Apr 14, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly highlight — Apple exemptions send crypto higher 

US president Donald Trump’s administration recently exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, providing significant relief for major technology manufacturers like Apple and NVIDIA. This move, announced by US Customs and Border Protection, limits the impact of Trump’s 125% tariff on goods from China and baseline 10% global tariff affecting many countries.

The exclusions cover popular electronics, such as smartphones, laptops, hard drives and memory chips, typically not domestically produced. This decision is welcome news for consumers who feared rising prices due to potential tariffs. It also benefits major tech companies that have made substantial investment pledges in the US domestic markets to the Trump administration.

The tariff reprieve marks a noteworthy easing in Trump's trade conflict with China, effective retroactively from April 5. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that America must not depend upon China for critical technologies, highlighting the president's efforts to secure substantial investments from leading tech firms to bolster domestic manufacturing. 

However, the reprieve may be temporary. The exclusions stem from an initial order designed to prevent cumulative tariffs on specific sectors. While certain semiconductor manufacturing equipment is excluded, the announcement doesn’t cover the 20% tariff targeting China, aimed at addressing fentanyl shipments.

Analysts note that while this exemption is a win for the tech industry, uncertainty remains regarding future tariffs. The administration is poised to further investigate semiconductor imports, potentially leading to new tariffs in the coming weeks. As negotiations evolve, other countries may seek similar exceptions, complicating the trade landscape. 

Overall, while this announcement offers temporary relief, the future of tariffs remains uncertain as the administration continues its aggressive trade policies.

Weekly crypto highlight — Bitcoin has its role to play amid volatility

The concept of "safe haven" assets, traditionally represented by gold and government bonds, is being challenged in today’s volatile markets. For decades, investors relied on a classic portfolio structure of 60% equities and 40% bonds, with capital flowing into gold and government bonds during market downturns. These assets were seen as stable and reliable, ideal for safeguarding against volatility. However, in a world marked by constant market activity, geopolitical unrest and rising skepticism toward governments, the definition of a safe-haven asset may require reevaluation.

Enter Bitcoin, a highly volatile and often misunderstood asset. Despite skepticism from many investors, Bitcoin has significantly outperformed traditional safe-haven assets since the COVID-19 market lows, rising over 1,000% since March 2020. In contrast, long-duration bonds have dropped by 50%, and gold, while up 90% over five years, appears less impressive when adjusted for monetary inflation.

However, Bitcoin's status as a safe haven remains debated. During various risk-off events, it’s behaved more like a high-beta asset than a protective hedge. For instance, in March 2020, BTC fell 40%, while the Nasdaq-100 dropped 27%. But during the recent tariff-led sell-off in April 2025, Bitcoin held up better than the Nasdaq-100, suggesting emerging strength.

Non-sovereign assets like Bitcoin could thrive amid geopolitical tensions, given their decentralized, censorship-resistant nature. Traditional safe havens like gold and long-duration bonds are losing their luster, with gold’s gains overshadowed by monetary expansion and rising yields on Treasury bonds.

As Bitcoin continues to demonstrate resilience, it may challenge the notion of what constitutes a safe haven. While it may not fit the classic definition of a low-volatility asset, its durability, neutrality and liquidity make it increasingly relevant in today’s financial landscape. Thus, the traditional playbook for safe-haven assets may need an update.

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Apple exemptions send crypto higher; Bitcoin’s role to challenge gold

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.

After initially resisting US president Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, crypto markets joined the global sell-off, with BTC falling from $87K on April 2 to a low of $74K. BTC’s term structure was inverted again before easing, while ETH’s term structure remained inverted. Meanwhile, short-term BTC volatility skews favored OTM puts, reflecting more bearish sentiment than during the Q1 2023 US banking crisis. However, volatility levels decreased after Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs (excluding those on China), leading to a significant rally in spot prices.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

BTC open interest declined substantially this week

Bybit’s largest perpetual swap markets initially remained stable during the broader market sell-off and tariff reactions, recovering from the dip after the 

. However, Trump’s recent announcement and subsequent pause of near-unilateral import tariffs significantly impacted these markets, leading to notable declines in open interest for BTC and ETH, which have fallen sharply from their late March highs.

