The post Bitcoin Breaks $73,000 as Core CPI Surprises: Will the Rally Last? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Bitcoin briefly crossed $73,000 this afternoon, hitting a high of $73,115 before pulling back.

It is currently trading at $72,794, up 2.51% in the past 24 hours and 8.81% on the week.

The March CPI report that everyone had been watching landed this morning, and understanding what it actually said explains the move.

The CPI Report: Reading Past the Headline

The March CPI report landed this morning and the headline looked alarming. Inflation rose to 3.3% year-on-year, up from 2.4% in February, marking the largest month-on-month increase since June 2022.

But CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost published a breakdown that explains why Bitcoin rallied rather than sold off.

The entire rise was driven by energy prices, which surged 10.9% in March including a 21.2% spike in gasoline – a direct consequence of the Iran war’s disruption to oil supply routes. Food prices remained flat.

Core CPI, which strips out energy and food, came in at 0.2% month-on-month. The forecast was 0.3%.

“Looking at Core CPI which excludes energy and food shows that inflation has not deeply anchored itself in the broader economy, as there was little to no significant change,” Darkfost wrote. “This suggests that, for now, inflation remains concentrated in energy and largely reactive in nature, rather than systemic.”

His conclusion on the Fed was direct: “The Fed will do nothing, and will wait and see, as usual.”

For Bitcoin, a contained core reading removes the scenario the market feared most. The rate cut conversation hasn’t reopened but it hasn’t closed either.

Also Read: Bitcoin Bear Market In Its Final Stage? 2 On-Chain Signals to Know Before Your Next Trade

The Next Catalyst Is This Weekend

The CPI data landed on top of existing geopolitical momentum. The two-week US-Iran ceasefire announced April 7 already sent Bitcoin from $68K to $72K.

Now, peace talks between US and Iranian delegates are scheduled in Islamabad this weekend, with JD Vance leading the American team in what would be the highest-level US-Iran meeting since 1979.

A confirmed deal would ease energy prices further, strengthen the rate cut case, and accelerate Bitcoin’s rally.

What to Watch

Analysts are flagging that April’s CPI data will be the real structural test – the question is whether energy-driven inflation begins spreading into the broader economy as the conflict continues.

$75,000 remains the confirmed breakout level analysts are watching. Whether it can hold above $73,000 on a sustained basis remains the immediate question.

The post Bitcoin Bear Market In Its Final Stage? 2 On-Chain Signals to Know Before Your Next Trade appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Two things are happening in the Bitcoin market right now that most people aren’t connecting. One is visible on price charts. The other is buried in on-chain data, and it tells a different story.

Bitcoin is in pain. Long-term holders are now spending coins at a loss. That’s a pattern that has appeared at the same point in every previous bear market. And it’s happening while the number of Bitcoin addresses sending coins to exchanges has fallen to a 10-year low.

Bitcoin Bear Market Final Stage: The LTH SOPR Signal

The LTH SOPR – a metric tracking whether long-term holders are realising profits or losses when they spend – currently sits at 0.96 on its 30-day moving average. Any reading below 1.0 means long-term holders are spending at a loss. The yearly average is still positive at 1.71, but that reflects historical data, not what’s happening now.

The pattern behind this matters.

Short-term holders have been under stress for six months. Now that pressure is shifting to long-term holders – the most patient, most experienced participants in the market. Historically, this transition marks the final phase before a cycle turns.

“When LTHs begin to realise sustained losses, it becomes a signal worth monitoring for long-term accumulation,” noted CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, who flagged the data today.

His caveat is important: it can go lower, and it can last several more months.

The Supply Side Is Already Gone

Simultaneously, Bitcoin exchange depositing addresses have fallen to their lowest level in a decade, according to CryptoQuant data. The number of addresses actively sending Bitcoin to exchanges – a direct measure of selling intent – has collapsed to levels last seen around 2016.

Total exchange reserves stand at 2.706 million BTC as of April 8, with negative netflows recorded every month since February. Nobody is queuing up to sell.

“This is the most dangerous market to be short in right now,” analyst CryptoTice wrote. “Supply drying up. ETF inflows returning. Long term holders refusing to move. When demand meets a market with nothing left to sell – the move is never gradual.”

