In 2026, the asset composition of U.S. residents saw a significant shift. The proportion of stock market–linked assets rose to a record high, and household wealth became increasingly dependent on the capital markets. However, as the market environment changed, major stock indexes generally weakened, geopolitical tensions intensified market volatility, and consumer spending may be affected, thereby weighing on economic growth. Future trends will require monitoring the market’s ability to absorb adjustments and the impact of external shocks.

In 2026, tensions in the Middle East led Americans to face an economic burden, with the cost of military operations ranging from $30 billion to $45 billion, increasing spending by about $2.5 to $3.8 per person per day. Oil prices rose due to the conflict, driving up household fuel and living costs, intensifying inflation pressure, and affecting interest rates and financial markets, which could trigger greater risks.

Based on the latest data, Ethereum’s market share in non-USD stablecoins has fallen from 90% in 2023 to 65% as of February 2026, while other blockchains have rapidly risen. Despite this, Ethereum still remains the primary stablecoin issuing chain, and the number of unique senders has increased significantly.

On April 3, U.S. stock market closed: the Dow Jones fell slightly by 0.13%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose by 0.11% and 0.18%, respectively. Crypto sector performance was mixed: Solana rose 9.41%, while most other digital assets fell. msx.com launched hundreds of decentralized RWA tokens, involving multiple well-known U.S. listed companies.

On April 3, precious metal prices fell, with gold and silver dropping 1.72% and 2.81%, respectively. The volatility index dipped slightly, and most of the foreign exchange market remained flat. European stock indexes were broadly lower, except for the UK FTSE 100, which rose slightly. Meanwhile, oil prices surged significantly, with WTI up 13.01% and Brent up 8.09%.

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.

From 2026-04-02 13:45 to 2026-04-02 14:00 (UTC), within 15 minutes BTC’s return rate reached +0.62%. The price range was 65841.3 to 66288.3 USDT, with a volatility of 0.68%. During this period, market activity rose significantly. On-chain data shows the number of active addresses reached 30,953, and on-chain BTC trading volume surged to 420,690 BTC, drawing widespread attention and increasing market volatility. The main drivers behind this unusual move are concentrated ETF fund inflows and exchange reserves

On April 2, gold and silver prices fell to $4,596.98 per ounce and $70.366 per ounce, respectively. The volatility indices BVIX and EVIX rose slightly. The U.S. dollar strengthened slightly against the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen. Major European stock indexes generally declined, while U.S. crude oil prices rose by 13.45%. The Gate platform supports trading across a variety of financial market products.

The CME Group released March cryptocurrency futures contract data, with average daily trading volume reaching 210,000 contracts, up 19% month over month. Micro Bitcoin futures saw an average daily increase of 6%, while Ethereum futures rose 53%. Overall futures contract trading hit a new monthly high, up 33% year over year. Average daily trading volume in Q1 also reached a new quarterly high.

Gate News update: On April 2, according to Gate market data, as of the time of writing, PIPPIN (pippin) is trading at $0.0603. Over the past 24 hours, it is up 20.56%, with a high of $0.0779 and a low of $0.0499. The 24-hour trading volume is $21.2392 million. Its current market cap is approximately $60.3162 million. Pippin is an SVG unicorn drawn using the latest LLM benchmark from ChatGPT 4o. Pippin was created by Yohei Nakajima, a widely recognized innovator and thought leader in the AI VC space. He is known for his public-building approach, and has been at the forefront of the "AI for VC" movement