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The Federal Reserve has decided to keep interest rates unchanged for the third consecutive meeting in 2026, aligning with the expectations of most analysts. The benchmark rate remains within the 3.50 percent to 3.75 percent range following the latest FOMC decision.

Historically, Bitcoin has tended to struggle in the days immediately following such meetings, and early market reactions suggest a similar pattern may be unfolding again.

The decision, which passed with eight votes in favor and four against, is widely expected to be the final FOMC meeting led by Jerome Powell. Officials cited rising costs, particularly those influenced by the ongoing conflict involving Iran, as a key reason for maintaining current policy.

Recent inflation data for March showed a notable increase compared to February, with energy prices playing a major role due to continued geopolitical uncertainty.

Bitcoin Declines After Announcement

In the days leading up to the meeting, Bitcoin had already dropped by nearly 4,000 dollars. Following the announcement, the cryptocurrency extended its losses, falling below the 75,000 dollar level. The broader market mirrored this movement, with most altcoins also turning lower.

Just days earlier, Bitcoin had reached around 79,500 dollars before facing strong resistance and reversing course. From that peak, it has now lost close to 5,000 dollars.

Market volatility has also triggered a surge in liquidations, which exceeded 500 million dollars over a 24 hour period. Notably, around 200 million dollars of those liquidations occurred within a single hour, highlighting the intensity of the sell off.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Bitcoin has repeatedly failed to break above the 80,000 dollar mark, and at the same time, its spot trading activity has dropped sharply. Volumes have now fallen to levels last seen toward the end of the previous bear market, similar to conditions observed in September 2023.

The downward trend persisted throughout April, signaling a noticeable slowdown in market activity and a decline in overall participation. According to analyst Darkfost, this reflects weakening engagement from traders across the board.

Trading Activity Declines Across Major Exchanges

The drop in volume is visible across leading platforms. Binance, which still dominates trading activity, has seen about 25 billion dollars wiped from its volume since March. Other exchanges have experienced similar declines. Gate.io recorded a reduction of roughly 13 billion dollars, cutting its activity in half, while OKX saw volumes fall by around 6 billion dollars.

This contraction comes amid a difficult macroeconomic environment. Ongoing tensions related to the conflict involving Iran and persistent inflation concerns have weighed heavily on investor sentiment. At the same time, the Federal Reserve is perceived as having limited flexibility to introduce aggressive monetary easing at the current FOMC meeting.

As a result, many investors appear reluctant to build long term positions in the spot market, suggesting a lack of confidence in the medium term outlook. While lower volumes typically signal weaker momentum and reduced interest in the short term, such conditions have historically coincided with periods where new opportunities begin to form.

Analysts Highlight Signs of a Potential Rebound

Despite the slowdown, some analysts remain optimistic. Ali Martinez pointed to a developing “Morning Star” pattern on Bitcoin’s monthly chart, a formation often associated with a shift from bearish sentiment toward renewed buying pressure.

Similar patterns have appeared several times in recent years and were followed by notable gains, including a 34 percent increase in 2023, a surge of over 200 percent in early 2024, and another rise of nearly 34 percent later that year. Martinez noted that as long as Bitcoin holds above the 73,000 dollar level, the broader upward trend remains intact.

Optimism is also shared by Arthur Hayes, who recently projected that Bitcoin could climb to 125,000 dollars before the end of the year. He argued that increasing wartime spending, higher government borrowing, and expanding liquidity could create favorable conditions for the asset.

Speaking at Bitcoin Vegas 2026, Hayes explained that shifts in global financial dynamics, including tighter credit conditions driven by artificial intelligence and evolving banking regulations, could inject significant liquidity into the system. According to him, even with geopolitical tensions such as the situation between the United States and Iran, markets are more focused on liquidity trends than fear driven reactions.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Peter Schiff has renewed his criticism of Bitcoin, arguing that the asset’s recent decline validates his advice from last year to sell. Since his call at the 2025 Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Bitcoin has dropped from around 110,000 dollars to roughly 77,000 dollars, marking a decline of about 30 percent.