Also Read: Iran’s Bitcoin Toll at Hormuz Could Generate Millions in Daily BTC Demand

What History Says Happens Next

What makes this moment notable is not that either signal exists in isolation.

Bear markets routinely produce both stressed holders and declining exchange activity. What is unusual is the degree to which both are present simultaneously, and how precisely the configuration mirrors the late-stage patterns of 2018 and 2022 – both of which preceded sharp recoveries.

History does not guarantee repetition, but markets rarely offer clean setups, and this one is tracing a familiar shape.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $72,212, up 7.82% on the week.

Keep Reading: Who’s Actually Making Money in Bitcoin Right Now? STH vs LTH Data

The post Hong Kong Issues First Stablecoin Licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Hong Kong just wrote itself into crypto history. This morning, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted the city’s first stablecoin issuer licences and the two recipients are the same banks that have printed Hong Kong’s banknotes since 1846.

The licences, effective today, were awarded to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited – HSBC – and Anchorpoint Financial Limited, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that also includes Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications.

The HKMA assessed 36 applications before issuing this first batch.

Why HSBC and Standard Chartered and Why It Matters

The choice is deliberate and deeply symbolic. HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of only three commercial banks authorised to issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes, a privilege dating back to 1846. The HKMA is handing the digital money supply to the same institutions that manage the physical one.

HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue called it “an important milestone for the development of digital assets in Hong Kong,” adding that he hoped the licensees would “address pain points in financial and economic activities” for both individuals and businesses.

The Stablecoins Ordinance took effect in August 2025. Hong Kong missed its own March 2026 target to issue the first licences. Today’s announcement is the delivery, and both licences take immediate effect.

You Might Find This Interesting: ‘Big Short’ Exposed: Did a Hong Kong Hedge Fund Trigger the Bitcoin Price Crash?

What Comes Next

Neither institution is launching immediately. According to the HKMA, both licensees intend to “complete the necessary preparation work and launch business in the coming few months.” Both will issue stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar.

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters has previously described Hong Kong’s stablecoin push as potentially laying “the foundation for a new era of digital trade settlement.”

The Bigger Picture

This is not just a regulatory milestone. It is Hong Kong placing itself at the centre of Asia’s digital asset infrastructure at a moment when the global stablecoin market has grown beyond $310 billion – with Citi projecting it could grow to between $1.9 trillion and $4 trillion.

Dollar-denominated tokens dominate almost all of it today. Hong Kong is betting that regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins can carve out a meaningful role in regional trade settlement.

The same institutions that have managed the city’s monetary system for over 170 years will now test whether that history translates into digital trust.

The post Iran’s Bitcoin Toll at Hormuz Could Generate Millions in Daily BTC Demand appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

For weeks, the Iran war has been one of the biggest reasons Bitcoin couldn’t sustain a rally.

Now, the same war handed Bitcoin one of the most unusual demand signals in its history.

Iran has announced that oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz must now pay a toll in Bitcoin. The tariff is set at $1 per barrel of oil, with the largest tankers carrying up to 3 million barrels – meaning a single passage could require a $3 million Bitcoin payment. Empty tankers pass for free. Everyone else pays in BTC, within seconds of receiving Iranian approval.

“Once the email arrives and Iran completes its assessment, vessels are given a few seconds to pay in Bitcoin, ensuring they can’t be traced or confiscated due to sanctions,” said Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union.

Why Iran Chose Bitcoin and Why It Matters

The reasoning is straightforward: Bitcoin bypasses dollar-based financial channels, is non-sovereign, and falls outside the reach of Western sanctions. It fits precisely within Iran’s existing $7.8 billion crypto ecosystem, which Chainalysis has documented as increasingly central to how Iran moves money across borders.

This is not a small story. A sovereign government mandating Bitcoin as payment infrastructure for one of the world’s most strategically important shipping lanes – a route that carries approximately 20% of global oil supply – is huge.

Read More: Crypto Traders Are Calm Before CPI Data Release: Top 3 Price Scenarios

Martin Kelly, head of advisory at maritime intelligence group EOS Risk, noted the practical impact: under the new framework, only 10 to 15 ships can transit the Strait per day, down from 135 before the war began.

Adding an extraordinary dimension to the story, President Trump told ABC News on Wednesday that he was considering a US-Iran “joint venture” on the tolling system.

“It’s a way of securing it – also securing it from lots of other people. It’s a beautiful thing,” he said.

Bullish Signals Are Stacking

The toll announcement landed alongside two independent Bitcoin signals on the same day.

Michael Saylor, speaking at a Mizuho investor event, said Bitcoin likely bottomed near $60,000 in early February when forced sellers were flushed out, with ETF inflows now absorbing daily supply.

Separately, Bitcoin’s net taker volume just hit its highest level since early February – a sign that aggressive buyers have returned to the market.

Bitcoin surged above $72,000 following the ceasefire announcement and extended gains as the toll news broke.

The ceasefire is fragile and the toll system is still finding its feet. But for the first time since the war began, the same conflict that pressured Bitcoin is now creating direct, sanctions-proof demand for it. That’s a shift worth watching.

The post Crypto Traders Are Calm Before CPI Data Release: Top 3 Price Scenarios appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

The March CPI report lands tomorrow at 8:30am ET, and it carries more weight than any inflation print this year. Economists are forecasting a sharp jump to 3.3% year-on-year, up from February’s 2.4% reading – the first report to fully capture the inflationary impact of the Iran war and the oil price surge that came with it.

US gasoline prices breached $4 per gallon nationally in March for the first time since August 2022, and the Cleveland Fed’s nowcast has been flagging elevated monthly price growth for weeks.

What makes Friday unusual is that the experts and the traders are not reading the situation the same way.

The Gap Between Expert Concern and Market Pricing

Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said that Bitcoin is “currently pricing in just a 2.5% swing in either direction” on the back of the data with implied volatility at its lowest level since January.

Iliya Kalchev, analyst at Nexo, sees it differently, warning that “every inflation print carries asymmetric weight for crypto – a softer read reopens the rate-cut conversation; a hotter one hardens the higher-for-longer narrative further.”

The March jobs report adds another layer of complexity.

The US added 178,000 jobs last month, with 186,000 private sector gains – figures Trump celebrated on Truth Social. But analysts were quick to point out that the jobs data is entirely backward-looking and reflects none of the war’s economic impact.

A strong labour market alongside rising inflation gives the Federal Reserve even less justification to cut rates.

Read More: Is Bitcoin Being Manipulated by Market Insiders?

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Three CPI Scenarios

If inflation comes in hotter than expected above 3.5%, the rate cut case weakens considerably and Bitcoin risks losing the $70,000 level it just reclaimed, with $68,400 as the next support.

Analyst Ted Pillows just flagged that BTC “failed to hold above the $72,000 level” and that after one potential final pump, “BTC will dump towards new lows.”

A reading in line with expectations at 3.3% would likely produce a muted reaction, with Bitcoin consolidating in its current range while markets wait for the April 30 Fed meeting. A cooler-than-expected print below 3.0% would reopen the rate cut narrative, with $74,000 as the key breakout target based on current Deribit options positioning.

What On-Chain Data Is Saying

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted that only 59% of Bitcoin supply is currently in profit, approaching bear market levels where the historical average sits closer to 75%.

“The current environment appears more suited for accumulation than for selling at this stage,” he wrote.

Lark Davis sees the weekly MACD mirroring the bottoming structure from July 2022, though he cautions that “a cross is only a cross on the weekly close.”

The data is building a case. Friday’s inflation print will either validate it or complicate it significantly.

The post Bithumb’s $43B Bitcoin Error Lands in Court as Exchange Chases Final 7 BTC appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Bithumb has filed for a court-approved asset freeze to recover 7 BTC, worth approximately $496,000, from users who have refused to return funds two months after the exchange’s catastrophic payout error.

The legal action marks the final unresolved chapter of one of the largest accidental Bitcoin distributions in exchange history.

Bithumb $43 Billion Bitcoin Error: What Actually Happened

On February 6, a Bithumb employee running a “Random Box” promotional event entered the wrong currency unit. Instead of distributing 2,000 Korean won, roughly $1.37, to each winner, the system sent 2,000 BTC to 695 users simultaneously.

In minutes, Bithumb’s internal ledger showed 620,000 BTC credited to user accounts.

