Crypto News Today (April 24): Bitcoin ETFs Extend 8‑Day Streak, Ripple Custody Expands, KelpDAO Hacker Converts $175M to BTC

Bitcoin started today pumping to $78.7K, but at press time it is trading around $78K. This still looks like healthy price action – in fact, the best BTC price action we have seen in months. Beneath the surface, there is still a lot going on. Let's look at the most important crypto news today.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Post $223M Inflow, Extending 8‑Day Streak

On April 23 (ET), spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $223 million, extending their net inflow streak to eight consecutive days. The ETF chart shared shows that daily inflows turned positive after a long period of outflows.

From early 2024 into early 2025, outflows were frequent and often large. But since late 2025, the trend has change. The latest $223 million inflow brings total net assets under management back above the previous range, supporting Bitcoin’s price near $78K.

Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs saw a total net outflow of $75.9 million, ending a 10‑day net inflow streak. The divergence indicates capital is rotating back into Bitcoin as the market leader, possibly in response to macro uncertainty and the strengthening ETF narrative for BTC.

Ripple Custody Expands: From Kyobo Life to Cloud HSM and Staking

Ripple released a major PR update this morning. The message: digital asset adoption is no longer theoretical. Institutions are moving beyond pilots into production – from Europe’s regulated banking platforms to the UAE’s tokenized real estate. Ripple Custody has been strengthened across every critical layer of institutional readiness.

Key developments since late 2025:

• Acquisition of Palisade for wallet infrastructure and scalable transaction signing.

• Chainalysis integration for real‑time compliance and policy enforcement.

• Securosys partnership for enterprise‑grade Cloud HSM integrations.

• Figment partnership to add institutional staking capabilities for Ethereum and Solana directly within custody workflows.

Geographically, Ripple Custody expanded into new markets. The recent partnership with Kyobo Life Insurance – one of Korea’s largest insurers – is a landmark. Kyobo will explore blockchain‑based custody and on‑chain settlement infrastructure, marking a shift where traditional financial institutions lead adoption in new regions.

Source: Ripple.com

Ripple Custody is now an API‑first, modular platform that integrates into existing banking systems without disruption. It is trusted by tier‑one banks like BBVA, DBS Bank, DZ Bank, and Intesa Sanpaolo. In Europe, Intesa Sanpaolo is already using Ripple Custody to support its digital asset initiatives.

The platform now enables institutions to:

• Deploy invisible, secure wallets in seconds.

• Safeguard treasury operations with distributed key generation.

• Support stablecoin payments with native compliance screening.

• Tokenize financial assets across major blockchains.

Through Securosys, institutions can deploy cloud‑based HSM custody without the cost and delays of hardware deployments. Through Figment, staking becomes a natural extension of custody – managed through existing security and compliance standards.

Ripple’s message: digital asset custody is the foundational governance layer for the institutional on‑chain economy. The next phase of adoption will be defined by operational maturity, not experimentation.

Read also: Grok AI Makes a Shocking XRP Price Prediction for 2035

Other Important Crypto News Today and Financial Developments

KelpDAO Hack Update – Hacker Converts $175M to BTC.

The hacker behind the KelpDAO rsETH exploit has finished converting all stolen 75,701 ETH (worth ~$175 million) into Bitcoin using THORChain and other swap routes. Meanwhile, the crypto community is stepping up to cover losses. Mantle has proposed lending 30,000 ETH (~$70 million) to Aave to support recovery. L

ido has proposed a one‑time donation of 2,500 stETH (~$5.82 million). A reminder that even after exploits, the ecosystem often rallies together to limit damage.

AI Now Dominates 45% of S&P 500 Market Cap.

AI‑related stocks now reflect a record 45% of the S&P 500’s market cap – up 20 points since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. A record 15.4% of investment‑grade debt is now tied to AI, the largest sector in the US credit market. AI‑linked debt has nearly doubled to an all‑time high of $1.4 trillion.

Source: X/@KobeissiLetter

Never before has a single theme dominated both equity and credit markets to this magnitude.

Margins on Precious Metals Futures Reduced.

The exchange has reduced margins on gold (-14%), silver (-21.4%), platinum (-15.3%), and palladium (-14.2%). Effective after close of business on Friday, April 24. Lower margins typically encourage more speculative positioning, which could add volatility to metal prices.

Bitcoin Sentiment Swings from Extreme Pessimism to FOMO.

According to Santiment, the Bitcoin crowd swung from extreme pessimism (on Monday) to ultra FOMO mode (on Thursday). Just as BTC looked ready to freefall after an $80K rejection, Bitcoin prices quickly rallied above $78.7K. Now that $80K is being teased again, crowd FOMO has climbed significantly – a caution signal.

Source: X/@santimentfeed

Bitcoin prices can continue to rally, and a breach above $80K would bring in new traders, but markets often move opposite to crowd expectations. A slight calm in optimism would be healthier for a sustained breakout.

Overall, the Bitcoin ETF streak continues, Ripple Custody is evolving into an institutional powerhouse, and the KelpDAO community is showing resilience. AI’s stock market dominance is staggering, and Bitcoin sentiment is heating up again. All eyes remain on $80K.