The cryptocurrency market has entered a phase reminiscent of past altcoin seasons, primarily driven by Bitcoin's recent rebound to the $94K–$96K range. 

Altcoin season might have come with reviveding speculation 

The cryptocurrency market has entered a phase reminiscent of past altcoin seasons, primarily driven by Bitcoin's recent rebound to the $94K–$96K range. This resurgence has sparked renewed interest among retail traders, shifting focus from Bitcoin to smaller, more speculative altcoins. The overall market saw a 10% increase in value during the final eight days of April, contrasting with Bitcoin's 7% gain. This trend indicates a growing appetite for risk among investors, particularly in meme coins, which have seen a surge in social media discussions.

However, caution is warranted as elevated crowd enthusiasm often precedes market corrections. Historical patterns suggest that when buzzwords like "altseason" are dominating discussions, it may signal an impending price exhaustion. The current market dynamics reflect a shift toward speculative investments, raising concerns about the sustainability of this enthusiasm.

Bitcoin's bullish sentiment substantially improves

Bitcoin's position as the leading cryptocurrency has remained steady, with discussions around its price fluctuating significantly. Following a period of pessimism, when predictions dipped as low as $10K–$69K, sentiment shifted dramatically with the price recovery. Now, optimistic projections of $100K–$159K are dominating conversations, indicating a reversal in trader sentiment.

Despite Bitcoin's consistent presence in market discussions (approximately 25% of asset topics), the ratio of bullish-to-bearish commentary has grown increasingly favorable. This suggests a growing confidence among traders bolstered by Bitcoin's recent performance. However, it’s essential to monitor whether this bullish sentiment translates into sustained investment, or if it leads to overconfidence that may trigger a market pullback.

Ethere, once a robust contender in the altcoin arena, has struggled to regain retail investor confidence despite recent bullish commentary and promises of innovation from co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Its social media presence has dwindled to about 6–7% of discussions, a significant drop from previous years. This decline highlights the challenges Ethereum faces in re-establishing itself as a go-to investment in a market increasingly dominated by speculative assets.

Conversely, XRP has seen a notable increase in optimism surrounding ETF approvals, with expectations rising to 85%. This shift reflects a broader trend of institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, potentially paving the way for significant capital inflows. Meanwhile, Dogecoin's potential ETF listings have sparked renewed interest, transforming its image from that of a meme coin to a legitimate investment option. The growing dialogue surrounding institutional adoption of Dogecoin and XRP indicates a pivotal moment for these assets, suggesting they may play critical roles in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

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Bybit x Santiment social sentiment report: Altcoin sentiment recovers despite Bitcoin’s resilience

Bybit Spread Trading allows traders to simultaneously buy and sell two related instruments in order to hedge risk or profit from price discrepancies. Read more.

Whether markets are flying high or wobbling unpredictably, one thing remains true: traders are always looking for smarter ways to 

 and find profit opportunities. That’s where Bybit Spread Trading comes in. This feature is tailor-made for those who want to go beyond basic buy/sell plays and start taking advantage of price discrepancies between related instruments. In this guide, we’ll walk through exactly how Bybit Spread Trading works, why it matters and how you can start using it today, whether you’re 

is a newly launched Bybit feature that allows users to simultaneously buy and sell two related instruments — such as Spot, Perpetual or Expiry contracts with different settlement dates — in order to hedge risk or profit from price discrepancies.

This type of trading strategy is popular among institutional and professional traders because it enables more precise, controlled market exposure. However, with Bybit’s interface, the barrier to entry is significantly lowered, opening the door for individual traders to tap with just a few clicks into a powerful set of tools.

At its core, Spread Trading on Bybit is about executing what’s called a combo trade. This means entering two positions at once: one long, one short. These positions are taken on related instruments, such as a BTC Spot trade and a BTC Perpetual contract, with the idea that their prices will either converge or diverge in a way that benefits your position.

When you place a buy combo, you’re buying the instrument with the longer expiration (the “far leg”) and selling the one that expires sooner (the “near leg”). 

