In Q1 2026, 53 projects received funding exceeding $10 million, with the market projected to reach $1.67 billion.

According to Octopus's analysis on the X platform, in the first quarter of 2026, venture capital firms invested over $10 million in 53 projects in the crypto space. The funding distribution was as follows: prediction markets raised $1.67 billion in 3 deals, payments raised $679 million in 9 deals, trading raised $418 million in 6 deals, and DeFi raised $337 million in 8 deals. Excluding Kalshi's over $1 billion funding in prediction markets, payments became the most funded sector. Overall VC funding decreased by 12% year-over-year, but capital is flowing into more substantial areas.

SlowMist Cosine's Commentary on Drift Attacks: DeFi Projects Need to Anticipate Extreme Situations of Private Key Compromise and Their Response Mechanisms

SlowMist founder Yu Xian commented on the Drift attack on the X platform, stating: "All DeFi projects should review as soon as possible and regularly what extreme consequences might occur if their owner/admin private keys were compromised, whether they would receive timely alerts, whether they would be able to respond promptly, and what their response measures would be. All users should also understand clearly what their financial exposure would be in extreme circumstances (such as an internal malicious attack) in the DeFi they are using." Earlier today, it was reported that Drift Protocol suffered a hacker attack, resulting in losses of at least $200 million.

The market transaction volume is projected to reach $75 billion in Q1 2026, a 70% increase quarter-over-quarter.

According to CryptoRank data, prediction market trading volume reached a record high of $75 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a 70.45% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. CryptoRank points out that prediction market trading volume grew from zero to $75 billion in just two years, demonstrating the market's rapid expansion. Growth accelerated in the second half of 2025 and continued into 2026. Prediction markets are becoming a significant segment of the cryptocurrency market.

Analysis: The money laundering path of the stolen funds from Drift involves Backpack accounts; KYC information may be a key clue.

According to on-chain analyst Aryan on the X platform, in the Drift Protocol vault attack, the attacker's address received funds through NEAR Intents eight days prior but remained inactive until receiving a large sum of assets from the Drift vault. The attacker transferred the funds to multiple money laundering addresses. Notably, these money laundering addresses all received funds through Backpack yesterday, and Backpack is believed to have performed KYC verification on these accounts. Subsequently, the money laundering addresses transferred funds to an Ethereum address through Wormhole, which had previously received funds through Tornado Cash. Previous reports indicated that the Drift Protocol suffered a hack that resulted in losses of at least $200 million.

PyShield: HyperEVM appears to have experienced a major outage.

According to PyDun's monitoring, HyperEVM appears to have experienced a major outage. Screenshots released by PyDun show that the block explorer page displays the network's latest blocks and transactions as of one hour ago.

Trust Wallet Discord shortened links have been hijacked and are now redirecting to phishing servers.

According to ZachXbt's monitoring, Trust Wallet's shortened Discord link, discord[.]gg/trustwallet, has been hijacked and is currently redirecting to a phishing server. Users should avoid joining this Discord account through links provided by official channels (including the official website, Telegram, blogs, etc.).

Trump concludes his speech on Iran without announcing the withdrawal from NATO.

According to Jinshi News, US President Trump concluded his speech regarding Iran. Trump thanked Middle Eastern allies, stating that the US would not allow them to be harmed. Notably, Trump did not announce the US withdrawal from NATO during his national address.

Trump's threat to strike Iranian energy facilities drives oil prices higher.

According to Jinshi News, WTI crude oil broke through $103 per barrel, rising 4.07% on the day. Brent crude oil surged $4 on the day, currently trading at $102.86 per barrel, a gain of 4.06%. In related news, US President Trump stated, "In the next two to three weeks, we will strike them hard. If we don't reach an agreement, we will strike Iran's energy facilities; we can strike their oil."

An ancient ETH whale sold $10.72 million worth of ETH and AAVE.

According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, a "2016 ETH ancient whale" with a cost as low as $203.22 is suspected of selling off $10.72 million worth of ETH and AAVE, nearly liquidating its ETH holdings after 10 years. This whale awoke yesterday after a month of dormancy, subsequently frequently updating its addresses and depositing 3915 ETH and 24000 AAVE into Kraken, presumably as a sell order; after this deposit, only 52 ETH remain on the chain.

