Key Takeaways:

Bitcoin price dropped alongside falling Treasury yields, signaling investors’ flight to safer assets.

Strategy’s $4.28B Bitcoin purchases and stock market strength have supported BTC above $90,000.

A true breakout toward $100,000 will require Bitcoin to decouple from equities and stronger liquidity signals.

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp $2,000 correction to $93,500 on April 28. This price movement closely tracked the decline in US Treasury yields, suggesting that traders were seeking the relative safety of more secure assets.

While Bitcoin traders are moderately satisfied with the 6% gains achieved over the past week, there is ongoing uncertainty as to why BTC has been unable to maintain levels above $95,000.

US 5-year Treasury yield  (left) vs Bitcoin/USD, 15 min. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

The abrupt correction in Bitcoin’s price after reaching $95,500 mirrored the intraday performance of US Treasury yields. A decrease in yields indicates that investors are willing to accept lower returns for holding bonds, which signals increased demand for safer investments. This pattern suggests a sudden decline in risk appetite across major financial markets.

China’s tariff cuts fueled optimism, but US trade concerns reversed sentiment

Investors’ optimism increased over the weekend as news that China had quietly reduced tariffs to zero on selected US semiconductor and circuit board imports was reported by Newsweek on April 25. Notably, the US Russell 2000 small-cap index maintained positive momentum on April 28, remaining near its highest level in over three weeks. 

However, this sentiment reversed following an interview with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on CNBC, in which he placed the responsibility for a trade agreement on China.

US Russell 2000 futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD, 1h. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Although recession risks have increased amid escalating trade tensions, many US companies are currently reporting strong first-quarter results. According to a FactSet report, 73% of these companies have posted earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Bitcoin’s repeated failure to sustain levels above $95,000 appears to be linked to broader macroeconomic concerns. Additionally, the cryptocurrency’s inability to decouple from stock market trends indicates that investors are not yet convinced of Bitcoin’s effectiveness as a hedge during potential economic downturns.

There are also concerns that much of the recent bullish momentum, which has kept Bitcoin’s price above $90,000, has been driven by $4.28 billion in BTC acquisitions by Strategy since mid-March. Furthermore, 97% of the previously approved common share issuance has already been utilized, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of Michael Saylor’s accumulation strategy.

Bitcoin struggles as strong stock earnings contrast with macroeconomic concerns

While the stock market is benefiting from a robust earnings season, Bitcoin’s price is being weighed down by perceptions of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.

US existing home sales in March recorded their largest monthly decline in over two years, falling 5.9% compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, China has outlined plans to support employment and assist exporters after factories reduced production due to weak consumer demand, according to CNBC.

Related: Crypto ETPs hit 3rd-largest inflows on record at $3.4B — CoinShares

Given the current global economic uncertainty, a sustained rally in BTC above $100,000 will require more than a single week of strong inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly as this coincides with significant buying activity from Strategy.

For investors to have confidence in a new Bitcoin all-time high in 2025, the cryptocurrency must demonstrate a clearer divergence from US stock market trends and provide further evidence that central banks will inject liquidity to prevent a crisis. 

At present, traders are focused on the trajectory of US interest rates and the possibility of a reversal in the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which could end a period of monetary tightening that has lasted for more than two years.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

The hacker behind the $5.8 million recent Loopscale exploit is in talks to return the stolen funds in exchange for a bounty, the Solana-based protocol said. 

The exploiter pilfered approximately 5.7 million USDC (USDC) and 1,200 Solana (SOL) tokens from two of Loopscale’s yield vaults on April 26, prompting the decentralized finance protocol to temporarily pause its lending markets. 

The following day, the hacker sent a message on the Etherscan blockchain scanner “indicat[ing] a willingness to return the exploited funds in exchange for a bounty,” Loopscale said in an April 27 X post. 

“We are agreeable to collaborating with you to reach a white hat agreement. However, we would like to negotiate the bounty percentage; our expectation is 20%,” the hacker said. “To demonstrate our commitment to a cooperative approach, we will immediately return the 5,000 wSOL funds following the transmission of this message,” they added.

Negotiations are ongoing for the remaining funds, according to the public messaging exchange on Etherscan. 

