It’s the understatement of the year, but April was a fascinating month on the crypto markets. Led by explosive growth in altcoins and a stable Bitcoin (BTC), the asset class appeared to take a major step toward mainstream adoption. Of course, what goes up must come down ― will May bring retracement to cryptos?

At this point, there has never been more public interest directed at cryptocurrencies. Check out a few of the key events from April:

• Dogecoin (DOGE) rose 483.5% on the heels of Elon Musk and Mark Cuban’s Twitter feeds.
• Ripple XRP posted gains upwards of 175%, eclipsing the $1.00 and $1.50 psyche levels. XRP’s rally is especially interesting due to the ongoing litigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• Bitcoin lagged the altcoins, but showed stability. For the month, BTC lost 1.39% amid talk of JP Morgan’s BTC investment fund and BTC ETF speculation.
• Crypto exchange Coinbase went public via direct listing and earned an initial valuation of $85.8 billion.

So, what will May hold? Two things: media buzz over SEC approval/denial of Bitcoin ETFs and developments in the SEC vs Ripple case. One thing is for sure ― the entire cryptosphere will be watching closely.

Bitcoin Closes The Month Near Flat

Typically, as Bitcoin goes, the entire crypto asset class goes. This wasn’t the case in April as BTC lagged a majority of the other coins.

Overview: The trajectory of cryptos in 2021 has been astounding. Although no one is 100% certain as to why, a good guess is an increase in mainstream adoption. However, where there’s value, there are also regulators. If the crypto market comes under serious fire from the SEC and CFTC, then it’s anyone’s guess where prices are heading. Will that happen in May? Only time will give us that answer.