After a brief period of positive funding rates, BTC’s perpetual swap market fluctuated between positive and negative sentiment, indicating traders were hesitant to commit to a strong directional move (similar to trends in options markets). This changed when President Trump announced a 90-day tariff relief, leading to positive jumps in funding rates. Altcoins displayed a similar pattern, with funding rates alternately positive and negative before rising following the tariff announcement.

During the April 6–7, 2025 sell-off, traders sought downside protection, as BTC's spot price fell to $75K in reaction to President Trump’s tariff announcement. The high volume of put options relative to calls indicates strong demand for this protection. Meanwhile, the US's reciprocal tariffs caused a significant inversion in BTC’s at-the-money volatility term structure, which, although it has eased, remains inverted. Additionally, there‘s a stronger skew toward OTM puts at short tenors as compared to the March 2023 US banking crisis. Put open interest has surged over the past week, reflecting extremely bearish sentiment for both the near and long terms.

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Apr 9, 2025): Tariffs bring substantial volatility at a level similar to that of the Q1 2023 US banking crisis

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how you can stake and mint Lombard LBTCv on Bybit Web3 Staking with the Bybit Web3 Seed Phrase Wallet. 

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how you can stake BTC to mint 

Please note that in order to get started, you’ll first need to download the Bybit App on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. 

How to stake and mint LBTCv with Bybit Web3 Staking

: Launch the Bybit App on your mobile device and tap on the 

: Deposit BTC into your preferred Bybit Web3 Seed Phrase Wallet BTC address.

: Once you’ve deposited BTC into your wallet address, tap on the 

drop-down and select the BTC address into which you’ve deposited BTC. 

: Input the exact amount of BTC you’d like to stake, and tap on 

 and sign the message to allow this exact amount of BTC to be staked.

 page. Ensure that the amount of BTC is exactly the same as you wish to stake, and tap on 

: Tap on the icon located at the upper-right corner of the screen to check your transaction history.

: You’ll receive LBTCv in three progressive stages:

: Once you’ve received LBTCv, you can check your points (updated every hour).

If you wish to stake more BTC, simply repeat Steps 7 through 12. However, please

that you won’t be able to stake more BTC as long as you haven’t yet received your LBTCv.

To redeem your LBTC, simply scroll down the 

button. Then, wait three days for the successful redemption of LBTC.

If you wish to cancel your redemption, you can do so within these three days.

Beginner

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How to stake and mint Lombard LBTCv with Bybit Web3 Staking

A Chainlink Spot ETF would bridge TradFi and crypto, offering a simplified way to gain exposure to LINK without the complexities of digital wallets or exchanges.

There's been a recent surge in spot ETF applications as investors look for ways to sidestep the rigid frameworks of traditional finance. The success of 

 — drawing billions in inflows — signals a major shift in the way institutions approach crypto investments. 

 networks, is in line for its own Spot ETF. The proposed fund promises a direct, hassle-free way to invest in Chainlink (LINK), eliminating the need to deal with complex 

 and exchanges. This article explores what a Chainlink Spot ETF is, how it would work, its current market impact and what its potential approval could mean for investors and the broader crypto landscape.

A Chainlink Spot ETF is an exchange-traded fund, backed by Chainlink (LINK) tokens, that would directly track the market price of LINK, a cryptocurrency powering decentralized oracle networks, thus enabling investors to gain exposure without directly holding the asset itself.

 (ETF) would offer investors direct exposure to LINK’s price movements without requiring the investors to handle the digital asset directly. 

Authorized Participants (APs), typically large financial institutions or market makers approved by the ETF issuer, play a central role in maintaining liquidity and aligning the ETF’s market price with its net asset value (NAV). These entities facilitate the creation and redemption of ETF shares by acquiring LINK tokens from exchanges or over-the-counter markets, and transferring them to the ETF’s custodian, a regulated entity responsible for secure storage. 

In exchange, the ETF issuer provides APs with newly created shares, which represent fractional ownership of the underlying assets. The shares are then introduced to secondary markets for investors to trade.

Creation, redemption and listing of shares

When redeeming shares, APs collect ETF shares from the market and return them to the issuer, receiving LINK tokens from the custodian in return. These tokens can be sold on the open market or held, depending upon the AP’s strategy. This creation-redemption process enables an 

 mechanism that stabilizes the ETF’s price, relative to its underlying assets. 

