Crypto Market Update: White House Teases Bitcoin Stockpile Update

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (April 29) as of 8:00 p.m. UTC.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrencymarket news

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Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$75,469.06, down by 1.2 percent over the last 24 hours.

Chart via TradingView.

Bitcoin price performance, April 29, 2026.

Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, told the Investing News Network that Bitcoin is currently under strong bearish pressure after failing to consolidate above key levels. In his view, that highlights the fragility of its recent momentum amid a complex macroeconomic environment.

The decline has been fueled by a sharp rebound in oil prices, which has reignited global inflation concerns and caused investors to shift toward more defensive assets. Additional downward factors include a strengthening US dollar, caution surrounding interest rates and concerns about the growth outlook for artificial intelligence (AI).

“Meanwhile, we have also begun to see a return of liquidity outflows in the market, both through renewed outflows of funds from Bitcoin spot funds, which amounted to more than US$350 million this week, and because whales have essentially stopped accumulating Bitcoin,” Massabni explained.

While current market data reflects a period of hesitation, Blockstream CEO Adam Back contends that the market is miscalculating the timeline for institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies.

He told CoinDesk that a full institutional buildup could take up to 18 months.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,232.12, down by 3.1 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.35, down by 2.2 percent over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$82.16, trading 2.1 percent lower over the past 24 hours.

​Today’s crypto news to know

White House teases update on US$25 billion Bitcoin stockpile

The crypto market is on edge following hints of an update on the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Speaking at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, White House digital asset advisor Patrick Witt said the Trump administration has cleared a major legal hurdle regarding the national stockpile. The government is reportedly gearing up to share a landmark announcement even before any formal legislation makes its way through Congress.

Currently, the US federal government sits on a massive war chest of roughly 328,372 BTC, valued at around US$25 billion and representing 1.6 percent of the global circulating supply. The vast majority of this digital wealth was accumulated through high-profile law enforcement seizures and asset forfeitures over the years.

Last March, an executive order officially barred the Department of the Treasury from liquidating these holdings, centralizing them into a single reserve. However, Witt emphasized that permanent Congressional legislation is still required to properly protect taxpayers and permanently codify the reserve.

Robinhood sees deep losses in transaction revenue

Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) missed both earnings and revenue expectations for the first quarter, leading to a drop in its share price price of over 10 percent across two days.

The company missed the earnings per share consensus estimate of US$0.39 to US$0.43, while revenue came in at US$1.07 billion, falling short of the expected US$1.13 billion to US$1.24 billion.

Cryptocurrency transaction revenue, which fell 47 percent year-on-year to US$134 million, was a notable drag. Broader transaction revenue benefited slightly from growth in prediction market events

Following the announcement after market close on Tuesday (April 28), Robinhood shares were trading roughly 14 percent lower the following morning.

Mastercard bridges AI agents, crypto wallets

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is aggressively expanding its footprint beyond traditional card swipes by rolling out new payment rails designed specifically for autonomous AI and digital assets. The financial giant is introducing “Agent Pay” and “Verifiable Intent” features to securely authorize and oversee transactions initiated by AI agents.

By integrating with open platforms like Lobster.cash and OpenClaw, it aims to embed its robust fraud controls and dispute frameworks into experimental AI commerce before these transactions migrate to off-network alternatives.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Mastercard has forged a new partnership with the crypto exchange KuCoin to enable seamless, direct crypto spending for everyday purchases.

This collaboration will allow users to instantly convert their USDC balances into spendable fiat at any participating merchant, effectively linking digital asset wallets to real-world checkout counters.

CFTC sues Wisconsin to defend crypto prediction markets

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched a federal lawsuit against Wisconsin.

The legal action comes just days after Wisconsin’s attorney general filed suits against major platforms like Polymarket, Kalshi and Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), accusing them of running unregistered sports betting operations.

Wisconsin is the fifth state to be targeted by the federal regulator in recent weeks, following similar CFTC lawsuits against Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut and New York.

The core of the conflict revolves around how to classify wagers on elections, sports and pop culture events. A bipartisan coalition of state regulators argues that these platforms are essentially operating illegal, unregulated gambling rings that violate local laws. Conversely, the CFTC — led by Trump appointee Mike Selig — maintains that these wagers are strictly “event contracts” that fall exclusively under federal oversight.

Selig has issued a blunt warning to state authorities, declaring that the federal government will ruthlessly sue anyone who attempts to interfere with its mandate to regulate financial markets.

Polymarket staging US comeback

Polymarket is reportedly in active talks with the CFTC to lift the 2022 ban of its main, offshore platform on US traders. According to sources for Bloomberg, the company is requesting to merge that platform with the regulatory licenses and Polymarket US framework it acquired last year via a deal with QCEX. Currently, US users are restricted to a domestic version with far less access to liquidity compared to international platforms.

Paystand launches stablecoin for B2B economy

Paystand, a B2B financial services firm known for its payment automation software, announced the launch of USDb, a Bitcoin-aligned stablecoin purpose-built for commercial-scale enterprise finance and the B2B economy.

Unlike dominant stablecoins that primarily serve retail crypto traders, USDb is engineered as a commercial-grade settlement layer integrated directly into workflows like accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and treasury management. Backed 1:1 by US dollar reserves, it operates on the Rootstock sidechain, a Bitcoin-secured network.

Paystand intends to leverage its existing B2B payment network, which processes over US$20 billion annually, to support the coin’s initial deployment, with cross-border payroll services via Bitwage serving as its first commercial use case.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.