Coin Market

Bitcoin falls below $80K — Will PI, OKB, GT and ATOM outperform BTC and altcoins?

Published

2 weeks ago

April 6, 2025

Last week, Bitcoin (BTC) began showing early signs of decoupling from the US stock markets. Bitcoin was relatively flat over the week, while the S&P 500 plunged by 9%. The sell-off was triggered following US President Donald Trump’s April 2 global tariff announcement, which escalated further on April 4 as China retaliated with new tariffs on US goods. Even gold was not spared and was down 1.9% for the week.

Alpine Fox founder Mike Alfred highlighted in a post on X that a gold bull market is bullish for Bitcoin. During previous cycles, gold led Bitcoin for a short while, but eventually, Bitcoin caught up and grew 10 times or more than gold. He added that it would not be any different this time.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Although the short-term outperformance of Bitcoin is an encouraging sign, traders should remain cautious until further clarity emerges on the macroeconomic front. If the US stock markets witness another round of selling, the cryptocurrency markets may also come under pressure.

A handful of altcoins are showing strength on the charts, but waiting for the overall sentiment to turn bullish before jumping could be a better strategy. If Bitcoin breaks above its immediate resistance, what are the top cryptocurrencies that may follow it higher?

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin bulls have failed to push the price above the resistance line, but they have not ceded much ground to the bears. This suggests that the bulls have kept up the pressure.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The 20-day exponential moving average ($84,241) is flattening out, and the relative strength index (RSI) is just below the midpoint, signaling a balance between supply and demand.

This advantage will tilt in favor of the bulls on a break and close above the resistance line. There is resistance at $89,000, but if the level gets taken out, the BTC/USDT pair could ascend toward $100,000.

The $80,000 is the vital support to watch out for on the downside. If this level cracks, the pair could plummet to $76,606 and then to $73,777.

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair has been consolidating between $81,000 and $88,500. The moving averages on the 4-hour chart are sloping down marginally, and the RSI is just below the midpoint, signaling the continuation of the range-bound action in the near term.

If buyers push the price above $85,000, the pair could rally to $88,500. This level could attract sellers, but the pair may jump to $95,000 if the bulls prevail.

The bears will be back in the driver’s seat if the price breaks below the $81,000 to $80,000 support zone. The pair may then dump to $76,606.

Pi Network price analysis

Pi Network (PI) has been in a strong downtrend since topping out at $3 on Feb. 26. The relief rally on April 5 shows the first signs of buying at lower levels.

PI/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Any recovery is expected to face selling at the 20-day EMA (0.85), which remains the key short-term level to watch out for. If the PI/USDT pair does not give up much ground from the 20-day EMA, it indicates that the bulls are holding on to their positions. That opens the doors for a rally above the 20-day EMA. The pair could then jump to the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of $1.10 and next to the 61.8% retracement level of $1.26.

The $0.40 level is the critical support on the downside. A break and close below $0.40 could sink the pair to $0.10.

PI/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The 4-hour chart shows that the bears are defending the 50-simple moving average, but a minor positive is that the bulls are trying to keep the pair above the 20-EMA. If the price rebounds off the 20-EMA, the bulls will attempt to kick the pair above $0.80. If they do that, the pair could travel to $1.20.

On the contrary, a break and close below the 20-EMA suggests that the bears have kept up the pressure. The negative momentum could pick up on a break below $0.54. The pair may then retest the vital support at $0.40.

OKB price analysis

OKB (OKB) turned up sharply on April 4 and closed above the moving averages, indicating that the bulls are attempting a comeback.

OKB/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The up move continued, and the bulls pushed the price above the short-term resistance at $54 on April 6. The OKB/USDT pair could reach the resistance line of the descending channel, which is likely to attract sellers. If the price turns down sharply and breaks below $54, the pair may oscillate inside the channel for a few more days.

On the other hand, if buyers do not give up much ground from the resistance line, it increases the likelihood of a break above the channel. The pair could climb to $64 and then to $68.

OKB/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair will complete an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern on a break and close above the neckline. The up move may face selling at the resistance line, but on the way down, if buyers flip the neckline into support, it increases the possibility of a break above the resistance line. If that happens, the pair could start its march toward the pattern target of $70.