Four wallets collectively withdrew 32,880 ETH from Kraken, worth $70.03 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, four wallets collectively withdrew 32,880 ETH from Kraken, worth $70.03 million. All of these wallets were created at the same time 113 days ago.

Trump: We don't need the Strait of Hormuz; it will open naturally once the conflict ends.

According to Jinshi News, US President Trump, when discussing the Iran issue, stated that the recent rise in gasoline prices is a "short-term" phenomenon, caused by Iran's attacks on oil tankers. He added that the US has abundant natural gas, and oil production will soon increase significantly. The US has never been economically prepared. He also stated that the US did not need the Strait of Hormuz in the past, and does not need it now. The strait will naturally open once the conflict ends.

Trump on Iran: Core strategic objectives nearing achievement

When discussing the Iran issue, US President Trump stated that the core strategic objectives are close to being achieved; we are going to complete the mission, and we will complete it very soon; we are very close to achieving it.

Trump declares victory, gold prices plunge in the short term.

US President Trump began his speech on Iran: "Most of Iran's leaders are dead, the Iranian navy is gone, and the air force is in ruins; the US military has achieved a swift and decisive victory; the Iranian air force is in ruins, and the command and control capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are being destroyed; we don't need oil from the Middle East; thanks in part to Venezuelan oil and gas, the United States is no longer dependent on the Middle East." During Trump's speech, spot gold briefly plunged nearly $60, currently trading at $4737.15 per ounce.

Jupiter: Unaffected by the Drift attack.

Jupiter stated on its X platform that it was unaffected by the Drift attack, and that its lending product, Jupiter Lend, does not involve the Drift market; JLP is entirely backed by underlying assets. Jupiter described it as a difficult day for Solana DeFi and expressed its concern for the Drift team and all those affected. Previous reports indicated that Drift Protocol suffered a hack, resulting in losses of at least $200 million.

Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF submits another S-1 amendment; analysts expect it to launch next week.

According to Cointelegraph, Morgan Stanley has submitted another S-1 amendment for its Bitcoin ETF, which analysts expect will be the last update before the fund launches next week.

The Drift Protocol hack resulted in losses exceeding $277 million, with the stolen funds converted into approximately 129,000 ETH.

According to Onchain Lens, Drift Protocol suffered a hacker attack, resulting in a loss of over $270 million. The hackers subsequently converted almost all of the stolen funds into 129,067 ETH, worth $277.47 million. Previous reports indicated that Drift Protocol had suffered a hacker attack, resulting in a loss of at least $200 million.

CryptoQuant: Bitcoin buying failed to offset selling pressure from large holders

According to Bloomberg, CryptoQuant data shows that despite increased institutional buying, Bitcoin demand remains under pressure. As of the end of March, apparent demand (a measure of whether Bitcoin demand exceeds or falls short of the number of newly mined Bitcoins) was negative, at approximately 63,000 coins. This indicates that new demand is insufficient to offset selling by existing holders. The report notes that selling by retail and other market participants exceeded the scale of institutional buying. Whale addresses have shifted from continuous accumulation to net selling, significantly reducing their holdings over the past year, with selling accelerating since the fourth quarter of 2025. Demand has continued to shrink since late November 2025, confirming that the market is still in a distribution phase. Demand from US investors has also weakened, and the Coinbase premium has turned negative again.

CFTC Chairman: CFTC is ready to regulate the entire crypto market

According to Cointelegraph, Michael Selig, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated that the agency is ready to regulate the entire $3 trillion cryptocurrency industry and reiterated that the CFTC is the sole regulator of prediction markets. However, Congress has not yet set a timetable for passing key market structure legislation. In his 100-day statement, Selig said the CFTC is "ready to take responsibility." Under Selig's leadership, the CFTC has implemented several policies indicating a more lenient enforcement and regulatory stance on digital assets compared to the previous administration. Last month, the agency signed a memorandum of understanding with the SEC to coordinate regulatory efforts, including on digital assets.

