Bitcoin treasury firm Strive said it acquired an additional 789 BTC for $61.43 million at an average price of $77,890 per coin. As of April 24, 2026, the company reported total holdings of 14,557 BTC in its strategic reserve, expanding its bitcoin exposure.

Bitcoin has surrendered yesterday's advance, falling back below $77,000.

Bernstein said in a research note that crypto market fundamentals are strengthening, with Bitcoin appearing to have established a floor around $60,000 and trending toward $80,000, according to Odaily Planet Daily. Analysts pointed to continued institutional inflows, MicroStrategy's ongoing Bitcoin purchases via its STRC product, and the deeper embedding of blockchain into financial infrastructure as drivers of "asymmetric" upside potential. Bernstein also highlighted expanding access through new distribution channels, including Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF offering and Charles Schwab's spot trading platform. The note added that roughly 60% of Bitcoin supply has not moved over the past year, reinforcing a long-term holder base as institutional demand builds. Stablecoin supply has climbed to a record $300 billion, with payment and settlement use increasingly decoupled from market sentiment. Real-world asset tokenization has risen 110% year over year to $345 billion. While quantum computing remains a long-term risk, Bernstein said the industry should have sufficient time to implement a secure transition.

Bernstein analysts said in a recent report that crypto market fundamentals continue to strengthen, arguing that Bitcoin's pullback to around $60,000 marked a clear bottom. With prices now moving toward $80,000 on rising institutional demand, they see conditions forming for a longer-term, structural bull run. Analyst Gautam Chhugani pointed to several drivers: • Institutional access is broadening: Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF and Charles Schwab's spot Bitcoin/Ethereum trading platform have launched. Roughly 60% of Bitcoin supply has not moved in more than a year, suggesting a more stable holder base. • Strategic accumulation: The STRC perpetual preferred stock product has drawn income-focused investors, with current holdings totaling 818,334 Bitcoin. • Stablecoin demand at record levels: Total stablecoin supply has exceeded $300 billion and appears increasingly decoupled from crypto market cycles, reflecting sustained growth in real-world payment and settlement use. • Tokenized real-world assets are scaling faster: The total value of tokenized assets, including private credit and government bonds, has reached $345 billion, up 110% year over year. Bernstein added that quantum computing remains a long-term risk factor, but expects the blockchain ecosystem will have sufficient time to migrate toward post-quantum security.

Bernstein analysts said in a new report cited by The Block that crypto market fundamentals are still improving, with Bitcoin's recent dip to $60,000 marking a clear floor. With prices now nearing $80,000 on the back of institutional buying, the firm expects the market to remain in a longer-lasting, structural bull cycle. Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani pointed to several catalysts: • Broader institutional access: Morgan Stanley's launch of a Bitcoin ETF and Charles Schwab's spot Bitcoin/ETH trading platform. The report also notes that about 60% of Bitcoin supply has not moved for more than a year, suggesting a more stable holder base. • Strategy's continued accumulation: The company's STRC perpetual preferred stock has drawn income-focused investors, with Bitcoin holdings now at 818,334. • Stablecoin demand at record levels: Total stablecoin supply has topped $300 billion, increasingly decoupled from crypto market cycles and reflecting sustained growth in real-world payments and settlement demand. • Accelerating tokenization of real-world assets: The total value of tokenized assets, including private credit and government bonds, has reached $345 billion, up 110% year over year. The report adds that quantum computing remains a long-term risk, but expects the blockchain ecosystem to have enough time to migrate toward post-quantum security.

Bitcoin (BTC) at $78,127.13 is up about 14% this month, marking its strongest monthly gain in a year. Many market watchers see a move above $80,000—a level last reached in January—as increasingly plausible. The signal from the perpetual futures market is moving the other way. Funding rates, which are typically positive when traders are positioned for higher prices and negative when positioning skews lower, have slipped below zero. The divergence has prompted debate over whether traders are fading the rally. 10x Research founder Markus Thielen, who called for a run toward $125,000 back in early 2023, argues the negative funding print reflects institutional hedging rather than deteriorating sentiment. In his view, the market is undergoing a structural shift as sophisticated players take a larger role. Perpetual futures track bitcoin’s price without an expiry date. Exchanges use the funding rate—a periodic payment between long and short positions—to keep perpetual prices aligned with spot. When perpetuals trade above spot, longs pay shorts and funding is positive. When they trade below spot, shorts pay longs and funding turns negative. Funding has stayed persistently negative in recent weeks, with perpetuals trading at a discount to spot. According to 10x Research, bitcoin’s 30-day average funding rate is minus 5%, versus a historical norm of plus 8%. That 13-percentage-point gap has widened even as bitcoin rises. "The Bitcoin funding rate is sending an unusual signal," Thielen wrote in a Saturday note to clients. "At minus 5% on a 30-day average against a historical norm of plus 8%, and turning more negative even as Bitcoin rallies 15% and the options skew recovers, something structural is happening in the futures market, not a sentiment shift." Thielen cited three drivers of short pressure. First, crypto hedge fund redemptions. He said crypto hedge funds have lagged bitcoin by 140% over five years, prompting investor outflows. During redemption notice periods, funds may short bitcoin futures to neutralize market exposure while waiting for cash to settle back to bank or trading accounts—a mechanical risk-management step rather than a bearish call. Second, two institutional strategies that pair short bitcoin futures with trades linked to Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded bitcoin treasury company. One trade seeks to benefit if MSTR shares outperform bitcoin while using short futures as a hedge. Another targets the 11% yield on Strategy’s preferred shares (STRC) and shorts bitcoin futures to strip out crypto price volatility. Strategy raised $3.5 billion in April, scaling both trades at the same time. Third, miners increasingly repositioning toward artificial intelligence. Miners such as Hut 8, up 48% since April 6, are cutting bitcoin production and expanding AI computing exposure. Thielen said funds buying these equities may short bitcoin futures to reduce crypto correlation—again framing the activity as hedging, not an outright bearish bet on bitcoin.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted $824 million in inflows, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounting for the largest share of weekly crypto fund demand.

