New upward trend or temporary recovery?

Every week, Amdax summarizes what’s happening in the crypto market for you. Want to dive deeper? Click on the links in this email for more insights.

This newsletter is a co-production with our partner, Bitcoin Alpha. 

Market Update 

Stay informed in three steps:

1. Bitcoin Surges Above $90,000

Bitcoin started the week strongly, rising by approximately 10% in just two days. This surge is partly attributed to increased interest in U.S. spot ETFs. While gold has been trending upward for some time, bitcoin now appears to be following a similar path. Whether this trend will continue remains to be seen in the coming weeks.

2. Ether Shows Signs of Recovery

Ether rose over 10% this week, despite low network activity and minimal transaction fees. The upcoming Pectra upgrade, scheduled for late April or early June, is cited as a potential catalyst for the rebound. The upgrade aims to make Ethereum more scalable and efficient, featuring enhancements such as double data capacity per block and so-called "smart accounts."

3. Altcoins Still Lagging Behind

The altcoin market (excluding the top 10) has dropped 41% since December, from $1.6 trillion to $950 billion. Individual coins often perform worse, partly due to the rapidly changing composition of the top 125. Bitcoin dominance has risen to 64%, its highest level in four years. Without a greater risk appetite among retail investors, a broad recovery remains elusive.

News Overview

Signal from the noise:

• Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, and Tether Join Forces for a $3 Billion Bitcoin Fund
  Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, and Tether are teaming up to launch a new $3 billion bitcoin fund. The fund will be housed under 21 Capital, an entity established by Brandon Lutnick, son of the current U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Tether is contributing the majority of the capital in bitcoin, followed by SoftBank and Bitfinex. The structure is inspired by MicroStrategy’s strategy: acquiring bitcoin and converting it into shares. The deal is not yet finalized but once again underscores the growing institutional interest in bitcoin.
• Binance Advises Governments on Crypto Policy
  The CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that Binance is advising governments on crypto policy. Pakistan has confirmed this, and Binance has also offered guidance to governments and sovereign wealth funds on building a strategic bitcoin reserve. Notably, the news shows that Binance still retains significant influence, despite former chairman Changpeng Zhao receiving a four-month prison sentence.
• Crypto Market Loses $633 Billion in Q1 2025, But Grows Under the Hood
  In the first quarter of 2025, $633 billion in value was wiped off the crypto market, yet strong growth continued beneath the surface. According to Bitwise, for the first time, stablecoins processed a higher transaction volume than Visa. In its latest quarterly report, the asset manager notes that the total market cap of stablecoins rose to $218 billion, the tokenized RWA market grew by 37%, and the bitcoin holdings of public companies increased by 16%. Bitwise dubbed Q1 "the best worst quarter in crypto ever."
• Ethereum Foundation Returns Focus to the Mainnet
  After years of emphasizing layer-2 networks, the Ethereum Foundation is turning its focus back to the core: the mainnet. According to co-director Tomasz Stańczak, Ethereum must once again become the beating heart of innovation and value creation. While stablecoins, RWAs, and AI integrations are important, they will follow naturally if the foundation is strong. With a simplified roadmap, the foundation aims to move beyond its singular role as a settlement layer. Ethereum is to become the center of all activity once more—or, as Stańczak puts it, “a protocol so compelling it attracts the greatest minds of this century.”
• Gold Prices Break Records—and Digital Gold Rises Too
  On-chain tokens like PAXG and XAUT saw their trading volumes explode last week, mirroring the global flight to safe havens. Interestingly, bitcoin—the self-declared “digital gold”—is lagging behind. While gold’s role becomes more tangible during crises, bitcoin’s role is still taking shape.

Amdax’s Take

The increased trading volumes and ETF inflows indicate an optimistic sentiment among investors. This has once again sparked discussions about a potential decoupling of bitcoin from the stock market. However, to make such a claim with certainty, a longer period of uncorrelated price movements is needed. Despite short-term volatility, the underlying fundamentals continue to evolve. The launch of a new multi-billion-dollar fund marks the growing recognition of bitcoin by institutional players.