A sell combo is the reverse: selling the far leg and buying the near leg. The profit (or loss) comes from how the spread between these two instruments shifts over time.

For example, if you believe the spread between a Perpetual and a Quarterly Futures contract will widen, you can buy the combo. If the spread increases after your entry, that movement becomes your profit. Bybit calculates your 

 prices automatically, based on the mark prices and your defined “order price,” so there’s no need to manually crunch the numbers.

Perhaps the most important feature here is atomic execution. This ensures both sides of your combo trade are filled together, in equal quantities, or the trade doesn’t go through at all. It removes “leg risk,” which is the danger of getting filled on one side of the trade, but not the other. In volatile markets, that alone can save you from an unwanted mess.

Spread Trading on Bybit currently supports combinations such as Spot and Perpetual, Spot and Expiry, Perpetual and Expiry, or even two Expiry contracts with different dates. This flexibility lets you build strategies that align with different market outlooks — bullish, bearish or neutral.

There’s a strong reason why Spread Trading is a go-to for many experienced traders: it allows for strategic plays that are more sophisticated than just guessing price direction. On Bybit, it’s not only powerful, but also convenient.

First, you get price certainty. Your spread is locked in at the price you specify. There’s no 

 between legs because the entry prices are automatically calculated and matched. You’re trading the spread, not the individual legs.

Secondly, the trading experience is smoother. Instead of placing two separate orders and manually trying to sync them, Bybit handles everything as a single transaction. You don’t have to worry about whether one leg gets filled and the other doesn’t — that risk is eliminated through atomic execution.

Third, this setup is a great hedge against volatility. By taking opposing positions on two related contracts, you reduce exposure to sharp price movements. Your P&L becomes more about the relative performance between contracts, rather than the market direction itself.

There’s also a strong cost advantage. Trading spreads on Bybit is significantly cheaper than doing it manually. You pay only half the trading fees you’d incur if you placed two individual trades on the order book. For high-volume or 

, that translates to meaningful savings over time.

Finally, it unlocks strategy flexibility. Whether you're 

 funding rates between Spot and Perpetual, doing 

 with different Futures contracts or taking advantage of price convergence before expiry, this platform gives you the tools to execute those ideas efficiently.

How to get started with Bybit Spread Trading 

Now that you have a better understanding of how Bybit Spread Trading works, let’s look into how to get started. Please note that you’ll need to have a Bybit account in order to proceed. If you don’t already have one, please check out our 

 for more information on how to create a Bybit account.

: Log in to your Bybit account and hover your cursor over the 

: The available spreads are organized in a grid, with each tile representing a unique combo. Choose your preferred combo to trade.

Tiles with a border around them signify that Spread Trading offers a better price. Hover over a tile for more details, or use the bar at the bottom of the grid to explore more options.

On the order placement page, set up your order with the following parameters:

to place your order. A pop-up window will appear for you to confirm your order details. Then, click on 

Congratulations — you’ve successfully placed an order!

You can view your Spread Trading orders from any trading page (Spread Trading, Spot and Futures), as they all share the same order data.

 to view your active orders. You’ll be able to view the combo, underlying asset, order price and more. 

If you would like to adjust your order parameters, you may click on the pencil icon under 

. To cancel your order, simply click on the order’s corresponding 

to view your completed orders. To view each order’s information on each leg, click on the order’s corresponding 

button. For additional insights, click on 

Spread trading isn’t for everyone — but if you’re someone who enjoys strategic trading, hedging or arbitrage, it’s a tool worth adding to your arsenal. It appeals to traders who are less interested in taking a directional bet, and more focused on capitalizing on inefficiencies in the market.

You don’t have to be a pro trader to benefit, either. The simplified execution and intuitive UI mean even intermediate users can explore advanced strategies without being overwhelmed. As long as you understand how spreads work, and how your P&L is affected by their movement, you’re already halfway there.

More importantly, in times of market uncertainty or low volatility — when price action feels sluggish — spread trading gives you an alternative way to profit. It keeps you in the game — even when momentum plays aren’t cutting it.

