Bitcoin Faces Death Cross, Ethereum Eyes AI Role, and ZKsync Hit by Hack

Bitcoin's recent rally to $85,000 has reinvigorated market sentiment, but Ethereum faces significant challenges as its market dominance approaches all-time lows.

Bitcoin’s recent rally to $85,000 has breathed new life into the lagging crypto market, but Ethereum faces an uphill battle as its market dominance approaches all-time lows. Meanwhile, Solana gains momentum with new ETF offerings and ZKsync suffers a $5 million security breach.

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Crypto market: Key takeaways

The cryptocurrency market continues to display mixed signals in mid-April as Bitcoin shows resilience while Ethereum struggles to stay afloat in the ecosystem. Macroeconomic challenges loom large for the broader crypto market with rising trade tensions and recession concerns leading to a $872 million outflow from spot Bitcoin ETFs between April 3 and April 10.

Despite these headwinds, Bitcoin has remained largely stable around the $83,000 level over the past five weeks. While this lower volatility signals Bitcoin’s maturing asset class status, it also marks a disappointment for some investors expecting better performance from Bitcoin as a ‘digital gold’ replacement. In comparison, gold itself has risen by 23% by 2025, reaching an all-time high of $3,245 on April 11.

On the regulatory front, Ethena Labs will be exiting the German market after reaching an agreement with Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, to close its local company. The move follows the authorities' findings of “deficiencies” in its dollar-pegged USDe stablecoin last month.

Bitcoin death cross lingers despite recovery attempts

From its annual low of $74,500, Bitcoin’s BTC/USD price has recovered and is currently trading around $83,400 at the time of writing. This comeback occurs despite a ‘death cross’ formation on April 6, where the 50-day moving average (MA) dropped below the 200-day MA, a pattern often associated with bearish trends.

However, experts remain divided on the significance of this technical indicator. Should Bitcoin find itself in bear territory, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju warns that this death cross could indicate six to twelve months of declining price activity. In contrast, Coin Shares head of research James Butterfill downplays the impact of the signal, noting that empirically, prices are only slightly lower one month after a death cross (-3.2%). More often than not, prices are higher three months later.

The present surge seems to be driven more by leverage than by strong spot demand. Axel Adler Jr., a bitcoin expert, pointed out that on April 11, coinciding with the price change from $78,000 to $85,000, Bitcoin’s total net taker volume soared to $800 million. Still, 30-day apparent demand remains below net positive territory, indicating minimal activity from retail traders.

While analysts estimate that Bitcoin’s rally could reach $90,000, breaking through this level could prove difficult in the near term without more market participation. Large liquidation clusters between $80,000 and $90,000 could cause significant market volatility, potentially trapping traders on both sides.

Ethereum faces challenges as market share hits all-time lows

Ethereum ETH/USD is encountering difficulties as its market share approaches historical low points. On April 9, Ethereum’s share of the total crypto market capitalization stood at 7.18%, placing it just above its all-time low of 7.09% from September 2019.

Several factors contribute to Ethereum’s lagging performance, including weak institutional demand shown by negative ETF flows, a slow derivatives market, and increasing competition from other layer-1 blockchains. Despite leading with 51.7% of total value locked (TVL) across decentralized finance systems, Ethereum marks a significant drop from 61.2% in February 2024.

Technical analysis suggests more downside potential for ETH price, currently trading at $1,592 at the time of writing. The formation of a bear flag pattern on the daily chart predicts a potential 33% decline to $1,100 if prices break below the pattern’s lower border at $1,600. The relative strength index (RSI) remains below 50, indicating that sellers still have momentum.

Canadian Solana ETF launch a bright spot

While Ethereum struggles, Solana SOL/USD keeps receiving institutional interest with more financial products launching in Canada. Among the Solana ETFs approved by the Ontario Securities Commission are 3iQ’s SOL Staking ETF, set to start trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on April 16 under the symbol SOLQ.

The staking provider for 3iQ’s fund has been selected as Blockchain Infrastructure Provider Figment, with an estimated yield of 6% to 8%. The permission also covers other fund managers seeking to provide SOL ETFs, including CI, Purpose, and Evolve.

Solana