Coin Market

Smart money concepts in crypto trading: How to track and profit

Published

2 weeks ago

April 1, 2025

Key takeaways
Smart money consists of institutional investors with advanced tools and knowledge that can influence crypto market trends.

Key concepts like order blocks, liquidity zones and fair value gaps can help traders align with smart money strategies.

Real-time tracking tools such as Glassnode, Nansen and CoinGecko allow traders to follow smart money’s moves and capitalize on them.

Following the movements of smart money is akin to navigating the open sea, using its wake to position yourself for success in the crypto market.

Smart money refers to the money being invested by individuals or organizations that know the markets inside and out. We’re talking about institutional investors, hedge funds and well-seasoned traders. These are the big players who have access to more information and tools than most of us, and they use that knowledge to make strategic decisions.

In the crypto world, “smart money” is especially powerful because the market is still growing and changing quickly. These investors have a massive impact on the market. Their moves can shake things up, push prices up or down and even shift the way people feel about a particular coin or token.

For example, when major players like BlackRock launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), it can send waves through the market, influencing Bitcoin’s (BTC) price and the broader market.

How do institutional investors influence crypto market trends?

Institutional investors have substantial financial muscle, and when they enter the crypto market, they can make a big impact in several ways:

Liquidity and stability: These investors bring in large amounts of capital, which makes it easier to buy and sell without dramatically affecting prices. This helps stabilize the market and makes it more attractive for other investors to get involved. When more money is flowing in and out smoothly, it creates a healthier, more balanced market.

Price movements and volatility: When these big players make large investments (or sell off their holdings), it can cause prices to move quickly, either up or down. While this can create volatility, it also opens the door for traders to take advantage of those price swings.

Regulation and legitimacy: As institutional investors get involved, they push for clearer regulations, which helps bring more legitimacy to the crypto space. For instance, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs has given institutional investors a regulated way to invest in Bitcoin, and that’s made the market more credible overall.

In short, smart money is invested by experienced, informed players who make strategic moves, while ordinary money is often invested by individuals without deep market knowledge or insight.

Smart money concepts (SMC) in crypto trading

SMC is a trading strategy focused on analyzing and capitalizing on the movements of smart money. The key elements of SMC include order blocks, liquidity zones and fair value gaps. Let’s break these down simply.

Order blocks (OB)

Order blocks are areas on the chart where big investors (the smart money) are making large buy or sell orders. These areas usually act like walls of support or resistance, meaning they are strong levels where prices tend to bounce back. You can spot order blocks by looking for clusters of high-volume candlesticks at certain price levels. These are often periods of sideways price movement followed by a sharp move up or down.

When the price comes back to these areas, expect it to react in some way, as that’s where the smart money has been.

Liquidity zones

Liquidity zones are collections of buy and sell orders at certain price points. These are like gathering spots where a lot of market participants are placing their orders, creating areas where price reversals or breakouts are likely to happen.

Smart money investors love these zones because they can place large trades without drastically moving the market in one direction or the other. By understanding where liquidity zones are, you can predict where the market might go next.

Fair value gaps (FVG)

A fair value gap occurs when there’s a big imbalance between the buy and sell orders for an asset, creating a gap on the chart. This usually happens when the price moves quickly without much trading in between, and you can spot these gaps as spaces between candlesticks.

These gaps act like magnets for the price. Markets often return to fill these gaps before continuing their trend. When you spot a gap, it could be a great opportunity to enter the market, knowing the price might come back to fill it before resuming its movement.

How to track smart money moves in real time

There are several tools that help decode blockchain data and spot smart money maneuvers instantly.

1. Glassnode

Category: On-chain analytics
Website: glassnode.com

Glassnode gives you visibility into blockchain data unavailable through price charts alone. It shows how crypto flows between wallets, exchanges, and large holders, which is perfect for tracking institutional activity.

Key features for smart money tracking:

Exchange inflows/outflows: Watch for sudden spikes in BTC or Ether (ETH) moving in/out of exchanges, often a sign that big players are preparing to buy or sell.

Whale metrics: Metrics like “Number of addresses holding 10K+ BTC” help identify when whales are accumulating or distributing.