If the ETF is trading at a premium to NAV, APs create and sell shares to capitalize on the price difference, pushing the market price downward. Conversely, if the ETF is trading at a discount, APs redeem shares, reducing supply and driving the price upward. This dynamic ensures that the ETF’s market price remains closely tied to LINK’s actual value. 

Shares are listed on exchanges and traded like traditional stocks, integrating seamlessly into existing portfolios while offering potential tax efficiencies. The structure combines the accessibility of conventional investments with the benefits of cryptocurrency exposure, appealing to those seeking indirect participation in LINK’s market movements through a regulated and familiar framework. For investors, the ETF will simplify exposure to Chainlink by eliminating the need to manage 

 or wallets, or navigate complex crypto exchanges. 

The Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, which includes Chainlink (LINK), has gained attention as a significant development in the crypto ETF space. This ETF, 

 in February 2025 and currently provides exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

 with the SEC on Mar 14, 2025 to expand the ETF's scope to include additional cryptocurrencies like LINK, ADA and SOL. This application remains the sole filing for a Spot Link ETF (as of Mar 20, 2025). While the SEC has approved the fund's initial structure, its response to the inclusion of Chainlink and other assets remains pending.

The SEC has historically been cautious about approving spot cryptocurrency ETFs, due to concerns about market manipulation and investor protection. However, the approval of multi-asset ETFs such as NCIQ signals a potential shift in regulatory attitudes. Market sentiment has been cautiously optimistic, with investors viewing these developments as a step toward broader acceptance and integration of cryptocurrencies into traditional financial systems. The timeline for the approval of Chainlink Spot ETFs remains uncertain, but growing institutional interest and regulatory advancements suggest progress in the near future.

Current impact of Chainlink Spot ETF applications on the crypto market

The anticipation surrounding Chainlink Spot ETF applications is clearly influencing market sentiment. Although Chainlink's price hasn’t yet surged dramatically, increased investor interest and speculation about potential ETF approvals have boosted overall optimism. 

Data from LINK and CoinGlass reveals that 

 have fallen to 138.8 million coins, the lowest since September 2024, indicating that investors are holding onto their tokens in self-custody wallets instead of selling. This trend reflects a growing belief that SEC approval for a Spot LINK ETF could substantially boost the token’s price. In addition, Chainlink’s role as one of the largest oracle networks and its innovative cross-chain interoperability protocol for asset tokenization further reinforce this positive outlook.

What will it mean if a Chainlink Spot ETF application is approved?

The approval of a Chainlink Spot ETF would have some significant implications for both the cryptocurrency market and traditional financial sectors, as follows.

If you’re looking to capture the market and trade LINK tokens, Bybit offers the 

A Chainlink Spot ETF would connect cryptocurrency with traditional finance by allowing investors to track LINK’s price without the complications of managing digital wallets. Specifically, it would keep the ETF's price in line with LINK’s market value, increase liquidity and attract institutional investors. Approval of a Chainlink Spot ETF could drive LINK's price higher, similar to trends seen with Bitcoin ETFs, and confirm Chainlink’s importance in the crypto ecosystem, encouraging its use across various industries. 

However, investors need to be cautious of potential short-term price swings and changes in regulations. Overall, this ETF would make crypto investing simpler for a broader audience, strengthening Chainlink’s position and supporting wider acceptance of blockchain technology in the financial world.

Intermediate

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Chainlink Spot ETF: A gateway to decentralized oracle investment

Trading

Bitcoin

Buy the Bitcoin dip! A corrective dip helps to unfold opportunities for traders to enter into a position at a lower price. Learn how to catch the wave.

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At some point, you may have heard the phrase, “buy the dip.” After crypto burst onto the popular scene, investment catapulted the price of many crypto coins higher, creating strong uptrends. When this happens, traders may develop FOMO and decide to buy even at high prices. However, 

 allows traders to use any corrective dip in price as an opportunity to buy Bitcoin at a cheaper level.

There are risks involved with buying dips in price, as a small dip may simply be the beginning of a large market crash. Market crashes are nothing new to Bitcoin, which has a history of correcting more than 75% — rendering “buy the dip” as a debatable strategy. Is buying the dip the best strategy for you? Let’s explore this topic further to find out.

“Buying the dip” is another way to say that you’re purchasing a financial asset after it’s fallen in value. While the asset is falling, it’s said to be in a “dip” where prices are lower than the previous high. When the market has been in a longer-term sustained uptrend, this dip in price presents an opportunity to buy more shares or coins at a discount. This way, if the market returns to new highs, you’ll have more shares or coins, which enhances your future gains.