US intelligence agencies assess that Iran believes it has the upper hand in the war and has no intention of engaging in substantive negotiations with the US and Israel.

According to a report by Jinshi News, The New York Times stated that, according to US officials, several US intelligence agencies recently assessed that the Iranian government is currently unwilling to engage in substantive negotiations to end the US-Israel war. Officials stated that the assessment report indicated the Iranian government believes it is in a favorable position during the war and has no need to succumb to US diplomatic demands. Although Iran is willing to maintain open communication channels, it distrusts the US and believes that US President Trump lacks sincerity in negotiations. This assessment is consistent with recent statements by Iranian officials: they deny Trump's claims that progress has been made in negotiations mediated by a third party. According to Iran's state news agency, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated on Wednesday that the Iranian government has never requested a ceasefire, while Trump issued a statement that morning claiming Iran had proposed a ceasefire.

Sources say Trump threatens to cut off military aid to Ukraine, forcing Europe to join the Hormuz Union.

According to Jinshi News, citing the Financial Times, sources revealed that US President Trump threatened to halt arms supplies to Ukraine in an attempt to pressure European allies into joining a "voluntary coalition" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Last month, Trump requested NATO naval assistance in reopening the narrow waterway, a request rejected by several European capitals. European countries stated that this was an impossible task given the ongoing conflict. Several also pointed out that this "is not our war." Three officials familiar with the discussions said Trump's response was a threat to halt supplies to PURL, NATO's European-funded arms procurement mechanism aimed at aiding Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department has released a proposed rule for the GENIUS Act, seeking comments on state government regulation of small stablecoin issuers.

According to The Block, the U.S. Treasury Department has issued a notice of proposed rules for the GENIUS Act, seeking public comment on whether small stablecoin issuers should meet the "substantially similar" state-level regulatory standard. This rule aims to address a provision in the GENIUS Act that allows stablecoin issuers with assets under $10 billion to choose state-level regulation over full federal oversight, provided the state-level system meets the "substantially similar" standard. The public will have 60 days to submit feedback on the Treasury Department's proposed rules. This is the first time the Treasury Department has issued rules for implementing the GENIUS Act, and the third time the agency has sought public comment on the bill. Federal banking regulators the FDIC and OCC have also issued notices of proposed rules. The GENIUS Act lacks guidelines for yield-based stablecoins, a major obstacle to Congress's progress on broader market structure legislation.

Musk and the SEC failed to reach a settlement in the Twitter lawsuit, and the two sides will go to trial.

According to Jinshi News, Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have informed a judge that they are heading towards trial to resolve allegations that the regulator accuses Musk of deceiving investors in the social media platform Twitter before its 2022 acquisition. The joint progress report filed Wednesday in a Washington federal court comes just two weeks after lawyers for both sides indicated they were negotiating a settlement. The lawyers stated in the new filing that they and their clients have discussed alternative dispute resolution methods. The filing states, "Both parties believe that, under the current circumstances, alternative dispute resolution procedures or any other form of alternative dispute resolution would not be of any benefit to this case." Musk has recently suffered setbacks in other legal cases related to his acquisition of Twitter four years ago.

US media: Trump plans to declare the war on Iran nearing a "victorious conclusion," shifting the burden of the Strait of Hormuz to NATO.

According to a report by Politico cited by Jinshi, US President Trump will deliver a speech during prime time Wednesday evening (9:00 AM Thursday Beijing time), in which he will declare that the month-long war with Iran is nearing its end. Over the past 24 hours, Trump has conveyed this message in interviews, social media posts, and public comments, paving the way for a speech declaring all military objectives have been achieved. According to six sources familiar with the matter, this announcement will be made during the speech. Trump also intends to harshly blame NATO allies for the most intractable unresolved issue in the war—Iran's continued restrictions on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. As Trump prepares to deliver his speech, another 2,500 US Marines are being deployed to the Middle East.

EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by Wall Street giants, has applied for a national banking license from the U.S. OCC.