Realized cap and dormancy: This tells you whether older coins are moving, often a clue that long-term holders (smart money) are repositioning.

Top tip! If you notice a sharp drop in exchange reserves for ETH on Glassnode, that could signal whales are withdrawing ETH to cold storage (a bullish sign). Combine this with price action, and you may have a high-confidence entry point.

2. Nansen

Category: Wallet and whale tracking
Website: nansen.ai

Key features for smart money tracking:

Smart money dashboard: A curated list of wallets considered “smart” based on their historical returns and behavior.

Token god mode: See what tokens smart money is buying or selling and how holdings have changed over time.

Real-time alerts: Set alerts for transactions by specific wallets or token movements.

Top tip! Suppose that you see that multiple smart money wallets started buying a low-cap altcoin over the past 24 hours. That might be a sign they know something before the broader market does. You can monitor for a breakout and act accordingly.

3. CoinGecko

Category: Market data and volume analysis
Website: coingecko.com

Key features for smart money tracking:

Volume spikes: Watch for sudden increases in 24-hour volume that are not yet reflected in price — often a prelude to a move.

Liquidity data: Find coins with deep liquidity where institutions might be operating.

Exchange data: Monitor volume by exchange. If one exchange suddenly has massive buy pressure, smart money might be active there.

Top tip! Perhaps a small-cap token sees a 5x spike in volume on Binance but hasn’t moved much in price yet. That divergence can indicate accumulation. You could do a deeper dive with onchain tools Nansen or Glassnode to confirm.

4. Santiment

Category: Market sentiment and onchain analytics
Website: santiment.net

Key features for smart money tracking:

Social volume and sentiment: Gauge hype levels around tokens. Smart money often moves counter to the crowd.

Whale transaction count: See how many large transactions (e.g., $100,000+) are happening for a given coin.

Development activity: Some smart money tracks developer activity as a proxy for long-term value.

Top tip! A token sees decreasing positive sentiment but a spike in whale transactions. That disconnect can signal smart money is accumulating while retail exits, a classic contrarian play.

5. Chainalysis

Category: Blockchain forensics and risk detection
Website: chainalysis.com

Chainalysis focuses more on risk detection and compliance, but it can still be useful to track large, high-risk wallet movements and avoid traps or manipulated markets.

Key features for smart money tracking:

Address labeling: Know whether a wallet belongs to an exchange, scam, hacker group or institutional custodian.

Transaction monitoring: Track big inflows/outflows and the origin of funds. Are they from DeFi protocols, over-the-counter (OTC) desks or mixers?

Risk scoring: Avoid getting caught in tokens or wallets associated with pump-and-dump schemes or hacks.

Top tip! If you see a large amount of ETH being sent from a wallet flagged as a known DeFi VC to an exchange, that could be a sign of upcoming selling pressure. Conversely, tracking inflows to cold wallets from institutions can be a bullish signal.

Follow the Man o’ War

Think of crypto trading as the open sea, with smart money as powerful Man o’ War ships, navigating with advanced tools and knowledge. As a retail trader, you may not be in control of these ships, but you can follow their course.

Using platforms such as Glassnode, Nansen, CoinGecko, Santiment and Chainalysis, you can track the movements of smart money in real-time. While you might not steer the ship, by observing its wake, you can adjust your course and position yourself for profitable opportunities.

You don’t need to command the ship; just follow its lead to find your way to safe, profitable shores.

Coin Market

How trade wars impact stocks and crypto

Published

49 minutes ago

April 16, 2025

The 2025 US-China trade war

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump declared a national economic emergency and announced sweeping new import tariffs.

Dubbed “Liberation Day,” the policy set a baseline 10% tariff on all foreign goods, with a massive 145% rate on products from China. The move was framed as a way to fix long-standing trade imbalances and protect national industries.

China responded almost immediately. Tariffs on US imports jumped to 125%, and restrictions were introduced on the export of rare earth elements, materials essential to global manufacturing. Within days, trade between the world’s two largest economies had slowed dramatically.

The markets didn’t take it well. The S&P 500 dropped 15% in under a week. The Nasdaq was down nearly 20% for the year by April 7. Investors were rattled by the scale of the escalation and the potential knock-on effects on global growth.

