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<v Speaker 1>Hey, it's Alex with the Token Metrics daily polls for

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<v Speaker 1>April nineteenth, twenty twenty six. Big day institutions are more

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<v Speaker 1>bullish on crypto than ever recorded, and prices are going

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<v Speaker 1>the other way. We've got a two hundred and ninety

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<v Speaker 1>two million dollar hack, Mean Coins running wild, and Schwab

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<v Speaker 1>and Citadel eyeing a space that crypto built. Let's get

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<v Speaker 1>into it, but first a quick word from our sponsor. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so here's what's happening. Nomura just dropped a study showing

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<v Speaker 1>sixty five percent of institutional investors now call crypto a

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<v Speaker 1>vital portfolio diversifier, not interesting, not worth a look, vital.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the highest reading Nomura has ever recorded, and Bitcoin

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<v Speaker 1>is sitting around seventy five thousand dollars sliding. Here's the

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<v Speaker 1>uncomfortable math. Conviction is at a record high while price

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<v Speaker 1>is down from the February peak and ETF flows have

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<v Speaker 1>been choppy for weeks. That's not a contradiction, it's a setup.

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<v Speaker 1>Either price catches up to the conviction or the conviction

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<v Speaker 1>was just survey speak, and institutions stay on the sidelines.

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<v Speaker 1>The real question is whether their compliance departments agree with

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<v Speaker 1>their portfolio managers. Bitcoin also broke a seven month resistance

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<v Speaker 1>level this week, though on moderate volume, traders are watching

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<v Speaker 1>whether it holds pretty quiet on the price front, Bitcoin

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<v Speaker 1>around seventy five thousand ethereum just above twenty three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>solana in the mid eighties, Everything down less than two percent,

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<v Speaker 1>nothing dramatic, Bitcoin dominance holding at fifty seven point five percent,

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<v Speaker 1>which means capital isn't rotating into alt coins. It's parked

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<v Speaker 1>total market cap around two point six trillion, defied total

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<v Speaker 1>value locked near ninety billion. But the narrative tracker is

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<v Speaker 1>telling a different story. Meme tokens are up thirty three

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<v Speaker 1>percent in seven days roll ups and liquid staking tokens

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<v Speaker 1>up eleven to thirteen percent. Meanwhile, the majors are flat

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<v Speaker 1>to slightly red. Polymarket is pricing Bitcoin at a two

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<v Speaker 1>percent chance of hitting five hundred thousand by year end,

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<v Speaker 1>and aggressive FED rate cuts at basically zero probability. The

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<v Speaker 1>macro tailwind that drove the twenty twenty four rally, the

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<v Speaker 1>market isn't counting on it coming back. Let's start with

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<v Speaker 1>the hack, because this one keeps getting worse. Kelpdoo's restaking

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<v Speaker 1>bridge was exploited for two hundred and ninety two million dollars,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty six's largest crypto hack so far. Wrapped Ethereum

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<v Speaker 1>is stranded across twenty chains after an attack on a

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<v Speaker 1>layer zero based bridge. Layer zero is supposed to be

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<v Speaker 1>the safer crosschain option. When the safe option loses that

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<v Speaker 1>much money, you have to ask what the unsafe options

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<v Speaker 1>look like. The core problem is that restaking protocols stack

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<v Speaker 1>complexity on top of complexity. Kelpdao was sitting on top

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<v Speaker 1>of eigenlayer, sitting on top of Ethereum, sitting on top

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<v Speaker 1>of a bridge, four places something can go wrong. One

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<v Speaker 1>of them did. Watch eigenlayers total value locked over the

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<v Speaker 1>next few days. A sharp drop there signals the restaking

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<v Speaker 1>narrative is taking real damage, shifting gears. Memes up thirty

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<v Speaker 1>three percent in a week while bitcoin slides. Maybe that's

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<v Speaker 1>not bearish. Sometimes meme runs are early signals that retail

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<v Speaker 1>is coming back. But when memes outperform this dramatically while

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<v Speaker 1>everything else flat lines, you're either seeing the leading indicator

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<v Speaker 1>of a broader rally or retail chasing the only thing

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<v Speaker 1>moving and about to get caught when the music stops.