According to The Block, EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by Wall Street giants such as Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab, has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a National Trust Bank license. EDX's CEO stated that obtaining an OCC-licensed trust license would give it a competitive advantage in serving large banking clients. This license does not allow crypto companies to engage in traditional banking activities such as accepting deposits or making loans, but it helps attract institutional clients. In its application, EDX stated that the digital asset market currently lacks the separation of functions found in traditional markets, and hopes to fill this gap by obtaining a license.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has postponed its IPO timeline to 2028.

According to The Block, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has postponed its IPO plans to 2028, a further delay from its previous expectation of the second half of 2025. The exchange has signed an IPO advisory agreement with Samjong KPMG until the end of 2027 and is currently in the preparation stage, focusing on strengthening accounting policies, internal controls, and internal verification. Bithumb's revenue in 2025 is estimated at approximately 651 billion won (about $430 million), with a market share exceeding 30%. Earlier this year, the exchange was investigated by the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea for its internal controls and risk management after mistakenly distributing approximately 620,000 bitcoins (worth about $43 billion at the time) during a promotional campaign. Furthermore, the exchange faces regulatory pressure, including a fine of approximately 36 billion won (about $27 million) from the Financial Intelligence Unit and a partial suspension of operations.

Drift Protocol suffers at least $200 million in losses from hacking attack.

According to The Block, Drift Protocol, a decentralized exchange platform within the Solana ecosystem, suffered a hack that resulted in losses of at least $200 million, with some estimates suggesting closer to $270 million. This makes it the second-largest DeFi security incident in the Solana ecosystem after the Wormhole bridge vulnerability. The attack involved multiple Drift vaults, including JLP Delta Neutral, SOL Super Staking, and BTC Super Staking. On-chain data shows that the attackers converted the stolen assets into USDC through Jupiter and then used them to purchase ETH on Ethereum. As of 17:45 UTC, the attackers held approximately 19,913 ETH (approximately $42 million).

Market news: Musk's SpaceX has secretly filed for an IPO.

Market news: Elon Musk's SpaceX has secretly filed for an IPO.

Bitmine purchased 45,000 ETH through BitGo, worth approximately $95.3 million.

According to Onchain Lens, Bitmine purchased 45,000 ETH through BitGo, worth approximately $95.3 million.

Paradigm is developing a prediction market trading terminal, betting on professional trading needs.

According to Fortune, crypto venture capital firm Paradigm is developing a prediction market trading terminal for professional traders and market makers, led by partner Arjun Balaji since the end of 2025. The report also states that Paradigm is evaluating the possibility of building its own prediction market-making business and exploring with researchers the possibility of packaging multiple prediction markets into a tradable index; related data has been compiled into a public dashboard. Paradigm is a major investor in the prediction market platform Kalshi, participating in multiple funding rounds, with its latest valuation at approximately $22 billion; its competitor Polymarket is also in talks for a new funding round with a valuation of approximately $20 billion.

eToro Receives Approval from New York to Open Cryptocurrency Trading to Local Users

According to Crowdfund Insider, eToro announced that New York State residents can now trade cryptocurrencies on its platform. The company stated that this move was made after obtaining a New York State BitLicense and a money transfer license. eToro currently offers cryptocurrency services in 48 states across the US. In 2024, eToro reached a $1.5 million settlement with the US SEC for failing to register as a broker-dealer and clearinghouse, and consequently delisted most of its crypto assets on its US platform and adjusted its compliance strategy. eToro states that it has 40 million registered users worldwide, covering 75 countries.

Hyperliquid launches Android beta mobile app on Google Play Store

According to a Hyperliquid community announcement, its mobile app has been released on the Google Play Store as an initial MVP, open for limited testing by Android users. Currently, only transaction notifications are supported, and the app is used to collect feedback on feature priority and device compatibility. Users are advised to download only from the designated links to avoid accidentally installing counterfeit apps from the Play Store.

Ripple launches unified treasury management system supporting native digital assets.

