Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (April 20) as of 12 noon UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrencymarket news
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$75,179.56, up by 0.5 percent over the last 24 hours.
Chart via TradingView
Bitcoin price performance, April 21, 2026.
Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,308.50, up by 0.4 percent over the last 24 hours.
Altcoin price update
- XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.42, up by 0.7 percent over 24 hours.
- Solana (SOL) was trading at US$85.06, trading flat over the past 24 hours.
Today’s crypto news to know
Strategy drops US$2.54 billion on Bitcoin in largest play since 2024
Michael Saylor’s Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) is aggressively doubling down on its digital asset treasury, purchasing a massive US$2.54 billion worth of Bitcoin over a single week.
The monumental acquisition represents the software company’s largest single purchase of the flagship cryptocurrency since November 2024.
To finance the move, the firm primarily relied on the sale of US$2.18 billion in its “STRC” perpetual preferred shares, a strategy designed to avoid the harsh dilution of common stockholders that often accompanies large equity sales.
This pivot to preferred shares comes with a heavy 11.5 percent dividend burden, but the company recently proposed switching to semi-monthly payouts to help keep the asset trading at par.
Strategy has benefited greatly from Bitcoin’s recent three-week winning streak, with the token briefly topping US$78,000 over the weekend to hit a two-month high.
The firm’s total Bitcoin war chest now sits at an estimated US$61 billion.
Despite this aggressive buying spree, Strategy’s stock remains down about 48 percent over the past year, though it did enjoy a 30 percent rally last week amid the broader market recovery.
Polymarket chases US$15 billion valuation
Prediction market heavyweight Polymarket is reportedly negotiating a major US$400 million funding round that would push its corporate valuation to a staggering US$15 billion.
According to a report by The Information, the platform is actively seeking fresh strategic investors to join the raise, which insiders suggest could ultimately swell to an impressive $1 billion.
This potential capital injection arrives just a month after the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) poured US$600 million into the company, bringing the legacy financial operator’s total investment commitment to US$1.6 billion.
In recent months, prediction markets are rapidly evolving from niche crypto experiments into fully integrated institutional financial instruments. Competitors are also securing massive war chests, with rival Kalshi recently raising US$1 billion to hit a US$22 billion valuation amid growing interest from Wall Street giants.
Coinbase brings crypto-backed loans to UK customers
Coinbase is officially expanding its lucrative crypto-backed lending services across the pond to users in the United Kingdom.
British customers can now leverage their Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings as collateral to borrow USDC stablecoins without needing to liquidate their core digital asset portfolios.
The new feature is powered by Morpho, an open-source lending protocol built directly onto Coinbase’s proprietary Base layer-2 network. Borrowing capacities are tiered based on the specific collateral provided, allowing Bitcoin holders to unlock up to US$5 million in liquidity while Ethereum users max out at US$1 million.
Tge international expansion follows a highly successful US launch in early 2025, which has already generated US$2.17 billion in loan originations over the last fifteen months.
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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.