The ongoing Trump tariffs saga continues to take new turns, especially following the president’s announcement of a proposed 50% tax on EU goods. Now, the US and India are allegedly close to reaching a trade agreement, which could happen in the next 10 days. This is bullish for the market, considering how crypto assets reacted positively when the US and China reached an agreement earlier this month. Trump Tariffs: US & India Close To Trade Deal According to a CNBC-TV18 report, the US and India are close to making a breakthrough in trade negotiations as part of a move to lower the 26% tax that resulted from the Trump tariffs last month. Both parties could reportedly reach an initial agreement in the next seven to ten days. As part of the agreement, the US would partially exempt Indian goods from the 26% reciprocal tariffs. Meanwhile, the US may impose a 10%… Read More at Coingape.com
Pi Network (PI) is down 14% over the past 30 days, with its market cap falling below $5 billion and the token trading under $1 since May 14.
Technical indicators continue to show bearish momentum, with PI struggling to break through key resistance levels. The Ichimoku Cloud, BBTrend, and EMA lines all point to ongoing weakness and a lack of bullish confirmation. Unless momentum shifts soon, PI may face further downside before any meaningful recovery can take shape.
The BBTrend (Bollinger Band Trend) measures the strength and direction of price movements relative to Bollinger Bands.
Positive values suggest bullish momentum as the price pushes the upper band, while negative values indicate bearish conditions with prices staying near the lower band.
PI’s current BBTrend at -2.21 reflects a mildly bearish stance—less extreme than earlier, but still lacking upward pressure. The indicator must cross into positive territory and hold for sentiment to shift.
PI Breakout Could Trigger 37% Rally
PI price remains in a bearish technical setup, with its EMA lines showing short-term averages below the long-term ones.
If bearish pressure builds, PI could retest key support levels, and a breakdown would mark the first time the asset falls below a major historical threshold—intensifying downside risk.
Bitcoin price consolidated around the $85,000 support level on Friday, April 18, despite escalating sell-offs in the broader US stock market. On-chain divergence data highlights a sharp investor pivot toward Bitcoin since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2.
After a volatile start to the month, Bitcoin (BTC) has shown resilience this week. Despite sharp swings in global financial markets, as the US-China trade war escalates, BTC has managed to hold firmly above the $80,000 level.
Bitcoin price performance, April 18 2025 | Source: Coingecko
According to CoinGecko data at press time, Bitcoin trades at $84,500, indicating a return to calm and stability. The recent price action suggests that weaker holders have exited the market, allowing long-term investors to retake control and solidify BTC’s floor
Bitcoin has outperformed the S&P 500 Since Liberation Day Tariffs
Beyond retail market reactions, broader macro trends show Bitcoin has decisively outperformed traditional equities in the two weeks since Trump’s latest trade war initiative. Following Nvidia’s $
Bitcoin price vs. S&P 500 data | Source: Santiment
5.5 billion tariff-linked charge, US tech stocks took a steep hit, while BTC remained largely unmoved.
Santiment data reveals that the BTC vs. S&P 500 divergence coefficient dropped from 0.16% on April 2 to 0.083% by April 18—marking a 48.1% outperformance by Bitcoin in just two weeks. This metric reflects increasing capital rotation into BTC as investors seek shelter from tariff-induced equity market turbulence.
With strong US Jobless Claims data and rising political pressure for rate cuts, BTC’s bullish positioning may extend further, especially if macro conditions remain favorable for alternative assets like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Poised for Breakout Toward $87,000?
Bitcoin is trading around $84,540, consolidating just below the midline of the Bollinger Bands on the daily chart.
After recovering from early April’s drop to $77,900, currently the lower Bollinger Band support, BTC price has gradually climbed with diminishing volatility. The upper Bollinger Band now caps resistance at $87,424, while the middle band, at $82,680, serves as a key pivot zone.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
Volume Delta remains neutral at 193, suggesting neither bulls nor bears hold dominance, but the narrowing bands signal an incoming volatility expansion.
Bitcoin price forecast today indicates a potential upward breakout as price action stabilizes above the Bollinger midline and consolidates in tight daily ranges. Despite a red candle today, recent green-bodied candles suggest bulls are regaining control. A break above $85,500 would open room toward $87,400 and potentially $88,000.
Conversely, failure to hold above $82,680 risks a retrace to $80,000 and $77,900. However, barring unexpected sell pressure, the path of least resistance remains upward. The low-volume pullback hints at profit-taking rather than trend reversal.
As Solana continues its ascent, experts are not writing off Ethereum’s chances to compete favorably in decentralized finance (DeFi). Uniswap founder Hayden Adams wants Ethereum to hone in on Layer 2 scaling to even the odds with Solana.
Uniswap Founder Wants Ethereum To Continue Horizontal Scaling
The calls for Ethereum to focus on Layer 2 scaling are growing louder, with Uniswap founder Hayden Adams joining the train. The Uniswap founder disclosed his stance in an X post, calling for Ethereum to continue its Layer 2 scaling development.
Adams notes that Layer 2 solutions remain Ethereum’s best chance to keep its skin in the DeFi game amid rising competition from Solana. He notes that Solana is better suited to do DeFi on its layer 1, given its roadmap and overall approach compared to Ethereum.
Ethereum, aware of the challenges of its Layer 1, has pivoted to an L2-focused roadmap since 2020. However, a broad ecosystem focus for Layer 2 scaling solutions has left the base layer without major updates for a while, whipping up conversations for a change in approach.
Despite the push for a return to a Layer 1-focused approach, the Uniswap founder wants Ethereum to continue on its existing roadmap. He took swipes at community members pushing for a change in strategy every month, urging them to “pick a lane” and mitigate the attendant risks.
“Ethereum has been working towards an L2-centric/horizontal scaling roadmap for 5+ years,” said Adams. “You want to throw this away at the final stretch because of what reason?”
Ethereum and Solana are going neck and neck with each other with a Coingape analysis weighing whether ETH price will hit $3 before SOL clinches $200.
A Layer 1-centric Approach Is Still Acceptable
The Uniswap founder disclosed in the post that he remains open to the possibility of a pivot to a Layer 1-centric approach. However, the approach has to be explicit and realistic, with Adams recommending key network changes.
“I’m fine with L1-centric scaling approach if it’s explicit and approached realistically,” said the Uniswap founder. “We would have to drop a ton of philosophical stuff like any laptop can run a node.”
He adds that Uniswap’s largest market share comes from Layer 1, making a pivot still a win for his project. However, the approach inflames centralization risks affecting the ability of individuals to run full nodes.
Amid the raging conversations for scaling direction, Ethereum is facing its worst quarterly price performance in nearly a decade. ETH targets a $1600 breakout as prices continue to wallow under $2,000 since slipping below the psychological level.
Tron founder Justin Sun says he is not selling his ETH holdings despite falling prices, pledging to collaborate with Ethereum developers to trigger ecosystem growth.
