Summary
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Over the past 24 hours, BTC rose to a high of $69,305 before giving back gains, shifting into a weaker consolidation phase. The move appears more like a post-rally pullback than a trend-level breakdown.
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Total stablecoin market capitalization rose to $316.3 billion, increasing by $640 million over the past week, while Ethereum gas fees stayed at low levels.
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Drift Protocol suffered a major exploit, with around $220 million to $270 million in assets suspiciously transferred. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Bitcoin enhanced income ETF ticker was confirmed as BITA, and the SEC approved the listing of options on multi-crypto asset commodity trusts.
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Total crypto ETF flows saw a slight net outflow over the past week, but ETH products showed relatively stronger demand. Market sentiment remains in the “Fear” zone, though short-term risk appetite has improved marginally.
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From March 26 to April 2, 2026, a total of 14 crypto-related projects announced fundraising rounds or M&A deals, with Polymarket, World, and Startale Labs ranking among the largest.
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Over the next seven days, HYPE, ENA, and OPN are set to unlock approximately $12.00 million, $19.16 million, and $5.52 million worth of tokens respectively, which may create short-term supply pressure.
Market Overview
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BTC Market Update — Over the past 24 hours, BTC first surged to $69,305 and then gradually retraced, falling back toward the lower end of its recent range and entering a weaker short-term consolidation phase. Technically, the MA5, MA10, and MA20 short-term moving averages are all pressing above price, while the MA20 remains above the MA60, suggesting that the medium-term uptrend structure remains intact even as short-term pressure builds. MACD is still above the zero line, but DIF remains below DEA and the histogram continues to weaken, indicating that although a full bearish crossover has not yet formed, momentum is fading. RSI14 stands at 48.1, placing BTC in a neutral-to-weak zone. The Bollinger mid-band is around $68,466.0, with price trading closer to the lower band. Over the past six hours, trading volume declined by roughly 33% compared with the previous six-hour period. Overall, this points to short-term weakness, though more as a pullback consolidation after an advance rather than a structural loss of trend.
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ETH Market Update — ETH remained stronger than BTC overall, recovering from lower levels and at one point touching $2,168, while still holding in the upper half of its intraday range. The structure remains relatively strong, although the market has entered a consolidation phase after the rally. Technically, MA5 > MA10 > MA20 > MA60, showing a bullish alignment across short- and medium-term moving averages. MACD also remains above the zero line, but DIF is slightly below DEA and the histogram has weakened, suggesting that upside momentum has slowed after a period of elevated strength. RSI14 stands at 56.3, which places ETH in a neutral-to-strong zone. Overall, ETH’s structure remains constructive, but a retest of recent highs will likely require fresh volume support. At present, the most important number for the ETH market is not price itself, but the divergence in ETF flows. In March, BTC ETFs broke a prior streak of four consecutive months of net outflows, while ETH ETF products recorded outflows for a fifth straight month.
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Altcoins — Over the past 24 hours, the altcoin market remained structurally mixed, with about 46.95% of tokens declining and 51.02% advancing. Among sectors, Decentralized Identity (DID) and NFT trading performed best, both posting average gains of roughly 25%.
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Stablecoins — Total stablecoin market capitalization currently stands at $316.3 billion, up by about $640 million over the past week, representing a weekly increase of 0.2%.
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Gas Fees — Ethereum gas fees generally remained below 1 Gwei over the past week, with the highest hourly spike reaching 1.26 Gwei. As of April 2, the average gas fee for the day stood at 0.068 Gwei.
Trending Tokens
Over the past 24 hours, the altcoin market remained structurally mixed, with about 46.95% of tokens declining and 51.02% posting gains. Among sectors, Decentralized Identity (DID) and NFT trading stood out the most, with average gains of around 25%. Individual projects such as Ontology (ONT) even rose by more than 45%. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently stands at 42. Although this marks an improvement from previous extreme fear levels, sentiment remains in the “Fear” zone, indicating that market caution still dominates. Broad-based altcoin rallies continue to depend heavily on major tokens maintaining sideways support, while short-term follow-on trading remains active and localized volatility risk is still elevated.
ONT Ontology (+45.29%，Market Cap: $126M）
According to Gate market data, ONT is currently trading at $0.11949, up 45.29% over the past 24 hours. Ontology is a public blockchain project focused on decentralized identity and data infrastructure.
Recent market interest has been driven by expectations surrounding changes to its staking mechanism and potential compatibility with the EU’s eIDAS 2.0 digital identity framework, which has renewed attention on the DID sector and significantly boosted trading volume.
