hodler

28 Apr 2026, 14:00

Here’s Why The Bitcoin And Ethereum Prices Have Been Rising And Falling Sharply

Bitcoin and Ethereum have spent the past few weeks moving like assets caught between two powerful forces. On one side, institutional demand has returned through Spot ETFs, treasury purchases, and dip-buying from larger investors. On the other side, profit-taking and heavy derivatives positioning keep turning rallies into sudden pullbacks. ETF Demand Is Slowly Lifting Bitcoin And Ethereum The crypto market has not been moving in a clean straight line. Bitcoin has pushed close to the $80,000 level more than once in the past week, only to lose momentum around $79,000. Ethereum has been following these moves, but with its own ETF flow and positioning pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Wave Down To $40,000 Shows When The Bottom Will Begin The strongest reason Bitcoin and Ethereum have been rising is the return of institutional inflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been on a strong inflow streak in April, with data indicating more than $2.2 billion in net inflows between April 14 and April 24. Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $823.7 million from April 20 to April 24, while Ethereum ETFs attracted about $155 million over the same week. That helps explain why Bitcoin was able to rebound strongly from its earlier March range in the mid-$60,000s and move back near $78,000 to $80,000. Bitcoin recently came close to $80,000, reaching around $79,475 over the weekend before reversing, showing that sellers are still active. A War That Crypto Cannot Ignore The single biggest driver of crypto volatility in 2026 has been a conflict thousands of miles from any blockchain. The US-Iran conflict has been the biggest factor in how the cryptocurrency market has been facing mounting pressure. Related Reading: Analyst Says Ethereum Just Confirmed A ‘Turtle Soup’, Here’s What It Means The sudden onset of military conflict in February delivered an immediate and severe shock that pushed cryptocurrencies to their lows. However, earlier in April, Bitcoin jumped to an 11-week high in light of easing US-Iran tensions and talks of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. As it stands, US President Donald Trump’s national security team is reviewing an Iranian peace plan to halt the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the strait if the US lifts its blockade and sanctions on the country. Bitcoin and Ethereum price fluctuations have largely tracked these ups and downs and worries over rising oil prices. An ongoing US naval blockade and Iran continuing to seize ships suggest, however, that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is still far off. The third force behind the sharp swings is leverage, as crypto markets are heavily influenced by derivatives. For instance, the recent Bitcoin rally to $79,000 caught many traders off-guard, and over $200 million worth of short positions were liquidated. Buying pressure on the Bitcoin derivatives side has yet to simmer down, as on-chain data shows BTC net taker volume recently surged to around $145 million. Ethereum has also seen aggressive derivatives activity. Recent data showed ETH futures open interest jumping 26% to about $25.4 billion. Ethereum buyers are also at their most aggressive buying spree phase since early 2023. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

28 Apr 2026, 14:00

Flexline deep dive: the long-term holder

TL;DR Long-term holders often have significant crypto wealth but limited fiat liquidity — selling isn’t always the right answer Flexline lets you borrow against your holdings at a fixed rate , keeping your position intact while accessing capital you need Two situations covered: a large one-off liquidity need, and a sideways market where off-ramping feels wasteful Rates: 10–25% APR (fixed). Terms: 2 days to 2 years. Off-platform withdrawals supported. Borrowing may have tax implications — seek independent advice. Holding crypto for the long term is a conviction trade. You decided it was worth building a position in the asset, you’ve held through volatility, and you have a view on where things are going. That conviction has a cost: your wealth is real, but it isn’t always liquid. This post is for the holder who needs capital, doesn’t want to sell their crypto, and is weighing their options. We’ll cover two situations: a large, one-off liquidity need and what to do when the market’s stopped moving. The opportunity that doesn’t wait James has been accumulating ETH since 2020. He’s not watching the charts every hour. He has a position, a conviction, and a plan. What he doesn’t have right now is fiat. An investment opportunity has appeared. A business deal, a property, a stake in something he believes in. The window is short. The capital required is significant. And his wealth, on paper, is more than enough to cover it. The instinct is familiar: sell some ETH, cover the cost, move on. But selling means locking in today’s price, triggering a tax event he’d rather not deal with right now, and giving up exposure to a position he’s spent four years building. Once it’s sold, getting back in at the same level isn’t guaranteed. There are alternatives. DeFi lending exists, but the smart contract risk and protocol complexity aren’t something James wants to deal with when real capital is on the line. The CeFi lenders that were operating three years ago aren’t all still standing. And his bank has no idea what to do with his ETH. “The opportunity isn’t going to wait for me to find a lender I actually trust.” With Flexline, James’s ETH and other eligible crypto on Kraken are automatically considered collateral. He takes out a loan and withdraws the funds off-platform to wherever he needs them. The rate is fixed for the term he chooses. The timeline is his. The ETH stays. He knows the total cost of the loan before he commits. There’s no rate that shifts mid-term, no platform risk he hasn’t already accepted as a Kraken user, and no forced sale. The position he built is still his. He’s just put it to work. Why Flexline fits: Off-platform withdrawals — funds go to a bank account, investment, or anywhere they’re needed Fixed rate agreed upfront — total cost known before committing, not at the moment of entry Terms up to 2 years — enough time to act on an opportunity without pressure to repay immediately 48 supported collateral assets — not locked into a single asset; eligible crypto in the main wallet is automatically considered Note: borrowing against crypto may have tax implications. This is not tax advice. Seek independent guidance for your specific situation. When the market stops moving Not every liquidity challenge involves a single large moment. Sometimes the problem isn’t event-driven. Yuki has been holding a diversified crypto portfolio for two years. The market has been flat for months. She’s not worried about her positions long-term, but in the short term she has expenses: rent, day-to-day costs, a project she wants to fund. And selling now, at these prices, feels like the worst possible time. This is the sideways market problem. Your position is intact, your conviction hasn’t changed, but the market isn’t giving you anything to work with right now. The options feel binary: hold and wait, or sell and accept the timing. “I’m not bearish. I just need to cover the next few months without off-ramping everything I’ve built.” A short-term Flexline loan changes that calculation. Yuki can borrow against her holdings for a defined period, cover her near-term costs, and repay when conditions improve or she has other income available. She doesn’t have to make a long-term decision in response to a short-term problem. The key here is the fixed rate and the defined term. She knows what the loan costs before she takes it. She can model whether borrowing for three months at a fixed rate is better than selling at current prices. That’s a real comparison she can make. It’s not a gamble either way. Sideways markets are where holders get shaken out. Flexline gives you a way to stay in. Why Flexline fits: Short terms available from 2 days — borrow for exactly as long as you need, not a day longer Position stays intact — you’re not selling into a flat market; the position is still yours when conditions change Repay early if you want to — early repayment is available (a fee applies) What to think about before you borrow Flexline is designed to be transparent, and that means being direct about the decisions that matter. LTV and liquidation. Your loan has a loan-to-value ratio, and if the value of your collateral falls significantly, you can reach the liquidation threshold. Understanding where that threshold sits before you borrow is important. Kraken shows you this before you commit. Term length. Shorter terms come with lower rates. If your liquidity need is short, a shorter term will cost less. Choose the term that reflects how long you actually need the capital, not the longest available. Tax implications. Borrowing against crypto is not the same as selling it, but it may still have tax implications depending on your jurisdiction. This post is not tax advice. Speak to an advisor who understands your situation. Cost of borrowing vs cost of selling. The right question is not “should I borrow” but “is borrowing better than selling given my specific situation.” In some cases it is. In others, selling might be simpler. Flexline makes it possible to compare both options with real numbers. Check your Flexline borrowing power The post Flexline deep dive: the long-term holder appeared first on Kraken Blog .