Santiment's social data shows several narratives leading crypto chatter at the start of the week. Strait of Hormuz proposal sparks rally: Iran has delivered a new proposal to the U.S. that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the war ends. The headlines helped lift markets. MSTR adds more Bitcoin: Saylor's Strategy purchased 3,273 BTC (about $255 million) last week, taking total holdings to 818,334 BTC. The acquisition was financed through MSTR ATM share sales, raising the company's average cost basis to roughly $75.5k per coin. Bitcoin takes over the Las Vegas Sphere: Metaplanet and a large Bitcoin logo illuminated the Las Vegas Sphere as Bitcoin 2026 kicked off. High-profile speakers and exhibitors are drawing media attention and boosting foot traffic. $HENRY "pump" rumors circulate: Journalists and on-chain trackers are flagging a surge of small whale buys in $HENRY as the Cole Allen/White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting dominates X. Traders and KOLs are linking a dormant Pepe account called Henry Martinez to the suspect and circulating memes about a potential $COLEALLEN token. Aave-Arbitrum recovery effort: Aave Labs and major Ethereum participants are backing an Arbitrum governance action to unfreeze about 30,766 ETH connected to the KelpDAO exploit and reroute the assets into a "DeFi United" relief pool. Track what's driving crypto discussion daily via the Trending Stories Dashboard.

Bitcoin spot ETFs are on their longest run of net inflows since September 2025, led by a strong week for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Onchain indicators and derivatives data, though, suggest the move may be leaning heavily on leverage rather than broad-based spot buying. According to CoinDesk, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in net inflows for a ninth straight trading day on April 24, adding $14.45 million and lifting cumulative inflows to roughly $2.1 billion. SoSoValue data shows the nine-day streak is the longest since September 2025. Weekly figures tell a similar story. For the week ended April 24, ETFs pulled in $823.7 million, following $996.4 million and $786.3 million over the prior two weeks. IBIT dominated, logging $983 million of weekly inflows, its strongest showing in six months. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju cautioned that the rally lacks a key ingredient: improving spot and onchain demand. He said Bitcoin's current upswing appears driven primarily by the futures market, with open interest rising while "apparent demand" onchain remains net negative despite ETF inflows and purchases by Michael Saylor. CEX.IO chief analyst Ilya Otichenko also pointed to short covering as a major driver. With open interest climbing alongside price, he said leverage has likely amplified the move, a pattern often associated with short squeezes rather than organic spot demand. Liquidation data underscores the imbalance. Since April 13, short liquidations totaled about $2.8 billion, compared with $1.8 billion in long liquidations, according to CoinGlass. Otichenko said continued growth in short positioning could still leave room for further upside if more traders are forced to cover, but he added that durability would require stronger spot demand, higher onchain activity and broader participation. Without that, a pullback becomes more likely. He also noted that part of the ETF demand may reflect cash-and-carry trades, where institutions buy IBIT shares while shorting CME Bitcoin futures to capture the basis. Because the strategy is market-neutral, headline inflows should not automatically be read as outright bullish positioning. Additional signals remain mixed. Funding rates, which help anchor futures prices to spot, are negative—often a sign traders are leaning short. In options, the 25-delta skew is also negative, around 2% to 5%, indicating investors are paying up for downside protection. Otichenko said funding rates are near historical lows while long-term holder accumulation is at an all-time high, arguing that the standoff between the two camps typically breaks with "swift and decisive" price action. Bitcoin was trading around $77,800, down 0.2% over the past 24 hours but up about 3.5% over the past week, according to CoinGecko. Predictive-market pricing cited in reports implied a 75% chance of a move toward $84,000 next, while participants assigned a 42% probability that Bitcoin closes above $78,000 on Monday.