Bitcoin fell below the $80,000 mark on Sunday as investor sentiment weakened across global markets. The move came alongside a spike in daily liquidations, which totaled $590 million.
Heightened anxiety over former President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and escalating geopolitical tensions weighed heavily on risk assets.
More Traders are Shorting Bitcoin After the Worst Q1 In a Decade
The long-short ratio for Bitcoin dropped to 0.89, with short positions now accounting for nearly 53% of activity. The shift reflects growing skepticism about Bitcoin’s short-term direction.
Traditional markets also suffered sharp losses. The Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones all entered correction territory last week, posting their worst weekly performance since 2020.
Bitcoin Long-Short Ratio on Sunday, April 6. Source: Coinglass
The broader crypto market lost 2.45% on Sunday, reducing total market capitalization to $2.59 trillion. Bitcoin remains the dominant asset, holding 62% of the market share. Ethereum follows with 8%.
Sunday’s selloff triggered $252.79 million in crypto derivatives liquidations. Long positions made up the bulk of that figure at $207 million. Ethereum traders accounted for about $72 million in long liquidations alone.
Bitcoin’s price remains closely tied to shifts in global liquidity, often reflecting broader macro trends. With U.S. markets set to open Monday, this weekend’s activity signals continued volatility ahead.
That combination raises the risk of stagflation, a situation where policy tools become less effective. Efforts to stimulate the economy can worsen inflation, while measures to control prices can limit growth.
The GENIUS Act, a bill of proposed new stablecoin regulations for the US, is up for a Senate vote today. Still, its chances of success remain uncertain, as Democratic opposition remains high.
Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee released harsh criticism of the bill, and their staffers also circulated a scathing letter co-signed by 46 advocacy groups. This blowback took place despite recent bipartisan amendments.
However, this vote failed, and the Act currently faces a make-or-break chance to win again or start over:
“IMO, If the GENIUS Act doesn’t pass the Senate, there will be no meaningful legislation involving crypto before the midterms and, unfortunately, midterms historically go against the party in power. If they can’t get this passed, a more complex Market Structures Bill is highly unlikely… not to mention crypto-related tax legislation or consumer protections,” claimed crypto advocate John Deaton.
Reports claim that the GENIUS Act’s next chance will take place today as part of Senate proceedings that will begin at 3 PM EST.
The crypto industry is strongly in favor of these regulations, with advocacy groups and business leaders both saluting the bill. However, it may not be that easy for one clear reason: stiff Democratic opposition.
Despite some initial support, Congressional Democrats turned on the GENIUS Act due to concerns of legalized corruption and unfair business practices.
Last week, legislators proposed a few bipartisan amendments that would severely handcuff the bill with Big Tech exclusions and new enforcement mechanisms. It’s looking like that may not be enough.
According to several reports, the Senate Banking Committee’s Democrats released a scathing review of the GENIUS Act, and staffers also circulated a hostile letter co-signed by 46 different advocacy groups. These measures don’t necessarily reflect the bill’s chances of success, but they do highlight real opposition.
Democratic staff on the Senate Banking Committee sent around a letter this AM signed by several dozen advocacy orgs opposing the GENIUS Act.
Includes ACRE, AFR, Center for Responsible Lending, Our Revolution, Public Citizen, Tech Oversight Project… pic.twitter.com/pragFvzSKB
— Brendan Pedersen (@BrendanPedersen) May 19, 2025
These criticisms focused on a few key deficiencies. First of all, the GENIUS Act’s amendments would prevent publicly traded Big Tech companies from issuing stablecoins.
However, they wouldn’t stop private firms, notably including Elon Musk’s X. This is one of several alleged loopholes that could eventually lead to blurred lines between banking and commerce.
The letters also address consumer protection in the event of an issuer’s collapse. Considering that Tether and most other prominent stablecoin issuers aren’t US-based, critics worry that the GENIUS Act won’t guarantee users’ assets.
Most of the other concerns were adjacent to these major topics, worrying that the Act is wholly insufficient.