At the time, Bitcoin was riding strong enthusiasm tied to the rise of corporate treasury strategies, where publicly traded firms accumulated large amounts of the asset. Now, as the 2026 conference unfolds, Schiff believes the latest narrative around digital credit will not succeed in driving prices higher either.

Then and Now: Schiff Questions Bitcoin Narratives

During the 2025 event, Schiff urged attendees to exit their Bitcoin positions, warning that the hype around corporate accumulation would not sustain long term growth. A year later, with prices significantly lower, he argues that history is repeating itself.

He also pointed to Strategy and its growing Bitcoin holdings as part of his argument. The company increased its share of total Bitcoin supply from 2.76 percent to 3.9 percent, representing a 40 percent rise in ownership concentration. Despite this, Bitcoin’s price has still fallen, raising questions in Schiff’s view about whether further accumulation would make a difference.

Strategy has continued its buying spree, recently adding over 3,000 BTC worth approximately 255 million dollars. This brings its total holdings to more than 818,000 BTC, acquired at an average price of about 75,500 dollars per coin.

Schiff has also criticized the company’s preferred stock offering, STRC. Speaking during a live discussion on X, he described it as unsustainable, claiming that its 11.5 percent yield is funded by attracting new investors rather than underlying business profits.

Critics Push Back on Schiff’s Claims

Schiff’s comments sparked backlash from members of the crypto community, many of whom highlighted his long history of bearish Bitcoin predictions. Critics pointed out that he had warned against Bitcoin at multiple price levels over the years, including far lower valuations, yet the asset has still delivered significant long term gains.

One trader compiled past examples of Schiff’s warnings dating back to 2013, arguing that despite occasional pullbacks, Bitcoin has consistently risen over time. Another analyst noted that Schiff’s stance is difficult to validate since he has never advocated buying Bitcoin in the first place.

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor presented a contrasting outlook at the conference. He suggested that a supply shock could be approaching, driven by potential inflows of institutional capital from major financial firms such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays.

According to Saylor, demand from these institutions could far exceed the available Bitcoin supply, potentially pushing prices higher and boosting related assets such as Bitcoin treasury stocks and digital credit products.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Bitcoin’s push toward 78,000 dollars ahead of the latest Federal Reserve meeting was abruptly stopped following fresh developments tied to the conflict involving Iran. The cryptocurrency quickly lost around 1,500 dollars within minutes after the news broke.

At the same time, oil markets reacted in the opposite direction. USOIL surged to above 105 dollars, marking its highest level in several weeks and its first return to that range since mid April.

The price movement followed reports that Donald Trump had been in discussions with American oil companies about extending a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier coverage from The Wall Street Journal indicated that preparations for a prolonged blockade were already underway.

In response, Iranian state media warned of possible unprecedented military action if vessels linked to Iran continue to be seized. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering a visit to Washington to discuss developments related to the conflict.

Unlike oil, Bitcoin reacted negatively to the geopolitical tension, falling from nearly 78,000 dollars to around 76,400 dollars shortly after the reports emerged. The asset has since recovered slightly to near 77,000 dollars, but further volatility is expected as the Federal Reserve concludes its third FOMC meeting of the year.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Ripple has taken a major step to strengthen its stablecoin ecosystem by partnering with OKX, one of the world’s largest crypto trading platforms. The collaboration is expected to significantly improve the accessibility, liquidity, and overall utility of RLUSD on a global scale.

Since its launch in December 2024, RLUSD has grown rapidly, reaching a market capitalization of over 1.5 billion dollars in less than 18 months. The stablecoin is now ranked among the top stable assets in the market.

According to the announcement, RLUSD is now available for spot trading across more than 280 pairs on OKX, including trading against XRP. This wide availability allows users to engage with the asset more flexibly across different markets.

Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Stablecoins, Jack McDonald, noted that demand for RLUSD has been rising across both crypto native users and institutional participants. He explained that the partnership enables more efficient capital deployment across spot and derivatives markets while also strengthening liquidity on a major exchange.