Sellers will have to fiercely defend the neckline and quickly pull the price below the 20-EMA to prevent the rally. The pair may drop to the 50-SMA and thereafter to $45.

GateToken price analysis

GateToken (GT) has been finding support at the 50-day SMA ($22.05) for a few days, which is an important level to watch out for.

GT/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The flattish moving averages and the RSI just below the midpoint do not give a clear advantage either to the bulls or the bears. A break and close above $23.18 could push the price to $24. This remains the key overhead resistance for the bears to defend because a break above it could catapult the GT/USDT pair to $26.

This positive view will be invalidated in the short term if the price breaks and maintains below the 50-day SMA. The pair may sink to $21.28 and then to $20.79.

GT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair turned down from the resistance line of the descending channel pattern, indicating selling on rallies. The break below the moving averages suggests the pair may remain inside the channel for some more time.

Buyers will gain the upper hand on a break and close above the resistance line. Such a move suggests that the corrective phase may be over. The pair could rally to $23.18 and then to $24.

Cosmos price analysis

Cosmos (ATOM) is trying to form a bottom but is facing selling at $5.15. A minor positive in favor of the bulls is that they have not allowed the price to break below the moving averages.

ATOM/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price rebounds off the moving averages with force, it signals buying on dips. That improves the prospects of a break above the $5.15 resistance. If that happens, the ATOM/USDT pair could surge toward $6.50 and then to $7.17.

Contrarily, a break and close below the moving averages suggests a possible range formation in the near term. The pair could swing between $5.15 and $4.15 for a while. Sellers will be back in command on a slide below $4.15.

ATOM/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls and the bears are witnessing a tough battle at the 20-EMA on the 4-hour chart. If the price remains below the 20-EMA, the pair could tumble to the 50-day SMA and later to $4.15. Buyers are expected to fiercely defend the $4.15 level.

Instead, if the price stays above the 20-day EMA, it signals solid demand at lower levels. The bulls will then try to push the pair to $5.15. A break and close above this resistance could start a new up move.

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

Galaxy Research proposes new voting system to reduce Solana inflation

Published

2 hours ago

April 18, 2025

Crypto research firm Galaxy Research has made a proposal to adjust the voting system that decides the outcome of future Solana inflation following the failure to come to a consensus in a previous vote.

On April 17, Galaxy introduced a Solana proposal called “Multiple Election Stake-Weight Aggregation” (MESA) to reduce the inflation rate of its native token, SOL (SOL). The researchers described the proposal as a “more market-based approach to agreeing on the rate of future SOL emissions.”

Rather than using traditional yes/no voting for inflation rates, MESA allows validators to vote on multiple deflation rates and uses the weighted average as the outcome.

“Instead of cycling through inflation reduction proposals until one passes, what if validators could allocate their votes to one or many changes, with the aggregate of ‘yes’ outcomes becoming the adopted emissions curve?” Galaxy explained.

The motivation for the concept comes from a previous proposal (SIMD-228), which showed community agreement that SOL inflation should be reduced, but the binary voting system couldn’t find consensus on specific parameters.

SIMD-228 proposed to change Solana’s inflation system from a fixed schedule to a dynamic, market-based model.

The new proposal suggests maintaining the fixed, terminal inflation rate at 1.5% and sets forth multiple outcomes that create multiple ‘yes’ voting options with different deflation rates from which an average is aggregated if a quorum is reached.

For example, if 5% vote for no change, remaining at 15% deflation, 50% vote for a 30% deflation rate, and 45% vote for 33%, the new deflation rate would be calculated as the aggregate at 30.6%. The target is to reach the terminal rate of 1.5% supply inflation.

Predicted inflation curves under new voting proposal. Source: Galaxy Digital

Solving problems with binary voting

The benefits are that a more market-driven system allows validators to express preferences along a spectrum rather than with binary choices, while maintaining predictability with a fixed inflation curve.

“Galaxy Research seeks to suggest a genuinely alternative process to achieving what we believe is the community’s broad goal, and not necessarily proscribe any particular inflation rate outcome,” the firm explained.

Under the current mechanism, supply inflation begins at 8% annually, decreasing by 15% per year until it reaches 1.5%. Solana’s current inflation rate is 4.6%, and 64.7% of the total supply, or 387 million SOL, is currently staked, according to Solana Compass.