Bybit Spread Trading is a powerful tool that combines simplicity with sophistication. Whether you're looking to hedge, save on fees or experiment with 

 strategies, it offers a clean and user-friendly way to do so. With lower risk, lower costs and plenty of flexibility, Bybit Spread Trading is a smart move for any trader looking to level up their game — especially when markets get messy.

Intermediate

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Bybit Spread Trading: Smart strategies for market swings

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events; the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume; and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

Positive sentiment around potential US trade deals has fueled a sixth straight day of gains in risk-on assets. Bitcoin, boosted by this sentiment and its own drivers, such as strong ETF inflows and regulatory progress, has outperformed gold and equities, rising 14% over the past month and consolidating at $94K. Bitcoin’s implied volatility has decreased significantly, while realized volatility has stabilized above 30%, a level that’s been its floor for the past 18 months.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Perp at months’ high; traders not yet all-in

After rallying from $75,000 to over $95,000 in early April, Bitcoin has traded sideways at around $94,000 this week. Open interest remains stable for April, near all-time highs at $8B, while trade volumes have decreased to $10B per day. Lower trade volumes correlate with lower realized volatility, and perp positioning suggests that traders are waiting for another rally before committing to major positions, mindful of recent sell-offs.

Bitcoin volatility declines to 18-month low

Bitcoin’s volatility has declined, nearing a previously held floor of 35–40%, a level from which it has consistently rebounded over the past 18 months. Implied volatility has followed a 10-point drop in realized volatility to just above 30%, the floor of its 18-month range. Options activity shows a preference for puts, as BTC’s spot price is remaining stable. Volatility smile skews favor out-of-the-money calls, particularly for long-term options, while short-term options are nearly neutral.

BTC volatility smiles skew toward OTM calls

Bitcoin's volatility smiles now favor out-of-the-money (OTM) calls across all tenors, recovering from a put-call skew that strongly favored puts earlier in April. Ether is showing a similar recovery at short tenors, but longer-term skew remains slightly bearish. While ETH funding rates are positive, longer-term option smiles are skewing toward puts, thus presenting mixed sentiment. For BTC, derivatives markets are indicating clearer bullish signals, including positive funding rate spikes, positively sloped futures yields and a skew toward OTM calls.

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Apr 30, 2025): Bitcoin volatility at 18-month low; data shows traders aren’t yet all-in

Grayscale has launched the Bitcoin Adopters ETF, which tracks companies with a corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy. 

Daily top performer — Curve Finance (CRV)

The S&P 500 rose 0.15% as investors shrugged off recession fears and reacted positively to strong tech earnings, with focus now shifting to upcoming Apple and Amazon results. Gold dropped to $3,245 on US-China trade optimism and a stronger dollar, with Fed rate cut hopes cushioning losses. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, fell 0.51%, with Bitcoin and Ether down 1.24% and 0.86%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is CRV, which surged 11.4% after Spark's integration of new Curve pools, enhancing stablecoin liquidity and improving DeFi infrastructure.

Curve Finance (CRV), launched in 2020, is a DEX on Ethereum for low-fee swaps between stablecoins and similar assets, with yield-earning pools and DAO governance via the CRV token. Spark has 

 sUSDS/USDT and USDC/USDT Curve pools to its Spark Liquidity Layer (SLL), boosting stablecoin liquidity, enabling easier swaps, and supporting future direct USDT deposits and withdrawals via Spark Savings.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 the Bitcoin Adopters ETF, which tracks companies with a corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy. The ETF includes firms like Tesla, Blockstream, and MARA. It reflects the growing trend of companies acquiring Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. Grayscale's fund aims to provide exposure to companies in sectors like mining, automotive, and energy. Institutional BTC adoption, including Michael Saylor's Strategy, is driving Bitcoin's scarcity, which may lead to a supply crunch and rising Bitcoin prices in the future.

