MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian rouble strengthened past 81 to the U.S. dollar, supported by rising oil prices, reaching its highest level since June 28, 2024.

At 0900 GMT the rouble was up 1.5% 80.90 to the U.S. currency in thin trade ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday. The price for oil, Russia’s main commodity, rose by 3% on April 17.

The Russian currency is up by over 40% against the dollar since the start of the year, mainly on expectation of easing of tensions between Russia and the United States.

The rouble has ignored the statement by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that President Donald Trump will walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done.

Against the Chinese yuan, which is used by Russia’s central bank for its foreign exchange interventions and is currently the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble was up 0.1% to 11.08 on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

U.Today - As Bitcoin continues to trade sideways below the $85,000 mark as of April 18, the latest data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows the asset recording significant unrealized losses for short-term holders.

While these short-term holders remain underwater with substantial unrealized losses, the data also indicates that long-term holders are still broadly in profit. However, mounting unrealized losses are putting even these seasoned holders at risk of losing their gains.

Unrealized losses represent the total amount of losses held across all Bitcoin in circulation, calculated from the difference between the average acquisition cost and the current market value.

Bear market already?

As the crypto market moves with caution amid debates about the sustainability of the recent bull run, the rise in unrealized loss per percent drawdown has captured the attention of both retail and institutional investors.

According to the data, repeated price corrections across the broader crypto market have not yet signaled sustainable bullish momentum. Meanwhile, Bitcoin appears to be following a historical bearish pattern observed in previous cycles.

Glassnode revealed that the unrealized losses faced by short-term holders are a direct response to the recent market dips.

Although these corrections are not as sharp as those in earlier cycles that triggered full-blown bear markets, the resemblance in pattern has sparked speculation that a bearish phase may already be underway.

For long-term holders, the data painted a mixed picture. While they remain largely in profit, they are now vulnerable to absorbing losses if downward momentum persists.

Although this key metric has historically aligned with bear market confirmations, it alone does not officially define one. Despite these bearish indicators, Bitcoin whales and major investment firms have not slowed down in their accumulation efforts.

The bearish trend for the US dollar (USD) is gaining momentum following a significant selloff last week.

According to BofA, the Option Flow and Technical Matrix, both indicate signs of a continuing bearish USD trend against European currencies, the Canadian dollar (CAD), and the Japanese yen (JPY) in the G10 group.

There are indications of a structural weakness in the USD. Despite short-term fair values suggesting the USD was oversold at the start of last week, as reported on FX Watch on April 9, 2025, the supply of USD in the foreign exchange (FX) market has continued unabated.

Investors in the FX market are likely shifting their focus beyond short-term valuations. They may seek to drive the USD weaker until it approaches long-term equilibrium levels, as noted in FX Viewpoint on September 11, 2024.

Furthermore, a time zone analysis reveals that the recent USD weakness has been mainly concentrated during trading hours in Europe and Asia.

Interestingly, the USD selloff has become independent of the Federal Reserve’s rate cut pricing. This suggests that the selling of USD in non-US hours is continuing, contributing to the bearish USD trend.

U.Today - According to CoinGlass, the $85,800 level remains crucial for Bitcoin price action since much liquidity is concentrated around it.

The significant liquidity around the $85,800 level suggests activity at this point, where traders may have set stop or limit orders. This might result in a scenario where the market moves toward this level to trigger orders and generate momentum.

A liquidity hunt might be watched for, a scenario where the market "flushes out" leveraged positions, particularly longs or traders speculating on price increases. In a separate tweet, CoinGlass pointed out high-leverage liquidity, citing the 24-hour BTC Liquidation Heatmap.

With Bitcoin trading just below this price point, a move toward $85,800 could trigger a bullish breakout if BTC clears the level with significant volume, potentially pushing the price to new highs. Alternatively, it can act as a trap if bears enter to defend the zone, resulting in rejection and a short-term correction.

In any case, $85,800 is shaping up to be an inflection point for Bitcoin’s price, given the significant liquidity at this level.

Bitcoin price action

At press time, BTC was down 0.48% in the last 24 hours to $84,393. Bitcoin fell on Sunday, sliding to $83,010 as investors digested conflicting signals.

CryptoQuant examines Bitcoin’s price action using the Perpetual-Spot Gap, which estimates the difference between Binance’s perpetual futures price and the spot price of BTC. It provides a clear picture of trader sentiment: a negative gap frequently indicates caution, while a positive gap suggests increasing optimism.

