Wallet
Technology
QRNG2 + Post-Quantum Cryptography
Debut Event
Bitcoin 2026, Las Vegas
Keynote
Apr 28, 11am PST — Genesis Stage
Global Activation Begins at Bitcoin 2026
The partnership will debut at Bitcoin 2026, taking place April 27–29 at The Venetian resort in Las Vegas, where Qastle Wallet will be actively represented. James Stephens, CEO of Qastle Wallet, will address the Las Vegas conference audience in his keynote on April 28 at 11am PST on the Genesis Stage. Planned activations include a custom on-site presence, premium exhibition space, and an exclusive branded vehicle giveaway designed to engage attendees and showcase the partnership at scale.
“This partnership represents a shared commitment to advancing security at every level of the ecosystem. By integrating quantum entropy and post-quantum cryptography into Qastle Wallet, we are building solutions designed not just for today’s threats, but for the future of digital assets.”
James Stephens · CEO, Krown Technologies Inc.
The Bitcoin Conference — 2026 International Series
April 27–29, 2026Bitcoin 2026 · The Venetian, Las Vegas
August 27–28, 2026Bitcoin Hong Kong · Hong Kong
November 5–6, 2026Bitcoin Amsterdam · Amsterdam
December 2026Bitcoin MENA · Abu Dhabi
About Qastle Wallet
Qastle is the world’s first quantum-secure hot wallet, built by Krown Technologies, Inc., combining enterprise-grade protection with the ease of everyday crypto management. Powered by Quantum eMotion’s QRNG (Quantum Random Number Generator), Qastle generates truly random encryption keys, shielding assets from both classical and quantum attacks.
About Quantum eMotion Corp.
Quantum eMotion Corp. (NYSE: QNC; TSXV: QNC.V; OTCQB: QNCCF; FSE: 34Q0) is focused on developing quantum-safe cybersecurity solutions powered by its proprietary QRNG technology. Its QRNG2 platform delivers true quantum entropy, enabling secure key generation and cryptographic operations across blockchain, financial systems, and enterprise applications.
About The Bitcoin Conference
The Bitcoin Conference, organized by BTC Inc. — a Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA) company — is a global event series featuring notable industry speakers, workshops, exhibitions, and entertainment. The Bitcoin Conference hosted approximately 67,000 attendees in 2025 across its events in the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Bitcoin just broke $75,000. Not a wick. Not a rumor. A real move, up 5.2% from Monday’s open, four-week highs, and the kind of price action that gets institutional desks paying attention. We’ve been watching $75K as the line. It just became support.
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF just recorded the best first trading day of any ETF in the firm’s history. Japan passed landmark legislation officially recognizing crypto as a financial asset. The US Treasury is now sharing classified cybersecurity threat intel with crypto firms, the same briefings they give JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. These aren’t coincidences. They’re a pattern.
The noise wants you distracted. The signal is pointing up. $76K is the next level worth watching. A clean close above it opens the door to a run toward $80K before Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas. The macro backdrop is constructive: Middle East peace deal momentum, continued ETF inflows, and a market that just posted its longest win streak since October 2025.
We’re heading into the conference with Bitcoin in breakout territory. And three of you are about to walk into The Venetian on a Pro Pass we gave you. That’s what this community is about.
🏆 Bitcoin 2026 Pro Pass — Winners Announced
April 27–29. The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas. 30,000 Bitcoiners from around the world. The Bitcoin for Corporations Symposium. The BMAG gallery featuring the original copy of The Times of London from January 3, 2009 — the actual newspaper Satoshi Nakamoto embedded into the Bitcoin genesis block. Live keynotes. Networking. Side events every night at LIV, Omnia, and TAO.
This is not a crypto meetup. This is the world’s largest Bitcoin conference, and three of you are going on a Pro Pass worth $1,499 each.
Thank you to everyone who subscribed, referred friends, and followed along over the past three editions. The response blew us away.
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Each winner has been contacted directly by email. If that’s you, check your inbox. You have 48 hours to confirm your spot.
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Bitcoin at $75K changes the mining math. Filip Primec from NiceHash joined us to explain how their marketplace lets anyone buy or sell computing power without owning hardware, why buyers are currently paying a premium to get it, and how one person turned a $70 rental into a $200,000 Bitcoin block. If you’ve ever been curious about the mining side of this market, this is the plain-English version.
Bitcoin is breaking out. $75K has been cleared this morning and price is holding above it. This is the level we’ve been flagging for three editions.
