Crypto News Review & Fortuna AI Insights – Weekly Recap (April 27 to 4 May, 2025)

The cryptocurrency market continued its dynamic activity during the week of April 27th to May 4th, 2025, marked by fluctuating prices, significant developments in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) sectors, evolving regulatory landscapes, and notable technological advancements. This weekly recap provides a comprehensive overview of the key events and trends that shaped the crypto space, along with potential insights derived from Fortuna AI.

List of Important News Titles:

• Bitcoin Shows Moderate Gains Amid Market Volatility.
• Ethereum Experiences Steady Growth Leading Up to Pectra Upgrade.
• Sui ($SUI) Rallies by 70% Driven by DeFi Interest.
• DeFi Sector Recovers, TVL Surpasses $100 Billion.
• Loopscale and Term Finance Hacked, Losing Over $7 Million.
• NFT Market Faces 40% Drop in Trading Volume in April.
• New York Explores Economic Empowerment Zones for Crypto Mining.
• IOTA Launches Rebased Upgrade with Smart Contracts and Staking.
• Institutional Investors Continue Bitcoin Accumulation.
• Crypto Fear and Greed Index Indicates Predominantly Greedy Sentiment.
• Coinbase Launches Bitcoin Yield Fund for Institutions.
• Sovereign Wealth Funds Reportedly Accumulating Bitcoin.
• Ethereum's Pectra Upgrade Scheduled for May 7th.
• IOTA's Rebased Upgrade Introduces EVM Compatibility.
• DeFi Development Corporation Purchases More Solana.
• Market Awaits Potential Impact of Trump's Tax Reform Plan.
• Crypto Hacks in April Result in $92.4 Million Losses.
• Bitcoin Approaches $95,000 Amid Retail Adoption.
• Coinbase and EY-Parthenon Survey Shows Strong Institutional Interest in Digital Assets.
• Ethereum's Daily Fee Generation Rebounds.
• Solana Continues to Generate Higher Daily Fees Than Ethereum.
• Tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs) Market Crosses $20 Billion.
• Leading NFT Collections Show Resilience Despite Market Downturn.
• Crypto Market Remains Sensitive to Trump's Tariff Policies.
• Fortuna AI's Short-Term Market Overview Indicates Slight Bearish Sentiment.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

Bitcoin (BTC) Analysis

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, experienced a week of moderate upward momentum. Starting the week on Sunday, April 27th, with prices ranging from approximately $94,644 to $94,995 1, Bitcoin saw a slight dip on Monday, April 28th, trading around $93,809 to $94,269.1 The price then rebounded on Tuesday, April 29th, reaching levels between $95,030 and $94,184 1, followed by a notable increase on Wednesday, April 30th, to the range of $94,256 to $96,499.1 The upward trend continued into Thursday, May 1st, with Bitcoin trading between $94,235 and $96,894.1 Friday, May 2nd, saw some volatility, with the price closing around $96,426 to $95,885.1 The week concluded on Saturday, May 3rd, with Bitcoin trading around $96,855 to $95,946.1 Overall, Bitcoin demonstrated a slight net positive change throughout the week, starting in the mid-94,000s and closing slightly higher in the mid-95,000s USD range, characterized by intraday volatility but an overall positive trajectory.

Analysis of key support and resistance levels suggests that the market action during the week respected the identified support around the low-93,000s, as the price did not consistently fall below this level. The resistance in the mid-to-high 90,000s appeared to be a target, with potential for a significant breakout if the short-term holder cost basis support around $93,145 holds. While specific daily data for Bitcoin's market capitalization during this week was not found in the provided snippets, information from the preceding days indicates a consistently high market cap, generally above $1.87 trillion as of April 26th.3 This substantial market capitalization reflects the significant capital invested in Bitcoin and its dominant position within the cryptocurrency landscape. The marginal price increase observed during the week likely contributed to a slight overall increase in its market capitalization.

Ethereum (ETH) Analysis

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also experienced a modestly positive week. Starting on Sunday, April 27th, trading around $1,799 4, Ethereum saw a slight increase on Monday, April 28th, reaching approximately $1,798.4 Tuesday, April 29th, brought a minor dip to around $1,793 4, followed by a notable increase on Wednesday, April 30th, to approximately $1,838.4 The upward momentum continued into Thursday, May 1st, with Ethereum trading around $1,842.4 Friday, May 2nd, saw a slight decrease to around $1,833.4 While the closing price for Saturday, May 3rd, is not explicitly available in the snippets, the trading activity remained around this level.4 Overall, Ethereum demonstrated a gradual upward trend throughout the week, recovering from earlier volatility in April and showing resilience around the $1,800 level, with a push towards the mid-$1,800s.