Currently, the gap is negative, signaling selling pressure on futures markets. However, there is good news: the gap is narrowing. This could be one of the first indications that bearish sentiment might be fading.

Gold prices edged lower in Asian trading on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar ticked up, though escalating trade tensions following President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements kept losses in check due to sustained safe-haven demand.

Spot Gold inched 0.2% lower $2,912.0 per ounce, while Gold Futures expiring in April gained 0.1% to $2,922.72 an ounce by 23:28 ET (04:28 GMT).

Trump reiterates tariff threats in Congress speech; dollar ticks up

Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods on Tuesday and raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%. 

In response, Canada imposed 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. imports, while China levied 15% on U.S. agricultural goods like chicken and wheat and 10% on soybeans and pork.

In his congressional speech, Trump reaffirmed plans for reciprocal tariffs, set to take effect on April 2. The move could further escalate trade tensions.

These tariffs are expected to strengthen the dollar, as investors seek the relative safety of the world’s primary reserve currency amid global economic uncertainty. 

The US Dollar Index rose 0.1% in Asian trading but remained near its three-week low.

A stronger dollar typically exerts downward pressure on gold prices, making the precious metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Despite this, gold has demonstrated resilience, buoyed by its traditional role as a safe-haven asset during periods of political and economic instability. 

The yellow metal’s appeal was further enhanced by concerns over potential inflationary effects stemming from the tariffs. 

Other precious metals were largely higher. Platinum Futures edged up 0.2% to $973.35 an ounce, while Silver Futures gained 0.7% to $32.60 an ounce.

Copper gains on China stimulus hopes as ’Two Sessions’ kicks off

Copper prices edged higher on Wednesday as hopes for fresh economic stimulus from China lifted sentiment, with the country’s annual parliamentary meetings, known as the "Two Sessions," underway. 

Investors anticipate potential policy measures to boost infrastructure and manufacturing, key sectors for copper demand. 

Benchmark Copper Futures on the London Metal Exchange inched 0.3% higher to $9,391.70 a ton, while Copper Futures expiring in April jumped 1.1% to $4.6290 a pound.

Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell further Wednesday, dropping to a three-month low amid concerns a trade war triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump will hit the largest economy in the world, while the euro soared on the prospects of major fiscal stimulus.

At 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.6% lower to 105.060, near its weakest since early December.

Dollar weighed by growth concerns 

Trump’s trade tariffs against China, Canada, and Mexico took effect this week, prompting reciprocal actions from the countries involved.

The prospect of an all-out trade war grew further after the U.S. president highlighted plans for even more tariff action during an address to Congress overnight.

Trump warned that the tariffs were going to cause a ’little disturbance’, and the dollar has been weighed by the prospect of a sharp slowdown in economic growth this year

Recent data showed a deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence to a 15-month low, sparking concerns over an economic slowdown, while the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model now sees annualized growth in the current quarter at -2.8%, reversing from +2.3% last week.

“In fact, the terminal rate for the Fed easing cycle has been repriced to 3.50% from 3.75% over the last four weeks alone,” said analysts at ING, in a note. 

Euro to benefit from increased defence spending?

In Europe, EUR/USD traded 0.6% higher to 1.0684, climbing to a three-month high on the back of the potential for massive fiscal stimulus in the region as European leaders digested the news that the U.S. has paused military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

“Critics say that European leaders only react in a crisis – and certainly the prospect of the U.S. withdrawing its security umbrella from Europe is a crisis,” ING added.

GBP/USD rose 0.4% to 1.2848, climbing to a three-month high, boosted by the dollar weakness.

Yen gains on rate-hike expectations 

In Asia, USD/JPY dropped 0.4% to 149.22, with the Japanese currency gaining amid persistent bets on Japanese economic strength and more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.  

USD/CNY traded 0.1% lower to 7.2579, with the Chinese government expected to outline much more stimulus to support the economy, especially in the face of trade-related headwinds. 

China set a 5% economic growth target for 2025, maintaining the target for a third consecutive year. Beijing also outlined increased fiscal spending and promised targeted measures to boost private consumption in the coming months.

Gold prices fell in Asian trading on Monday, retreating from last week’s sharp gains, as the U.S. dollar strengthened following President Donald Trump’s brief imposition of tariffs on Colombia.

Market sentiment remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision later this week.

Spot Gold declined 0.7% to $2,752.09 per ounce, while Gold Futures expiring in February dropped 0.8% to $2,783.22 an ounce by 01:21 ET (06:21 GMT).

