Crypto Daily 13 Apr: Bitcoin Tests $70K, CLARITY Act Returns

Bitcoin is holding just above 70,000 dollars this Monday morning, the latest sign that the tariff-triggered sell-off which stripped more than 20 per cent from the asset in under two weeks has not finished finding its floor. The broader market cap is at 2.49 trillion dollars, the Fear and Greed Index sits at 12 out of 100, and every major token except one is pointing lower. That exception is Hyperliquid. While Bitcoin traders watch whether 70,000 holds as support, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has gained nearly 11 per cent over the past week, with the platform quietly capturing nearly 30 per cent of the global decentralised derivatives market. The market is fearful. Some of its infrastructure is thriving regardless.

The total crypto market cap is 2.49 trillion dollars, down 0.94 per cent in 24 hours, with Bitcoin’s dominance at 56.9 per cent, its highest share in over a year. Rising Bitcoin dominance during a downturn is a consistent signal that investors are rotating out of riskier altcoins into the most liquid asset they trust. The Fear and Greed Index, which combines market volatility, momentum, social media data, and surveys into a single score between 0 and 100, reads 12 today, labelled Extreme Fear, matching its lowest level since the 2022 bear market.

Bitcoin is at 70,736 dollars, or approximately 55,300 pounds, down 1.30 per cent over the past 24 hours, trading in a tight range between 70,617 and 71,772 dollars. The move that actually matters is not today’s small decline but the 22 per cent fall from approximately 91,000 dollars in late March, a crash triggered by the US government’s reciprocal tariffs of up to 50 per cent on more than 50 countries, which arrived on 9 April and sent risk assets into a sharp retreat. A brief bounce on 8 April, when a temporary US-Iran ceasefire was announced, pushed Bitcoin back above 72,000 dollars before the relief faded.

On the institutional side, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated 56.5 billion dollars in cumulative net inflows since launch, and Q1 2026 global crypto ETP inflows reached 18.7 billion dollars net. That structural demand is real, but it has not been enough to absorb the macro-driven selling. Multiple analysts have identified a decisive close below 70,500 dollars as the trigger for a deeper move toward 68,000. Bitcoin needs to hold this zone or the path of least resistance gets considerably worse.

Ethereum is at 2,184.93 dollars, down 1.40 per cent in 24 hours, tracking Bitcoin lower without any fresh catalyst. That alignment says everything about where sentiment stands. The network recorded 200.4 million transactions in Q1 2026, a record, confirming real demand for block space. But price follows risk appetite, and risk appetite is not recovering this week. Ethereum needs either a specific protocol catalyst or a meaningful macro shift before it can decouple from Bitcoin’s current direction.

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token is at 41.10 dollars, essentially flat on the day but up 10.92 per cent over seven days, the standout performer across the large-cap market this week. The reason is operational. Hyperliquid’s decentralised perpetuals platform captured 29.7 per cent of the global decentralised derivatives market in Q1 2026, posting 953 per cent quarterly volume growth by offering perpetuals on commodities including gold, silver, and oil. The platform has 100,000 weekly users and volumes that rival mid-tier centralised exchanges. Bitwise has reportedly filed for a spot HYPE ETF, though this had not been independently confirmed at the time of writing. One caution: a contributor token unlock worth approximately 376 million dollars in HYPE is scheduled this month, a potential supply overhang even as the platform’s fundamentals remain compelling.

XRP is at 1.32 dollars, down just 0.50 per cent on the day and outperforming most of the large-cap table. XRP-linked exchange-traded products attracted 224 million dollars in net inflows globally last week according to CoinDesk, with Swiss-listed products leading the flows. That institutional interest is not pushing the price higher in a falling market, but it is providing relative support that other assets are not receiving. Cardano, at the other end of the performance table, fell 2.41 per cent today to 0.2376 dollars, with a seven-day loss of 7.48 per cent. There is no specific catalyst beyond broad market weakness. In a risk-off environment, assets furthest from their fundamentals tend to fall the hardest.

The largest story beyond the prices today is regulatory. The US Senate returned from its Easter recess this morning, and the CLARITY Act, which would define which digital assets fall under CFTC commodity rules and which fall under SEC securities rules, is scheduled for a Banking Committee roundtable on 16 April. The industry has demanded this legal clarity for years, and both the SEC Chair and Senator Lummis have called for a committee markup in the second half of April. The risk is a four-faction Senate dispute over stablecoin yield language that has stalled the bill repeatedly. Senator Moreno has warned that missing the May window could push this legislation off the calendar until after the November 2026 midterms. In the UK, the FCA’s Application Gateway for cryptoasset firms opens in September 2026, with the full regime targeted for 2027.

Bitcoin’s 70,000 dollar level is the number that matters most this week. A sustained daily close below 70,500 dollars with volume behind it would point toward 68,000 as the next significant area. The CLARITY Act roundtable on 16 April is the most important scheduled event for the sector: a confirmed markup date would likely lift sentiment, while another committee breakdown would extend the regulatory overhang. The Hyperliquid contributor unlock is the clearest near-term supply event for a token that has led the market higher. And the Federal Open Market Committee meets on 28 and 29 April; with US consumer prices at 3.3 per cent annually, any hawkish signal from the Fed would extend the risk-off mood well into May.

This is a daily market update for informational purposes only. Crypto markets are highly volatile and prices can change significantly in minutes. Nothing here is financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.

Crypto Daily is Cristoniq’s daily guide to cryptocurrency markets, published every morning.