None of it was real Bitcoin. It existed only as numbers in a database. But some users didn’t wait to find out – they sold immediately. Bitcoin’s price on Bithumb crashed 17% to $55,000 while global prices barely moved.

Accounts were frozen within 35 minutes. By the end of the day, 99.7% had been reversed.

“The fact that a single error in setting an event reward unit can destabilize an entire crypto exchange demonstrates the current state of our systems,” Bithumb’s Exchange Business Division Vice President Hwang Seung-wook wrote in an internal email.

Also Read: Is Bitcoin Being Manipulated by Market Insiders?

Bithumb Fined After Regulatory Failures Exposed

Recovery wasn’t the end of it. South Korea’s FSS, FSC and FIU all launched investigations. CEO Lee Jae-won told parliament: “We are acutely aware of the deficiency in internal system control.”

Lawmakers revealed regulators had inspected Bithumb three times between 2022 and 2025, and missed every structural warning sign.

Three weeks ago, the FIU fined Bithumb $24.6 million for 6.65 million AML violations and suspended new-user registration for six months.

The incident has also cost Bithumb its near-term growth ambitions – the exchange has delayed its planned US IPO to 2028 as a direct result of the fallout.

Is Your Crypto Safe on a Centralised Exchange?

The 7 BTC court filing isn’t really about $496,000. It’s about whether users who knowingly kept funds from an obvious glitch face legal consequences – a question South Korean courts are now being asked to answer for the first time.

South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled in January that Bitcoin held on exchanges can be treated as property subject to seizure. That ruling now has its first real test case.

What the Bithumb incident exposed is something the industry rarely discusses openly: exchange balances aren’t Bitcoin. They’re entries in a private ledger.

The post Is Bitcoin Being Manipulated by Market Insiders? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Bitcoin surged above $72,500 within minutes of the ceasefire announcement on Tuesday. Wallets tied to Binance, Coinbase, Wintermute, and Grayscale all moved simultaneously. Then the price stalled and started pulling back.

To a lot of people watching on-chain data, that looked like a setup and potential manipulation. And they’re not entirely wrong to ask the question.

What the On-Chain Data Actually Shows

The coordinated wallet movements are real.

On-chain tracker Alex Mason flagged clustered market buys hitting thin order books, followed by what he called “selling right into liquidation zones.” The data shows Binance hot wallets, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust deposits to Coinbase Prime, Wintermute activity – all within the same window.

Here’s what that data doesn’t tell you: whether it was engineered or reactive.

What we know for certain is this. Before the move, the market was stacked with short positions – traders betting on more Iran war escalation.

When Trump posted a two-week ceasefire on Truth Social just before his 8pm ET deadline on Tuesday, those short positions became a time bomb, those short positions became a time bomb.

Also Read: Who’s Actually Making Money in Bitcoin Right Now? STH vs LTH Data

$595 Million Wiped Out – But Not Who You Think

According to CoinGlass data, $595 million in crypto futures were liquidated in 24 hours. Of that, $427 million – over 70% – were short positions. The bears bore the brunt, not retail longs. The institutional wallets moving simultaneously weren’t engineering the dump.

One explanation analysts point to: large institutional wallets – ETFs, market makers, custodians – repositioning in real time as ceasefire news hit. That’s standard behaviour for desks managing billions in exposure when a macro event breaks.

But the timing and coordination are exactly what makes it hard to dismiss the manipulation question entirely. In thin liquidity, large coordinated buys do push price into zones where shorts get wiped. Whether that’s deliberate or just institutional capital moving fast in a shallow market is a question the data alone can’t answer.

The Warning Sign Nobody Is Talking About

Bitcoin is now sitting at $71,188, down 0.91% on the day, and the ceasefire rally has stalled. Bitfinex margin long positions are at 80,000 BTC, the highest level in over two years. Historically, these build during market stress. They haven’t unwound yet.

Tomorrow’s US CPI report drops at 8:30am ET. If inflation comes in hot, the Fed rate cut case collapses and Bitcoin risks losing the $70,000 level it just reclaimed. If it cools, analysts point to $74,000 as the next target.

The real manipulation, if there is any, will show up in how the market reacts to data it can’t front-run.

Read More: Bull and Bear Case for Bitcoin to Hit $1 Million: Are the Billionaires Right?