Daily Market Report – April 21, 2025
The cryptocurrency market opened the week with strong gains, as Bitcoin (BTC) surged 2.63% to $87,419.87 and Ethereum (ETH) rose 1.56% to $1,633.68. BTC traded between $83,949.89 and $87,462.28, while ETH ranged from $1,565.59 to $1,641.41. Market sentiment increased slightly with the Fear & Greed Index ticking up to 34. Futures liquidations totaled $35.80 million, indicating renewed positioning following the weekend’s stability.
BTC and ETH global long/short ratios both leaned slightly bullish, with BTC at 50.93% long and ETH at 50.30% long. Among altcoins, ELX led the top gainers with a 59.41% surge, followed by STO (+15.63%) and SOLV (+13.05%).
The total value locked (TVL) across all chains held steady at $89.62 billion. However, confidence cooled as on-chain data showed DARK’s market cap falling to $25 million and RFC declining to $30 million. Raydium LaunchLab generated 3,760 new tokens in its first week, with a graduation rate of 1.12%, and Zora confirmed it will launch its native token ZORA on April 23 following two completed snapshots.
Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) language with RISC-V to improve execution efficiency. Nansen reported a milestone in platform staking, with over 120,000 users now participating. In legal developments, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals ruled that Santander Bank is not liable for a customer’s $750,000 loss due to cryptocurrency fraud, setting a precedent for future crypto-related fraud cases.
Gold prices soared to a record high of $3,384 per ounce on April 21, driven by escalating concerns over global economic uncertainty stemming from the intensifying U.S.-China trade war and a weakening U.S. dollar. As of 0246 GMT, spot gold was up 1.7%, while U.S. gold futures climbed 2% to $3,396.10. The U.S. dollar index hit a three-year low, making gold more appealing to investors using other currencies. Increased geopolitical risks, U.S. tariff policies, stagflation concerns, and steady central bank demand as major factors behind the rally. Tensions were further intensified by U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” and his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In addition, a violation of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine added to broader global instability, further enhancing gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset.
Michael Crag