Yesterday, BTC spot ETFs saw $323.3M in outflows, with $32M from GBTC and $291.3M from other ETFs.

 its largest Galxe points event, running from May 4–8, 2025, where users can complete tasks to earn points. They also introduced the AlphaWave competition, a 7-day AI trading contest featuring 25 crypto agents. Users can vote for the agent they think will win to earn rewards and complete Galxe quests. New tasks will be added throughout the week.

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Grayscale launches Bitcoin Adopters ETF, tracking companies with BTC treasury strategies

Bybit Learn

DeFi

Altcoins

Keen on exploring Cardano's decentralized ecosystem of applications? Try SundaeSwap -- Cardano's biggest DEX that'll let investors reap sweet rewards.

SundaeSwap is an innovative decentralized finance protocol that was launched in early January 2022. As an important and widely anticipated addition to the Cardano (ADA) platform, the hype behind the development of SundaeSwap rallied ADA prices, thanks to high expectations and interest. The price of ADA, the native token of the Cardano platform, increased sharply due to excitement and anticipation of the new Cardano DEX and the initial stakepool offering (ISO). 

Using community governance, SundaeSwap carried out a Reverse ISO to ensure fairness among the staking pools. That said, for Cardano and DeFi beginners, you’re probably wondering what is SundaeSwap, as well as the tokenomics of SUNDAE, the governance token for SundaeSwap.

This article will cover the ISO and the startup phase obstacles, and we’ll review the SundaeSwap Reverse ISO. In addition, we’ll assess the SundaeSwap token and explore if SUNDAE is a good investment.

SundaeSwap's Origins and Promising Future

 (DEX) operating on the Cardano blockchain, and is a scalable exchange protocol with automatic liquidity provision. Thanks to its native and scalable nature, the decentralized exchange has proven to become widely popular among the Cardano community.

The SundaeSwap protocol is defined by a series of immutable, permissionless, and decentralized smart contracts built on Cardano using Plutus, the smart contract programming language of the Cardano blockchain. Unlike traditional exchanges, SundaeSwap adopts a decentralized structure. This enables efficient cryptocurrency transactions designed to offer a superior user experience compared to traditional financial institutions. The DEX’s ambitious road map and continuous rolling out of features have put Cardano in a prominent position as an innovative and high-growth blockchain.

SUNDAE is the native SundaeSwap token, and the DEX is quite popular in the ADA community, reflecting a large social media following created during the development period. The on-chain governance model aligns with the Cardano community commitment to decentralization and community governance. The ISO also demonstrated the commitment to community governance, as the community itself voted and selected staking pool operators to participate in the incentivized distribution.

History wise, SundaeSwap began as an effort to utilize the decentralization features of Cardano and its ability to manage ERC20 programs and smart contracts. The young but experienced development team found strong operations and finance partners. Their effort to make the image an asset may be SundaeSwap’s most visible impact, and the reason SundaeSwap enjoys tremendous popularity in the Cardano community.

SundaeSwap has the best promotional effort of any Cardano DEX. Prior to the launch, the price of ADA rose because of the enthusiasm and optimism generated by the first smart contract-capable DEX on Cardano. The SundaeSwap ISO had an additional positive impact on the price of Cardano’s ADA. Cardano benefited in important ways from the addition of a fully functioning DEX, and the level of transactions on the platform rose sharply after the DEX and SundaeSwap token launch.

SundaeSwap also exemplifies the ownerless exchange model. In their recent 

, the community voted to select pool operators to receive SundaeSwap token incentives, which attracted and rewarded liquidity providers. The community governance model is consistent with the Cardano platform goals. SundaeSwap may be the best Cardano DEX in terms of achieving an ownerless business ecosystem.

 indicated wide acceptance of the native SundaeSwap token, as Bitrue is a highly-regarded exchange. The selection of the SundaeSwap token is a credit to its management team, financial backers, and the Cardano platform.

While the DEX and SundaeSwap token are in full operation, there are lingering tasks, such as the unfinished development of the DEX functions, liquidity, and full community governance. The movement to self-governance through self-executing agreements won’t proceed until Cardano resolves capacity barriers on the size of smart contracts. The full operating protocols and liquidity are under development, and the movement to full self-governance will follow.

