Bitcoin’s positive price moves that started a few days ago continued in the past 12 hours or so as the asset tapped $89,000 for the first time in well over a month.

In contrast, most larger-cap alts have fallen behind, which has further increased BTC’s overall market dominance.

BTC to Aim at $90K Soon?

The primary cryptocurrency’s price felt the adverse consequences of Trump’s trade war a couple of weeks back, when it plunged to a multi-month low beneath $75,000. However, the subsequent tariff pause, as well as the positive inflation data for March in the US, started an immediate recovery that continues to this day.

By the end of that week, BTC had already reclaimed the $80,000 level and hasn’t looked back since. Moreover, it kept climbing gradually and spiked above $86,000 on a few occasions last week. It failed there at first and, after a quiet weekend, went on the offensive once again on Monday when it spiked by over three grand from $84,000 to $87,500.

It was stopped there at first, but the bulls pushed hard, and bitcoin tapped $88,950 (on Bitstamp) for the first time since early March.

As of now, it remains inches below that level, but the bullish predictions in the community have reemerged. Its market cap has grown to $1.755 trillion on CG, and its dominance over the alts continues to mark new local peaks.

FARTCOIN Keeps Pumping

As mentioned above, most larger-cap alts have failed to mimic BTC’s gains over the past day, with ETH, XRP, SOL, LEO, ADA, LINK, AVAX, and XLM actually charting some losses.

In contrast, BNB, DOGE, TRX, and SUI are slightly in the green. FARTCOIN has stolen the show once again, exploding by 16% and surging past $1. Moreover, it has become the fifth-largest meme coin by market cap, surpassing BONK.

The total crypto market cap has remained relatively stable at just over $2.860 trillion on CG.

TL;DR

• Ripple’s token was named in a lawsuit by the Oregon Attorney General against Coinbase.
• Legal experts, including Bill Morgan, criticized the move as unjustified and out of touch, citing past rulings.

Another Attack on XRP

Ripple has the habit of making the headlines, but sometimes, the news surrounding it is not what its proponents want to see. Most recently, the company’s cross-border token was included in a lawsuit that the Oregon Attorney General (AG) filed against the US-based crypto exchange Coinbase.

The chief legal officer of the state claims XRP, SOL, ADA, LINK, UNI, and many more were offered and sold as investment contracts on the platform. The lawsuit refers to them as “crypto securities.”

The attack from the Oregon AG raised some eyebrows across the community. Bill Morgan – the prominent legal commentator known for his in-depth analysis of Ripple’s legal battles – was among those criticizing the action.

He said the chief legal officer of the state of Oregon ignored the fact that Coinbase delisted XRP from its platform in December 2020 after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple. The exchange re-enabled trading with the asset in the summer of 2023 following a court ruling that the secondary sale of XRP didn’t constitute an offer of investment contracts. 

“No one could have the imagination to make up this dystopian nonsense,” he added.

It is important to note that Coinbase faced similar problems from the SEC in the past. Nearly two years ago, the agency filed a 101-page lawsuit against the exchange, accusing it of violating securities laws by making certain cryptocurrencies that supposedly passed the Howey Test available for trade on its platform.

Some of the large-cap altcoins labeled as securities in the case included SOL, ADA, and MATIC, while XRP was not mentioned. The SEC drastically changed its hostile approach toward the crypto industry in the past several months, ending its legal disputes with numerous digital asset entities. The case against Coinbase is among the dismissed ones, but perhaps the most popular one (against Ripple) is still awaiting its official resolution. 

Latest Updates on the Ripple v. SEC Front

Last month, Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, announced a major win, revealing that the SEC would withdraw its latest appeal, signaling the effective conclusion of the lawsuit. The company’s chief legal officer – Stuart Alderoty – later confirmed this development.

The Ripple community was quick to celebrate this as the end of the case that had been dragging on for over four years. However, the battle needs to undergo additional legal proceedings before becoming part of history. 

Earlier this month, Ripple and the SEC filed a joint motion to request a pause on their individual appeals. Shortly after, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit acknowledged and granted the submission. 

Although this brings the case closer to a formal resolution, the securities regulator has yet to make an official statement. Meanwhile, attorney James Filan noted that the agency has been ordered to submit a status report on its legal proceedings within 60 days of that ruling.

It may seem like the lawsuit’s end is just a matter of time, but analysts have warned that its eventual resolution is unlikely to impact XRP as it has already been priced in.

Bitcoin recovered in the past few weeks as it rose close to $89,000, reversing much of the loss triggered by US President Donald Trump’s unexpected “Liberation Day” declaration on April 2nd.

However, a recent spike in open interest has raised questions about the sustainability of the current market rally.

Weakness Ahead?

According to CryptoQuant’s latest analysis, there has been a notable surge in 24-hour Open Interest (OI), which marks the largest increase in recent times. Historically, price pumps driven by derivatives tend to lack sustainability.

The most significant OI spikes observed recently were around 16% and 15%. This echoed similar increases during a bullish phase in November/December 2024, when positive momentum in the spot market was amplified by aggressive derivatives trading.

However, current price movements have been comparatively muted, with only a 4.2% increase. This contrasts with past events, where price gains of 10% and 7% were seen. The subdued price action suggests that selling pressure remains considerable, which indicates that the current rally might not be as strong as previous ones.

CryptoQuant’s head of research, Julio Moreno, also revealed that challenges remain that Bitcoin’s price resistance may lie between $91,000 and $92,000, coinciding with the Trader’s On-chain Realized Price. According to Moreno’s analysis, the Trader’s Realized Price serves as support during bullish market conditions (when the bull score is above 60) and as resistance when market sentiment turns bearish (with a bull score below 40).

Currently, the market remains in the second scenario, indicating a bearish outlook, with the price facing significant resistance near the $91,000-$92,000 range.

Accumulation Continues

Despite a gloomy picture, Bitcoin’s Realized Capitalization (Realized Cap) recently hit a record $872.2 billion, which is indicative of market confidence and accumulation. Unlike market cap, Realized Cap reflects the price at which coins last moved, and thereby offers a clearer view of long-term investor sentiment.

This milestone suggests that more capital is flowing into Bitcoin, and investors appear to be holding rather than selling. This behavior aligns with an “accumulation” phase, where smart money quietly increases exposure.