RLUSD can also be used as high quality collateral for derivatives trading, including perpetual futures where supported. Deposits and withdrawals are handled through the XRP Ledger, with direct minting and redemption helping ensure consistent liquidity access.

Additionally, the stablecoin integrates with OKX’s unified order book system, which combines all eligible trading pairs into a single liquidity pool. This setup enhances price discovery and simplifies the trading experience for users operating across both spot and derivatives markets.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Pi Network’s native token PI has stood out as one of the strongest performing altcoins in recent weeks, continuing its upward momentum as the broader crypto market shows signs of recovery.

Bitcoin briefly fell below 76,000 dollars yesterday amid rising geopolitical tensions but has since rebounded by more than 1,000 dollars, returning to around 77,000 ahead of today’s FOMC meeting.

Bitcoin Recovers but Volatility Remains Likely

After dropping under 74,000 dollars last Monday, Bitcoin staged a strong rally, reaching a multi month high of 79,500 dollars on Tuesday following an extension of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The days that followed saw relatively stable trading, with Bitcoin moving within a narrow range between 77,000 and 78,500 dollars, largely unaffected by ongoing war related developments.

Momentum picked up again on Monday as buyers pushed Bitcoin back toward 79,500 dollars, though the level was quickly rejected. Prices then slipped to 77,500 dollars and later dropped further to 76,500 dollars.

Selling pressure intensified yesterday despite comments from Donald Trump suggesting Iran was in a weakened position, leading Bitcoin to fall to a recent low of 75,600 dollars. It has since recovered to above 77,000 dollars, though analysts expect increased volatility after the FOMC decision, with some predicting another potential correction.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization is now մոտ 1.55 trillion dollars, while its dominance over altcoins has declined to around 58 percent.

Altcoins Move Higher as PI Leads Gains

Ethereum has gained nearly 2 percent over the past day and is trading comfortably above 2,300 dollars. Other major altcoins including XRP, BNB, Solana, TRON, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, and Monero have also posted modest gains.

Dogecoin recorded the strongest performance among large cap assets, rising more than 7 percent to surpass 0.105 dollars.

Several smaller tokens such as PUMP, ASTER, and TAO have also advanced, but Pi Network’s PI token has drawn particular attention. The asset has climbed more than 15 percent over the past week and reached a monthly high of 0.20 dollars earlier today before facing resistance.

This recent surge has prompted some analysts to issue highly optimistic forecasts, with projections suggesting the possibility of a significant price increase in the future.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has grown by around 50 billion dollars since yesterday’s low and now stands above 2.67 trillion dollars.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

SYND suffered a sharp decline after a security breach involving the Syndicate network’s bridge. The token lost more than 37 percent of its value after attackers offloaded millions of tokens.

Blockchain security firm CertiK reported that the exploit targeted Syndicate’s Ethereum based infrastructure through a compromise of the Commons bridge. According to the firm, an address obtained roughly 18.5 million SYND tokens and sold them for about 330,000 dollars before transferring the funds to Ethereum.

Syndicate Responds and Plans Compensation

The incident had an immediate and severe impact on the token’s price. Data from CoinMarketCap showed SYND falling to around 0.021 dollars within 24 hours.

Syndicate Network, which focuses on building infrastructure for application specific blockchains with on chain sequencers, confirmed the breach on X and stated that it is investigating suspicious SYND movements.

In its latest update, the team said it is tracking the attacker and collaborating with security experts. Users have been advised to avoid adding liquidity until the issue is resolved. The project also indicated that it is considering compensation for affected users and noted that it holds enough token reserves to support those who incurred losses.

Ongoing Wave of Crypto Exploits

This incident follows a series of major security breaches across the crypto space. Less than two weeks earlier, KelpDAO experienced one of the largest exploits of 2026, with losses exceeding 293 million dollars due to a vulnerability in its cross chain bridge.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis described that attack as highly sophisticated and focused on off chain infrastructure. Hackers reportedly gained control of internal systems while disrupting external nodes through distributed denial of service attacks. This allowed them to send manipulated data to a verification system, triggering the release of funds tied to a fake token burn. Because the transactions appeared legitimate on chain, typical security measures failed to detect the issue.

