Hedera remains under heavy pressure, marking yet another day of decline as traders continue to bet against the altcoin. It trades at $0.18 at press time, noting a 2% price drop over the past 24 hours.
With its long/short ratio signaling a surge in short interest, market sentiment has turned increasingly pessimistic.
Short Sellers Tighten Grip on HBAR
HBAR’s long/short ratio has dropped to 0.86, its lowest level in a month. This reflects a sharp increase in short positions among derivatives traders.
The long/short ratio measures the proportion of long positions (bets on price increases) to short positions (bets on price declines) in the market. A ratio below one means there are more short positions than long ones. This indicates that traders are predominantly bearish on HBAR and hints at a higher likelihood of continued downside movement.
Further, HBAR’s negative Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) on the daily chart supports this bearish outlook. This indicator, which measures how money flows into and out of the asset, is below zero at -0.10 when writing.
HBAR’s negative CMF reading suggests high selling activity, with its sellers dominating the market and looking to push prices lower.
HBAR Traders Brace for Volatility as Price Flirts with Key Support Levels
The growing demand for short positions highlights investors’ expectations of further downside, raising concerns about HBAR’s ability to hold above the critical support level formed at $0.17.
If it fails to hold, the token’s price could plummet to a multi-month low of $0.11, which it last traded at in November.
However, a resurgence in demand for the altcoin could invalidate this bearish projection. If buyers regain market dominance and increase demand, HBAR could rebound toward $0.22.
ZORA launched its airdrop today, distributing tokens to early users. The rollout caused confusion, as no official claim site was provided. Users had to check their allocations manually through the smart contract. While the Content Coin narrative boosted coin creation and new users, trading volume dropped sharply from its initial peak.
ZORA’s price fell around 50% in the first two hours after the airdrop. It is now trying to recover, but momentum remains uncertain. The market is still reacting to the airdrop and overall token distribution.
Content Coin Narrative Boosts Zora Usage
The Zora airdrop officially launched today, distributing tokens to early users based on two snapshot periods—but it was met with confusion. Base founder, Jesse Pollak, addresses some of these points in an exclusive interview with BeInCrypto.
Many users were unclear on how to check their eligibility, as no official claim site or checker was provided. Instead, allocations had to be verified manually via the smart contract, leading to mixed reactions across the community.
While 10% of the total 10 billion supply was reserved for early adopters, the decision to allocate 65% of tokens to insiders (team, treasury, and contributors) raised questions about the distribution model.
Coins Created and Unique Creators Per Day. Source: Dune.
Since Base chain began promoting the idea of Content Coins, activity on Zora has noticeably increased. The number of newly created coins has remained above 20,000 since April 17, reaching nearly 28,000 yesterday.
Meanwhile, unique creators on the platform grew from 3,683 on April 16 to 6,206 by April 22.
While this growth suggests rising interest, it also reflects a trend still in early development, with questions remaining around long-term sustainability and utility.
Zora Volume Peaked at $31 Million—Now It’s Down Over 70%
Zora’s trading volume in USDC surged sharply with the rise of the Content Coin narrative, hitting $30 million on April 16 and peaking at $31 million on April 17.
This initial spike reflected a strong wave of early interest and speculative momentum around the new use case for content on-chain. a
The increase aligned with Base’s push to promote content coins as a fresh alternative to traditional meme tokens, drawing attention from creators and traders alike.
However, despite the number of coins created continuing to climb, Zora’s volume fell significantly to just $9 million by April 22.
This divergence suggests that while more users are experimenting with the platform—launching and minting coins—actual trading activity has not kept pace.
The drop in volume may indicate fading speculative interest, uncertainty around the airdrop, or early profit-taking following the initial hype.
ZORA Price Dives After Airdrop, Now Eyes Recovery
ZORA’s price experienced a sharp selloff immediately following its airdrop, dropping roughly 50% within the first two hours of launch.
Such volatility is not uncommon for newly airdropped tokens, as early recipients often rush to secure profits, adding intense short-term selling pressure.