Buying the dip is a universal trading strategy for most financial assets in the stock market or crypto market. But it’s an especially popular strategy for trading Bitcoin because crypto trends tend to be unusually long and strong. As a result, it’s challenging for traders to catch the opportunities, which results in traders buying at higher prices. Therefore, waiting for a corrective dip to unfold provides traders an opportunity to enter into the position at a cheaper price and accumulate more coins than if they bought them at a higher cost.

Dip buying can appear in any financial market — stocks, commodities, futures, forex and crypto. However, buying the dip in crypto can be different from employing the strategy within other financial markets.

Typically, the trends in the crypto market are stronger and the volatility is substantial. Therefore, when a corrective dip unfolds, the correction in crypto can be more significant than in other financial markets.


Take Bitcoin in 2021, for example. Bitcoin started the year by doubling in value. As the price continued to ascend, corrective dips were relatively shallow, between 18% to 31%. However, when Bitcoin’s price reached $64k, a larger crash began to unfold in the summer of 2021 which resulted in a 55% correction.

This is the biggest challenge in buying the dip with crypto. You may buy on a 20% corrective dip, only to find the crypto market eventually crashing over 50%. A long-term investor (HODLer) believes that buying the dip simply allows them to garner more coins while crypto is still early in its adoption stage. Their rationale is that if the price increases dramatically, their stash of coins could produce life-changing wealth.

There are many reasons why prices dip for Bitcoin that range from political instability, regulatory measures, and community influence. For example, the changes in the global economy are driving investment away from Bitcoin. The global pandemic of 2020 slowed commerce down, grinding businesses and economic activity to a halt. Due to citizens having doubts about their future employment, they pulled back investments in anticipation of lower pricing.

In addition, the news cycle may create short-term dips. In 2021, 

, making it illegal for them to do business there. As a result, a majority of Bitcoin nodes shut down or had to move their operations somewhere else, making the Bitcoin network less secure as there were fewer nodes to verify transactions.

Sometimes, an asset is simply overbought and needs to consolidate its previous gains. There are technical indicators traders can apply to price charts to determine if a 

 is about to unfold. One popular technical tool to use indicates bearish divergence.


Going into the April 2021 high, Bitcoin was exhibiting technical price divergence. Higher price highs kept forming, while the 

 (RSI) indicator was displaying lower highs. Especially after a long uptrend, this RSI divergence implies that a potential price correction may unfold. A trader buying the dip who spots this signal can choose to wait for a cheaper price before buying more coins.

Most of these reasons are explained away by Bitcoin enthusiasts as FUD, a crypto slang acronym for fear, uncertainty and doubt. Many people still don’t believe investing in cryptocurrencies is wise, since there aren’t time-tested cash flows or proven ways to value crypto networks. This results in FUD, causing investors to question their investments — and to consider selling their Bitcoin.

, the strategy of buying the dip can be utilized. A few altcoins that are large enough and within the top 20 by 

 could be candidates for buying the dip. This is because there are enough buyers and sellers to balance each other out so that the larger price trends appear on the chart.

Unfortunately, for altcoins with a smaller 

, buying the dip could be disastrous. Smaller altcoins are much riskier and more susceptible to fraud or compliance risk, making their prices extremely volatile. As a result, a small altcoin’s price might crash and never recover — so that investors need to be careful not to allocate too many funds toward them.

Catch a Falling Knife vs. Buy the Dip: Differences

The evil cousin to “Buy the Dip” is “Catch a Falling Knife.” The falling knife analogy is used by traders to suggest that the market is crashing, and may not rebound anytime soon. Suppose that a knife is dropped from an all-time high above. If you were to stick your hand out and try to catch it, you might get cut up pretty badly. There’s a chance you could catch the knife without hurting your hand, but are you willing to take the risk? 

This is how it is when markets are crashing. Traders might see lower prices and decide to buy in anticipation of a rebound. However, that rebound might not come for several months — or even years. Traders involved in the 2018 crash are familiar with this phenomenon, as the bear markets lasted for 11 months and collapsed 85%.

The big difference between catching a falling knife and buying the dip is that dips tend to be relatively small and contained within the context of the larger uptrend. Retracements of 20–40% are normal in crypto.

