Prices of cryptoassets faltered in April as geopolitical uncertainties and financial markets turmoil continued to spill over into crypto markets. Analyzing on-chain data can provide a clearer view of trends in network usage and demand, separating crypto-fundamental signals from price volatility noise.

In Kraken Intelligence’s latest report, Head-Fake, the team investigates key on-chain data points to explore where the crypto market stands today and what may lie ahead in the space.

State of the market

BTC fluctuated between $38K and $48K in April and is now struggling to break through the $40K resistance level amid ongoing macroeconomic tension. The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached a 40-year high of 8.5% and Russia continues to occupy Ukrainian territory, causing pessimism to spill over into crypto markets.

On-chain indicators like BTC’s Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) and Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) z-score signaled early signs of positive sentiment last month, ultimately proving to be a head-fake and reversing in April 2022. Current readings indicate oversold conditions while BTC struggles to break back into neutral territory.

On-chain fundamentals

SOL transaction count has fallen drastically year-to-date, followed closely by ALGO, DOT, ADA and ETH, suggesting a rise in holding activity. Moreover, ALGO, DOT, ADA and ETH also experienced negative active address growth over the same period — another indication that network demand is falling.

BTC and AVAX are the only cryptoassets that realized positive growth in transaction count. While SOL…