28 Apr 2026, 14:00

New wallet offers way to tackle Bitcoin’s quantum risk without a fork

The Postquant Labs project uses Arch Network to deliver post-quantum signature protection without a Bitcoin soft fork, sidestepping both Jameson Lopp's freeze proposal and Paul Sztorc's hard fork.

28 Apr 2026, 13:57

Official Approval for Israeli Shekel Stablecoin BILS

Israel approves shekel-based BILS stablecoin. Bits of Gold's Solana-based project is audited by Fireblocks and EY. This development, enriched by the shekel's strength and SOL technical analyses, in...

28 Apr 2026, 13:52

XRP Technical Analysis April 28, 2026: Critical Support and Resistance Levels in the Downtrend

XRP continues its downtrend at 1.38 dollars; critical support at 1.3723 is being tested. Bitcoin's sideways movement is increasing pressure on altcoins, while RSI is neutral and MACD is giving a be...

28 Apr 2026, 13:48

Pi Network (PI) Rebounds by 6% as Analyst Expects a 1,400% Price Explosion

Pi Network’s native token has defied the broader crypto market’s correction today and surged to a one-month high. While some analysts believe the rally might be just getting started, certain technical indicators suggest the bears might regain control in the near future. Is PI Ready to Explode? As of this writing, PI trades at above $0.19, representing a 6% daily increase and the highest level witnessed since late-March. Its market capitalization has surged to almost $2 billion, making it the 46th-biggest cryptocurrency. PI Price, Source: CoinGecko It remains unclear exactly what sparked this sudden move, and the timing is even stranger, as Bitcoin (BTC) and many leading digital assets have headed south today (April 28). Perhaps one potential catalyst could be the community enthusiasm surrounding the migration to protocol 22, which was expected to be completed earlier this week. However, the Core Team has not yet revealed anything on the matter. Analysts like JAVON MARKS believe PI has shown a “clear breakout and retest of a resisting trend,” which could signal the early phase of a “massive uphill run.” They predicted that the price could skyrocket by 1,400% to approximately $2.80, and that “this may only be the beginning stages of the process.” This isn’t the first time the market observer has made a bold forecast about Pi Network’s cryptocurrency. When PI sat at roughly $0.36 last September, they called for a 240% surge to $1.23 – a zone the token hadn’t touched since spring 2025. Pi Update brought up the fact that there is hype building because of the upcoming Consensus conference, which is scheduled to take place on May 7th. Pi Network is a partner of the event, and project co-founders Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis will speak on the main stage. The Warning Signals Despite the aforementioned optimism, some key on-chain metrics suggest PI’s price could soon re-enter red territory. Data shows that the number of tokens stored on crypto exchanges continues to rise, often seen as a precursor to selling. Centralized platforms collectively hold 511.6 million coins, with Gate.io accounting for approximately 279.5 million and Bitget ranking second with around 153.3 million. PI Exchange Balance, Source: piscan.io PI’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) should serve as another warning. The ratio has spiked above 70, indicating the asset’s valuation has increased too much in a short period and could be due for a short-term cooldown. The technical analysis tool ranges from 0 to 100, and anything below 30 is considered a buying opportunity. PI RSI, Source: RSI Hunter The post Pi Network (PI) Rebounds by 6% as Analyst Expects a 1,400% Price Explosion appeared first on CryptoPotato .