Bitcoin (BTC) fell early in the U.S. trading session, but mostly held firm as poor macroeconomic news rolled in.

The top cryptocurrency late in the day was trading just below $95,000, up 0.5% over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization excluding memecoins, exchange coins and stablecoins — was roughly flat over the same time frame.

Crypto stocks like Coinbase (COIN), Strategy (MSTR) and the miners were losing modest ground after big gains last week. Notable exceptions included Janover (JNVR) and DeFi Technologies (DFTF), ahead 24% and 6.5%, respectively even as SOL — the token which both companies are aggressively accumulating — fell about 3% during the U.S. day.

Meanwhile, gold rose almost 1% and the dollar index fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each peaked into the green late in the session after earlier dipping more than 1%.

The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index, a typically little-noticed economic data point, plunged to -35.8 from -16.3 last month — much worse than analysts’ expectations of a -14.1 print and the worst performance since COVID upended the world economy.

“Pretty horrible Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey. Level hits the lowest since May 2020,” Joe Weisenthal, co-host of the Odd Lots podcast, posted on X. “All the comments are about tariffs and policy uncertainty. Add it to the list of bad soft/survey data.”

Hostilities between India and Pakistan might also have added to market jitters, with Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claiming that an Indian military incursion into Pakistan was imminent. Last week 26 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The two countries have exchanged fire since.

Marco Santori, the former chief legal officer at Kraken, has joined Pantera Capital as a general partner on the investment team.

Santori, who stepped down from Kraken in January of 2025, will focus on expanding Pantera’s crypto portfolio, while acting as a resource for portfolio companies on regulatory compliance and strategic growth, according to a blogpost.

He will also continue his role in engaging with policymakers to advocate for clear, innovation-friendly regulations in the U.S. and globally, Pantera said.

The advancement of clear crypto regulations in the U.S. makes it an area of focus for firms readying themselves.

Sartori, who testified before the U.S. Congress on the subject of crypto regulation, is recognized for developing the “SAFT” (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) framework, a cornerstone of compliant token sales.

“I’m joining Pantera at a pivotal moment for crypto on the world stage. After over a decade of work, governments have finally embraced the benefits of blockchain technology,” Sartori said in a statement. “The timing couldn’t be better, and Pantera couldn’t be better positioned to capitalize on it.”

Tether’s gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAUT), reached a $770 million market capitalization as of April 28, according to the company’s first attestation under El Salvador’s financial regulations.

«While central banks are stacking up hundreds of tons of gold, XAUt is set to become the standard tokenized gold product for the people and institutions,» Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino posted on X.

The token is backed 1:1 by 246,523.33 ounces — over 7.7 tons — of physical gold stored in a dedicated Swiss vault, said Tether.

Each XAUT token represents one troy ounce of LBMA-certified gold. Tether said it applies strict controls, including gold bar verification and periodic audits, to maintain trust in the token’s backing.

The attestation comes at a time when global investors are increasingly turning to gold as a hedge against economic instability and rising geopolitical risks.

Central banks, particularly across BRICS nations, have been buying gold at record levels, accumulating over 1,044 metric tons in 2024 alone, according to the World Gold Council.

The yellow metal has touched numerous record highs in 2025 amid an ongoing rally that’s seen its price gain about 27% year-to-date. It’s currently trading at $3,343 per ounce, having more than doubled since November 2022.

Tether emphasized that unlike other tokenized gold products, XAUT is physically backed and regulated, positioning it as a safer option for users wary of «paper gold» exposure.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.