The yellow metal had gained nearly 3% last week on Trump’s rate cut demand, and expectations of gradual imposition of U.S. tariffs.

“Although renewed USD strength this morning following escalation between the US and Colombia is providing some headwinds to gold in early morning trading,” ING analysts said in a recent note.

Trump’s tariff jitters boost dollar; Fed meeting looms

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Colombian imports overnight after Colombia's President Gustavo Petro blocked U.S. deportation flights. 

Following Petro's proposal to use Colombia's presidential aircraft and accept deportees, Trump has put a hold on the tariffs, marking an intermediate resolution to the diplomatic standoff.

The US Dollar Index rose 0.3% in Asian trading on Monday, after recording its worst weekly fall in two months.

A stronger dollar typically drives gold prices lower because it makes the metal costlier for buyers using other currencies.

Moreover, investors are cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting due later in the week.

Markets expect the Fed to likely hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday, with the first cut of 2025 priced in June, according to CME FedWatch.

Gold tends to fall on higher interest rates because it becomes a less attractive investment relative to interest-bearing assets.

Other precious metals also fell due to a strong dollar. Platinum Futures slipped 1.1% to $961.20 an ounce, while Silver Futures slumped 1.7% to $30.655 an ounce.

Copper falls after 2-month high

Copper prices retreated on Monday as the dollar rebounded, and uncertainty around Trump’s tariff policies weighed on the red metal.

Copper had hit a two-month high on Friday on Trump’s softer tone towards Chinese tariffs.

Benchmark Copper Futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.5% to $9,230.50 a ton, while February Copper Futures dropped 1.1% to $4.275 a pound.

Oil prices slipped on Monday after U.S. President Trump called on OPEC to reduce prices following the announcement of wide-ranging measures to boost U.S. oil and gas output in his first week in office.

Brent crude futures dropped 35 cents, or 0.45%, to $78.15 a barrel by 0726 GMT after settling 21 cents higher on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $74.26 a barrel, down 40 cents, or 0.54%.

Oil pared sharper losses seen earlier in the session after the U.S. swiftly reversed plans to impose sanctions and tariffs on Colombia, after the South American nation agreed to accept deported migrants from the United States, the White House said in a statement late on Sunday.

Sanctions could have disrupted oil supply, as Colombia last year sent about 41% of its seaborne crude exports to the U.S., according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

Still, Trump's repeated call on Friday for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut oil prices to hurt oil-rich Russia's finances and help bring an end to the war in Ukraine, weighed on oil markets.

"One way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money and drop the price of oil ... That war will stop right away," Trump said.

Trump has also threatened to hit Russia "and other participating countries" with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he and Trump should meet to talk about the Ukraine war and energy prices.

"They are positioning for negotiations," said John Driscoll of Singapore-based consultancy JTD Energy, adding that this creates volatility in oil markets.

He added that oil markets are probably skewed a little bit to the downside with Trump's policies aimed at boosting U.S. output as he seeks to secure overseas markets for U.S. crude.

"He's going to want to muscle into some of the OPEC market share so in that sense he's kind of a competitor," Driscoll said.

However, OPEC and its allies including Russia have yet to react to Trump's call, with OPEC+ delegates pointing to a plan already in place to start raising oil output from April.

Both benchmarks posted their first decline in five weeks last week as concerns eased about sanctions on Russia disrupting supplies.

Goldman Sachs analysts said they do not expect a big hit to Russian production as higher freight rates have incentivised higher supply of non-sanctioned ships to move Russian oil while the deepening in the discount on the affected Russian ESPO grade attracts price-sensitive buyers to keep purchasing the oil.

"As the ultimate goal of sanctions is to reduce Russian oil revenues, we assume that Western policymakers will prioritize maximizing discounts on Russian barrels over reducing Russian volumes," the analysts said in a note.

XRP was trading at $2.8191 by 02:15 (07:15 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Monday, down 10.01% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since December 18, 2024.

The move downwards pushed XRP's market cap down to $164.9373B, or 4.89% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, XRP's market cap was $190.3902B.

XRP had traded in a range of $2.8191 to $3.0183 in the previous twenty-four hours.

Over the past seven days, XRP has seen a drop in value, as it lost 10.15%. The volume of XRP traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $6.5910B or 5.32% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $2.8188 to $3.2815 in the past 7 days.

At its current price, XRP is still down 16.97% from its all-time high of $3.40 set on January 16.

Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading

Bitcoin was last at $98,929.8 on the Investing.com Index, down 5.77% on the day.

Ethereum was trading at $3,083.72 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 7.74%.

Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,960.2964B or 58.08% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $371.6230B or 11.01% of the total cryptocurrency market value.

Cardano was trading at $0.8864 by 02:19 (07:19 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Monday, down 10.20% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since December 9, 2024.

The move downwards pushed Cardano's market cap down to $31.4651B, or 0.93% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Cardano's market cap was $94.8001B.

Cardano had traded in a range of $0.8863 to $0.9576 in the previous twenty-four hours.

Over the past seven days, Cardano has seen a drop in value, as it lost 15.58%. The volume of Cardano traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $840.8012M or 0.68% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $0.8863 to $1.0285 in the past 7 days.

At its current price, Cardano is still down 71.40% from its all-time high of $3.10 set on September 2, 2021.

Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading

Bitcoin was last at $98,484.7 on the Investing.com Index, down 6.19% on the day.

Ethereum was trading at $3,069.23 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 8.17%.

Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,960.2964B or 58.08% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $371.6230B or 11.01% of the total cryptocurrency market value.

Reppo Labs, a Crypto x AI company spun out of Protocol Labs Venture Studio in March 2024, has successfully raised $2.2 million in funding to develop critical infrastructure that enables permissionless collaboration on niche datasets between data owners/warehouses and AI developers and agents. Using Reppo as a connective tissue, AI agents can directly relay needs and negotiate data access from owners across the spectrum without intermediaries, unlocking price discovery and demand for data that would otherwise remain siloed. To facilitate this, the team is building an intent-centric Data Exchange, powered by Anoma and secured by Gateway Protocol.

Reppo’s unique approach leverages programmable IP co-ownership as the incentive mechanism to ensure fair use and compensation for data owners—who may not know the immediate value of their data—to benefit from downstream revenue generated by derived IP and its usage.

Raghav (RG) Rmadya, CEO and Founder of Reppo Labs, commented

"Anyone claiming to build a blockchain specifically for AI is most likely a scam. It's nothing more than a narrative play. Most blockchains today can already support agentic workflows and AI applications. The more likely future is that each agent or application will have its own chain. In such a world, models, agents, and applications will need permissionless ways to self-source their fuel i.e. data to grow and stay relevant. The days of spoon-feeding AI will soon be over.

Unfortunately, current data sources and pipelines are drying up. Ilya Sutskever highlighted this problem at NeurIPS last year, and the recent acquisition of Carbon by Perplexity underscores the growing demand for novel data connectors in the AI industry. Web3 has experimented with DataDAOs as a potential solution, but they are yet to prove scalable. Not all data in the world is user-owned; business-owned data is vast and often untapped. For instance, DePIN node operators generate enormous amounts of operational data that might seem mundane to some but is gold to us.

Incentives for these data owners are completely missing. When off-chain dark data becomes accessible to AI builders and agents, amazing things can happen. One example is our work incubating AI auditors for solar farms on the Glow Network. These auditors, trained entirely on off-chain data, automate and decentralize network audits that currently rely on centralized actors. The same applies to many other DePINs.

The Crypto x AI ecosystem is starved for niche and novel data—the 'good nectar.' Anyone building 'decentralized' models or agents today either relies on the same on-chain data streams, pre-cleaned and parameterized datasets, or centralized LLMs trained on a mere 0.1% of the world’s data while competing in a zero-sum game. It’s ironic, to say the least."

Brad Holden, Partner at Protocol VC, said,

"What excites us about Reppo is the team’s ability to contextualize and solve challenges they encountered during their time at Filecoin for the broader Web3 and AI ecosystem. Their focus on making off-chain data accessible to build practical AI/ML models and agents is critical for tackling bottlenecks like insurance underwriting, node auditing, and SLA management for blockchain networks, especially for DePINs that we at Protocol VC are ultra bullish on. Few teams take such a systems approach to solving wicked problems and it was a no-brainer for us to partner with Reppo. I’m ecstatic about their mission to democratize permissionless access to previously untapped data for AI developers and agents."

The $2.2 million funding included participation from Protocol Labs, CV VC, CMS Holdings, and a significant portion was raised on Echo.xyz, the first allocation being sold out in less than 10 minutes. Notable angel investors include Charles Songhurst, Lincoln from MH Ventures, Dieter Fishbein from Anoma, Thomas France (Ledger co-founder), Nicolas Pinto (Cygni Labs) and more.