Crypto didn’t stay quiet either. As stocks fell and uncertainty spread, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a surge in trading volumes, with many turning to digital assets as a hedge.

What follows is a closer look at how these trade tensions hit financial markets, starting with traditional stocks and then crypto.

Trade wars’ impact on stocks

Markets don’t like surprises – and they really don’t like trade wars.

When the US announced its 145% tariff on Chinese imports in April 2025, the response from Wall Street was swift and brutal. The S&P 500 tanked more than 10% in just two days. Tech stocks took it even harder, with the Nasdaq shedding nearly 20% since the start of the year.

Still, if you’ve watched the markets through past trade fights, this was all pretty familiar. In 2018–19, during the first round of US-China tariff battles, every tweet about negotiations or new duties sent stocks whipsawing. And if you zoom way out, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 is one of the earliest and most notorious examples as tariffs piled up, global trade shrank and the Great Depression got worse.

So why do stocks get hit so hard? A few reasons. Tariffs raise the cost of imported goods, which squeezes profit margins for companies that rely on international supply chains. When a carmaker or electronics brand has to pay more for components, that cost either eats into profits or gets passed on to customers. Either way, it’s bad news for earnings, and earnings are what drive stock valuations.

There’s also the fear factor. Trade wars inject a lot of uncertainty into the economy. Will more tariffs follow? Will other countries retaliate? That kind of unpredictability causes companies to delay investments and hiring, while consumers may start pulling back on spending. This shows up as increased market volatility, often tracked by the VIX, Wall Street’s so-called “fear index,” which tends to spike in times like this.

Central banks sometimes try to cushion the blow by tweaking interest rates or injecting liquidity. But there’s only so much they can do when the root of the problem is political.

Did you know? On April 9, 2025, Trump announced a 90-day pause on new tariffs for most countries. He explained the pause by saying people were getting “a little bit yippy,” his way of describing nervousness in the markets.

When tariffs hit, crypto takes a punch, then bounces back

The tariffs hit crypto, too, but the market recovered just days later, reflecting crypto’s volatile yet responsive nature during global uncertainty.

After Trump’s new tariffs were announced, Bitcoin slid to around $76,000. Ethereum and other major tokens followed suit, and around $200 billion was wiped off the total crypto market cap in a few days.

Again, this kind of sell-off isn’t unusual. When uncertainty spikes – like during a sudden escalation in global trade tensions – investors tend to play it safe. That means pulling out of more volatile assets, including crypto, and moving into what’s seen as safer ground, like cash or bonds. It’s a classic “risk-off” move.

But as you’ve seen before, crypto doesn’t stay down for long. By mid-April, Bitcoin had bounced back and was trading at just under $85,000. Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and other major altcoins also recovered some ground. For many investors, this rebound was a reminder that while crypto is volatile, it’s also increasingly viewed as a valuable hedge, something outside the reach of any government or policy decision.

In 2018–19, during an earlier round of US-China tensions, Bitcoin showed similar patterns: short-term drops followed by fast recoveries. And earlier in 2025, new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports triggered a dip that quickly reversed.

Stocks, meanwhile, tend to have a tougher time recovering. As of April, the S&P 500 is down nearly 9% for 2025, and the Nasdaq is off more than 13%. There was a brief lift after the US paused some tariffs for 90 days, but overall, the mood in equity markets remains shaky.

What trade wars mean for supply chains and consumers

The ripple effects of the 2025 trade war are grinding through global supply chains, one industry at a time.

From electronics to autos to medicine, the cost of moving goods worldwide is rising. Let’s talk about a few industries in particular.

Trade wars’ impact on electronics and semiconductors

Electronics are at the heart of it. In 2024, the US imported $146 billion of electronics from China. With tariffs on those goods jumping, companies could be looking at an added $182 billion in annual costs if these rates stick around.

This is also a problem for consumers. Take Apple, for example. With no lasting exemption for phones, an iPhone 16 Pro Max could climb from $1,199 to over $1,800. Add in uncertainty about future duties on laptops, chips and smart devices, and the entire sector is on edge.

