The Solana Foundation said on Monday it introduced STRIDE, a security auditing and monitoring program for Solana-based DeFi protocols, alongside the Solana Incident Response Network for real-time coordination. STRIDE assesses projects across eight areas such as program security, governance controls, operational security, and incident response, with results intended to be published publicly. The update follows a reported ~$280 million loss at Drift Protocol after a social-engineering attack tied to North Korean-linked actors.

Ethereum defended the $2,000 level and pushed to a local peak of $2,147, with ETH last quoted near $2,136 after rising 4.81% in 24 hours and 3% over the week. Derivatives activity has led the move, as Binance's spot-to-futures volume ratio fell to 0.13 while futures inflows climbed to $66.9 billion. Spot liquidity weakened alongside reported outflows, keeping the risk of a $2,000–$2,100 consolidation in play.

Bitcoin briefly climbed to $69,550 on Monday, rising 3.30% while remaining about 45% below its $126,000 all-time high set on October 6, 2025. The move triggered heavy derivatives liquidations, with over $276 million in leveraged positions wiped out across 80,200 traders. Short sellers absorbed most of the hit as BTC again tested the $70,000 area it has failed to reclaim repeatedly since early February.

Several private banks in Argentina are running a limited pilot of JPMorgan's JPM Coin to improve interbank settlement and reconciliation times. The first phase uses traditional settlement rails with on-chain recording, aiming to cut costs and boost speed and operational efficiency. Banks still cannot offer crypto services to clients unless the Central Bank changes its 2022 Communication A 7506 rule.

Strategy said it recorded a $14.46 billion unrealized loss on its Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter of 2026, alongside a $2.42 billion deferred tax asset linked to those paper losses. The company also bought 4,871 BTC from April 1 to April 5 for about $330 million, lifting total holdings to 766,970 BTC, valued near $53 billion at current prices.

Crypto analyst Nehal outlined a Bitcoin trading roadmap in an April 5 post, describing how investor psychology may shift through 2026. He projected BTC could peak near $215,000 in May, which he framed as a gain of more than 200% from a current price above $69,000. The plan also sketches a possible bull-trap phase in June and distribution that could extend into July and August.

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) outlined concerns about disclosure gaps, retail-investor protection, and speculative trading tied to meme coins in an April 10 review of cryptoasset regulation. The agency signaled a shift toward tighter, more effective rules that could broaden oversight to protect users while still aiming to preserve innovation.

Bitcoin (BTC) pushed above $68,800 and briefly reclaimed $70,000, but the move failed to hold after a high of $70,463. The price has since pulled back while still trading above $68,000 and the 100-hour simple moving average, with $67,500 flagged as a key near-term support. Upside levels highlighted include $69,350, $69,800, and $70,500, while a break lower could expose $66,800 and $65,500.