Key support and resistance levels for Ethereum, as noted in prior analysis, included resistance at $2,080 and $2,100, with support around $2,000.5 However, more immediate levels mentioned for late April included resistance at $1,799, with potential targets of $1,840 and beyond if the $1,800 mark was broken.6 Support levels were identified at $1,703, $1,654, and $1,590.6 The price action during this week saw Ethereum trading near its immediate resistance around $1,800 for a portion of the week, eventually breaking above it, suggesting a potential move towards the $2,000 mark and beyond. The support levels in the $1,600s and $1,700s provided a foundation against deeper retracements. Long-term predictions for Ethereum in 2025 remain bullish, with targets significantly higher than current levels.7 The upcoming Pectra upgrade, scheduled for May 7th, continued to generate positive sentiment and likely contributed to the steady price increase.8 Investors anticipate that this upgrade will bring further scalability improvements and enhance the network's overall performance, bolstering confidence in Ethereum's long-term potential.

Top Performing Altcoins

Beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, several altcoins demonstrated notable performance during the week. Sui ($SUI) stood out with a significant rally of 70%.8 This substantial gain can be attributed to Sui's high-speed transaction capabilities and scalability, which are increasingly attracting attention within the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.8 Sui is positioning itself as a leading platform for DeFi applications, excelling in handling complex on-chain activities, and its future growth is anticipated to be driven by new partnerships and increasing adoption.8 Solana (SOL) was also recognized as a strong performer, gaining attention for its high transaction throughput and low transaction costs, making it a favored platform for developers building decentralized applications.11 Additionally, Dawgz AI ($DAGZ), an AI-integrated meme coin built on Ethereum, continued to generate excitement with its presale success, indicating strong early investor interest in projects that blend artificial intelligence with cryptocurrency.12

Underperforming Altcoins

The provided research material did not prominently feature specific altcoins that experienced significant losses during this particular week. However, analysis from the preceding days noted that while Bitcoin showed signs of market fatigue, other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana saw increasing long positions from investors.14 This suggests that the sentiment beyond Bitcoin among major altcoins was generally stable or positive, with no specific underperformers highlighted in the provided data for the week of April 27th to May 4th, 2025.

DeFi Sector Insights (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

Total Value Locked (TVL) Analysis

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector demonstrated a strong recovery, with the total value locked (TVL) rebounding past the $100 billion mark after experiencing a dip earlier in April.9 By late April, the TVL reached approximately $100.6 - $100.607 billion, signaling renewed confidence in the DeFi ecosystem.9 Ethereum continued to hold the largest share of the total TVL, accounting for around 51% of the locked value.15 Solana ranked as the second-largest blockchain in terms of TVL, holding approximately 8% of the total value locked, followed by Binance Smart Chain with around 5.8%.15 This data underscores the multi-chain nature of the DeFi landscape, with Ethereum maintaining its dominance while other platforms like Solana and BSC continue to attract significant capital and activity.

Key Protocols Leading Gains

Several DeFi protocols played a crucial role in the sector's rebound. Aave and Lido emerged as leading protocols in terms of TVL.9 Aave's TVL rose to $19.75 billion, representing 19.63% of the total DeFi market, while Lido followed closely with $17.033 billion, accounting for 16.93% of the TVL.15 Together, Aave and Lido comprised over 36% of the total value locked in DeFi, highlighting the continued importance of established lending and staking platforms. Additionally, Spark Protocol demonstrated substantial growth, with its TVL soaring by nearly 97% since late March.15 This significant increase suggests a growing interest in newer or more specialized protocols within the DeFi space. Conversely, Uniswap and Binance's Staked Ether platform experienced minor declines in TVL during this period.15

Key DeFi Protocol Developments and Exploits

Despite the overall positive trend in TVL, the DeFi sector faced its share of challenges, particularly in the realm of security. On April 26th, both Loopscale, a Solana-based platform, and Term Finance, an Ethereum-based protocol, reported security exploits.17 Loopscale experienced a loss of approximately $5.8 million from its USDC and SOL vaults, while Term Finance reported losses of about $1.5 million due to a faulty update to its tETH oracle.17 These incidents contribute to a concerning trend in 2025, with the cryptocurrency space having already lost close to $2 billion due to hacks and exploits by late April.6 April alone saw $92 million in losses across 15 DeFi incidents.6 These events underscore the persistent vulnerabilities within decentralized finance platforms and the critical need for ongoing security enhancements and rigorous audits to protect user funds.