Trade wars’ impact on the automotive industry

Carmakers are in a similar bind. The US has raised tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles from 25% to more than 100%. And it’s not just the finished cars — batteries, chips, and other parts sourced from China are also caught in the crossfire.

For electric vehicle manufacturers, in particular, this is a serious hit. Chinese battery components are essential for many US and European EV brands. With supply chains suddenly tangled in red tape and higher costs, some automakers are pausing production or switching suppliers.

Trade wars’ impact on pharmaceuticals

Even the healthcare system is feeling it. The US depends heavily on China for key medical supplies and pharmaceutical ingredients. With new tariffs, prices are climbing, and existing shortages are worsening.

Industry experts are warning of major disruptions. Everything from common medications to hospital-grade equipment is likely to get more expensive. And in a healthcare system already under pressure, even a small bottleneck can cause big problems down the line.

Did you know? European markets are already seeing signs of a spillover. Chinese exporters, locked out of the US by tariffs, are redirecting goods to Europe, especially in tech and consumer goods.

Rising tariffs, shaky markets, what’s next?

The big picture regarding the 2025 US-China trade war still looks hazy amid real implications for investors, business leaders and policymakers worldwide.

Let’s examine the short-, medium- and long-term outlooks.

Short-term

There’s been a bit of short-term relief. When the US announced exemptions on some tech products – like smartphones and laptops – from the harshest tariffs, markets breathed a sigh of relief. The S&P 500 saw an uptick, and global markets followed suit. Tech-heavy Asian indexes rallied, and European markets, including Germany’s DAX and the UK’s FTSE 100, climbed. Even US bank earnings helped push optimism a bit further.

Still, it’s probably temporary. These exemptions are under review, and the bigger trade policy feels like shifting sand.

Medium-term

Looking ahead a bit further, the risks start to grow. If the trade conflict drags on, it could seriously slow down global growth. JPMorgan recently raised its global recession risk to 60%, and that’s no small thing. Central banks are already weighing their next moves; interest rate adjustments, coordinated actions, and contingency planning are all back on the table.

Some voices, like former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, call for a global response similar to what we saw during the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, businesses are rethinking their supply chains and scrambling to find alternatives, something that’s easier said than done.

Long-term

You’re seeing a pivot with nations exploring new trade deals and trying to reduce reliance on traditional powerhouses. China, for example, is pushing harder to internationalize the yuan and accelerate its Belt and Road Initiative. Conversely, the US is leaning into domestic manufacturing and trying to reduce its dependence on imports.

And the consequences could be massive. The WTO has warned that trade between the US and China could shrink by as much as 80%. That’s a huge shift, considering these two countries account for about 3% of global trade. If that drop materializes, it could rattle the global economy.

Coin Market

Bitcoin trader sees gold 'blow-off top' as XAU nears new $3.3K record

Published

50 minutes ago

April 16, 2025

Bitcoin (BTC) faces an uphill struggle as a safe haven in 2025 as gold fund inflows circle $80 billion.

Data from Bank of America (BoA) uploaded to X by trading resource The Kobeissi Letter on April 15 confirms gold’s “best streak” since 2013.

Gold beats records as Bitcoin ETFs slump

As the US trade war sees investors flee to gold, Bitcoin has lost the limelight as a hedge against macroeconomic volatility.

BoA figures show inflows to gold funds beating records, with data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView capturing new all-time highs for XAU/USD near $3,300 per ounce on April 16.

“Gold fund net inflows have hit a record $80 BILLION year-to-date. This is 2 TIMES more than the previous high set in the full year 2020,” Kobeissi noted.

“Investors are pouring money into gold at a record pace as the market uncertainty has skyrocketed. As a result, gold prices have rallied 22% year-to-date and have outperformed every other major asset class.”

Gold fund flows chart. Source: The Kobeissi Letter/X

BTC price action, by contrast, paints a very different picture. Despite the appearance of the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and growing global integration, BTC/USD reached five-month lows earlier in April.

Data from onchain analytics platform Glassnode calculates that the ETFs’ combined assets under management fell from $106 billion at the start of the year to $92 billion this week.

“Gold prices have also hit 52 all-time highs over the last year, posting the best streak in 12 years,” Kobeissi concluded.