Now that we understand the basics of SundaeSwap and its origins, let’s dive deeper into what makes SundaeSwap and SUNDAE a good investment as the best Cardano DEX.

There’s a solid argument in favor of SundaeSwap as the best Cardano DEX. SundaeSwap is the largest DEX on Cardano’s platform, with a 95 percent dominance. The SundaeSwap community is strong, engaged and enthusiastic, and the SUNDAE token works well as an incentive to hold onto thanks to its utility and future prospects as an investment. Large financial institutions think likewise, with the financial backing being especially strong from 

When asking if SUNDAE is a good investment, effective community governance is part of the answer. This can clearly be seen among the SundaeSwap community as they’re highly interested in community governance. An example of this can be seen in how the development team has created avenues for the passionate community to participate in the SundaeSwap Discord and discuss governance proposals in the Sundae DAO category. All of this represents a move towards complete DAO independence as the community takes charge of voting for protocol changes.

SundaeSwap offers some long-term upgrades and improvements for Cardano. Despite being the first Cardano DEX, it’s continually improving to be the best. The addition of smart contracts to SundaeSwap will be completed late in 2022, and this will enable community guidance through smart contract-controlled voting. The overall goal is to create an ownerless marketplace supporting direct engagement between community members.

With the passionate Cardano community and commitment towards advancing smart contracts in mind, the Cardano platform is certainly an ideal fit for SundaeSwap. However, this begs the question: how does SundaeSwap compare against its competitors. Read on to find out how it differs from popular Cardano DEX alternatives like ErgoDEX and ADAX.

ErgoDEX is a cross-chain exchange that offers liquidity between Ergo and Cardano where users can conveniently swap tokens on both blockchains. To keep transactions up to speed, Ergo uses an orderbook and some centralized off-chain processing. It’s worth noting that as a 

 blockchain, ErgoDEX unfortunately consumes huge amounts of energy. ErgoDEX also offers a free and open marketplace with no intermediaries or permissions. Its peer-to-peer marketplace features order book and automatic market maker systems to perform transactions. While all these features sound confusing, ErgoDEX is a user-friendly system that showcases clear and intuitive interfaces.

When compared head-to-head, SundaeSwap has numerous advantages. On top of its previously mentioned financial backing, SundaeSwap has the environmentally conscious edge by working on a Proof of Stake protocol. By comparing operations, SundaeSwap works on a single blockchain and has less complexity than ErgoDEX while offering the same benefits of smart contracts, order book, and decentralized operations. This ultimately makes SundaeSwap the go-to choice for users desiring simplicity in their transactions.

As a state-of-the-art DEX protocol, ADAX prides itself upon letting users take custody of their own assets. With minimal fees and rapid transactions, the DEX stands out from other automated liquidity providers by eliminating common tropes like order books so users can swap and trade as they please. ADAX traders can use a social sentiment trading tool that permits quick strategy changes when users sense trends and developments in the market.

While this peer-to-peer-like approach is appreciated, it also complicates matters as ADAX requires a complex movement and conversion process to migrate tokens on and off the platform. This once again draws comparisons to SundaeSwap, which boasts a simple and intuitive interface for users. ADAX focuses on establishing a professional and minimalist look whereas SundaeSwap uses a wide range of graphics and themes in its colorful interface.

SundaeSwap’s Reverse ISO — and How to Profit from It

SundaeSwap completed its ISO after their January 2022 launch. After the launch, SundaeSwap quickly became the leading Cardano DEX. Substantial comments and observations about the ISO raised some important questions about SundaeSwap’s commitment to fairness.

After examining the distribution of its ISO, the results showed that small pools with individual operators lost significant amounts of delegation. By using community processes to name the eligible staking pools for incentives, the ISO caused delegation to move away from smaller and individually operated pools. More than 7 billion delegated ADA moved to about 40 stake pools. The unintended result of community decision-making was a centralization of delegation in larger pools.