In another recent case, Volo Protocol disclosed a breach that resulted in losses of about 3.5 million dollars from its vaults. The attack affected three vaults holding WBTC, XAUm, and USDC. The team responded by alerting the Sui Foundation and its ecosystem partners, freezing the affected vaults, and eventually pausing all vault operations as a precaution while the investigation continues.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Bitcoin has climbed more than 20 percent from its February lows and is currently trading near 77,000 dollars. However, many investors are now questioning whether this upward trend can continue.

According to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, one company has played an outsized role in driving this rally. He believes that Strategy’s aggressive accumulation of Bitcoin has been the most influential factor behind the recent price surge.

A Key Force Behind the Rally

While other elements have supported Bitcoin’s growth, including 3.8 billion dollars in ETF inflows since early March and renewed buying from long term holders, Hougan explained that a large share of the gains can be traced back to Strategy’s purchases. Over the past eight weeks, the company has acquired approximately 7.2 billion dollars worth of Bitcoin.

These acquisitions have been financed through the issuance of STRC, a perpetual preferred equity instrument. STRC is a form of preferred stock that blends features of both equity and debt. It is structured to trade at 100 dollars per share and currently offers an annual dividend yield of about 11.5 percent.

Strategy manages the share price by adjusting the yield. If STRC falls below 100 dollars, the company raises the interest rate to attract buyers. If it trades above that level, Strategy can issue more shares or reduce the yield to bring the price back toward its target.

Since its introduction, STRC has generally stayed close to its intended price. The dividend yield has already been increased from 9 percent to 11.5 percent to maintain investor demand. The main goal of issuing STRC is to raise funds for additional Bitcoin purchases, with most of the capital directed into the asset. Dividend payments are largely supported by new investor inflows, a structure Hougan argues is backed by the company’s large Bitcoin reserves rather than resembling a Ponzi scheme.

Evaluating Strategy’s Ability to Sustain Dividends

Strategy currently holds around 63 billion dollars in Bitcoin, compared to 8 billion dollars in debt and 14 billion dollars in preferred equity. In the event of liquidation, debt holders would be repaid first, followed by preferred shareholders.

This would leave approximately 41 billion dollars available for common equity holders. Based on current Bitcoin prices, Hougan estimates that the company could theoretically continue paying dividends for about 42 years, assuming no increase in Bitcoin’s value.

If Bitcoin were to grow at an annual rate of 20 percent, Strategy could potentially sustain dividend payments indefinitely. However, its ability to meet these obligations depends on both Bitcoin’s performance and how much additional STRC is issued. Increasing issuance raises dividend commitments and default risk, which can only be offset by gains in Bitcoin’s price.

Hougan emphasized that investor confidence relies on Strategy maintaining a careful balance between raising new capital and preserving the strength of its balance sheet. He also noted strong demand for STRC, suggesting the company could have raised even more funds in its latest offering.

With junk bond yields below 7 percent and declining interest in private credit markets, STRC’s 11.5 percent yield has attracted significant attention. Strategy’s current obligations stand at about 21 billion dollars, roughly one third of its Bitcoin holdings. Hougan believes this leaves room for an additional 10 billion to 15 billion dollars in STRC issuance before concerns begin to rise, with even greater capacity possible if Bitcoin prices continue to increase.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

After sharing a video from Reddit co founder Alexis Ohanian about the role of CEOs, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse once again emphasized that the company’s core focus continues to be its native cross border token XRP. Notably, he expressed a similar stance about a month ago.

Ohanian’s video highlighted that leaders must consistently communicate their company’s mission to users and stakeholders, repeating the message regularly even as the business evolves. While strategies may shift over time, the foundational principles should stay clear and be reinforced often.