NFT Market Review (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

Overall Market Performance

The non-fungible token (NFT) market exhibited a complex performance during April 2025. While the overall trading volume in April experienced a significant downturn, dropping by nearly 40% compared to March and reaching around $389 million 18, the beginning of the month showed considerable strength. In the first 24 hours of April, the NFT market amassed a trading sales volume of $14 million, marking a substantial 46% surge from the previous day. This initial positive momentum suggests that despite the later decline, there was underlying interest in the NFT space at the start of the month. The subsequent drop in overall sales volume indicates a potential market correction or a period of consolidation after previous volatility. Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana, the leading blockchains for NFT activity, all experienced significant declines in trading volumes in April.18

Notable NFT Collections

Despite the overall market slump in April, several NFT collections demonstrated resilience and continued to attract significant interest. Courtyard, built on the Polygon blockchain, emerged as the top-selling collection in April, achieving sales between $62 and $65 million, which represented an impressive 12–18% increase compared to March.18 DMarket ranked as the second most popular collection in April, recording approximately $39 million in sales, showing a relatively mild 4% decrease from the previous month.18 CryptoPunks, a historically significant collection, also maintained its status, although its sales volume experienced a moderate 4% drop to around $19 million in April.18 Earlier in April, during the first week, top-selling NFT collections included DeFi Dungeons, Taproot Wizards, Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and Pudgy Penguins. The continued presence of established collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks in the top rankings, alongside the growth of collections like Courtyard, suggests that while the broader market may be cooling, demand remains strong for specific, high-quality projects with strong community backing and perceived value.

Regulatory and Policy Updates (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

Government Regulations and Enforcement Actions

Regulatory activity in the cryptocurrency space continued to evolve. In the United States, state-level initiatives remained prominent. For instance, in New York, an act concerning the potential designation of economic empowerment zones for cryptocurrency mining was referred to the economic development committee on April 30, 2025.19 This indicates ongoing legislative interest in fostering the cryptocurrency industry within specific regions. At the international level, various regulatory bodies and frameworks continued to be discussed and developed, although specific updates for the period of April 27th to May 4th were not explicitly detailed in the provided snippets.20 However, the consistent focus on digital asset regulation across different jurisdictions suggests a global trend towards establishing clearer guidelines for the industry.

Trump Tariffs and Cryptocurrency

The potential impact of President Trump's tariffs on the cryptocurrency market remained a point of discussion. Towards the end of April, there were signals of a proposed tax reform plan and a de-escalation of tariffs, which appeared to boost investor confidence in the cryptocurrency market.12 Earlier in the month, on April 5th, 2025, reciprocal tariffs were implemented.23 The market's sensitivity to these broader economic policies, particularly those related to international trade, underscores the interconnectedness between traditional financial markets and the cryptocurrency space. Positive signals regarding easing trade tensions and potential tax reforms are generally viewed favorably by crypto investors, while the implementation of tariffs earlier in April likely contributed to market volatility and uncertainty.

Blockchain Technology Advancements (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

Network Upgrades

Several notable blockchain network upgrades were in focus during this week. The Ethereum community continued to anticipate the Pectra upgrade, scheduled for May 7th, 2025.8 This upgrade is expected to bring further scalability improvements to the Ethereum network, enhancing its capacity and efficiency, which has been a key factor in boosting investor confidence.8 Additionally, IOTA launched its significant Rebased upgrade during this week.24 This major architectural shift introduces smart contract functionality to the IOTA network, enabling developers to build a wider range of applications, including those in gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), and stablecoins.24 The Rebased upgrade also includes the introduction of staking, offering investors an annual yield between 10% and 15%, and integrates the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), facilitating greater interoperability between the IOTA and Ethereum ecosystems.24

Other Technological Innovations

Beyond these major network upgrades, other technological advancements were observed within the blockchain space. Sui demonstrated its increasing prominence in the decentralized finance sector by becoming the primary chain for BTCfi, with a notable increase in the bridging of Bitcoin onto the Sui network.10 This development provides new opportunities for Bitcoin holders to utilize their assets within DeFi applications on the Sui blockchain. Furthermore, Ov Finance announced a significant upgrade to its blockchain infrastructure, aimed at delivering faster and safer digital asset trading experiences. This upgrade includes a re-engineered transaction engine capable of processing over 50,000 transactions per second and also incorporates compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enhancing its ability to support a wider range of decentralized applications and improve cross-chain deployment possibilities.

