The Bitcoin block reward is forecast to halve on April 20th. This is seen as a bullish catalyst for crypto markets. I agree that it will pump prices in the medium term; however, the price action directly before and after could be negative. The narrative of the halving being positive for crypto prices is well entrenched. When most market participants agree on a certain outcome, the opposite usually occurs. That is why I believe Bitcoin and crypto prices in general will slump around the halving.

Messari has released its Q1 2024 Bitcoin State of the Market report, which shows that BTC's price has increased by 69% to $71,310 compared to the previous quarter, reaching a new historical high in April as the new halving cycle approaches. The success of spot BTC ETFs is a driving factor in the price trend, with over $12 billion in inflows in the first quarter. Spot BTC ETFs currently hold 831,000 BTC, or $59 billion. Transaction fees and costs have decreased by 40% and 60% respectively. However, NFT exchanges still have daily sales of over $10 million. The April halving will bring the launch of the Runes token protocol and Epicsat. Miner income (in USD) has increased by 34% compared to the previous quarter, and miners are exploring glyphs and MEV as additional sources of income. Some miners have already conducted bulk sales to meet the needs of Ordinals builders. The TVL of programmable Bitcoin layers has increased by 127% compared to the previous quarter. Dozens of new layers are being built to expand Bitcoin and increase its programmability, with many layers exploring BitVM-based bridging and state verification.

Bitcoin ecosystem GameFi platform Bitcoin Cats announced the launch of an upgraded $1CAT staking and points system. Users can earn points by staking 1CAT assets, which will determine eligibility for future airdrops. After staking 1CAT assets, users will gradually accumulate points in five stages: 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and 360 days, each corresponding to a different points multiplier.

QCP Capital, a crypto market maker, stated in their latest market report that despite limited fluctuations in Bitcoin prices over the past week, market sentiment is turning bullish on Bitcoin due to the following five reasons:

BTIG analysts say that due to a large bet on Bitcoin, MicroStrategy Inc.'s stock price has soared by 150%. With the surge in cryptocurrency, there is further room for MicroStrategy Inc.'s stock price to rise. Analyst Andrew Harte raised his target price to $1,800 on Friday, which means the stock could rise at least another 10% from recent trading.

1.Mystiko.Network Community Sale Completed, Total $11.25 Million in XZK Sold2.Solana Co-founder Responds to the Sharp Increase in Transaction Failure Rates: Patch Coming Soon3.Ethena USDe market value exceeds 2 billion US dollars, setting a new record4.Du Jun, Executive Director and CEO of Xinhuo & Founder of ABCDE: Xinhuo Technology and ABCDE will invest 100 million US dollars to support blockchain companies that promote social development 5.QCP Capital: Bitcoin is expected to return to $70,000 this week, while Ethereum continues to be weak6.bitSmiley Labs officially launches its independent ecosystem plan, bitUniverse, and reveals its OG pass bitDisc-Black Upgraded Priviledges 7.Avalanche Foundation launches ice-breaking plan, focusing on LST track in the first phase and funding 500,000 AVAX 8.SuperRare Expands into Bitcoin Ordinals with Killer Acid's Psychedelic Art Collection 9.A dormant whale address for 8 months deposited 1,100 BTC into Binance10.Meme exchange DerpDEX.com completes multi-million dollar strategic investment, with participation from ABO Digital and others

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

The ratio of Bitcoin to Ethereum prices implies that the market's risk appetite for cryptocurrencies may weaken. The Bitcoin-Ethereum price ratio has risen to 20, reaching its highest level since April 2021, reflecting a more elastic demand for Bitcoin in the market, while the opposite is true for Ethereum.

“Together, let’s stand against harassment and prioritize mental health in all aspects of our lives,” wrote Complex’s developers as they shut down the memecoin project.

According to Lookonchain data, a dormant whale transferred 2,000 BTC ($132.41 million) to a new wallet yesterday and then deposited 1,100 BTC ($74.34 million) into Binance. The whale currently holds 8,900 BTC ($597.55 million).

OKX market shows that BTC has once again fallen below 67,000 USDT, currently reporting at 66,852.3 USDT, with a 24-hour increase narrowing to 2.15%.

Binance NFT marketplace will cease supporting trades and deposits of Bitcoin Ordinals on April 18.

At the Bitcoin Day conference, Jayden, co-founder of the BTC ecosystem Defi project bitSmiley Labs, revealed bitUniverse, aiming to create a range of Defi applications centered around its stablecoin, bitUSD.

On April 5th, QCPCapital, a cryptocurrency market maker, pointed out in its latest research report that the cryptocurrency market will perform poorly at the beginning of the second quarter of 2024. The price of Bitcoin has fallen below $70,000 and is fluctuating within a narrow range. The scale of ETF fund inflows is not sufficient to drive price trends. The funding rate tends to be stable, and the front end of the forward curve has fallen from a high point of 50% to below 20%. However, it is worth noting that the back end of the forward curve is still at a high level, and investors are interested in longer-term spot-forward basis positions. This may be due to the continued demand for Bitcoin 2025 long-term call options in the market. QCP believes that the bullish demand for Bitcoin and the upward momentum of spot ETF fund inflows will support Bitcoin prices and is expected to push Bitcoin above $70,000 this weekend. On the other hand, Ethereum continues to be weak. ETHBTC is testing key support levels after falling below 0.05. The market continues to sell a large number of Ethereum long call options, which has lowered the implied volatility and formed some downward pressure on prices. QCP analysis believes that this may once again indicate that the early signal of the shift from frenzy to panic for altcoins represented by Ethereum.

On April 5th, it was announced that the Bitcoin Day summit, co-hosted by ABCDE, SINOHOPE (stock code: 1611.HK), and OKX Wallet, officially opened at the Regal Hotel in Hong Kong. Du Jun, Executive Director and CEO of SINOHOPE and founder of ABCDE, gave the opening speech.

Data shows the ETH/BTC exchange rate has fallen below 0.05 and is now at 0.04853, with a daily decline of 2.41%.

As I’ve said many times before. Everyone and every nation will eventually capitulate to Bitcoin. The latest nation to capitulate is Great Britain, whose army of anti-Bitcoin propagandists has just received orders from The Motherland that Bitcoin is to be fully embraced.

The Bitcoin L2 network Mirror Staking Protocol announced that its testnet is now online.

Gryphon Digital Mining is seeking to block Sphere 3D from using $10 million from a recent settlement with Core Scientific.

The total open position of BTC futures contracts on the network is 531,790 BTC, equivalent to 37.36 billion US dollars.