Since then, ZORA has shown signs of recovery, attempting to stabilize and build upward momentum. If it can break above the $0.023 level, it could move to test resistance at $0.0289, with a potential extension toward $0.034 if buying strength returns.
However, the recovery remains uncertain. If ZORA fails to hold current levels and bullish momentum fades, it may retest support at $0.019.
A break below that could lead to further downside, with the next key level around $0.0165.
This price action reflects a typical post-airdrop pattern—initial volatility, followed by a battle between early profit-takers and potential long-term holders looking to establish positions.
A lot happened this week in crypto, marking developments expected to continue shaping the industry. Important headlines came from administrative decisions, ecosystem developments, and analysts probing the market outlook.
In case you missed it, the following is a roundup of some of the most important developments in the crypto market this week.
XRP Lawsuit’s Jay Clayton Became New SDNY Attorney
“Trump’s former SEC Chair Jay Clayton has taken his position as interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York. He will serve for up to four months until confirmed by the Senate or appointed by Manhattan federal judges,” former Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported.
The move came as Democratic leaders in the Senate reportedly hinted at blocking Clayton’s nomination. Trump’s move to install him as interim could see Clayton avoid the Senate confirmation process.
Clayton is the legal expert who initially filed the longstanding legal action between the SEC and Ripple. As it happened, Clayton filed the lawsuit on December 22, 2020, and resigned the next day in what will be remembered as a “parting shot” for the agency.
Pi Network Pioneer Frustration Over Ambiguous Roadmap
Another crypto incident this week concerned Pi Network pioneers. As BeInCrypto reported, the controversial project released its Mainnet Migration Roadmap. However, it failed to impress pioneers as it lacked key details.
Specifically, several gaps sparked concerns, including failing to disclose how many Pioneers remain in the queue. Similarly, it was unable to show the network’s daily migration capacity. The absence of these figures makes it impossible for users to predict when their migration will occur.
Further, opaque criteria for node rewards and the UI’s “Transferable Balance” underestimating actual migrated amounts raised flags. Pi Network also offers no audit or error‑resolution process for users who spot mismatches in their historical mining data, exacerbating the fears.
“I thought we were mining all of these PI coins this whole time? I thought the security circles were the Consensus Mechanism. It kinda seems to me like there isn’t a blockchain, and never was one. What kind of “Blockchain protocol” would “Require” all tokens to be minted at genesis?” one community member wrote.
Pi Network (PI) price performance. Source: CoinGecko
Data on Coingecko shows PI coin was trading for $0.6539 as of this writing, up by a modest 1.1% in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin Cycle Unfolds Noticeably Different From Previous Ones
More interestingly, BeInCrypto reported a concerning shift: this cycle is unfolding remarkably differently than the past ones post-halving.
In previous cycles, BTC price tended to rally aggressively months after the Bitcoin halving. The post-halving period saw strong upward momentum and parabolic price action.
This trend was largely driven by retail enthusiasm and speculative demand, which proved most pronounced from 2012 to 2016 and 2016 to 2020.
Things are happening differently in the current cycle. Instead of accelerating after the halving, the price surge began in October and December 2024, driven by Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded funds) hype. This was followed by consolidation in January 2025 and a correction in late February.
PancakeSwap Announces CAKE Tokenomics Date
This week in crypto, PancakeSwap announced the official date for its CAKE tokenomics, April 23. As BeInCrypto reported, key changes included the removal of veCAKE, staking, and revenue sharing, with 5.3 million CAKE to be burned annually to curb supply.
However, there was also controversy as Cakepie DAO pushed back against veCAKE removal. Several developers and community members believe CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 will benefit the project in the long term.
“At its core, CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 defends true value and protects CAKE holders by strengthening long-term fundamentals—such as aggressively cutting emissions to accelerate deflation and sustainably grow value,” Chef Philip said.
