Crypto markets regained a risk-on tone over the past week, and flows into digital-asset ETFs largely followed suit. Spot Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP ETFs posted inflows on most trading days. Spot Bitcoin ETFs: flows swing back to strong inflows On April 13, cumulative spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded $290 million in net outflows, led by Fidelity's FBTC with $229.2 million in redemptions. BlackRock's IBIT still attracted $34.7 million, while Morgan Stanley's MSBT brought in $6.3 million. By April 14, the group flipped to $411.4 million of net inflows, with IBIT taking the largest share. Inflows eased to $186.1 million on April 15 and fell further to $26.1 million on April 16. On April 17, demand surged, pushing total spot BTC ETF inflows to $663.9 million. Bitcoin rose from around the $70,000 area to $75,159.25 at press time, up 4.93% over the week. Ethereum ETFs extend an inflow streak Ethereum (ETH) ETFs saw smaller daily totals but maintained positive flows through the week. On April 13, the category posted $9.5 million of inflows, including $5.8 million into BlackRock's ETHB. Inflows rose to $53.1 million on April 14 and increased again to $67.9 million on April 15. April 16 saw a softer $18 million in net inflows, weighed by $16.7 million of outflows from Grayscale's ETHE. The week ended with the strongest daily intake: $127.4 million on April 17. ETH gained 4.53% over the week. Solana and XRP ETFs also attract fresh money Solana (SOL) ETFs were flat on April 13, then logged $1.3 million of inflows on April 14 and $5.3 million on April 15. On April 16, BSOL was the only fund to record inflows, bringing in $15.5 million. April 17 added another $13 million. Solana advanced more than 3% over the week. Ripple (XRP) ETFs also stayed in positive territory. Inflows totaled $1.46 million on April 13, then accelerated to $11.2 million on April 14 and $17.11 million on April 15. The products added $11.87 million on April 16 and $13.74 million on April 17. XRP rose more than 6% over the week. Bottom line After a single day of net outflows, spot Bitcoin ETFs returned to consistent inflows. Ethereum, Solana and XRP ETFs also remained net positive, though at more modest levels.

Ethereum is showing a mix of technical and on-chain signals that analysts say may mark the start of a more meaningful recovery. For the first time in months, ETH's market structure is beginning to tilt back toward bulls, with price pushing above $2,300 and setting up what some see as the next upward phase. Crypto analyst Ash Crypto highlighted three developments that together suggest breakout conditions are forming. First, ETH has moved back above its 100-day simple moving average, a level that had acted as dynamic resistance and capped rallies since November 2025. Clearing it is seen as a shift in tone, implying buyers may be regaining control on higher timeframes. Second, a resistance zone that repeatedly turned price away through Q1 2026 has been converted into support. Ash Crypto's chart shows a rising trendline from the February lows underpinning price, compressing action into an ascending triangle. ETH has since broken above the pattern's upper boundary and is now testing a horizontal resistance band around $2,300 to $2,370. The analyst argues that holding above $2,300 is the key trigger for the next leg higher. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $2,316. The third factor is renewed institutional demand via US spot Ethereum ETFs. US spot Ether ETFs saw $275.83 million of inflows in the latest week, the strongest weekly intake since the week ending January 16. Derivatives flow is also beginning to flip. For much of this cycle, Ethereum posted persistently negative net taker volume—a measure of the balance between buy and sell market orders on derivatives venues—signaling sellers consistently overpowering buyers. That has now turned positive. CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost reported that buy-side activity has taken control for the first time this cycle, with net taker volume recently at +$102 million. The last comparable bout of derivatives buying pressure occurred during the 2022 bear market, when ETH traded near $1,000. If the current bid holds and buyers continue absorbing sell pressure, analysts say it could be an early sign of a stronger, more durable recovery taking shape for Ethereum.

Bitwise has filed for a HyperliquidX ETF. Matt Hougan says $HYPE could reshape how investors access the market.