Ripple announced the launch of Digital Asset Accounts and Unified Treasury features in its Ripple Treasury, touting it as the first enterprise treasury management system with native digital asset capabilities. The platform allows CFOs and treasury teams to view, hold, and allocate fiat and digital assets in a single interface, eliminating the need for manual reconciliation across multiple custodians or trading platforms. The system currently supports Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD and XRP, as well as various fiat currencies, and leverages the infrastructure built upon Ripple's 2025 acquisition of traditional treasury management service provider GTreasury, which processed approximately $13 trillion in payments in 2025.

Cango raises $75 million to further its Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure development.

According to PR Newswire, Cango Inc. (NYSE: CANG) announced the completion of two financing transactions: First, its Chairman Jin Xin and Director Qiu Changwei controlled entities to subscribe for a total of 49,242,424 Class A ordinary shares, raising net proceeds of US$65 million, settled in USDT; second, it signed a securities purchase agreement with Hong Kong-listed financial group DL Holdings Group Limited (HKEX: 1709) to issue US$10 million in zero-coupon convertible bonds and warrants to subscribe for 370,370 Class A ordinary shares at US$2.70 per share.

Trump: We will withdraw from Iran soon, but I will not give a timetable.

US President Trump: We will withdraw from Iran soon, but I will not give a timetable. Iran neither possesses nuclear weapons nor wants nuclear weapons. We do not care about nuclear materials; we will monitor it via satellite.

SoftBank executed its first $10 billion investment in OpenAI.

Market news: SoftBank has executed the first phase of its $10 billion investment in OpenAI.

Coinbase will launch CHECK and SIGN spot trading pairs.

Coinbase announced that it will launch spot trading for Checkmate (CHECK) and Sign (SIGN) on April 2. The CHECK-USD and SIGN-USD trading pairs are expected to launch at or after 9:00 AM Pacific Time on that day, subject to liquidity conditions and applicable to regions that support the relevant trading.

Coinbase will list Mezo (MEZO)

Coinbase has announced the addition of support for Mezo (MEZO). Users can now generate MEZO deposit addresses on the Coinbase website, Coinbase App, and Coinbase Exchange, applicable to regions that support the relevant trading. Currently, MEZO deposits are not yet available; users will need to wait for the project team to unlock token transfer functionality before deposits can be made.

Genius Group has liquidated its BTC reserves and will relaunch its Bitcoin reserve strategy when the time is right.

According to Globenewswire, Genius Group, a US-listed company, released its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. The report disclosed that the company has restructured its debt agreement, selling its remaining Bitcoin reserves and fully repaying approximately $8.5 million in debt. It plans to restart building its Bitcoin reserves when market conditions become more favorable. Genius Group reported first-quarter revenue of $3.3 million, a 171% increase from $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2025; gross profit increased by 228% to $2 million, higher than $0.6 million in the same period last year.

US ADP employment figures for March were 62,000, below the expected 40,000.

US ADP employment figures for March were 62,000, below the expected 40,000 and the previous month's 63,000.

ARK plans to include private company OpenAI in part of its ETF.

Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management plans to add OpenAI exposure to three ETFs: the ARK Innovation ETF, the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF, and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, with each fund allocating approximately 3% of its portfolio to OpenAI. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that this is the fourth ETF to include exposure to a private company like OpenAI, and certainly not the last.

JPMorgan Chase CEO: We are considering offering prediction market services to clients, but will not cover areas such as sports and politics.

According to CBS News, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated that the company is considering offering prediction market services to clients, but explicitly stated that it will not cover areas such as sports and politics. Former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz responded on X, calling it "absurd" that JPMorgan would not face risks related to specific election results. He pointed out that with efficient and regulated products already available, shareholders may demand hedging strategies for events like elections in the future, drawing parallels to interest rate risk management.

Franklin Templeton acquired CoinFund's spin-off company 250 Digital and integrated its related businesses into "Franklin Crypto".

Traditional asset management giant Franklin Templeton announced its intention to acquire 250 Digital, a digital asset company spun off from venture capital firm CoinFund, in order to expand its cryptocurrency investment business.

Trump: What's happening in Iran can be described as "regime change"

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