Abstract

• BTC traded within a consolidation range this week, while ETH showed a slightly weaker trend within a similar range.
• Trump announced a comprehensive tariff policy, introducing tiered tariffs on 50 countries, with auto tariffs rising to 25%.
• The Arizona House Committee passed a bill allowing the state to hold Bitcoin reserves.
• Fidelity launched a retirement plan that supports direct crypto investments.
• Ethereum reclaimed the top spot in DEX trading, while interest in Solana waned.
• Stablecoins are catching on fast in emerging markets, with India leading the charge.

Market Analysis

Review and Insights

• BTC — BTC traded within a consolidation range this week and is currently priced at $83,827. Support sits at $81,300, while resistance is at $88,700. A clear breakout above resistance could lead to a further move toward the $88,000–$89,000 resistant zone. Overall trading volume was moderate, with a notable spike during a recent sharp drop, but no sustained volume trend has formed. Bulls and bears remain in cautious contention.[1]

• ETH — ETH showed a weaker sideways trend this week, currently trading at $1,827. Support is at $1,770, and resistance lies between $1,860 and $1,880. A breakout above the descending trendline could open the way to the $1,920–$1,950 resistance zone. Market volume was generally steady, but a notable increase accompanied the latest bearish candle, suggesting a brief bullish attempt that quickly retraced—reflecting continued market caution.[2]

• Altcoins — Over the past 7 days, altcoin prices were generally sluggish, with gains falling short of last week’s performance. The Storage, Made in China, and BTCfi sectors were relatively resilient, with respective 7-day market cap changes of +3.8%, -1.4%, and -3.2%.[3]
• Futures — As of 8:00 AM (UTC+8) on April 3, 2025, open interest in the BTC options market stood at $24.93 billion, down significantly from $36.92 billion last week. The notional value of options expiring on April 4 rose to $2.764 billion.[4]
• Macro Data — On the evening of April 2, the U.S. reported March ADP employment data at 155,000, beating expectations of 115,000—indicating continued resilience in the labor market. Following the release, all three major U.S. stock indices rose, and the crypto market followed suit.[5]
• Stablecoins — The total market cap of stablecoins rose 0.19% this week to $234.8 billion, reflecting a small net inflow of off-market funds.[6]
• Gas Fees — Over the past 7 days, Ethereum’s average gas fee rose to 0.70 Gwei, with network activity seeing a slight uptick.[7]

Trending Concepts

This week, BTC traded between $81,500 and $87,000, while most altcoin sectors saw declines. According to CoinGecko, the Storage, Made in China, and BTCfi sectors were relatively resilient, with 7-day market cap changes of +3.8%, -1.4%, and -3.2%, respectively. [8]

Storage — This sector consists of decentralized data storage networks built on blockchain technology, designed to offer secure, efficient, and low-cost storage solutions. These networks allow users to contribute unused hard drive space, forming a globally distributed storage market. Compared to traditional centralized cloud storage, the decentralized model reduces single points of failure and enhances data privacy and security.

The Storage sector’s market cap rose 3.8% this week to approximately $4.5 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $604 million. Within the sector, XAND rose 14.2% over the past 7 days. [9]

Made in China — This sector highlights blockchain projects developed and operated by Chinese teams. These projects combine local market needs with cutting-edge technology to offer secure and efficient digital asset services, leveraging both innovation and regulatory advantages. The sector spans areas such as digital payments, supply chain traceability, and cross-border finance—showcasing China’s progress in blockchain innovation while supporting digital transformation in traditional industries.

The Made in China sector saw a 1.4% decline in market cap this week, down to about $28.8 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.3 billion. Within the sector, TRON rose 2.2% over the past 7 days. [10]

BTCFi — This sector aims to evolve Bitcoin from a simple store of value into a productive financial asset platform. By integrating Bitcoin-native and Layer 2 technologies, BTCFi enables decentralized lending, staking, and liquidity mining—offering users a transparent, efficient, and intermediary-free financial environment that leverages Bitcoin’s unmatched security and global liquidity.

The BTCFi sector’s market cap fell 3.2% this week to approximately $1.67 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $380 million. Within the sector, Pendle rose 1.5% over the past 7 days. [11]

Top Performers

According to CoinGecko data, the following are the top-performing tokens over the past 7 days: [12]

EOS (EOS) — Up approximately 40.3% over 7 days, with a circulating market cap of $1.234 billion.

