Between 2026-04-20 01:30 and 2026-04-20 01:45 (UTC), the BTC spot price fluctuated within a narrow range of 74290.9 to 74709.7 USDT. Over the 15-minute period, the return was +0.53%, with a range of 0.56%. Overall market volatility increased, drawing attention, but the number of active on-chain addresses remained steady, with no sign of extreme capital movements. The main driver behind this move is institutional capital inflows into mainstream futures platforms and adjustments to derivatives position structures, especially CME futures open interest (OI), which rose against the trend by 2.61%. Meanwhile, some institutions added to defensive hedges and positioned for short-term rebounds within the price consolidation range. In addition, short-term Put options trading on platforms such as Deribit was active: the main contracts were concentrated on near-term downside protection, indicating that derivatives capital has increased its allocation to defensive strategies and that the spot market has passively followed the upward move. In addition, ETF funds recorded $1.87 billion in net inflows in Q1, easing the consecutive net outflow trend seen earlier before March and providing medium-term background support for spot prices. Although on-chain active addresses over 1 hour stayed in the 19500–19600 range without abnormal increases or decreases, structural behavior by institutions across the derivatives and ETF markets converged to push short-term price volatility higher. There were no signals of sell pressure from retail traders or major whales, and no large transfers or extreme liquidation events; overall momentum came from institutional-level maneuvering. It is worth noting that the derivatives market Put/Call ratio remains on the high side. If the price cannot continue moving upward, short-term exit pressure could intensify at any time. With overall OI shrinking, the activity of leveraged funds in the market weakens. Going forward, it is important to focus on changes in derivatives positions, ETF fund flows, and the in-and-out movements of active capital on-chain in order to respond to the risk of sharp short-term volatility. For more market information, it is recommended to continuously track relevant data indicators and capital-level anomalies.

On April 17, 22,000 BTC options are expiring with a 1.05 Put/Call ratio and a $72,000 maximum pain point, totaling $1.65 billion. Additionally, 100,000 ETH options are expiring with a 0.95 Put/Call ratio and a $2,250 maximum pain point, valued at $460 million.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Chen Weimin, said the timeline for issuing the second batch of stablecoin licenses is still uncertain and may be affected by the two institutions granted licenses in the first batch. In addition, China-funded institutions were advised to put their applications on hold, and the number of institutions ultimately granted licenses will be limited, with only a small number meeting the requirements of the “Stablecoin Ordinance.” HSBC Payme users can enable a stablecoin account, but they must be Hong Kong local residents.

2026-04-12 01:30 to 2026-04-12 01:45 (UTC), the ETH price dipped briefly. The candlestick data shows a 15-minute return of -2.46%, with a price range of 2219.38 to 2283.74 USDT and a volatility of 2.82%. During this period, market attention rose rapidly, spot and derivatives markets saw a clear increase in volatility, and investor sentiment was relatively cautious. The main driving force behind this unusual move is the expiration of large-scale derivatives options contracts. The total notional value of ETH options is about 669 million USD, and the Put/Call ratio

The Quantum-Safe Bitcoin (QSB) proposal put forward by StarkWare researcher Avihu Levy uses existing Bitcoin scripts to provide post-quantum security, avoiding a soft fork. QSB uses a Binohash-based construction and a “hash-to-signature” puzzle to defend against quantum computers’ attacks on elliptic curve cryptography. The scheme relies on RIPEMD-160’s preimage resistance, effectively strengthening the security of Bitcoin transactions.

On April 10, 27k BTC options and 151k ETH options expired, with Put Call Ratios of 0.71 and 0.77, respectively. Bitcoin broke above $72,000 on news of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, but the overall market is still in a correction phase, and implied volatility has fallen significantly.

WLFI’s official response to market concerns says there is no liquidation risk, and that it relies on adding collateral to handle market volatility. Current annualized revenue is about $159.5 million, and it is set to buy back 435 million WLFI tokens. Next week, it will put forward a governance proposal to discuss unlocking early locked tokens and upgrading the USD1 feature.

Gate News update: On April 9, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP) today announced the launch of a new initiative designed to strengthen cybersecurity protection capabilities across the digital asset industry. The program will provide timely, actionable cybersecurity information to eligible U.S. digital asset companies and industry organizations, helping them more effectively identify, prevent, and respond to cyber threats targeting customers and network systems. This initiative implements key recommendations put forward by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets in its report, “Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.”

The Bitcoin options market has turned, with Deribit’s $80,000 call options open interest exceeding $1.6 billion, surpassing its $60,000 put options. The Iran–U.S. ceasefire has fueled rising expectations in the market for a Federal Reserve rate cut, which could be beneficial for Bitcoin. If geopolitical tensions ease, Bitcoin is expected to challenge $100,000, but risks from the Middle East conflict still need to be monitored.

Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Jubail on April 7, triggering a large fire and further escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iran rejected the U.S. peace plan and put forward a 10-point counterproposal, indicating that it is seeking to consolidate its advantage in negotiations. The market response was clear, with Bitcoin and precious metals prices fluctuating; the situation ahead will affect global energy and financial markets.