XRP is trading near $1.43 after rising nearly 9% this week, its strongest weekly advance since March. The move has been supported by firmer market structure, steady demand, and a pattern of higher lows. Price has also held above key short-term moving averages, signaling persistent buying interest even as broader risk sentiment remains cautious. Institutional positioning remains the main driver. Spot XRP ETF inflows totaled $41.6 million over four straight sessions, pushing assets under management back above $1.08 billion. With retail activity comparatively muted, large investors have had outsized influence on near-term direction, leaving the market sensitive to whether these allocations continue. Technically, XRP is running into heavy resistance near $1.45. CoinGlass data points to a Short Max Pain level around $1.4516, a zone associated with concentrated selling pressure. Recent attempts to push beyond roughly $1.44 have lacked follow-through, reinforcing the view that supply is stacked in this area. The next leg higher depends on whether volume can absorb that sell wall. On the downside, liquidation metrics indicate a Long Max Pain level near $1.4054, which is acting as a near-term support area. If upside momentum fades, XRP could quickly slip back toward that range. Macro headwinds such as a firmer U.S. dollar or higher energy prices could also dampen risk appetite across crypto, raising the chance of a deeper retest toward $1.31 or $1.28 if sentiment deteriorates. A regulatory catalyst is also in focus. Markets are watching the upcoming vote on the CLARITY Act, which would seek to clarify rules for stablecoins and DeFi activity on the XRP Ledger and could open the door for institutions to generate yield through regulated products. Any market impact will hinge on timing and how quickly participants price in potential policy changes. Tags: Crypto market, cryptocurrency, XRP

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $996 million of net inflows over the week, their strongest weekly intake since mid-January and a sharp turn from March's outflow-dominated stretch. The rebound was led by a late-week rush of buying, highlighted by a $663.9 million single-day inflow, as institutional investors rotated back into risk assets amid easing macro pressures and a softer dollar. Total assets across Bitcoin ETFs have now topped $100 billion, pointing to reaccelerating institutional demand for Bitcoin exposure after a volatile start to the year.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $996 million in net inflows over the past week, marking the highest weekly total since mid-January.

Publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies sold more than 32,000 BTC in the first quarter of 2026, the largest quarterly liquidation on record based on Miner Weekly's analysis. The amount already exceeds the net BTC sold across all of 2025, even as several miners have yet to release complete first-quarter disclosures. Large operators cited in the selloff include MARA, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, Cango, Core Scientific and Bitdeer. Miner Weekly said these firms collectively trimmed their bitcoin treasuries as conditions tightened early in the year. The scale rivals only prior stress periods for the sector and tops the roughly 20,000 BTC sold in Q2 2022 after the TerraLuna-driven market disruption. The turn toward selling contrasts with last year's accumulation. By the end of 2024, miners had added about 17,593 BTC to reserves, lifting combined holdings above 100,000 BTC. Pressure has intensified as hashprice—an estimate of mining revenue per unit of computing power—fell near historical lows, hovering in the low $30s per PH/s. At those levels, margins are sharply compressed, especially for operators running older fleets or paying higher power rates, making it harder to hold newly mined bitcoin. The profitability squeeze reflects longer-running network shifts. Total hash rate has surged since China's 2021 mining ban, driving rapid global capacity expansion. Bitcoin's block reward was cut in 2024, and network difficulty has climbed to roughly 10 times 2021 levels, intensifying competition. Even with bitcoin still elevated versus prior cycles—despite pulling back from highs above $120,000—the jump in difficulty has absorbed much of the revenue upside, prompting some miners to liquidate reserves. Selling is uneven across the industry, with financial stress varying by fleet efficiency, power contracts and access to capital. Separately, some observers argue the industry's public framing is shifting from "Bitcoin mining" toward "energy." Paul Sztorc, CEO of LayerTwo Labs, said Bitcoin mining is "dying," pointing to changes such as "MinerMag" being rebranded as "Energy Mag" and the "Mining Stage" at Bitcoin 2026 renamed the "Energy Stage." He also said MARA removed direct Bitcoin references from its website about two years ago, and that Cormint dropped the "Exahash" metric from its site, a common gauge of mining scale. The post Bitcoin Mining Giants Sold More BTC in Q1 Than Entire 2025 Combined appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Aave is dealing with a liquidity squeeze and an estimated $177 million to $200 million in bad debt after an exploit tied to KelpDAO's rsETH rippled through the lending market. Attackers siphoned 116,500 rsETH from Kelp's bridge on April 18, 2026, then supplied the tokens to Aave V3 as collateral and borrowed wrapped ether (WETH) against them. After KelpDAO paused rsETH contracts in response, the collateral backing those loans effectively became unmarketable, leaving positions that could not be meaningfully liquidated and pushing losses onto Aave's WETH reserves. Market estimates put the total borrowed value affected across Aave's exposure, plus smaller spillovers on Compound and Euler, at up to $200 million or more. Aave said its own smart contracts were not exploited, describing the incident as specific to rsETH. Aave moved quickly to contain further risk. The protocol froze rsETH markets on Aave V3 and V4, removed borrowing power against the asset, and set loan-to-value parameters to zero on impacted deployments. Founder Stani Kulechov said rsETH had been frozen across both versions and that Aave had no further exposure to the asset following the KelpDAO bridge exploit that occurred outside the protocol. Even with new rsETH activity halted, users rushed to pull funds. Reports said ETH and WETH withdrawals totaled about $5.4 billion within hours, driving the Aave WETH pool to 100% utilization. At full utilization, available liquidity is exhausted, preventing suppliers from redeeming because nearly all assets are tied up in outstanding loans. Stablecoin markets also came under strain. Although USDC and USDT pools had no direct rsETH exposure, broad risk-off withdrawals pushed utilization higher in some deployments, with users reporting failed or delayed redemptions as liquidity thinned. Aave's total value locked fell to about $19.776 billion from roughly $26.4 billion, a 24.11% drop as of April 19 based on DefiLlama data. The AAVE token slid 17.7% on April 19 as markets priced in uncertainty around losses and the potential implications of a backstop activation. Aave's "Umbrella" system is designed to address bad debt events. If losses are confirmed, it can draw on reserves and may include slashing staked AAVE depending on the size and structure of the deficit. The impact on stakeholders remains under assessment. Protocols linked through overlapping liquidity flows, including Sparklend, reportedly saw rate spikes and temporary pauses as capital rotated away from affected markets. As of April 19, there were no reports of additional exploits or a widening of the incident. Utilization in Aave's ETH markets remains elevated, and normal withdrawal access will likely depend on outflows easing or on an Umbrella resolution that settles bad debt and restores confidence. The next steps are expected to focus on finalizing a bad-debt review, issuing a formal Umbrella plan, and monitoring whether liquidity stabilizes as the market digests the KelpDAO fallout.

Hyperliquid's HYPE token rose to its highest level in 60 days, supported by solid derivatives trading activity and accelerating protocol revenue. The uptrend has held since early March, with price printing a sequence of higher highs and higher lows and pushing above key moving averages, reinforcing the bullish technical setup. Momentum remains intact as HYPE consolidates near recent peaks without clear signs of exhaustion, suggesting positioning tied to improving platform performance rather than purely short-term speculation. The move comes alongside strengthening fundamentals. Hyperliquid reported total value locked of about $4.8 billion, while annualized revenue neared $700 million. The revenue profile has shown steady growth with recurring spikes and a rising baseline, pointing to demand generated by active perpetual futures trading instead of passive liquidity sitting on the platform. Arthur Hayes drew attention to the HIP-4 upgrade, which enables binary options trading on HyperliquidX. The new product expands the platform's suite beyond perpetual futures and is expected to increase transaction frequency and turnover. Binary options settle on fixed outcomes over defined time windows, creating faster trade resolution and potentially higher fee generation, while also supporting liquidity growth. With rising volumes and expanding revenue, Hyperliquid appears to be shifting from simple scale-up to deeper monetization, positioning itself as a broader trading venue within digital assets. HYPE's latest breakout has tracked these underlying developments. Tags: cryptocurrency, HYPE, Hyperliquid