🤔 Did You Know: Internet Computer (ICP) supports wrapped, on-chain versions of major crypto assets like Bitcoin (ckBTC), Ethereum (ckETH), Tether (ckUSDT), and USD Coin (ckUSDC). These "ck" tokens are 1:1 representations of their original counterparts, backed and secured through ICP’s Chain-Key cryptography. Unlike tokens issued by centralized custodians, these versions are fully native to the ICP ecosystem and retain their real-world value while being interoperable with ICP-based smart contracts, applications, and services.

📊 Instead of relying on risky third-party bridges, ICP uses a built-in, decentralized mechanism to bridge these assets. When a user transfers BTC, for instance, it’s locked in a secure address on the Bitcoin blockchain, and an equal amount of ckBTC is issued on the Internet Computer. This approach ensures the asset remains cryptographically backed and redeemable, while avoiding the vulnerabilities that have plagued traditional bridge protocols in the past.

🕐 Bridged assets on ICP offer several practical benefits. Transactions complete in under a second and cost a fraction of a cent, making them ideal for microtransactions, real-time DeFi applications, and gaming. These tokens can be used seamlessly within ICP’s growing dApp ecosystem, with no need to exit to the original blockchain unless desired. The result is a faster, cheaper, and more secure experience for users who want the value of major assets like BTC and ETH without the constraints of their original networks.

🧐 To keep track of ICP's bridged asset metrics, bookmark & follow along with this helpful Santiment chart template.

🥳 Bitcoin's market value has officially reached a new all-time high, climbing to $109,500, edging past its prior peak of $109,241 that was recorded back on Trump's inauguration day (Jan. 20th). This milestone comes just 6 weeks after the crypto community was exhibiting max FUD over Trump's tariff news.

Besides the easing of the tariffs and 90-day pause between the U.S. and China, one of the key drivers behind Bitcoin’s ascent has been a growing wave of institutional investments. BlackRock expanded its Bitcoin holdings through its spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, which recently surpassed $20B.

Meanwhile, Fidelity and Ark Invest have also reported record inflows. Markets historically move the opposite direction of retail's expectations, and the same direction of institutional whales' capital. Since there has not been a significant amount of FOMO (due to continued tariff uncertainty and general jadedness), the runway was cleared for $BTC to eventually make history.

Bitcoin’s growing presence in the portfolios of major asset managers and hedge funds has quickly changed it from a speculative asset into a core component of diversified investments. Depending on the crowd's own greed, we could see $115K-$120k in the near future.

📈 Bitcoin ETF's are seeing massive inflows, a trend that began in mid-April. Over the past 5 weeks, there has been a net inflow of $6.63B across $BTC ETF's. This is historically a bullish sign for future price movement. Check out the FREE Santiment ETF Dashboard.

📉 Ethereum has under 4.9% of its supply on exchanges for the first time in its 10+ year history. And Bitcoin's supply on exchanges is down to just 7.1% for the first time since November, 2018.

🗓️ Over the past 5 years, there is:

👉 1.7M less Bitcoin on exchanges

👉 15.3M less Ethereum on exchanges

🧑‍💻 Here are crypto's top ETH-based coins by development activity. Directional indicators represent each project's ranking positioning since last month:

➡️ 1) Chainlink $LINK 🥇

📈 2) Ethereum $ETH 🥈

📈 3) Synthetix $SNX 🥉

📈 4) sUSD $SUSD

📈 5) Status $SNT

📈 6) Lido DAO $LDO

📈 7) Livepeer $LPT

📈 8) Holo $HOT

📈 9) Decentraland $MANA

📈 10) Injective $INJ

📖 Read about the Santiment methodology for filtering notable github activity data from project repositories, and why it is so useful for crypto trading.

📊 Stock markets & crypto remain somewhat correlated. With the 90-day tariff pause between the U.S. & China Monday, markets remain within striking distance of all-time highs:

🏦 S&P 500 Current Price: $5,953.57 All-Time High: $6,147.43 on February 19, 2025 Percentage Within All-Time High: 3.27%

🪙 Bitcoin (BTC) Current Price: $103,502 All-Time High: $109,026.02 on January 20, 2025 Percentage Within All-Time High: Approximately 5.33%

🥇 Gold Current Price: $3,196.80 per ounce All-Time High: $3,509.90 on April 22, 2025 Percentage Within All-Time High: Approximately 9.79%

🗣 Here is a live look at the narratives making the biggest waves among crypto topics over the past week.

This dashboard is completely FREE, and provides a great glimpse of what subjects are driving markets. Find it useful? Let us know!