Institutional Adoption Trends (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

The trend of institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies continued to gain momentum. There were reports of significant institutional inflows into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which contributed to increased transaction activity on major exchanges like Binance.12 Growing institutional interest was also cited as a factor driving Bitcoin's price towards the $95,000 mark.11 Coinbase announced the launch of a new Bitcoin Yield Fund specifically targeting institutional investors, indicating a growing demand for regulated and yield-generating crypto products from larger financial entities.25 Moreover, data suggested that sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors were actively accumulating Bitcoin throughout April 2025, further highlighting the increasing acceptance of Bitcoin as a strategic asset within traditional financial portfolios.26

Market Sentiment and Outlook (April 27 to May 4, 2025)

Analysis of market sentiment during the week, using the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, revealed predominantly "Greed" sentiment among investors, with scores generally ranging from the low to high 60s.27 This indicates a prevailing bullish outlook within the cryptocurrency market. However, it is important to note that one source reported a "Fear" reading of 43 on May 2nd 29, and there were mentions of potential market fatigue for Bitcoin despite its April rally.14 This mixed sentiment suggests that while overall optimism is present, a degree of caution may still be warranted given the inherent volatility of the crypto market. External factors, such as the potential for tax reforms, appeared to contribute to the positive sentiment.12

Looking ahead, the near-term outlook for the cryptocurrency market appears cautiously optimistic. The positive price action observed for major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, coupled with the rebound in DeFi total value locked and the anticipation surrounding upcoming network upgrades, suggests a favorable environment for continued growth. However, the reported decline in NFT sales during April and the ongoing security concerns within the DeFi space, along with the mixed signals regarding market fatigue, indicate that volatility and potential corrections remain possibilities. Investors are advised to closely monitor upcoming network upgrades, regulatory developments, and broader market sentiment to navigate the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

Fortuna AI Insights

While the provided research material did not offer direct insights from "Fortuna AI," we can infer potential perspectives based on the general trends and the capabilities of AI-driven tools in the cryptocurrency space. Fortuna AI, as an AI assistant for crypto investing 30, likely played a role in analyzing the market's upward trajectory for Bitcoin and Ethereum, potentially identifying key support and resistance levels and assessing the impact of the upcoming Ethereum Pectra upgrade. The tool might have also highlighted the strong performance of altcoins like Sui and Solana, leveraging its algorithms to detect significant price movements and underlying drivers.

In the DeFi sector, Fortuna AI could have tracked the rebound in total value locked, identifying the leading protocols like Aave and Lido and flagging the security exploits on platforms like Loopscale and Term Finance as potential risk factors. For the NFT market, the AI might have noted the overall decline in sales volume in April while pinpointing the collections that bucked the trend, such as Courtyard. Given the sensitivity of the crypto market to regulatory news and macroeconomic factors like Trump's tariffs, Fortuna AI would likely have incorporated these elements into its analysis, assessing their potential impact on asset prices and investor sentiment. The tool's focus on providing sniper entries for trading 31 suggests it would have been actively identifying potential high-probability trading opportunities based on the week's market movements and technical indicators.

Conclusion

The cryptocurrency market experienced a generally positive week from April 27th to May 4th, 2025. Bitcoin and Ethereum both demonstrated upward price action, while the DeFi sector saw a robust recovery in total value locked. Select altcoins like Sui and Solana continued to show strong performance. The NFT market, however, presented a mixed picture, with an overall decline in April sales despite a strong start to the month. Regulatory developments continued at the state level in the US, and the market remained sensitive to broader economic policies, including potential tariff adjustments. Technological advancements were evident with the upcoming Ethereum Pectra upgrade and the launch of IOTA's Rebased upgrade, alongside other innovations in the blockchain space. Market sentiment leaned towards greed, although some caution remained. Fortuna AI, as an AI-powered investment tool, likely provided valuable insights into these market movements and trends, aiding investors in navigating the dynamic cryptocurrency landscape.

Table 1: Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Summary (April 27 - May 3, 2025)

Note: Opening and closing prices are based on a range from different sources for Bitcoin on April 27th, and the weekly change is calculated from the approximate opening price on April 27th to the closing price on May 3rd.

Table 2: Top DeFi Protocols by TVL (As of Late April 2025)

Table 3: Top Performing NFT Collections (First Week of April 2025)