Bitcoin fell from $76,500 intraday to $75,000 on Tuesday. This decline came after US Federal Reserve presidential candidate Warsh’s statements to the Senate Banking Committee. Warsh stated that President Donald Trump did not request any interest rate cuts from him, weakening the expectations in the markets that the Fed would ease quickly under Warsh’s leadership. Warsh’s statement led to the erasure of early gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, along with crypto.
Warsh effect and the critical $75,000 threshold for Bitcoin
Warsh has investments in crypto assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects; In addition, his comment describing Bitcoin as “digital gold” draws attention. Former Fed board member Warsh’s position in the Senate means that if he becomes the head of the Fed, the United States could have a president who is significantly sympathetic to digital assets for the first time. According to analysts, if the Fed follows a looser policy in the second half of the year, it may be possible for liquidity to increase again and Bitcoin to head towards $ 100,000.
In the markets, Bitcoin’s level of $ 75,000 is of critical importance. Major trading desks point out that this level must be maintained for the recovery in April to continue. With the drop below $75,000, it is possible for the $70,000 band, which served as support during the tension in the Persian Gulf in March, to come to the fore. On the other hand, if there is a clear break, the $ 78,000 level may come to the fore again.
Warsh’s emphasis, “I did not make a statement to the President about what level the interest rates should be,” reduced expectations for short-term policies in crypto and traditional markets.
The technical outlook has been compounded by political risks this week, with the US-Iran ceasefire expiring on Wednesday evening. While a new negotiating delegation did not set out, it was reported that US Vice President JD Vance’s trip was also cancelled.
Strategy beats BlackRock: Historic Bitcoin purchase
In the shadow of this volatile process, the most notable development of the week was the massive bitcoin purchase by MicroStrategy (“Strategy”) under the management of Michael Saylor. The company announced that it purchased 34,164 Bitcoins for $2.54 billion between April 13-19, at an average price of $74,395. This purchase was recorded as the third largest acquisition in the company’s history and marked the highest weekly accumulation since November 2024.
Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings increased to 815,061 units, which equates to approximately $61.5 billion at current spot prices. Thus, the company became the publicly traded institution holding the most Bitcoin in the spot ETF market, surpassing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust for the first time. BlackRock has 802,823 BTC in its fund. The increase in Strategy’s reserves since the beginning of 2026 has approached 80,000 BTC.
The financing structure of the acquisition also stands out. 86 percent of the latest transaction was provided through the company’s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, with the remainder covered by MSTR common shares. This structure enabled the company to continue its bitcoin accumulation without dissolving its shareholders. Strategy managed to become the largest source of institutional demand in the market by continuing to buy steadily even during the 50 percent price drop of Bitcoin since its peak at the end of 2025.
DeFi vulnerability and its impact on the market
On the other hand, the Kelp DAO attack over the weekend brought up the infrastructure problems in the DeFi sector on the market again. The $293 million vulnerability in the Kelp DAO bridge emerged when attackers generated unsecured rsETH and used it to withdraw real assets from the Aave protocol. After the attack, around $200 million in bad loans occurred on Aave’s balance sheet, and the total locked assets in the DeFi ecosystem decreased by $14 billion.
Analysts point out that such vulnerabilities could slow down the pace of tokenization projects with banks and asset managers. Andrew Moss from Jefferies stated in his note to institutions that traditional financial tokenization moves are accelerating, but recent events will highlight security checks before new distributions. According to Moss, the long-term vision of stablecoin-based payment and on-chain capital markets is still maintained.
For Bitcoin itself, the impact of such breaks has remained indirect at this stage. Capital continues to accumulate in mainstream assets such as BTC and ether. As a matter of fact, a total of $1.29 billion inflows occurred into spot Bitcoin ETFs between April 14-17, and the market managed to overcome the Kelp shock without turning it into a broader decline for now.
What to watch next week?
Three main factors will determine the fate of this week in Bitcoin: The first is the remainder of Warsh’s approval process as Fed chairman and new signals about the Fed’s balance sheet. According to CME FedWatch data, the probability of a rate cut in June is currently only 1.6 percent. The second critical factor is whether the US-Iran ceasefire will be extended before Wednesday night; Otherwise, the expectation of a possible risk escape increases. The third element is whether Strategy’s aggressive purchases will continue and whether the stock markets’ appetite is sustainable.
For now, Bitcoin is in a structurally strong position, with a publicly traded company surpassing the largest spot ETF for the first time in history, but in the short term, central bank policy, Middle East uncertainties and DeFi security issues continue to seek direction in the market.
