BTC
$95,512.51
+
1.67%
ETH
$1,822.23
+
0.82%
USDT
$1.0004
+
0.01%
XRP
$2.3289
+
6.87%
BNB
$607.86
+
1.22%
SOL
$152.76
+
3.19%
USDC
$0.9999
+
0.00%
DOGE
$0.1821
+
0.71%
ADA
$0.7228
+
3.77%
TRX
$0.2471
–
1.13%
SUI
$3.8354
+
5.98%
LINK
$14.99
+
3.14%
AVAX
$22.31
+
1.10%
XLM
$0.2895
+
2.47%
LEO
$9.0075
–
0.06%
HBAR
$0.1967
+
4.43%
TON
$3.3101
+
1.15%
SHIB
$0.0₄1401
+
2.63%
BCH
$355.38
+
0.82%
LTC
$87.33
+
1.12%
By Shaurya Malwa, Sam Reynolds|Edited by Sam Reynolds
Updated Apr 28, 2025, 9:28 a.m. Published Apr 28, 2025, 6:35 a.m.
- Bitcoin traded above $94,800, up 0.7% over 24 hours, with the CoinDesk 20 index 2.2% higher.
- Monero surged as much 40% in 24 hours, with trading volumes increasing significantly, following a possible exploit.
- Crypto market sentiment remains cautiously bullish amid macroeconomic challenges and regulatory changes.
Crypto markets rose Monday, with bitcoin (BTC) trading above $94,000 and the CoinDesk 20, a measure of the performance of the largest cryptocurrencies, adding 2.2% by the middle of the European morning.
XRP led majors’ gains, rising almost 7%, driven by a ProShares ETF approval that will see three futures-tracked products go live on April 30. Cardano’s ADA gained more than 3% and BNB Chain’s BNB added 1%. Ether (ETH) was unchanged.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
One exception to the relatively dormant market was privacy coin monero (XMR), which surged more than 40% to as high as $371, a level not seen since May 2021. It was recently trading around $264, up 15% over 24 hours.
Trading volumes zoomed from an average of $50 million on a seven-day rolling basis to over $220 million in the past 24 hours.
The behavior likely followed a possible exploit. On-chain research ZachXBT identified a “suspicious transfer” of 3,520 BTC ($330.7 million) that was then swapped into XMR. The sudden increase in demand for the relatively illiquid token caused the price to spike, ZachXBT said in post on X.
The privacy-centric token is based on the CryptoNote protocol, which ensures that all its transactions are unlinkable and untraceable.
Sentiment among traders carried over from last week with a near-term bullish view intact but with a cautious attitude as macroeconomic headwinds remain.
“Bitcoin has maintained a relatively stable range above $92k as Trump’s administration soften tariff policies of the crypto industry,” Jupiter Zheng, Partner, Liquid Fund and Research, HashKey Capital, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. “This crypto-friendly attitude can boost Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to develop their own market direction, less correlated with US equities, and enable more growth and innovation in the industry.”
Broader equity markets showed mixed movements on Monday. A regional gauge advanced 0.6% while futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.6%, indicating a four-day US equities rally may snap. Gold pared last week’s gains after a record-breaking rally. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was also flat as were other major indexes around Asia.
UPDATE (April 28, 9:25 UTC): Adds possible exploit as reason for XMR surge in fifth paragraph; updates prices.
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team in Asia with a focus on crypto derivatives, DeFi, market microstructure, and protocol analysis.
Shaurya holds over $1,000 in BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, SUSHI, CRV, NEAR, YFI, YFII, SHIB, DOGE, USDT, USDC, BNB, MANA, MLN, LINK, XMR, ALGO, VET, CAKE, AAVE, COMP, ROOK, TRX, SNX, RUNE, FTM, ZIL, KSM, ENJ, CKB, JOE, GHST, PERP, BTRFLY, OHM, BANANA, ROME, BURGER, SPIRIT, and ORCA.
He provides over $1,000 to liquidity pools on Compound, Curve, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, BurgerSwap, Orca, AnySwap, SpiritSwap, Rook Protocol, Yearn Finance, Synthetix, Harvest, Redacted Cartel, OlympusDAO, Rome, Trader Joe, and SUN.
Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Asia. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX’s collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.