The 4H structure is clean: higher highs, higher lows, and Smart Money positioning that’s been accumulating since the March 30 low. RSI is elevated but not yet overextended. There’s room to run before a meaningful cooldown. The S&P 500’s longest win streak since October 2025 is providing macro tailwind, and institutional ETF inflows are absorbing sell pressure at every retest.
My bias: BULLISH — cautiously aggressive. The macro variable that matters most this week is the Middle East peace deal narrative. Watch Thursday’s close.
What I’m watching: A clean daily close above $75,500 with above-average volume. If we get that, $78K–$80K becomes the next range. If we lose $73K on a daily close, the breakout has failed and we reassess.
ETH is lagging BTC on this move, which is normal in the early stage of a Bitcoin breakout. The question is whether it catches up.
The 4H is showing consolidation rather than distribution, which is a constructive sign. Smart Money signals are neutral-to-bullish, RSI has room to expand, and the Golden Cross on the daily is still intact. ETH tends to follow BTC with a 24–48 hour lag on breakout moves. If BTC holds $75K into Wednesday, expect ETH to start moving.
My bias: BULLISH — waiting for confirmation. ETH needs a daily close above its current range high to turn aggressive.
What I’m watching: ETH holding its current support range and a BTC daily confirmation. When ETH starts outperforming BTC on a percentage basis, that’s when this gets loud.
📌 BMNR just crossed 4% of all ETH
As of April 12, 2026, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) holds 4,874,858 ETH — 4.04% of the entire ETH supply of 120.7 million tokens. That’s $10.75 billion in ETH, with 3.33 million tokens already staked through their MAVAN validator network generating $212 million in annualized staking revenue. Tom Lee’s firm calls this the “final stages of the mini-crypto winter.” Their stated goal is 5% — what they call the “Alchemy of 5%” — and they’re 81% of the way there in just 9 months. One firm accumulating 4% of the entire supply is not a trade. It is a structural shift in who owns ETH and what that means for price discovery.
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Filtered for signal, not noise. CCS articles linked where we’ve covered it in depth.
⭐⭐⭐
Bitcoin breaks $75K on institutional inflows and a shifting macro backdrop. This isn’t retail chasing a headline. ETF inflows hit $471 million in a single day last week. Morgan Stanley launched a spot Bitcoin ETF at the lowest fee in the US market and recorded the strongest first-day inflows of any ETF in the firm’s history. The buyers who showed up during Extreme Fear are now sitting on a breakout.
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Strategy buys 13,927 BTC worth $1 billion. Saylor telegraphed it with one post: “Think ₿igger.” He bought while most people were convinced the cycle was over. That’s the entire playbook in two words.
⭐⭐⭐
Japan officially recognizes cryptocurrency as a financial asset. This is landmark legislation from the world’s third largest economy. It doesn’t make the price go up tomorrow. It changes the floor for where this industry is permitted to go.
US Treasury shares classified cybersecurity threat intelligence with crypto firms for the first time. The same briefings quietly given to JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs for years. Washington just decided crypto infrastructure is a national security matter.
Clarity Act gaining real momentum. SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Senator Lummis all called for passage in the same week. Lummis put a deadline on it: “This is our last chance until at least 2030.”
$175 million in shorts liquidated in 60 minutes as Bitcoin pushed toward $74K Monday. That is what a short squeeze looks like in real time.
Circle drops nearly 10%. Compass Point initiates with a Sell rating. Revenue-sharing deals with Binance, Sky, and Ethena are compressing margins even as USDC supply grows. More supply, thinner profits.
Deutsche Börse acquires a $200M stake in Kraken. The German stock exchange is buying into crypto infrastructure. Every institution that follows brings this market further inside the system.
Background reading that hits differently this week
Three weeks ago Bitcoin was at $67K and the Fear and Greed Index was sitting in Extreme Fear. The Iran headlines were ugly. The charts looked broken. Most people were quietly convinced the cycle was over.
Now we’re here.
This isn’t a lucky bounce. The Morgan Stanley ETF launched at the lowest fee in the market. Japan passed a law recognizing crypto as a financial asset. The US Treasury started briefing crypto firms on classified security threats, the same briefings they give Goldman Sachs. Strategy bought another billion dollars in Bitcoin while most people were panicking. None of that happened by accident. That’s accumulation. That’s conviction. That’s the market telling you something if you’re paying attention.
I’ll be in Las Vegas April 27. If you’re going to be there, reply and let me know.
Ashton Addison
CEO, Crypto Coin Show
Are you buying BTC above $75K?
Or waiting for a pullback before your next move? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.