EOS is a decentralized blockchain platform developed by Block.one, designed to support high-performance decentralized applications (DApps). It uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to boost transaction speed and scalability. The native EOS token is used to pay for network resources like computation, storage, and bandwidth, and also grants holders governance rights—allowing them to vote for block producers (supernodes).[13]

The recent price surge was driven by news that Vaulta is partnering with exSat to bridge the Bitcoin and EOS networks, expanding EOS’s potential in a multi-chain ecosystem. The integration is seen as a major technical breakthrough and has drawn strong interest from both the community and the market.

TON (The Open Network) — Up approximately 4.0% over 7 days, with a circulating market cap of $9.4 billion.

The Open Network (TON) is a decentralized blockchain platform originally developed by the Telegram team. It aims to provide high-performance, scalable infrastructure to support decentralized applications (dApps). TON is designed to handle millions of transactions per second, meeting the demands of large-scale applications. Its core components—TON Blockchain, TON DNS, TON Storage, TON Sites, and TON Proxy—form a comprehensive ecosystem.[14]

RedotPay announced integration with the TON blockchain, allowing users to make global USDT payments across more than 130 million merchants—significantly increasing TON’s real-world utility and demand. Meanwhile, MyTonWallet released version 3.5, improving the activity feed and adding a balance-hiding feature, enhancing user experience and supporting TON ecosystem growth. In addition, Telegram’s official wallet launched a new “Trading” section and announced zero trading fees for all TON ecosystem tokens until April 14, boosting market activity and liquidity.

TRX (TRON) — Up approximately 1.9% over 7 days, with a circulating market cap of $22.39 billion.

TRON (TRX) is a blockchain-based decentralized platform focused on building a global digital content and entertainment system. It allows users to freely publish, store, and own data, and interact through decentralized applications (dApps). The native token, TRX, is used to pay transaction fees, reward content creators, and participate in network governance.[15]

TRX’s recent gains were driven by strong on-chain activity and a surge in stablecoin transaction volume. Last month, the TRON network processed as much as $560 billion in transfers—mainly from peer-to-peer stablecoin payments—highlighting the network’s efficiency and stability. At the same time, the market cap of stablecoins on TRON hit a new all-time high, reflecting growing market trust. As network usage continues to rise, investor confidence has strengthened, supporting TRX’s price increase.

Weekly Spotlights

Hot Topic Review

Trump Announces Comprehensive Tariff Policy: Tiered Tariffs on 50 Countries, Auto Tariffs Raised to 25%

In a speech delivered early this morning, Trump officially unveiled his comprehensive tariff policy, signaling a further escalation in global trade tensions—once again centered on U.S.-China relations. Under the new framework, 50 countries and regions will face varying levels of tariffs: friendly nations will be subject to a 10% reciprocal tariff, while higher rates will apply to neutral countries or strategic rivals, with some receiving reduced reciprocal terms. Auto tariffs will rise to 25% and take effect at midnight, while other tariff measures are set to be finalized on April 5, leaving a window for negotiation.

Trump emphasized that the goal is to revitalize American industry, attract multinational corporations back to the U.S., and use tariffs as leverage to encourage companies to build factories domestically to avoid extra costs. He also highlighted the 155% gain in the Nasdaq during his previous term and expressed confidence that his administration could drive further market growth. In addition, he noted that tariff revenue would provide ample funds to support future tax cuts.

Markets reacted sharply: gold surged to $3,175/oz, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 3.6%, indicating rising risk-off sentiment. U.S. Equity index futures dropped sharply after the close. Bitcoin initially jumped to around 88,500 USDT before retreating below 85,000 USDT and is now trading at 83,827 USDT. While Bitcoin’s pullback appears to have paused, it’s largely due to the release of short-term selling pressure following the broader market drop, rather than full digestion of the tariff impact.

Trump’s tariff framework still leaves room for negotiation and will require further talks with affected countries. Markets are also eyeing major economic data due tomorrow, as well as an upcoming speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell—both of which could shift sentiment and expectations around the new tariff policy. Until the measures officially take effect, market uncertainty remains high, and short-term risks have yet to be fully priced in. Investors are advised to stay informed and proceed with caution. [16]

Arizona House Committee Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bills, Final Vote Approaching

The Arizona House Committee has passed two Bitcoin reserve bills—SB 1025 and SB 1373—which aim to establish Bitcoin reserves at the state level. SB 1025 would allow the state treasury and retirement system to allocate up to 10% of available funds to purchase Bitcoin. SB 1373 would create a reserve fund composed of digital assets seized by law enforcement, with an annual investment cap of 10% and the option to generate additional yield through loans, provided risk levels remain manageable. The bills now move to a third reading and a final vote in the House. If passed, they will be sent to Governor Katie Hobbs for signature.

For Bitcoin investors, this development could boost confidence and further legitimize Bitcoin as a state-recognized asset. It may also serve as a model for other states considering similar legislation—such as Utah—potentially encouraging broader adoption. Conversely, states that oppose such measures, like Wyoming and Montana, may find themselves at a disadvantage in attracting crypto-driven economic activity. If the bills are enacted, it would mark a milestone for mainstream Bitcoin acceptance, attract institutional investors, drive demand, and set a precedent for other U.S. states. [17]

Fidelity Launches Crypto IRA with Direct Investment in BTC, ETH, and LTC

Fidelity Investments launched a new zero-fee Crypto IRA this week, allowing U.S. users to directly invest in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) through Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and Rollover IRAs. The service is custodied by Fidelity Digital Assets, with users’ crypto holdings stored in cold wallets to enhance security.

This move further accelerates crypto adoption in mainstream finance, offering traditional investors a compliant channel to allocate digital assets—potentially increasing institutional capital inflows and improving overall market liquidity. Amid a backdrop of macroeconomic and policy uncertainty, it could also reinforce Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold” and a safe-haven asset.

Fidelity’s regulatory framework may ease compliance concerns and serve as a model for other financial institutions, helping to advance industry standardization. However, market volatility remains a key risk. If IRA funds flow into crypto at scale, it could amplify the impact of price swings on retirement savings. This underscores the need to balance short-term speculation with long-term portfolio allocation. While this development may also influence the prices of Ethereum and Litecoin, Bitcoin is expected to remain the dominant asset in the offering. [18]

Security Incident

UPCX Suffers Unauthorized Access, About $70M in Tokens Abnormally Transferred

According to an official announcement from UPCX, the platform recently experienced an unauthorized access incident, resulting in abnormal operations from a management account and the unexpected transfer of approximately $70 million worth of its native token, UPC. As a precautionary measure, UPCX has suspended all deposit and withdrawal functions to prevent further losses. The platform emphasized that user funds remain safe and were not directly affected. The team has launched an immediate investigation, is actively tracking the movement of the compromised funds, and has committed to providing ongoing updates.

The incident has sparked widespread concern over the security governance of small- to mid-sized crypto projects—particularly around administrative privileges and private key management. It highlights systemic vulnerabilities in key security areas such as access control, key storage, and preemptive risk management. The situation has reinforced the urgent need for third-party security audits, multi-signature setups, and other robust protective measures. The market is now closely watching whether UPCX will handle the aftermath with transparency and accountability to avoid a broader trust crisis at the platform level. [19]

Project Highlights

Shardeum Mainnet to Launch on April 15

Shardeum, an EVM-based sharded Layer 1 blockchain, is set to officially launch its mainnet on April 15, 2025. The project was founded in 2022 by WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty and engineer Omar Syed. It features dynamic state sharding and a hybrid PoS - quorum consensus mechanism, aiming to deliver linear scalability, low gas fees, and open node participation—while emphasizing decentralization and community-driven development.

The mainnet token, SHM, will have an initial supply of 249 million—halved from the originally planned amount—and will be used solely for node rewards. Future issuance will be dynamically adjusted based on staking participation and network security needs. The launch will coincide with the token generation event (TGE) and an airdrop, totaling 5.5166 million SHM, or 2.22% of the initial supply. Airdrop registration closed on March 21. Shardeum has completed multiple testnet phases and has received over $23 million in funding from investors including Jane Street and Spartan Group. [20]

Data Highlights

Ethereum Reclaims Top Spot in DEX Trading as Solana Hype Cools

According to DefiLlama data, Ethereum recorded $64.6 billion in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume in March 2025, overtaking Solana’s $52.6 billion and reclaiming the top position for the first time since September 2024. This shift wasn’t driven by a surge in Ethereum activity, but rather by a noticeable decline in Solana’s recent momentum and on-chain trading activity.

Earlier this year, Solana gained ground thanks to its high performance and low fees, drawing in a wave of memecoin and short-term speculative trading—briefly surpassing Ethereum in DEX volume. However, as the memecoin frenzy has cooled, trading activity on Solana has dropped significantly, with volumes shrinking across several popular tokens and signs of a slowdown in its DEX ecosystem.

Ethereum, on the other hand, has maintained steady baseline demand for transactions. As Solana activity pulled back, Ethereum naturally rose back to the top. The shift highlights Ethereum’s continued strength as the foundational layer of the DeFi ecosystem. [21]

Stablecoins Gain Traction in Emerging Markets, India Leads in Usage

According to data from Artemis, stablecoins are playing an increasingly important role in cross-border remittances within emerging markets. The data shows that roughly 10% of cross-border transfers are now conducted using stablecoins, highlighting their practical adoption in countries facing high fees and limited access to traditional financial services.

India leads globally with a stablecoin usage rate of 9.8%, followed closely by Nigeria (9.7%) and Mexico (9.0%). In countries grappling with foreign exchange controls and high remittance costs, stablecoins are emerging as an efficient alternative. Similar adoption trends are beginning to appear in Vietnam, Pakistan, and other regions, as stablecoins move beyond on-chain finance into real-world payment use cases.

This trend points to a new growth trajectory for stablecoins: by serving the payment and settlement needs of emerging markets, they can expand real-world utility and bring discussions of regulatory status and financial inclusion further into the global policy spotlight. [22]

Ethena Labs’ USDtb Surges by $1.3B in One Month, Second Only to USDC

According to Artemis data, the circulating supply of USDtb—a stablecoin issued by Ethena Labs—has surged by $1.3 billion over the past month, bringing its total supply to $1.433 billion and accounting for 0.61% of the total stablecoin market cap. This makes USDtb the second-fastest growing stablecoin in terms of supply during the period, trailing only USDC, and highlights growing market interest in its yield-oriented structure.

Unlike USDe, which is backed by crypto staking and hedged with perpetual contracts, USDtb is primarily supported by real-world assets (RWA). Roughly 90% of its reserves are held in BlackRock’s tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, with the remainder in other stablecoin assets. USDtb is designed to serve as a more stable, lower-risk complement to USDe within the Ethena ecosystem—particularly when funding rates in the market are unfavorable, acting as a fallback collateral asset.

The rapid growth of USDtb reflects rising market interest in RWA-backed stablecoins. With continued growth in restaking, yield aggregation protocols, and on-chain liquidity demand, its potential role in DeFi deserves close attention. [23]

Market Opportunities

Project Airdrops

GWAY.AI

GWAY.AI is a crypto investment platform that integrates artificial intelligence to help users quickly identify potential crypto opportunities. By leveraging real-time signals and advanced analytics, users can spot high-quality projects within seconds and make data-driven investment decisions. GWAY.AI is currently running a whitelist campaign, where users can earn points by completing social tasks and daily check-ins. [24][25]

How to participate:

1. Visit the official GWAY.AI website.
2. Connect your wallet to claim daily rewards.
3. Complete social and other designated tasks.

Note：
The airdrop program and participation methods are subject to change. Users are advised to follow GWAY.AI’s official channels for the latest updates. Additionally, users should exercise caution, be aware of potential risks, and conduct thorough research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee the distribution of future airdrop rewards.

Weekly Fundraising Report

Several projects across infrastructure, DeFi, and other areas successfully raised funds this week. According to RootData, between March 28 and April 3, six projects announced new funding rounds, raising over $19.8 million in total.

Here are the top three fundraising deals by amount: [26]

Ambient - On March 31, Ambient completed a $7.2 million seed round with participation from a16z CSX, Delphi Digital, and others. The project focuses on integrating artificial intelligence with blockchain technology to deliver fast, low-cost, and open intelligent services. Ambient uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism similar to Bitcoin, while drawing from Solana’s network architecture to enhance efficiency and scalability.

The funds will be used to build the blockchain network, which aims to create an AI-powered blockchain infrastructure that could serve as a future economic backbone—potentially even replacing Bitcoin. By using PoW, Ambient also offers existing Bitcoin miners new opportunities to earn rewards using their current hardware.

Cambrian Network - On April 1, Cambrian Network raised $5.9 million in a seed round led by a16z CSX, Blockchain Builders, and several angel investors from The Graph ecosystem. The project provides real-time, verifiable financial data to support agentic finance, aiming to build an efficient and transparent intelligence network to help DeFi users make better decisions.

The funding will support technology development, with a focus on expanding data coverage and system performance. The team plans to gather feedback from private beta APIs on Solana and Base, launch DEX liquidity and pool tracking tools, and provide both real-time and historical data analytics for high-volume protocols. Cambrian also aims to decentralize its network, recruit validators, and prepare for testnet deployment.

Mahojin - On April 1, Mahojin secured $5 million in funding, led by a16z CSX and Maelstrom Fund. The project is advancing AI image generation through a “search-generation” approach that allows users to blend and modify existing images to quickly produce high-quality content. Mahojin’s vision is to build an “AI GitHub” for model creators and data developers—supporting IP tracking and contributor incentives.

The funding will accelerate Mahojin’s efforts to combine AI and crypto in an open-source framework. The team plans to further optimize the performance of its Ippy LoRA model, expand platform functionality, and strengthen collaborations with ecosystems like Story Protocol to empower creators and advance the AI-generated content (AIGC) space.

What to Watch Next Week

Token Unlock

According to TokenoMist data, several significant token unlock events are scheduled for next week (April 4–10, 2025), with a total unlocked value exceeding $89 million. [27]

The top 3 unlocks are:

ENA — Around 171 million ENA tokens will be unlocked at 7:00 AM (UTC+0) on April 5, representing 3.25% of the circulating supply and valued at approximately $57.84 million. ENA’s recent daily trading volume is around $170 million, so the unlock may have a mild impact on its price.

MOVE — Around 50 million MOVE tokens will be unlocked at 12:00 PM (UTC+0) on April 9, accounting for 2.04% of its circulating supply and valued at approximately $19.62 million. With a recent daily volume of $75 million, this unlock could have a slight price impact.

KAS — Around 153 million KAS tokens will be unlocked at 12:00 AM (UTC+0) on April 7, representing 0.59% of the circulating supply and valued at about $9.87 million. Given its recent daily volume of $85 million, this unlock is not expected to affect the price significantly.

Crypto Calendar

Next week (April 4–10, 2025) will bring a series of key events with potentially significant impacts on the crypto market, global economy, and energy sector. On April 4, UniSat Wallet will cease support for the Atomicals protocol [28]; from April 6 to 9, the Hong Kong Web3 Festival will return with a four-day program featuring nearly 40 thematic forums covering technology, compliance, culture, and more [29]; from April 8 to 10, Paris Blockchain Week will take place, focusing on Web3, crypto, DeFi, AI, and regulation, and attracting global projects and institutions [30][31]. In terms of macro data, the U.S. will release its March unemployment rate and non-farm payroll numbers on April 4 [32], weekly EIA crude oil inventory data on April 9 [33], and the March year-over-year unadjusted CPI on April 10 [34].

References:

1. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
2. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
3. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/categories
4. Coinglass,https://www.coinglass.com/pro/options/OIExpiry
5. Cryptocraft,https://www.cryptocraft.com/calendar?day=apr3.2025
6. Defillama,https://defillama.com/stablecoins
7. Etherscan,https://etherscan.io/gastracker#chart_gasprice
8. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/categories
9. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/categories/storage
10. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/categories/made-in-china
11. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/btcfi
12. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/categories
13. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/price/eos-eos
14. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/price/the-open-network-ton
15. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/price/tron-trx
16. X,https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1907533861644611652
17. X,https://x.com/Bitcoin_Laws/status/1907549530574487552
18. Fidelity,https://www.fidelity.com/crypto/retirement-ira
19. X,https://x.com/Upcxofficial/status/1907024397497749647
20. X,https://x.com/shardeum/status/1907108205068779764
21. DefiLlama,https://defillama.com/dexs/chains
22. X,https://x.com/artemis/status/1907388589853282564?s=19
23. Artemis,https://app.artemis.xyz/stablecoins
24. GWAY.AI,https://gway.ai/
25. X,https://x.com/gateway_web3/status/1895458954169520232
26. Rootdata,https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
27. Tokenomist,https://tokenomist.ai/unlocks
28. X,https://x.com/unisat_wallet/status/1905620920418390085
29. Web3 Festival,https://www.web3festival.org/hongkong2025/#/en
30. Paris Blockchain Week,https://www.parisblockchainweek.com/
31. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/calendar
32. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/
33. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/
34. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/

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