BLUR Blur (+36.57%，Market Cap: $64.77M）
According to Gate market data, BLUR is currently trading at $0.02356, up 36.57% over the past 24 hours. Blur is a leading NFT marketplace and aggregator.
Supported by a broader recovery in the NFT market driven by whale activity, as well as the launch of a new round of protocol incentives, BLUR has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the NFT segment and attracted substantial short-term capital inflows.
NOM Onomy Protocol (+39.49%，Market Cap: $11.20M）
According to Gate market data, NOM is currently trading at $0.00611, up 39.49% over the past 24 hours. Onomy Protocol is a cross-chain ecosystem designed to bridge foreign exchange infrastructure with DeFi.
Recent upgrades to its mainnet cross-chain hub and the rollout of new liquidity mining incentives have materially improved token demand, allowing it to stand out among smaller-cap altcoins.
Key Market Data Highlights
Drift Protocol Exploited, More Than $220 Million in Assets Suspiciously Transferred
Drift Protocol, a Solana ecosystem DeFi protocol, suffered a major exploit, with preliminary estimates suggesting that roughly $220 million to $270 million in assets were suspiciously transferred. Stolen assets reportedly included USDC ($60.40 million), JLP ($155.6 million), and cbBTC ($11.30 million), among others. The attacker has already bridged part of the stolen SOL to Ethereum, used it to purchase 19,913 ETH, and transferred some assets to an exchange. Drift has suspended deposits and warned users to remain cautious.
This is one of the largest DeFi security incidents in recent months and poses a direct blow to confidence in the Solana ecosystem. The attacker’s rapid cross-chain movement into Ethereum and ETH purchases may provide short-term support for ETH prices, but the event also exposes ongoing vulnerabilities in cross-chain infrastructure. As Drift is one of Solana’s major derivatives protocols, the incident may intensify concerns over on-chain asset security and trigger renewed audits and capital withdrawals across DeFi.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin Enhanced Income ETF Ticker Confirmed as BITA
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas disclosed that BlackRock’s upcoming iShares Bitcoin Enhanced Income ETF will trade under the ticker BITA, with an expected fee of around 38 basis points. The product adopts a covered call strategy, holding Bitcoin while selling call options to generate premium income, effectively converting Bitcoin volatility into periodic distributions for investors. It represents an important follow-up product to IBIT in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF lineup.
The launch of BITA signals that Bitcoin ETF products are evolving from “pure long-only exposure” toward “yield-enhanced structures,” potentially attracting more conservative institutional investors seeking stable income. Covered call strategies typically sacrifice part of the upside in bull markets but can provide steadier returns in range-bound markets, which fits the current sideways Bitcoin environment. It also suggests that the Bitcoin derivatives market is likely to deepen further.
SEC Approves NYSE Listing of Options on Multi-Crypto Asset Commodity Trusts
The SEC has approved a rule change allowing NYSE American to list options on multi-crypto asset commodity trusts. Previously, only options on single-asset crypto commodity trusts were permitted. The updated framework extends eligibility to trusts holding multiple crypto assets, provided each asset in the trust has maintained an average daily market capitalization of at least $700 million over the past 12 months and meets derivatives surveillance-sharing agreement requirements. The SEC stated that this change should improve market efficiency and reduce the need for repeated case-by-case approvals.
This is an important institutional breakthrough for the crypto derivatives market. The availability of multi-asset trust options means institutional investors can hedge multiple crypto exposures through a single options product, materially reducing hedging cost and operational complexity. Combined with broader regulatory efforts to build a more complete framework for crypto derivatives, this development carries long-term significance for the institutionalization of the digital asset market.
Focus of the Week
Crypto ETF Flows Slightly Negative Over the Past Week, While ETH Demand Improves
Over the past week, aggregate crypto ETF flows recorded a slight net outflow of around $1.8 million, reflecting generally cautious market sentiment. Structurally, Bitcoin ETFs faced some outflow pressure and appeared relatively weak across several daily observations, suggesting that part of the market chose to take profits after the earlier rally. Day-to-day flow volatility remained elevated, highlighting that the market is still in a short-term phase of observation and tactical positioning.
By contrast, Ethereum ETF products showed stronger relative demand. On a daily basis, ETH posted net inflows of roughly $28 million, offsetting around $9 million of BTC outflows. This divergence suggests that some institutional capital is undergoing structural rotation, shifting part of its allocation from BTC toward ETH. Meanwhile, total crypto ETF assets under management remain elevated at around $100.8 billion, accounting for roughly 6% of the total crypto market capitalization. This indicates that long-term institutional demand remains intact, while recent fund movements appear more rotational than trend-defining.