To be clear, it might still pass despite this opposition. The Senate Banking Committee and its allies clearly hate the GENIUS Act, but other Democrats might have a more favorable view. At the moment, we can only wait and see how the vote turns out.
Bittensor’s (TAO) subnet ecosystem continues to capture attention with its impressive performance amidst broader market volatility. The market cap has shown substantial growth. Additionally, the total number of subnets has increased threefold over the past year. At present, there are 95 subnets on the network.
Interestingly, the top three subnet tokens—Chutes (SN 64), Gradients (SN 56), and Targon (SN 4)—have posted strong monthly gains. While the momentum has slowed recently, the tokens’ fundamentals and community support remain important factors for consideration.
Chutes
Chutes is a serverless AI compute subnet on Bittensor. The platform offers tools for deploying AI models directly through their platform or via an API, making it simple for developers to integrate AI into their applications without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure.
In terms of performance, the token’s price has increased by approximately 170% over the past month. Since late March, the subnet token has seen a substantial rally, driving its market capitalization to surpass $100 million.
“Bittensor TAO has its first $100 million subnet, just 9 weeks after dTAO launch. Congrats Chutes (SN64)! Chutes is ‘serverless AI’ providing ‘instant on’ AI model hosting (DeepSeek, Mistral, etc.) for 85% less cost than AWS,” a user highlighted on X.
Nonetheless, the high was followed by a slight correction. Since mid-April, the token has been trading more steadily. At press time, it traded at $115.4 (0.35 TAO), representing a weekly decline of 12.1%. In addition, its market cap has also dipped to $93.7 million.
Chutes (SN 64) Token Performance. Source: Tao Stats
It is worth noting that Chutes is one of three subnets developed by Rayon Labs on Bittensor, alongside Gradients and Nineteen. The former is next on the list.
Gradients
The Gradients subnet is designed to make AI model training accessible to everyone. It leverages the Bittensor network’s decentralized infrastructure, allowing users to easily train AI models with minimal effort, even without prior AI knowledge. Its latest version (V3) was launched on April 15.
Wanted a comparison? You’ve got it.
TLDR: Gradients is cheaper AND better.
Some come close to the performance (Google Vertex) but at high cost per hour.
Some come close to the cost (togetherai) but not even close to the performance.
Impressively, its gains even surpass Chutes. Its price has appreciated by over 550% in the last month.
“Gradients has pumped 500%+ in just a couple of weeks,” an analyst observed on April 2.
Yet, much like Chutes, the subnet token also saw a correction, which caused it to shed 30.7% of its gains over the past week. At press time, Gradients’ trading price stood at $54.1 (0.16 TAO).
Gradients (SN 56) Token Performance. Source: Tao Stats
Despite this, the community’s optimism remains quite strong.
“Subnets created by Rayon Labs now account for over a quarter of emissions on Bittensor. This is what happens when a world class team builds with conviction and actually delivers. The network rewards those shipping real products and bringing real value,” the analyst added.
Targon
Lastly, the Targon subnet is a decentralized infrastructure within the Bittensor network, specifically designed to support a marketplace for digital commodities related to AI. As a decentralized system, Targon enables AI models to interact, process, and generate information across various data types and formats without relying on a centralized authority.
“Targon stands out as one of the strongest subnets in the ecosystem,” a user claimed.
Nevertheless, the subnet token has seen the smallest gains compared to its counterparts. Its value has appreciated by around 60% over the course of the last month. It faced a correction in early April. After a slight recovery, the declines resumed.
Targon (SN 4) Token Performance. Source: Tao Stats
At press time, the token’s price was $52.4 (0.15 TAO), a downtick of 19.3% over the past seven days.
As more developers and businesses explore decentralized AI solutions, Bittensor’s ecosystem is likely to expand. The ongoing evolution of these subnets will be crucial in shaping the future of AI infrastructure, and monitoring future developments could likely reveal new opportunities within the decentralized AI market.
