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On April 2, the spot price of Brent crude oil broke through $140 per barrel, reaching the highest level since 2008, mainly due to a shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz that disrupted global oil supply. This supply crisis put refineries under immense pressure, driving a sharp rise in crude oil prices over a short period of time.

Gate News message: On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran is at the point where it should reach an agreement to avoid it being too late.

Gate News update, April 2, stablecoin issuer Circle announced that it is about to launch a wrapped Bitcoin cirBTC. cirBTC is backed 1:1 by BTC and can be verified on-chain; its design is intended to seamlessly collaborate with Circle’s infrastructure and the broader DeFi ecosystem, thereby creating a neutral foundation for new on-chain applications.

On April 2, among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, MemeCore had the highest gain at 6.51%, while Uniswap had the largest decline at 12.10%. Overall, market volatility was clearly evident.

Ethereum currently accounts for about 65% of non-USD stablecoin supply, down 25 percentage points from the beginning of 2023. Even though other blockchains are catching up, Ethereum remains the primary choice for stablecoin issuance, and the number of active senders is expected to rise from 2000 to 12000.

In the past 24 hours, the total liquidation value in the cryptocurrency market reached $459 million, of which long positions accounted for 59%. The liquidation amounts for BTC and ETH were $98.02 million and $102 million, respectively. A total of 185,796 people were liquidated, and the largest single liquidation was $17.28 million.

A certain CEX has received a conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the United States, allowing it to establish a national trust institution, but without converting into a commercial bank. It will continue operating under the supervision of the New York State Department of Financial Services, strengthening the consistency of its custody business and laying the foundation for new products.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the State of Illinois from regulating prediction markets, arguing that the state’s actions infringe on federal regulatory authority. This case marks the CFTC’s first legal action to challenge state-level gambling regulation. The dispute began when Illinois issued a cease-and-desist order to the prediction market Kalshi, alleging it violated the state’s gambling laws.

Iranian crude oil saw a premium over Brent for the first time after the United States eased sanctions, with the premium coming in at about $1 per barrel. By controlling the Strait of Hormuz and constraining global supply, Iran increased the value of its crude oil and improved its position in the market.

Gate News update: On April 2, according to market sources, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois, its governor, and its attorney general, alleging that they tried to regulate prediction markets beyond their legal authority. The two federal agencies said the relevant regulatory measures in Illinois are ineffective because the state government has no jurisdiction over federally regulated prediction markets. The complaint documents emphasized that the move is intended to protect innovative financial instruments from overreaching interference by local governments.

Ethereum France负责人 Jerome de Tychey said at EthCC that blockchain technology is shifting from early adoption to widespread mainstreaming, and that in the future it will become a core technology for the next 20 years, and announced that the 10th EthCC will be held in 2027 in Cannes, France.

Based on data from a prediction platform, the probability that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security government shutdown will continue for more than 70 days has fallen to 8%, with trading volume exceeding $1.27 million. Trump said he is about to sign an order to ensure employee pay, praising House Republicans for their efforts on this issue.

Gate News update: On April 2, according to Gate data, both U.S. and Brent crude oil (WTI crude oil, Brent crude oil) saw a sharp drop in the short term. WTI crude oil (U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures) fell by nearly $5, to $108.93 per barrel. The report says Iran is drafting a Strait of Hormuz transit agreement with Oman.

X platform product lead Nikita Bier announced that it will roll out new measures against crypto phishing scams. The account that is first to publish relevant content will be locked and will need to complete identity verification. It is expected to eliminate 99% of malicious actors’ motives. He also pointed out that Google failed to effectively block phishing emails.

2026-04-02 14:30 to 14:45 (UTC), BTC recorded a +1.19% return within 15 minutes. The spot price range is 66,256.1 - 67,048.0 USDT, with an amplitude of 1.20%. In the short term, the price surged rapidly, increasing market attention. Volatility in both the spot and derivatives markets intensified in sync, and trading activity warmed significantly.
The main driving force behind this anomaly is a clear increase in on-chain large transfer capital flows into exchanges. During this period, large funds (single transfer ≥1,000 BTC) concentrated into exchanges, and the total amount over 1 hour compared to the previous hour showed a significant increase.

From 2026-04-02 14:30 to 14:45 (UTC), the ETH price surged rapidly, with a return of +1.52%. The price range was 2038.01 to 2071.65 USDT, and the amplitude reached 1.65%. During this period, market attention noticeably increased, capital flows accelerated, and short-term volatility intensified.
The main drivers behind this unusual market move are a significant rise in on-chain activity and the innovative effects across the DeFi and NFT ecosystems. Data shows that the number of active Ethereum addresses jumped from 380,000 to 840,000, an increase of as much as 121%. In the same period, the average daily trading volume rose from 1 million to 2.5 million USDT.

Gate News, April 2, the Federal Reserve’s Logan said she supports the Federal Reserve maintaining interest rates unchanged at its recent FOMC meeting. She noted that the labor market has been moving toward stability from the second half of 2025 to this year.

Gate News update. On April 2, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi said that Iran is drafting a Strait of Hormuz transit agreement with Oman.

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, AALG (AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC) has dropped by 8% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market

Gate News message, two newly created wallets linked to a single entity withdrew 6,328 ETH worth $12.98M from CEX.