Market Sentiment Remains in the Fear Zone, Though Risk Appetite Has Improved Slightly
Over the past week, overall crypto market sentiment remained in the fear zone. The latest CMC Crypto Fear & Greed Index reading stands at 31, compared with 32 yesterday and 29 last week, marking a slight improvement but still remaining below neutral territory. The rebound from lower levels indicates that investor sentiment has begun to recover after the previous market correction, but overall risk appetite is still cautious and participation remains restrained.
Recent movement in the sentiment gauge suggests the market is still in a repair phase. Although short-term price strength in Bitcoin has helped sentiment recover, broader confidence has not yet returned to neutral levels. Considering that the index had dropped as low as 15 over the past month, the current recovery points to gradual improvement, but investors continue to prefer relatively cautious trading strategies under the influence of macro uncertainty and ongoing market volatility.
On-Chain Protocol Fees Remain Stable, with Stablecoin Issuers Dominating Revenue
Over the past week, on-chain protocol fee generation remained within a relatively stable range. Current 24-hour total fees are around $45.41 million, while cumulative fees over the past 30 days have reached about $1.55 billion. However, weekly fees declined by around 5.46% compared with the previous period, indicating that on-chain activity has cooled slightly. On a daily basis, total fees generally fluctuated between $40 million and $60 million, with only a few isolated spikes, suggesting that market activity remains stable but lacks sustained acceleration.
In terms of protocol revenue composition, stablecoin issuers continue to dominate fee income. Tether (USDT) generated roughly $16.37 million in fees over the past 24 hours and $115 million over the past seven days, well ahead of other protocols. Circle (USDC) ranked second, with around $6.67 million in 24-hour fees. Stablecoin issuers benefit from consistent cash flow generated by reserve assets, primarily government bonds, reinforcing that stablecoin-related businesses remain among the most stable and profitable sectors in the crypto industry.
Funding Weekly Recap
According to RootData, from March 26 to April 2, 2026, a total of 14 crypto-related projects announced fundraising rounds or M&A deals, covering sectors such as prediction markets, AI, and DeFi. Below is a brief overview of the largest deals of the week:
Polymarket
On March 27, Polymarket announced the completion of a $600 million funding round, with ICE participating.
Polymarket is one of the leading platforms in the prediction market sector, focused on event-driven trading, market-based pricing, and information expression. This major funding round highlights continued confidence from capital markets in the long-term growth potential of prediction markets in terms of liquidity, user participation, and information efficiency. As demand for event-driven trading continues to expand, Polymarket is well positioned to broaden its product reach and strengthen its influence across the sector.
World WLD
On March 27, World completed a $65 million OTC transaction at a valuation of $2.7 billion.
World is a project centered on digital identity, on-chain accounts, and global user network infrastructure. It aims to expand on-chain user participation through identity verification and application ecosystem growth. This OTC transaction reflects sustained market interest in digital identity infrastructure and large-scale user network narratives. As identity protocols, payment systems, and on-chain applications become more interconnected, the infrastructure direction represented by World continues to offer meaningful long-term expansion potential.
Startale Labs
On March 26, Startale Labs completed a $63 million Series A round, with investors including Sony Innovation Fund and SBI Holdings.
Startale Labs is an important participant in blockchain infrastructure and ecosystem development. Its fundraising shows that traditional industrial capital and crypto-native development logic continue to converge. The proceeds are expected to support the development of underlying technologies, application ecosystems, and related infrastructure, further indicating that market support for high-quality Web3 builder projects remains resilient.
Next Week to Watch
Token Unlocks
According to Tokenomist, over the next seven days (April 2 to April 8, 2026), the market will see several notable token unlocks. The top three are as follows:
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HYPE will unlock approximately $12 million worth of tokens, accounting for 0.1% of circulating supply.
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ENA will unlock approximately $19.16 million worth of tokens, accounting for 2.5% of circulating supply.
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OPN will unlock approximately $5.52 million worth of tokens, accounting for 22.6% of circulating supply.
References:
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Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
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Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
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Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
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Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
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Defillama, https://defillama.com/stablecoins
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Etherscan, https://etherscan.io/gastracker
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Coingecoko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/cryptocurrency-heatmap
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Defillama, https://defillama.com/fees
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Coinmarketcap, https://coinmarketcap.com/etf/
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Coinmarketcap, https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/fear-and-greed-index/
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Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
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Tokenomist, https://tokenomist.ai/
Gate Research is a comprehensive blockchain and cryptocurrency research platform that provides deep content for readers, including technical analysis, market insights, industry research, trend forecasting, and macroeconomic policy analysis.
Disclaimer
Investing in cryptocurrency markets involves high risk. Users are advised to conduct their own research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products before making any investment decisions. Gate is not responsible for any losses or damages arising from such decisions.
