Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, an appellate court has paused the SEC’s 2020 case against Ripple as settlement talks progress. Meanwhile, a new report from Coinbase paints a bleak picture of the current crypto market but anticipates a rebound in late 2025. In addition, Strive Asset Management is pushing Inuit to buy Bitcoin after persuading GameStop to do the same.Court grants 60-day pause of SEC, Ripple appeals caseAn appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.The SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.April 16 order approving a motion to hold an appeal in abeyance. Source: PACERCrypto in a bear market, rebound likely in Q3 — CoinbaseA monthly market review by publicly traded US-based crypto exchange Coinbase shows that while the crypto market has contracted, it appears to be gearing up for a better quarter.According to Coinbase’s April 15 monthly outlook for institutional investors, the altcoin market cap shrank by 41% from its December 2024 highs of $1.6 trillion to $950 billion by mid-April. BTC Tools data shows that this metric touched a low of $906.9 billion on April 9 and stood at $976.9 billion at the time of writing.Venture capital funding to crypto projects has reportedly decreased by 50%–60% from 2021–22. In the report, Coinbase’s global head of research, David Duong, highlighted that a new crypto winter may be upon us.“Several converging signals may be pointing to the start of a new ‘crypto winter’ as some extreme negative sentiment has set in due to the onset of global tariffs and the potential for further escalations,” he said.Duong cited some metrics to indicate when the crypto market is moving between bull and bear market phases, including risk-adjusted performance and the 200-day moving average.Another metric was the Bitcoin (BTC) Z-score, which compares market value and realized value to identify overbought and oversold conditions. A Z-score shows how unusual current price performance is when compared to historic data.This metric “naturally accounts for crypto’s larger volatility,” but it is also slow to react. This metric tends to generate few signals in stable markets. Coinbase’s model, based on it, determined that the bull market ended in late February but has since deemed the market neutral.Strive urges Intuit to buy Bitcoin after converting GameStopStrive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole has urged fintech firm Intuit to add Bitcoin (BTC) to its balance sheet in an April 14 open letter after successfully convincing game retailer GameStop to buy the cryptocurrency for its books.Cole told Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarz in the letter that Bitcoin is the best way to ensure the company’s long-term success and hedge against any potential disruption caused by artificial intelligence.He said the firm needs an additional hedge as its flagship tax preparation app, TurboTax, is at risk of being automated away by AI. Intuit is also known for its small business accounting software, Quickbooks.“We believe an additional hedge is warranted,” Cole wrote, pitching a Bitcoin “war chest” as “the best option available” as it would ensure Intuit has “enough strategic capital to weather the AI storm and act from a position of strength through the turbulence of the AI revolution.”Cole sent a similar letter to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen in February to advise it to use its $4.6 billion in cash to buy Bitcoin. GameStop said in early April that it raised $1.5 billion, some of which would be used for Bitcoin.