Gate Cryptocurrency News and Market Analysis

On April 17, an on-chain analyst, Ai Auntie, disclosed on the X platform that a long-term whale who has held a large amount of tokens since the Ethereum ICO period transferred 2,000 ETH (about $4.63 million) to a multi-signature address. The receiving address has been identified as a “designated sell” address in its history—funds are typically deposited to an exchange shortly after the transfer.

A 2026 digital asset institutional investor survey by Nomura Securities (Nomura) and its crypto subsidiary, Laser Digital, shows that nearly four-fifths of surveyed institutional investors plan to allocate 2% to 5% of their total assets under management (AUM) to the crypto market. Most institutions say they plan to do so within the next year rather than investing immediately.

Prediction market platform Kalshi has appealed a ruling by the state of Nevada banning its event contracts, and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held oral arguments on April 17, but did not issue an immediate decision after the hearing. The core dispute in the case is whether Kalshi’s event contracts are “swap agreements” that fall under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), or whether they must be regulated by state-level activity under gambling licensing regimes. Multiple legal experts predict that the case may ultimately be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

HIVE Digital Technologies released an announcement on Thursday, saying it plans to issue 0% exchangeable senior notes due in 2031 to qualified institutional investors through a private placement, targeting to raise $75 million, with an additional $15 million option; the funds raised will be used for GPU procurement, data center construction, and other capital expenditures.

Representing more than 100 members, Joshua McCollum, a Drift Protocol investor, filed a lawsuit against Circle on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleges that in the April 1 theft incident involving approximately $280 million worth of Drift Protocol, Circle allowed the attacker to transfer roughly $230 million USDC to Ethereum via a cross-chain transfer protocol.

Crypto ETP issuer 21Shares AG, headquartered in Zurich, has launched its Strategy Yield ETP (ticker: 21ST), which has been listed on Xetra and four other European exchanges. According to a 21Shares announcement, this is the company’s first ETP providing exposure to equity-related instrument structures, with the underlying asset being priority securities issued by MicroStrategy (Strategy).

Candescent, a US fintech firm, has expanded its India workforce to 1,000, making India central to its product development. The company uses AI for 80% of its coding, plans further headcount growth, and serves over 30 million users, highlighting India's importance in its operations.

Anthropic has implemented mandatory KYC identity verification across its Claude platform to prevent misuse and ensure compliance, with third-party Persona Identities carrying out the process. This measure takes effect in April 2026 and particularly affects users in restricted regions such as mainland China. If users fail the verification, the official recommends seeking resolution through the appeals or refund application channels. As global regulatory pressure increases, identity verification mechanisms on AI platforms will gradually tighten, and users can look for lawful alternative solutions.

Charles Schwab announced recently that it will launch spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services for qualified U.S. retail customers, with a trading fee of 0.75%. The service will be maintained by a bank subsidiary of Charles Schwab. It will initially not support residents of New York State and Louisiana; in the future, it plans to add more cryptocurrencies and deposit and withdrawal features.

A DeFi protocol, Rhea Finance, suffered a major security vulnerability on April 16, resulting in losses of approximately $7.6 million. The attacker manipulated the oracle by creating a fraudulent token contract, causing the protocol to incorrectly assess the value of assets. This loss represents about 6% of Rhea Finance’s total value locked, demonstrating the risk of oracle manipulation attacks in the DeFi space. Users should carefully evaluate the risk of their assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) is flat at $74,920. A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has taken effect, and Trump says Iran agreed not to develop nuclear weapons. Mizuho Bank warns that Musk’s X Money could be affected by New York’s crypto regulation. Yuga Labs replaces its CEO: Greg Solano becomes Chairman of the Board, and Michael Figge takes over. The market is broadly optimistic. A record-high Bitcoin buying wave in the past decade has emerged, suggesting the price may be moving toward $90,000.

Russian company LaserBirds has enhanced its laser-based drone interception system's range to 1.5 kilometers, using ytterbium laser technology to effectively damage drones. Recent advancements include radar integration and ongoing development of an acoustic sensor subsystem, although challenges in tracking and detecting drones remain.

Market behavior suggests a shift from panic selling to strategic accumulation. Large-cap and utility-driven altcoins are leading early positioning trends. Macro conditions and technical signals point to a possible altseason setup. The crypto market is showing signs of emotional selling,

Grinex, a Kyrgyz crypto exchange, paused trading and withdrawals after a large-scale cyberattack and lost about $15 million in USDT. The stolen funds were quickly converted into TRX and ETH to reduce the risk of being frozen. Grinex is believed to be the successor to the sanctioned exchange Garantex, becoming a major trading platform for ruble-to-crypto transactions. In its attack statement, Grinex pointed the incident to an “enemy state,” but it lacked concrete evidence.

In a House hearing, U.S. CFTC Chairman Selig emphasized a “zero-tolerance policy” toward market fraud and manipulation. He responded to questions regarding a $500 million oil futures transaction and said the CFTC is drafting rules to regulate prediction markets. Selig also mentioned a cooperation memorandum of understanding with the SEC to strengthen oversight of digital assets. Given that the CFTC currently has only one commissioner—himself—Selig emphasized operational efficiency and will hire new staff to enhance regulatory capacity.

April 17, Bitcoin returned to around $75,000 as U.S. President Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, boosting market sentiment. However, a CryptoQuant report shows that the proportion of large deposits has surged to over 40%, suggesting institutions may be preparing to sell. In addition, Bitcoin faces key technical resistance in the $76,000 to $76,800 range, and the market remains cautious about how events will unfold next.

Toss team lead Heo Won-young stated on the 16th that the company aims to build a full-stack payment and remittance infrastructure encompassing both stablecoin issuance and distribution, according to remarks made at the Ethereum Korea One (EK1)

Scott Chronert of Citigroup predicts a "reverse perfect storm" for tech stocks as earnings season nears, where strong results will confirm AI investments and bolster market leadership. He suggests investor demand for confirmation of growth momentum may lead to rapid valuation recoveries in software and data centers, with potential for broader market leadership if conditions improve.