TLDR
- Bitcoin is up 13.6% in April, on track for its best month in a year
- Whale wallets holding 10–10,000 BTC have accumulated nearly 41,000 BTC since April 10
- Tether’s USDT supply surged to ~$150 billion, adding $5 billion in two weeks
- Bitcoin ETFs logged 8 straight days of inflows totaling $223 million on April 23, led by BlackRock’s IBIT
- The $79,000 level is the key resistance traders are watching ahead of the Fed meeting
Bitcoin is having its best April in a year. The price climbed to $79,327 on Wednesday before pulling back to around $77,390. It is now up about 13.6% for the month.
This comes after a rough stretch. Crypto markets posted their longest losing streak since 2018, with consecutive monthly declines from October through February.
One factor driving the bounce is stablecoin liquidity. Tether’s USDT supply has risen to just under $150 billion, adding roughly $5 billion over the past two weeks. Analysts treat stablecoin growth as a sign that fresh capital is entering crypto markets.
On the macro side, U.S. equities have also recovered. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed back toward record highs after briefly dipping into correction territory earlier this year.
Wintermute OTC trader Jasper de Maere noted that markets have “stopped caring” about Middle East conflict headlines. He said strong corporate earnings are helping offset geopolitical concerns, though he flagged a “certain level of fatigue and potentially complacency.”
Whale Accumulation Stands Out
Crypto sentiment platform Santiment reported that Bitcoin wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have accumulated 40,967 BTC since April 10, worth around $3.17 billion.
Santiment posted on X: “Bitcoin’s key stakeholders are accumulating rapidly.” They said this pattern — whales buying while retail takes profit — is “one of the strongest signals for a long-term bull run.”
📈 Bitcoin's key stakeholders are accumulating rapidly with $BTC currently up to $78.3K and crypto's top cap up +15% in April.
🧐 According to our on-chain data:
🐳🦈 10-10K BTC Wallets have collectively accumulated 40,967 more $BTC in the past 2 weeks (+0.3%)
🐟🦐 Less Than… pic.twitter.com/ViffTAQg4Q— Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 23, 2026
Retail holders (under 0.1 BTC) accumulated just 46 BTC over the same period, worth roughly $3.56 million.
Bitwise’s head of Europe research, Andre Dragosch, also posted on X Friday: “Institutional demand for Bitcoin is clearly accelerating.”
ETF Inflows Remain Strong
Bitcoin ETFs recorded $223 million in net inflows on April 23, marking eight straight days of positive flows. BlackRock’s IBIT led with $167.49 million. Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB added $71.22 million. Total Bitcoin ETF net assets reached $102.79 billion.
Ether ETFs, by contrast, saw their first outflow after a 10-day streak, losing $75.94 million.
MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said on Thursday that Bitcoin has “enough room” to push toward $86,000, but must hold $75,000 to maintain momentum.
Upwards moves can last longer than you generally expect.#Bitcoin collapsed from $100K+ to $60K in less than 2 months.
Currently, there's a slow grind higher after a V-shaped recovery in the Nasdaq.
I think this leg has enough room to continue to $86K, and #Altcoins to run… pic.twitter.com/f420cj6WGJ
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 23, 2026
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index sat at 39 on Friday, still in “Fear” territory.
Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract Group, said the $79,000 level “matters structurally because heavy institutional overhead supply sits just above it.” He added that if ETF inflows continue through the upcoming Fed meeting, $79,000 could flip from resistance to support.
The next Federal Reserve meeting is the near-term event traders are watching most closely.
