Continued Caution in the Crypto Market as of April 3, 2025
Similar to the rest of the financial markets, the crypto market is facing caution due to macroeconomic conditions, especially tariff news, as of April 3, 2025. This wave of unpredictability has impacted global financial markets and risk assets such as cryptocurrency. Although there is still some belief that market highs are possible for later in the year, the short-term outlook remains pessimistic. In this case, the crypto market is struggling with an “extreme fear” sentiment according to the Crypto Fear and Greed Index. Investors seem to be stuck determining the value of digital assets in the distant future against the immediate obstacles that are presented due to economic uncertainty and inflationary pressure caused by trade policy.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is now trading within a constricted range, oscillating between $83,000 and $83,700. This development is symptomatic of the market’s response towards ETF tariff announcements, which have created additional commotion. Such macroeconomic events, as noted by analysts, are likely to sustain tumultuous conditions for some time. The market is also tracking new rumors of a possible US strategic Bitcoin reserve, although immediate concerns of trade seem to be overshadowing everything else. Expert predictions are bifurcated: while The Coin Bureau’s CEO advocates for a potential spike toward $150,000, claiming that a move past $93,000 resistance would set the bullish rally in motion, drawing parallels to 2017, he does mention a low volume as a contention. On the other hand, other analyses are suggesting a draw towards a low-volume pause within $75,000 and $88,000 amid current uncertainty.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is currently trading between $1,800 and $1,820. Despite a rough first quarter that experienced a major drop in prices, the network proved its fundamental strength by reclaiming the first spot in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume for March, demonstrating that it still leads in the DeFi space. Although the general NFT market suffered, Ethereum still underpins the top collections, and some specific Ethereum-based NFTs even experienced an increase in sales volume. In the near term, ETH is capped in the lower $2,000s, particularly in the $1,920-$1,950 range. Nevertheless, long-term optimism remains dominant, with some forecasts saying it could reach $5,200 by the end of 2025, indicating faith in the asset’s value regardless of current market headwinds.
Solana (SOL)
The current price of Solana is within the $118 to $119 range. The asset recently fell below the $120 support level but witnessed a significant 103% surge in trading volume, which is also a good indicator of interest, rising volatility, or both. Solana continues to maintain a strong position within the DeFi ecosystem, holding the second-highest DEX trading volume. Speculative anticipation surrounding a putative Solana ETF and its touted place in strategic crypto reserves are perceived as primary drivers of institutional interest fueling market adoption, sharpening the bullish narrative. The range of price predictions reflects the uncertainty well, with potential near-term targets at $155 and more ambitious forecasts of $280-$300 later in the month, offset by conservative estimates that place expectations closer to the current price.
XRP
Currently, XRP trades in a very narrow range between $2.03 and $2.04, after recently dipping beneath the key psychological level of $2. Important recent milestones include the possible impact of Japan’s financial regulators intending to classify crypto as financial products and XRP’s stature. Ripple is still on the move, shown by the large internal transfer of XRP and the further integration of its RLUSD stablecoin into its payment system, which is already integrated into other ecosystems like Cardano, with possibilities for further integration being discussed. The analyst outlooks are extremely diverse, from the requirements for further downside testing of the price to the projections claiming a rally of 60-70% in April. The anatomy of the market does expect some long-term potential targets around the $5-$6 mark, but much depends on the regulatory environment as well as the approval of an XRP ETF.
Cardano (ADA)
The current value of Cardano stands between $0.64 and $0.65. ADA is making an effort to keep above support at the critical $0.63 level and has been trying to push up for some time. Despite a dip earlier this year, the bullish long-term outlook from analysts remains optimistic. The estimates range from $1.10 for next year, with much higher projections of $5.37 and possibly over $50 in the coming years. The potential integration of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin onto the Cardano blockchain is viewed as a strong positive for the systemic liquidity ecosystem. Continued development, active governance with elections to the managing committees, and budgeting the funds demonstrate progress. While short-term price movement appears to be settling, the combination of constructive price action alongside development and bullish long-term forecasts offers a favorable outlook. Dogecoin (DOGE) & Shiba Inu (SHIB)
The leading meme coins, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, are trading at around $0.16 and $0.000012, respectively. Sentiment around Dogecoin is mixed; recent price drops coupled with whale accumulation do not bode well, although some indicators may be bullish. Dogecoin appears trapped within a limited range at this time. Shiba Inu has also suffered from recent price drops. Overall expectations for April are limited, though some analysts suggest steep breakouts may yield explosive growth. The price of these assets remains under heightened volatility and social media sentiments, in addition to overarching market perception, make reliable predictions nearly impossible. Estimates vary from modest gains to targets deemed highly unrealistic.
Qubic, Mantra, & Ondo
Here we showcase different projects. Qubic, trading at approximately $0.00000091, is bang on its target regarding the 2025 roadmap, which includes integrations such as MetaMask, as well as infrastructure and developer tool improvements, even though short-term estimates are still cautious. Mantra (OM), which right now trades between $6.30 and $6.35, is gaining significant traction within the real-world asset tokenization narrative, boasting remarkable on-chain growth and bullish analyst predictions of $12.85 or higher. Ondo, at roughly $0.80, is another key player in the RWA space with very optimistic forecasts for 2025, predicting institutional interest in the tokenization to drive prices between $5.6 and $11.3 by year-end.
Concluding Thoughts
On April 3, the crypto ecosystem appears severely price constrained due to wider macroeconomic factors, particularly those driven by tariff policies. Most assets, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, are facing some level of price pressure, although Ethereum’s DeFi dominance as a fundamental supports the ecosystem. Some narratives, like the RWA tokenization trend Mantra and Ondo benefit from, capture growth. Still, the overall market pullback and “extreme fear” level sentiment suggest strong headwinds. With these project-specific factors coupled with the broader flagging macro environment for risk appetite, investors have a lot of caution to navigate this.