Galaxy affiliate Galaxy Strategic Opportunities provides staking and validation services for Solana.

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Coin Market

Slovenia’s finance ministry floats 25% tax on crypto transactions

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2025

Slovenia’s Finance Ministry is considering a possible 25% tax on crypto trading profits for residents in the country under a new draft law now open for public consultation.

The bill proposes to tax traders when they sell their cryptocurrency for fiat or pay for goods and services, but crypto-to-crypto and transfers between wallets owned by the same user will be exempt, Slovenia’s Finance Ministry said in an April 17 statement.

Under the proposed legislation, crypto tax will be aligned with existing tax laws. Slovenia taxpayers will be required to keep a record of all their transactions for annual tax returns. The tax base would be calculated on profits by subtracting the purchase price from the sale price.

In a statement to the Slovenia Times, finance minister Klemen Boštjančič said it’s unreasonable that crypto trading for individuals isn’t currently taxed in the country.

“The goal of taxation of crypto assets is not to generate tax revenue, but we find it illogical and unreasonable that one of the most speculative financial instruments is not taxed at all,” he said in a statement translated from Slovenian.

New tax could stifle crypto in Slovenia, lawmaker says

Jernej Vrtovec, a member of Slovenia’s national assembly and New Slovenia opposition party, slammed the proposal in an April 16 statement to X, arguing it could stifle crypto growth in the country.

“Slovenia has the opportunity to become a crypto-friendly country, but with the government’s proposals, we will miss the train again,” he said in a post also translated from Slovenian.

“With excessive taxation, we will once again see young people and capital fleeing abroad. Taxes should encourage, not stifle.”

Source: Jernej Vrtovec

The proposal is open to public consultation until May 5. If Slovenian lawmakers pass the bill, it will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Slovenia introduced a 10% tax on crypto withdrawals and payments in 2023, but capital gains from occasional crypto trading are not taxed, according to the crypto tax platform Token Tax.

Crypto activity can also currently be exempt from tax if it’s considered a hobby. Business activity, such as mining or staking, is subject to income tax.

A previous bill proposed in April 2022 planned to levy a 5% tax on profits over 10,000 euros ($11,372), but it was never passed into law.

Slovenia issued the first digital sovereign bond in the European Union on July 25 last year. It had a nominal size of 30 million euros ($32.5 million) with a 3.65% coupon and a maturity date of Nov. 25 that year.

The number of crypto users in Slovenia is projected to reach roughly 98,000 in 2025, according to online data platform Statisa, with a penetration rate of 4.6% among its population of 2.12 million people. While the projected revenue for the country’s crypto market is slated to hit $2.8 million.

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Coin Market

Arizona crypto reserve bill passes House committee, heads to third reading

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2025

One of Arizona’s crypto reserve bills has been passed by the House and is now one successful vote away from heading to the governor’s desk for official approval.

Arizona’s Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) was approved on April 17 by the House Committee of the Whole, which involves 60 House members weighing in on the bill before a third and final reading and a full floor vote.

Source: Bitcoin Laws

SB 1373 seeks to establish a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund made up of digital assets seized through criminal proceedings to be managed by the state’s treasurer.

Arizona’s treasurer would be permitted to invest up to 10% of the fund’s total monies in any fiscal year in digital assets. The treasurer would also be able to loan the fund’s assets in order to increase returns, provided it doesn’t increase financial risks.

However, a Senate-approved SB 1373 may be set back by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who recently pledged to veto all bills until the legislature passes a bill for disability funding.

Hobbs also has a history of vetoing bills before the House and has vetoed 15 bills sent to her desk this week alone.

Arizona is the new leader in the state Bitcoin reserve race

SB 1373 has been passing through Arizona’s legislature alongside the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), which only includes Bitcoin (BTC).

The bill proposes allowing Arizona’s treasury and state retirement system to invest up to 10% of the available funds into Bitcoin.

SB 1025 also passed Arizona’s House Committee of the Whole on April 1 and is awaiting a full floor vote.

Race to establish a Bitcoin reserve at the state level. Source: Bitcoin Laws

Utah passed Bitcoin legislation on March 7 but scrapped the cornerstone provision establishing the Bitcoin reserve in the final reading.

The Texas Senate passed a Bitcoin reserve bill on March 6, while a similar bill recently passed through New Hampshire’s House.

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