The SundaeSwap Reverse ISO sought to remedy the unintended tilt toward larger pools. Following community action and voting, the SundaeSwap Reverse ISO distributed 20 million SUNDAE to help raise ADA delegation among smaller and single operator staking pools. The 20 million SUNDAE rewards to liquidity providers incentivized delegation to small pools, and increased decentralization in SundaeSwap.

The mechanics of the SundaeSwap Reverse ISO were simple. The community voted to prioritize pools that had been left out of the initial offering. Liquidity providers that had put ADA and other assets in designated staking pools received the new SUNDAE tokens. Liquidity providers who pledged assets and ADA to the designated staking pools could also take advantage of other available benefits, such as yield farming.

Why is SundaeSwap a Promising Investment for Cardano?

Decentralization is an essential goal of the Cardano ecosystem as it offers an innovative approach to trading through a decentralized structure. SundaeSwap is complementing ADA and offering an attractive option for increasing participation. This is achieved through its many liquidity pools that reward liquidity providers handsomely with high yields.

Is SundaeSwap a Good Investment for Liquidity Providers?

Investors benefited from the ISO and the SundaeSwap Reverse ISO. The price of Cardano’s native token, ADA, rose sharply in early February of 2022. Investors were attracted by the anticipated SUNDAE listing. The price rose as SundaeSwap demonstrated effective community governance with their Reverse ISO. The community voted to determine SundaeSwap’s role in the Reverse ISO.

Investors benefited from the Reverse ISO by adding their liquidity to the designated small operators. and any reward programs aimed at retention such as yield farming contracts that pay SUNDAE or ADA bonuses in addition to the yield. They also benefited from the increase in market price of the ADA. Finally, investors benefited from the increased activity on the Cardano platform as the staking pools managed the blockchain.

Is SUNDAE a Good Investment for the Future

Investors ask if SundaeSwap is a good investment. What is the reason for its appeal to the ADA community? The SundaeSwap token distribution began with a total minted supply of two billion tokens. About 1.1 billion SundaeSwap tokens were sent to the public, 25 percent to the team, and about 13 percent to investors.

Users reaped SundaeSwap token rewards at the ISO by adding liquidity to the staking pools incentivized by the community. The road map indicates an ongoing series of rewards and opportunities, such as yield farming. The governance is strong, as evidenced by the IPTO, and responsive, as shown by the SundaeSwap Reverse ISO.

With its current feature set, SundaeSwap certainly meets the needs of Cardano user and investors. The Cardano ecosystem needed a high-functioning DEX to manage a high volume of simple trades and transactions. Down the pipeline, the SundaeSwap road map describes broad steps and long-term plans. Its initial protocol has an automatic setting for the project upgrade. The seamless upgrade path is a comfort for investors seeking to hold their stakes for the long run.

Wondering what is SundaeSwap’s impact on ADA prices? Since the SundaeSwap launch, there has been growth in the Cardano ecosystem and the price of ADA. The price of ADA has risen from $0.10 in July 2020 to more than $1.00 in January 2022.

Volume on the Cardano platform has increased in a steady pattern. Transaction activity and the rise in ADA price have moved in a steadily upward direction. Benefiting from innovations and improvements such as the 

 transaction speed revision and smart contracts, the ADA and SundaeSwap token are on a solid path to continued higher transaction volumes and market prices.

All factors considered, the SundaeSwap token appears to be a strong investment with a favorable outlook. SundaeSwap token market predictions suggest strong upward price movement through 2022, during the often vulnerable first year of operation. The governance mechanism promises smooth transitions as protocols evolve. The organization has strong financial backing and an impressive list of operating partners.

While SundaeSwap is still in its early stages, they can claim to be the best Cardano DEX because they have established themselves as a reputable DeFi solution on the Cardano blockchain and offer an excellent set of services for decentralized trading. Using the innovative Cardano ecosystem, SundaeSwap intends to construct a noteworthy organization based on community governance and Smart contracts. The impressive list of partners and investors demonstrates the potential for growth, superior performance, and a sound SUNDAE token.

What Is SundaeSwap Token: ADA’s Biggest DEX, Reverse ISO and the Future of SUNDAE

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