He also pointed out that as companies integrate artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to boost productivity and growth, strong communication becomes even more essential to keep teams aligned and functioning effectively.

Garlinghouse echoed this perspective when reposting the video, reaffirming that XRP remains the guiding focus of Ripple’s long term strategy.

The XRP community responded enthusiastically, praising his continued commitment. Some supporters also pointed to Ripple’s recent developments, including a newly announced partnership with South Korea’s digital bank KBank to begin early trials of blockchain based remittances using Ripple’s network.

Earlier, Ripple’s Head of Engineering disclosed a collaboration with Project Elevel aimed at building a multi phase roadmap toward full readiness by 2028, with a strong emphasis on preparing for potential quantum computing risks.

Garlinghouse has repeatedly described XRP as the company’s North Star in the past, with one of the most recent mentions occurring in late March.

XRP Struggles to Hold the 1.40 Level

Despite strong backing from Ripple, XRP has not fully benefited from the recent upward momentum seen in bitcoin. The token faced rejection near 1.50 and has struggled to break above 1.45 despite multiple attempts.

A recent pullback pushed XRP down to around 1.37, marking a two week low, before it found some support and moved back toward the 1.40 level.

Even so, XRP remains significantly down for the year, having lost roughly a quarter of its value since the start of January.

Market analysts still anticipate a potential major move ahead, and a recent proposal from the SEC has drawn attention from investors as it could influence how regulators classify and approach the asset going forward.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

The Litecoin network successfully removed a 13 block invalid chain after a major disruption linked to its MimbleWimble Extension Block privacy layer.

Litecoin faced a serious issue after a critical validation flaw was discovered and exploited in two separate incidents in March and April 2026. Developer David Burkett later explained the situation in a detailed post mortem.

The vulnerability stemmed from an error in how MWEB inputs were validated when blocks were connected. This flaw allowed a miner to include incorrect metadata that did not match the actual unspent transaction output. As a result, an attacker could create a block where a small input appeared to justify a much larger withdrawal known as a pegout from the MWEB system.

Timeline of the MWEB Crisis

A scan of the blockchain showed that the vulnerability had already been exploited in March at block height 3,073,882. During this event, an attacker generated an inflated pegout of more than 85,000 LTC. The funds were moved to a transparent address and split into three outputs, which were quickly frozen through miner enforced consensus rules.

Developers worked privately with major mining pools to stop further exploitation. They released emergency updates that introduced stricter validation rules while maintaining network stability. After being contacted, the attacker cooperated and signed a recovery transaction that returned most of the funds while keeping 850 LTC as a negotiated bounty.

The remaining shortfall was covered by Litecoin creator Charlie Lee. The recovered funds were then reintroduced into MWEB, and the resulting output was permanently frozen to restore balance within the system.

No confirmed user funds were lost during the March incident, although the response depended heavily on fast coordination among miners and controlled software updates.

In April, a second incident revealed further complications when another actor attempted to exploit the same weakness. Updated nodes correctly rejected the malformed block, but issues with handling altered MWEB block data caused some upgraded mining nodes to stall or fail to continue normal operations. This particularly disrupted block submission.

As a result, miners who had not upgraded continued building on an invalid chain, which grew to 13 blocks. Eventually, upgraded participants coordinated to restore the valid chain, triggering a deep reorganization that removed the invalid blocks. However, some third party systems had already processed transactions from the invalid chain.

External services were affected, including swaps involving NEAR related infrastructure and THORChain. Transactions completed on the invalid chain no longer existed after the reorganization, and the full extent of losses is still being evaluated.

Litecoin Core Version 0.21.5.4 Fixes the Issue

The April issue was traced to how nodes handled altered MWEB data associated with identical block hashes. This behavior could interfere with processing valid blocks later on. The problem has been resolved in Litecoin Core version 0.21.5.4, which ensures that corrupted block data is discarded so that proper validation can continue.

Developers also introduced several improvements to strengthen MWEB accounting, enforce accurate validation at every stage, and prevent similar denial of service or chain splitting issues in the future.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic