Key takeaways:

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows are at their highest since January 2025.

Inflows to exchanges down to levels last seen in December 2016.

Bitcoin’s negative funding rates could set up a short squeeze.

BTC price is above major moving averages, which can now provide support.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price rose to a new range high at $94,700 on April 23, its highest value since March 2.

Several analysts say the next psychological resistance remains at $95,000, and the price might drop to test support levels below.

“The $94K–$95K zone is clearly the resistance to beat,” said Swissblock in an April 24 post on X. 

The onchain data provider asserted that the next logical move for Bitcoin would be a pullback toward the $90,000 zone to gain momentum for a move higher.

“The $89K–$90K zone could be next to test bulls, but with BTC’s structure strength, these dips are for buying.”BTC/USD chart. Source: Swissblock

Popular Bitcoin analyst AlphaBTC opined that the asset will likely consolidate in the $93,000-$95,000 range “before pushing higher to take liquidity above 100K.”

Source: AlphBTC

Several bullish signs suggest that BTC is well-positioned to break above $95,000 in the following days or weeks.

Bitcoin ETF demand rebounds

One factor supporting the Bitcoin bull argument is resurgent institutional demand, reflected by significant inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

On April 22 and April 23, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net flow totaling $936 million and $917 million, respectively, as per data from SoSoValue.

As Cointelegraph reported, these inflows have been the highest since January 2025 and more than 500 times the 2025 daily average.

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Source: SoSoValue

This trend reflects growing confidence among traditional finance players, as observed by market analysts like Jamie Coutts, who noted global liquidity hitting new all-time highs, historically fueling asset price rallies. 

Source: Jamie Coutts

Institutional buying creates sustained upward pressure on Bitcoin’s price by absorbing the available supply.

Less BTC supply on crypto exchanges

The trend of decreasing Bitcoin exchange inflows continues, suggesting a potential reduction in sell pressure. 

The total amount of coins transferred to the exchanges has dropped from a year-to-date high of 97,940 BTC per day on Feb. 25 to 45,000 BTC on April 23, as per data from CryptoQuant. 

This is reinforced by a reduction in the number of addresses depositing Bitcoin to exchanges, which has been “steadily declining since 2022,” according to CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. 

He highlights that this metric’s 30-day moving average has dropped to 52,000 BTC, a level last seen in December 2016. 

“This trend is bullish in itself,” as it represents a fourfold reduction in coin sales over the last three years, the analyst said, adding:

“Essentially, this represents growing HODL sentiment, which significantly reduces selling pressure, creating a foundation for further growth.”Bitcoin exchange depositing address count. Source: CryptoQuant

Negative funding rates can fuel BTC rally

Bitcoin price has rebounded to levels last seen in early March, but futures trades are not entirely on board yet. 

Bitcoin’s perpetual futures funding rates remained negative between April 22 and April 23, despite the price rising by 11% over the same period, data from Glassnode shows.

Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rates. Source: Glassnode

Negative funding rates imply that shorts are paying longs, reflecting a bearish sentiment that can fuel a short squeeze as prices rise.

Related: Bitcoin is the ‘cleanest shirt in the dirty laundry’ — Bitfinex

In an April 22 post on X, CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost highlighted a similar divergence in Bitcoin’s price and Binance funding rates. 

“Whereas BTC continues to climb, funding rates on Binance have turned negative, currently sitting at around -0.006 at the time of writing,” Darkfost explained.

He added that this is a rare occurrence, which has historically been followed by significant rallies, like Bitcoin’s surge from $28,000 to $73,000 in October 2023, and from $57,000 to $108,000 in September 2024.

Bitcoin funding rates on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant

If history repeats itself, Bitcoin may rally from the current levels, breaking above the resistance at $95,000 toward $100,000.

Bitcoin trades above the 200-day SMA

On April 22, Bitcoin price rose above a key level: the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) currently at $88,690, fueling a marketwide recovery.

The last time the BTC price broke above the 200-day SMA, it experienced a parabolic move, rallying 80% from $66,000 on Oct. 14, 2024, to its previous all-time high of $108,000 on Dec. 17. 

This level should provide significant support as Bitcoin trades above this key trendline. But if it doesn’t hold, the following levels to watch will likely be $84,379, the 50-day SMA, and the $80,000 psychological level.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

For the bulls, the resistance levels at $95,000 and $100,000 are the primary ones to watch. Rising above that would pave the way for a run toward the Jan. 20 all-time high above $109,000.

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.

Analysts are criticizing the financial implications of US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs, a development that some say highlights Bitcoin’s unique economic properties during times of global uncertainty.

Trump’s 90-day pause on higher reciprocal tariffs, reverting them to a 10% baseline for most countries except China, has exposed vulnerabilities in the US bond market, according to critics.

Economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean Ammous, said Trump’s decision to reverse the higher tariffs was likely a reaction to rising bond yields, suggesting the administration’s hand was forced.

“Trump fought the bond market and the bond market won,” Ammous said in an April 23 X post. “The gambit seemed to work for the first day, and the huge crash in the stock market was presented as a small price to pay for fiscal sustainability.

“But then the bonds began to crash, and it became clear how disastrous the tariffs were, and how wrong it was to expect that deliberately crashing the stock market would boost the bond market,” he added.

Source: Saifedean Ammous

Related: Trump’s tariff escalation exposes ‘deeper fractures’ in global financial system

Treasury yields spike after tariff move

Following Trump’s tariff announcement, CNBC data shows that the 10-year Treasury yield surged from under 4% to 4.5% amid a sell-off driven by inflation and recession concerns.

10-year bond yield, 1-year chart. Source: CNBC

“The rise in yields was the exact opposite of what the administration wanted, and reversing course on the tariffs half a day after they go into effect was absolutely devastating for Trump’s negotiating position,” Ammous said.

Some analysts, including Global Macro Investor founder Raoul Pal, have suggested the tariff maneuvering may only be “posturing” for the US to reach a trade agreement with China.

“All of the talk about China buckling under the threat of Trump now sounds hilarious in retrospect, when Trump could not keep his tariffs in place for two days,” Ammous said, adding that China “showed absolutely no inclination” to reach out and strike a deal.

Delays in reaching a trade agreement may limit the recovery of both equity and cryptocurrency markets, which hinge on the outcomes of the trade negotiations, according to Nansen analysts.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) is acting “less like a tech stock and more like a hedge against economic uncertainty,” after Trump signaled a “substantial reduction in tariffs on Chinese goods,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.

Related: Crypto, stocks enter ‘new phase of trade war’ as US-China tensions rise

Trade wars reignite the need for a Bitcoin standard

The situation has revived long-standing proposals to back the US dollar with Bitcoin.

Ammous said the US should keep buying BTC until the government holds enough to fully back the dollar supply, ultimately switching to a Bitcoin standard:

“Keep buying bitcoin until the value of the bitcoin held by the US government is enough to back the entire US dollar supply, then go on a bitcoin standard where dollars are redeemable for bitcoin, and have the government never spend more than it earns.”

Historically, the dollar was backed by gold and redeemable for a fixed amount of the precious metal until 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt suspended gold convertibility in response to the Great Depression.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon halted the dollar’s convertibility into gold, aiming to protect the US gold reserves and stabilize the economy, marking the beginning of the fiat currency system that remains in place today.

Bitcoin’s fixed supply, which is hard-coded in its tokenomics, makes it a popular digital competitor to gold. 

Joe Burnett, director of market research at Unchained, predicted that Bitcoin may rival or surpass gold’s market capitalization in the next decade, projecting that the Bitcoin price will surpass $1.8 million by 2035.

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Shaquille O’Neal has settled with investors who claim losses from the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, according to an April 23 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The settlement amount remains confidential, with terms expected to be disclosed after investors formally request preliminary court approval, according to court documents.

O’Neal and other celebrities and athletes were accused of promoting FTX and allegedly contributing to investor losses by endorsing the now-bankrupt exchange.

Source: Court Listener

The case is part of a broader multidistrict litigation effort, where investors are seeking up to $21 billion in damages from FTX insiders, advisers and promoters, far exceeding the $9.2 billion available through bankruptcy proceedings.

Other celebrities embroiled in similar legal troubles for their roles in FTX include NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary, former NBA player Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, Naomi Osaka and others. 

Notably, FTX investors faced challenges in serving O’Neal with legal papers during the early stages of the lawsuit over his promotion of the collapsed exchange.

Lawyers representing the victims described O’Neal as “running from the lawsuit,” after multiple failed attempts to deliver court documents. Legal teams reportedly spent months trying to reach the NBA legend, resorting to creative methods, including attempting service during NBA games and at his residences.

Related: FTX former execs and promoters to settle class-action lawsuit for $1.3M

O’Neal finalizes $11 million settlement over Astrals NFT project

The settlement with FTX investors comes as O’Neal recently agreed to pay $11 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit tied to his involvement in the Solana-based Astrals NFT project.

In May 2023, O’Neal was served with the Astral NFT lawsuit during an NBA game at Miami’s Kaseya Center, formerly the FTX Arena. The class-action lawsuit involved his promotion of the Astrals NFT project, alleging that the NFTs promoted by O’Neal were unregistered securities.

In August 2024, a Miami federal court judge ruled that O’Neal would need to defend some of the claims brought against him in the case. 

Astrals is a Solana-based project featuring 10,000 NFTs, a metaverse called Astralworld and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a governance token called Galaxy.

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