Meanwhile, others voiced strong concerns on X (Twitter), criticizing the decision to eliminate veCAKE. Among them was Cakepie DAO, one of the largest veCAKE holders, who called it non-transparent and potentially damaging to projects built around that model.
Against this backdrop, PancakeSwap resorted to a $1.5 million CAKE compensation plan.
“PancakeSwap is willing to provide 1.5M USD in CAKE to CakePie DAO primarily used to compensate CKP Holders if CakePie DAO enables mCAKE holders to redeem 1:1 back to CAKE and opens the redemption page in a timely manner if the proposal passes. Detailed plans will be announced once the mirror proposal on CakePie is completed,” the Head Chef of PancakeSwap wrote.
Data on CoinGecko shows Pancake’s CAKE was trading for $2.12 as of this writing, up by nearly 10% in the last 24 hours.
Zora Airdrop and Token Launch Announcement
Adding to the list of the many events that happened this week in crypto, Zora Network announced that it would airdrop 1 billion ZORA tokens (10% of the total supply) on April 23. The tokens would reward early platform users across two snapshot periods.
As it happened, the crypto airdrop happened in style, sparking confusion as it lacked an official checker or claim site. Users were required to go to the contract address and check their allocations.
Speaking to BeInCrypto, Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base blockchain, said that one must not understand anything about crypto or the underlying infrastructure before posting on Zora. He also defended the value of content coins, emphasizing their potential for creators despite volatility.
The role of stablecoins is expanding beyond the crypto market and attracting attention from traditional financial institutions. Meanwhile, new regulations from Europe and the US could make stablecoins more useful in the real world.
However, these regulations also pose challenges for stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle. Currently, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC dominate the stablecoin market capitalization, but many experts believe this could change in the future.
Expert Questions the Sustainability of Tether and Circle’s Business Model Under New Regulations
A recent PitchBook report revealed that the top 10 stablecoins have a total market capitalization of approximately $220 billion—up from less than $120 billion two years ago. Tether alone accounts for about 65% of this total, while USDC holds another 25%.
Market Capitalization of Top 10 Stablecoins.Source: PitchBook
The report also highlighted that fiat-backed stablecoins are the most common, making up around 95% of the total supply. However, Robert Le, a senior analyst at PitchBook, warned that such a high concentration carries risks.
“Another major risk is centralization, in which a single entity such as Tether or Circle controls the minting and burning of tokens, raising concerns about decision-making and conflict of interest. An issuer might halt redemptions or freeze funds under regulator pressure, hurting legitimate holders,” PitchBook Analyst Robert Le commented.
Legal risks are also becoming more evident as US regulators draft specific rules for stablecoins. Several bills, including FIT21, GENIUS, and STABLE, are currently under discussion.
The US is expected to introduce stablecoin-specific legislation next year. This would legalize stablecoins but impose stricter requirements on issuers, such as higher reserve standards, mandatory audits, and increased transparency. Meanwhile, the EU’s MiCA regulations require stablecoins to meet banking-like standards. In response, Tether has opted out of the European market to avoid MiCA compliance.
Traditional Finance Firms Plan to Enter the Stablecoin Market
A report from Ark Invest stated that in 2024, the total annual transaction volume of stablecoins reached $15.6 trillion—equivalent to 119% of Visa’s volume and 200% of Mastercard’s. Despite this, the number of stablecoin transactions remains relatively low at 110 million per month, only 0.41% of Visa’s and 0.72% of Mastercard’s.
This suggests that the average stablecoin transaction value is significantly higher than those of Visa and Mastercard.
Meanwhile, investment giants such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity are offering tokenized money market funds. These funds function similarly to stablecoins and could directly compete with USDC and USDT.
“We further expect that every major financial platform or fintech app will seek to launch its own stablecoin, hoping to lock users into seamless payment ecosystems. However, we believe only a handful of trusted issuers—those with regulatory greenlights, recognized brands, and proven technological reliability—will ultimately capture the majority of market share.” – PitchBook predicted.