Messages exchanged with the Loopscale hacker. Source: Etherscan

Related: Solana’s Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack

The exploit

Web3 protocols frequently offer bounties to hackers in exchange for returning lost funds. However, only a small portion of the more than $1.6 billion in crypto stolen during the first quarter of 2025 has been successfully recovered. 

The Loopscale exploit only impacted the protocol’s USDC and SOL vaults, with losses representing around 12% of its total value locked (TVL),  Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne said in an April 26 X post. 

Source: Loopscale

In the aftermath of the attack, Loopscale temporarily halted lending but has since “re-enabled loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing,” it said in an X post. 

“All other app functions (including Vault withdrawals) are still temporarily restricted while we investigate and ensure mitigation of this exploit,” Loopscale said.

Launched on April 10, Loopscale is a DeFi lending protocol that aims to improve capital efficiency by directly matching lenders and borrowers.

Additionally, Loopscale facilitates specialized lending markets, such as “structured credit, receivables financing, and undercollateralized lending,” it said in an April announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 20 – 26

Key takeaways:

US Treasury funds saw $19 billion inflows, the highest since March 2023, as the 30-year yield fell 30 basis points.

Foreign central banks cut US Treasury holdings to 23%, a 22-year low, as gold reserves hit 18%.

Bitcoin soared in 2020 from $9,000 to $60,000 amid similar trends, hinting at a similar outcome in 2025.

The global financial tides are shifting significantly, and Bitcoin (BTC) price could greatly benefit from it. Recent data indicates that US Treasury funds saw $19 billion in net inflows last week, exceeding the 2020 pandemic peak of $14 billion, with the 4-week moving average rising to $7 billion—the highest since March 2023.

US Treasurys inflow chart. Source: X.com

The 30-year US Treasury yield fell by 30 basis points from its April peak, indicating a rise in bond prices as investors are willing to accept lower returns in exchange for the safety of these bonds. This surge in demand for Treasurys as a safe-haven asset boosts market liquidity and stability while lowering US borrowing costs.

However, foreign central banks have pivoted, cutting Treasury holdings to 23% of US government debt, a 22-year low. This suggests that while private investors were possibly driving inflows, foreign central banks are stepping back, possibly due to the ongoing tariff dispute with the US. 

Foreign central banks’ gold and treasury holdings. Source: X.com

At the same time, gold’s share of global reserves has surged to 18%, a 26-year high, up 8% since 2015, with China doubling its gold reserves to 7.1% since 2023.

This global de-dollarization trend mirrors a pattern that favors Bitcoin. During the 2020 pandemic, when US Treasury inflows spiked amid COVID-19 uncertainty, Bitcoin soared from $9,000 to nearly $60,000 by early 2021, with gold’s share of global reserves rising by 14.5% in 18 months. 

The current environment, marked by a stabilizing bond market and a central bank’s gold rush, implies a similar trigger for Bitcoin’s next bullish move. In 2023, when US Treasury yields rose amid recession fears, Bitcoin gained 47% in a month while the Nasdaq dropped 8.7%. With yields easing and central banks signaling a lack of faith in the US dollar, Bitcoin’s appeal as a global store of value improves.

However, Bitcoin’s bullish narrative could falter if global markets enter a recession in 2025. This is due to investors’ decision to prioritize liquidity and traditional safe-haven assets like cash or US Treasurys during economic downturns, as noted last week, over speculative assets like Bitcoin.

Related: Bitcoin upside could stop at $100K despite $3B in ETF inflows

Google searches for “Bitcoin” at long-term lows, says Bitwise CEO

Anonymous global markets researcher Capital Flows noted that macroeconomic liquidity and positioning factors drive Bitcoin’s bullish price trajectory. The analyst highlighted BTC’s impulse strength in a directional probability skew chart, suggesting that it is poised for an upward movement.

Total macroeconomic positioning in Bitcoin. Source: X.com

This aligned with Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley’s observation that Google searches for “Bitcoin” are near long-term lows, suggesting the rally is fueled by institutions, advisers, corporations, and nations rather than retail investors. 

The lack of retail-driven search interest contrasts with historical trends where Bitcoin search volume strongly correlated with its price in the previous cycle (r=91%, per SEMrush data), indicating a shift in market dynamics where institutional adoption is fueling demand.

Related: Bitcoin ‘power law’ model forecasts $200K BTC price in 2025

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.