In the aftermath of the halving event, the bitcoin market experienced a notably subdued week, characterized by minimal volatility and a flat trajectory. Opening at $64,695 and closing at $64,300 on the CME exchange, bitcoin’s price exhibited an intraweek movement of 0.61%.

The market reached its peak at $67,340 on Tuesday, with a low of $63,275 recorded on Thursday, depicting a modest $4000 intraweek swing. Interestingly, bitcoin’s price action diverged from that of equity indices, notably the Nasdaq 100, which surged by 4% during the same period, highlighting a unique dynamic between the crypto and traditional financial markets.

Thursday marked a notable downturn in the market, triggered by disappointing GDP growth numbers for Q1 2024. The GDP data revealed a slower-than-expected expansion, with growth rates at 1.6%, falling short of the projected 2.5%. This subdued growth, coupled with escalating inflation exceeding estimates, has investors closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s response, speculating on potential interest rate adjustments and inflation management strategies to avert a significant economic downturn.

This economic data release had a ripple effect in the cryptocurrency market, notably impacting Bitcoin’s price action. Following the data release at 8:30 AM on Thursday, Bitcoin’s price experienced an initial drop of over $700 or more than -1% within a 15-minute period. However, it stabilized and did not continue to decline further, ending Friday’s trading session at a comparable level.

DOJ Wants A Stricter Sentence To Former Binance CEO

On the regulatory side this week, the US DOJ has recommended a three-year prison sentence and a $50 million fine for Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), due to his involvement in Binance violating federal sanctions and money laundering laws.

Despite Zhao’s plea and payment of over $4 billion in fines in 2023, the DOJ asserts that a significant prison sentence is necessary to deter similar violations and punish Zhao for his actions, which facilitated illicit activities such as money laundering.

The uncertainty surrounding Binance’s future leadership and regulatory compliance measures could lead to investor concern and affect the broader cryptocurrency market, including bitcoin.

Open Interest and Volume Decrease

Following the halving event on April 13th, there has been a noticeable decline in futures open interest positions. Prior to the halving, the market reached a record high open interest of $81 billion on April 1st, which has since dwindled to $56.35 billion, marking a substantial 30% decrease in overall market interest across leveraged futures exchanges.

While a drop in open interest (OI) alone isn’t inherently bearish, it signals a challenge in gaining significant upward momentum in bitcoin’s price without broader market participation. Furthermore, this decline in OI has also contributed to a reduction in overall market volume, significantly lower than the peak witnessed on March 6th, where daily volume exceeded half a trillion dollars. Throughout the past week, the highest volume reached was $159 billion on Thursday.

Spot ETF Flows Update

The past week saw a bearish trend in ETF flows, marked by three consecutive days of outflows, outweighing the initial inflows at the beginning of the week. Thursday witnessed a significant spike in outflows, with nearly $218 million exiting the bitcoin market. Overall, total net flows decreased by another $670 million, bringing net assets down to $53.16 billion. This represents a substantial $8 billion or 13% decrease from the peak of $61 billion observed in mid-March.

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