On the other hand, a falling knife is more like a crash or a collapse, where the vast majority of the price is retraced swiftly and deeply.

Buying the dip is really about market timing, with two common strategies. The first involves adding support trend lines to the charts, and the second is using an oscillator, such as RSI, to help identify turning points.

Let’s start with trend lines. When the market is in a strong uptrend, look for common swing lows, and connect them with a trend line. Extend this trend line to the right, and it should be below the current market price.

Then, as a corrective dip unfolds, look to buy when the price reaches the support trend line, while targeting new highs. This process can be repeated — again and again — as the market frequently dips, even within a strong uptrend.

In the image above, a support trend line can be drawn for Bitcoin from January to April 2021. There were multiple occasions where Bitcoin’s price dipped to the trend line, offering an opportunity to buy.

The trend line won’t hold up forever. When it breaks, that’s a clue that a larger correction, and even a possible crash, may be unfolding.


Another common strategy for buying the dip involves waiting for oversold oscillators on the intraday chart. When Bitcoin is in a strong uptrend on the daily chart, scroll down to a 4-hour chart and add an oscillator, like the RSI.

The RSI indicator is versatile to help traders identify when an asset has become oversold. Its signals can alert you that the dip may be coming to an end, offering an opportunity to buy.

In the Bitcoin chart above, there are several instances when the RSI is signaling oversold conditions, meaning a rally is about to begin. A trader could use those signals to buy while targeting new highs.

The challenge with using a tool like RSI is that if Bitcoin were to crash, the oversold conditions would be a buy signal — even though the market is collapsing. Therefore, RSI works best when conditions are believed to be sustaining the uptrend.

“Buying the dip” itself is just a catchphrase. Traders need to turn the phrase into a strategy that’s similar to what we’ve outlined above. Therefore, to successfully buy the dip, you need to use 

 to time the market. There are many other oscillators and indicators to use for this purpose.

Aside from the strategies discussed above, Bitcoin must be in a strong uptrend. The strength of the uptrend is what allows the price to recover from the brief dip. If the uptrend is lacking strength, then the strategy becomes riskier as the uptrend struggles to bail you out.

Worse yet, if Bitcoin is in a downtrend, then buying the dip won’t work because you’ll get caught in bull traps, leading to losing trades.

 means buying a predetermined amount of an asset at predefined timing intervals. An example would be buying $500 of Bitcoin on the first Friday of each month.

The main difference between dollar-cost averaging (DCA) and buying the dip is that DCA is predefined, irrespective of the price of Bitcoin. On the other hand, buying the dip is fully dependent on the price of Bitcoin, and requires the trader to correctly time their entries into new bull rallies.

Therefore, when deciding whether to DCA or buy the dip, consider your skill levels in technical analysis and timing bullish reversals. DCA doesn’t require any special skills — just a calendar to plan your buys. Buying the dip, however, does require the trader to understand technical analysis and be able to implement it with high accuracy.

If you feel you need more practice on timing entries, then consider DCA, which is designed for newer traders.

There are several risks a trader faces when they decide to buy the Bitcoin dip.

Most of the risk is associated with analytical errors. There are certain market conditions in which buying the dip tends to be more successful. If the trader misdiagnoses market conditions, then they’re going to be more susceptible to losses.

Additionally, buying the dip requires a rules-based strategy so that the trader knows when to enter the position. If the trader doesn’t have rules underlying their strategy — or doesn’t follow their own rules — then the likelihood of loss looms larger.

Lastly, the volatility of crypto makes it difficult to determine if, for example, Bitcoin is simply going through a small dip, or if it’s the beginning of a larger crash in prices. If it’s the latter, then buying too early in the crash will expose the trader to a significantly large loss. Over the past decade, it hasn’t been unusual for Bitcoin to correct more than 75% of its price.

Buying the dip is a popular catchphrase used by investors who intend to hold on to dear life with their assets, and typically in a long run. By itself, buying the dip isn’t a strategy for making money, which is why traders will want to create their own rules for buying and selling on minor dips in pricing.

In other words, buying the dip can be a successful tactic if the trader considers current market conditions. Otherwise, they might get caught at the beginning of a market crash, which will create losses in their trading account. As with any other trading strategy, buying the dip is best attempted with both market awareness and experience in technical analysis in your toolbox.

Buy the Dip: Should You Buy the Bitcoin Dip?

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards