Bitcoin traded back above $9,000, leading most of the top cryptocurrencies by market cap to gains. Here are the crypto stories you can't miss on Wednesday, May 2.

April Showers Bring ...

As May trading continues, bitcoin bulls touted April as the best month the cryptocurrency has had so far in 2018. The No. 1 cryptocurrency by market value increased in price by 33% against the dollar last month. April was just the second month in four that bitcoin registered gains, though. The price fell in January and in March, and only tallied a 1.4% gain in February. The negative months were particularly brutal, as bitcoin shed nearly a third of its value in both January and March after rising to more than $17,000 just after the new year. While bitcoin hasn't recovered above $10,000 since it dipped below in mid-March, traders look to be willing to take on more, even despite risk. Trading volume jumped 93% month over month in April.

Left: Short Ether Before Bitcoin

Shortly after explaining to TheStreet why he thinks Square Inc. (SQ) - Get Report only soared in value because "everyone was in crypto world," notorious short seller Andrew Left said he would short ether before he would short bitcoin, according to Coindesk. Left noted that he thinks both bitcoin and ether are in bubbles, but that he expected ether's price fall to happen sooner and more dramatically. Ether, which is the cryptocurrency of the ethereum network, is the second-largest crypto by market value. Left said ether bulls rely on a "circular argument," backing their thesis on the notion that "it'll go up because it'll go up." Left continued, "I think both [bitcoin and ether] are bubbles," but "if I were going to be wrong about one of these, it would be bitcoin."

Ethereum Co-Founder: It's Not a Security

In response to a question from TheStreet's Nelson Wang at the Collision tech conference in New Orleans on Tuesday, Joseph Lubin said that when he and Ethereum's other founders were creating the platform and technology, they were concerned that it might be considered a security that would not be allowed to be sold to unregistered investors in the U.S. "We spent a tremendous amount of time with lawyers in the U.S. and in other countries, and are extremely comfortable that it is not a security; it never was a security," said Lubin. In comments last week, Gary Gensler, a former Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman, said that "there is a strong case that one or both of [Ethereum and Ripple] are noncompliant securities." Currently, the CFTC considers Bitcoin to be a commodity, and thus not subject to rules set by the SEC. Lubin cited Gensler's remarks in his answer to TheStreet, but dismissed them by saying "we are comfortable that many regulators that matter understand what Ethereum is."

Barclays Refutes Crypto Rumors

Barclays Plc (BCS) - Get Report Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley told investors this week that the U.S. banking giant has no immediate plans to open up a cryptocurrency trading desk, according to Financial News. Speaking at an annual meeting for shareholders, Staley said that, despite recent rumors to the contrary, Barclays has no plans to expand into crypto. Digital assets represent a "real challenge" for Barclays, Staley said. Coindesk had reported earlier this year that the bank was gauging interest from clients regarding the possibility of a crypto trading desk, but Barclays had not confirmed or denied the possibility.