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<v Speaker 1>Fifty one billion dollars in meme market cap is real money,

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<v Speaker 1>making a real bet on pure sentiment. Here's one I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't expect to be talking about. Alcoa is selling a

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<v Speaker 1>dormant aluminum smelter in Messine in New York to ny

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<v Speaker 1>DIG for bitcoin mining and AI data center operations. Aluminum

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<v Speaker 1>smelters need massive, stable power, so do bitcoin miners. Alcoa

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<v Speaker 1>gets cash for a dormant asset. Ny DIG gets grid

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<v Speaker 1>connected industrial power without fighting zoning boards for years. When

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<v Speaker 1>the aluminum business is better monetized as a bitcoin mine,

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<v Speaker 1>something structural has shifted. And then there's this. Charles Schwab

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<v Speaker 1>and Citadel Securities are reportedly weighing entry into prediction markets.

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<v Speaker 1>Citadel is the largest market maker in US equities. Schwab

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<v Speaker 1>has thirty five million active brokerage accounts. If either enters,

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<v Speaker 1>they bring liquidity and retail distribution that crypt native platforms

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<v Speaker 1>can't match. Crypto build prediction markets as a censorship resistant

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<v Speaker 1>alternative to traditional finance. Now, traditional finance wants to build

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<v Speaker 1>the same product with better UX and SIPC insurance. That's

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<v Speaker 1>either validation the category works or the beginning of the

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<v Speaker 1>end for crypto native platform's edge probably both quick Hits

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<v Speaker 1>Strategy is making its STRC preferred stock dividend payments bi monthly,

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<v Speaker 1>trying to compete with traditional fixed income products. A federal

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<v Speaker 1>judge dismissed the class action against Caitlyn Jenner's meme coin,

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<v Speaker 1>ruling it doesn't meet the legal definition of a security

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<v Speaker 1>and Senator Warren is claiming Sec. Chair Atkins likely misled

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<v Speaker 1>Congress on enforcement data, adding political pressure at exactly the

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<v Speaker 1>moment the industry is lobbying for lighter touch oversight. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>before we get into the risks, quick word from our sponsor. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we're back. Let's talk about what to watch for. Three

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<v Speaker 1>things on my radar. First, me mania asking weak market breath.

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<v Speaker 1>When the top performing narrative is up thirty three percent

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<v Speaker 1>and the majors are down, that's a crowded trade in

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<v Speaker 1>the one corner of the market still moving. That gap

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<v Speaker 1>closes eventually and not always gently. Second, restaking contagion from

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<v Speaker 1>the KELP dow exploit. This isn't just a KELP problem.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a stress test for the entire restaking stack. Igen

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<v Speaker 1>layer total value locked all r SETPEG stability and confidence

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<v Speaker 1>in liquid restaking tokens are all connected. If one cracks,

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<v Speaker 1>pressure flows through the whole category at once. Third trad

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<v Speaker 1>fi entry compressing cryptonative prediction market advantages. If regulated platforms

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<v Speaker 1>offer the same bets with better insurance and a better app,

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<v Speaker 1>the addressable market shrinks to ideological users, and that's a

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<v Speaker 1>smaller market than most projections. Assume three things to watch

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<v Speaker 1>this week. Kelp Dow needs to post a credible recovery

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<v Speaker 1>plan within seventy two hours. If the rsth peg drifts

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<v Speaker 1>more than five percent below ethereum parody, that's contagion spreading,

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<v Speaker 1>not containment. Working Finance and bit get are both investigating

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<v Speaker 1>unusual trading in the rave token after a sharp price spike.

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<v Speaker 1>If either exchange finds coordinated manipulation and acts on it,

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<v Speaker 1>that sets a precedent for how major platforms handle mean

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<v Speaker 1>token pump activity. And the Senate Banking Committee has a

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<v Speaker 1>digit little Asset Market Structure vote on the calendar for

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<v Speaker 1>the week of April twenty first. The Clarity Act markup

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<v Speaker 1>timing is still uncertain, but any committee vote would be

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<v Speaker 1>the most significant US crypto legislation signal of twenty twenty six.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the pulse for April nineteenth. If you want the

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<v Speaker 1>full written breakdown with charts, sources and watchnext scenarios for

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<v Speaker 1>every story, check out the newsletter at tokenmetrics dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>It's all there, and if you're finding this useful, subscribing

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<v Speaker 1>to the podcast or sharing it with someone who follows

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<v Speaker 1>crypto is the best way to help us keep making it.

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<v Speaker 1>This is educational content, non investment advice. Always do your

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<v Speaker 1>own research. I'm Alex, See you next time.