Bitcoin staged a sharp rally to $75,404 during Friday's Asian session before giving back most gains, sliding to a low of $73,501 — a 24-hour range of nearly $1,900. The flagship crypto last traded at $74,954, up 0.5% on the day. Ethereum followed a similar pattern, hitting $2,367 before falling to $2,291, and was last at $2,345, down 0.2% in 24 hours. CoinGlass data shows total crypto liquidation across exchanges reached $438.8 million in the past 24 hours, impacting 173,861 traders. Long positions accounted for $210.1 million in liquidations, while shorts lost $228.8 million — representing 52% of the total — as BTC’s sudden spike to $75,400 caught bearish bets off guard. The largest single liquidation order was a $9.71 million BTCUSDC position on Binance.
Strategy Buys $1B More BTC, SEC Sets Five-Year Safe Harbor for DeFi
Institutional buying continued. MicroStrategy (now named Strategy) confirmed it purchased an additional 13,927 BTC at an average price of $71,902, spending over $1 billion. CEO Michael Saylor maintains an aggressive accumulation stance amid market choppiness. On the regulatory front, the SEC issued staff guidance granting a five-year safe harbor for certain non-custodial DeFi interfaces, wallet apps, and browser extensions, giving native DeFi development teams more breathing room. Geopolitical tensions also eased, with Israeli and Lebanese representatives heading to the U.S. for mediated talks, boosting risk appetite across assets.
Solana, XRP Stabilize; Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Fund Attracts $100M
Major altcoins showed relative resilience. Solana traded at $85.17, up 2.5% in 24 hours; XRP stood at $1.40, up 2%. In institutional products, Morgan Stanley's newly launched MSBT Bitcoin fund, boasting industry-low fees, quickly drew over $100 million in inflows, with Goldman Sachs and peers exploring similar offerings. Separately, Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh must complete asset divestiture before his April 21 Senate hearing, with markets eyeing his monetary policy stance.
Fear & Greed Index Stuck at 21, Contrasts With Nasdaq's 12-Day Win Streak
Despite the price bounce, crypto sentiment remains fragile. The Alternative.me Fear & Greed Index sits at 21, still in "extreme fear" territory, up from 23 yesterday and 16 last week — a slow recovery. In stark contrast, U.S. stock indexes hit fresh all-time highs Wednesday: the S&P 500 closed at 24,102.70 (+0.36%), Nasdaq at 7,041.28 (+0.36%, its 12th consecutive gain — the longest streak since July 2009), and Dow at 48,578.72 (+0.24%). The divergence between traditional risk assets and crypto sentiment is notable. Key events ahead include Kevin Warsh's Senate hearing on April 21, and this week's flow data from Strategy and BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, which may determine whether BTC can hold above $75,000.