“Gold is the global safe haven.”

US spot Bitcoin ETF balances. Source: Glassnode

Gold “terminal top” meets Bitcoin bulls

Despite its repeated new records, market commentators already see gold’s unprecedented upside coming to an end.

Addressing the topic on X this week, veteran trader Peter Brandt called a “blow-off top” on XAU/USD.

“Gold has now entered its blow-off stage,” he summarized.

“Such rapid advancement will come to a terminal top, but attempting to pick a high can be very expensive. Blow off tops can extend well beyond a bear’s ability to meet margin calls.”

XAU/USD 1-day chart. Source: Peter Brandt/X

A gold comedown may well leave room for Bitcoin to catch up, per a popular theory that says that BTC/USD copies gold trends with a delay of several months.

Great chart from my Partner, David Foley.
Shows how Gold moves first, Bitcoin follows harder. Scale different for each.@DAAF17 pic.twitter.com/jHMe6apewj

— Lawrence Lepard (@LawrenceLepard) April 13, 2025

“Nobody really knows why that happens,” Professional Capital Management founder and CEO Anthony Pompliano told CNBC on April 15.

Pompliano suggested that traditional financial entities were either unauthorized or simply “not used” to the idea of Bitcoin as protection against macro uncertainty.

“What we do see though is that when gold runs, about 100 days later or so, Bitcoin not only catches up; it usually runs much harder, and so you get that higher volatility,” he said.

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.

Coin Market

Sony’s Soneium taps EigenLayer to cut finality to under 10 seconds

Published

50 minutes ago

April 16, 2025

Soneium, a layer-2 (L2) blockchain network developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, said it has slashed its blockchain finality time by over 98%, as it aims to solve one of the biggest challenges in blockchain scalability.

Astar, a Japanese Web3 adoption collective bridging Astar Network and Soneium, announced a strategic partnership with AltLayer and EigenLayer to launch a “Fast Finality Layer” for Sony’s L2 blockchain.

In blockchain settlement, finality is the assurance that a transaction is irreversible, which happens after it is added to a block on the blockchain ledger.

The new finality layer provides a crypto-economic security guarantee through a decentralized network of validators to reduce the reliance on centralized sequencers and enable more secure crosschain interactions.

Soneium, ALtLayer, EigenLayer partnership. Source: Astar Network

This could result in a sub-10-second transaction finality for Soneium, a 98% reduction from its initial 15-minute finality, which was achieved through Optimism’s OP Stack, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

The new validator network will be secured by both restaked Ether (ETH) and Astar (ASTR) tokens.

Reducing blockchain finality is key for enabling more advanced decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases and improving developer and user experience, since most solutions experience finality delays from 15 minutes to several days, according to Maarten Henskens, head of Astar Foundation.

The new partnership is a “crucial step toward secure, high-speed, crosschain interoperability,” he told Cointelegraph, adding:

“It’s a foundational improvement in UX and trust: users no longer need to wait or “double-check” if a transaction will be reversed, and developers can confidently build real-time, interactive applications without worrying about delayed finality.”

“This milestone is just the beginning — and there’s a much larger story unfolding around how fast finality will reshape developer UX, DeFi, and crosschain experiences,” he added.

L2s by blockchain finality time. Source: L2beat

Arbitrum One is currently the fastest blockchain, with an average finality time of one minute, the same as Coinbase’s Base L2 network, both relying on optimistic rollups, L2beat data shows.

Blockchain L2 finality a key bottleneck for adoption

Solving blockchain finality remains the biggest barrier to mainstream Web3 adoption, according to YQ Jia, CEO of AltLayer.

“By combining EigenLayer’s restaking with MACH validation and support from Astar Network, we’re creating an infrastructure that offers the best of both worlds — Ethereum’s security guarantees with near-instant finality,” Jia said. “This is exactly the kind of solution needed to bring blockchain technology to mainstream adoption.”

EigenLayer has sought to advance mainstream blockchain adoption since it launched.

In February 2025, EigenLayer and blockchain protocol Cartesi launched a new initiative to find the next key prototype consumer application with new use cases that may bolster mainstream crypto adoption.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again