Gate Ventures This Week's Cryptocurrency Market Update (April 13, 2026)

Summary

• The S&P 500 rose 3.48%, and the Nasdaq increased 4.12%, driven by warming US-Iran ceasefire negotiations and the start of mine-clearing in the Strait of Hormuz, significantly improving market risk sentiment.

• March CPI year-over-year was 3.4%, PPI was 2.4%, indicating persistent inflation pressures, complicating the Fed’s rate cut path amid slowing economic growth.

• WTI crude oil declined over 14% in a week, as geopolitical risk premiums eased, with market expectations of a gradual global supply recovery.

• The crypto market rebounded slightly, with BTC up 2.5% and ETH up 3.9%, mainly supported by inflows into spot ETFs.

• Among major assets, ZEC performed notably due to Grayscale’s privacy asset allocation; TON rose following major network upgrades (speed and finality improvements).

• Hong Kong issued the first stablecoin licenses to Anchorpoint and HSBC, marking the official implementation of a compliant digital currency framework.

• Japan reclassified crypto assets as financial instruments, further aligning its regulatory framework with institutional markets.

• Pharos completed $44 million in strategic funding, aiming to build a financial-grade Layer 1 infrastructure connecting traditional finance and DeFi.

Macro Overview

The US markets rebounded as geopolitical tensions eased, with tech stocks performing strongly; March CPI and PPI data showed ongoing inflation pressures.

In March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.9% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year, the highest annual growth since April 2024, mainly driven by energy and housing costs. Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index (PPI) indicated wholesale prices grew faster than expected. Although core inflation remained relatively stable, the overall data highlighted that the energy shocks from the Strait of Hormuz crisis continue to impact inflation.

This week, US stocks extended gains, with the S&P 500 up 3.48% to close at 6816.89 points. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.12%, leading the market, mainly driven by strong tech sector performance, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 2.67%. Market sentiment was supported by the warming US-Iran peace talks, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting new highs for the year, essentially recovering from the declines caused by last month’s volatility.

Asian markets also generally rebounded this week, in sync with Wall Street gains. The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng Index both rose as the risk of oil prices remaining above $120 diminished. Tech-heavy markets like Taiwan and Korea benefited from reallocation of funds into growth stocks. However, the Bank of Japan still faces policy dilemmas; minutes showed that, with inflation above target and the yen stabilizing, normalization pressures persist. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index outperformed developed markets for the first time in three weeks, reflecting increased risk appetite as geopolitical tail risks declined.

Despite inflation data released over the weekend exceeding expectations, investors focused on the potential ceasefire in the Middle East, triggering a significant rebound.

The FOMC minutes released Wednesday revealed clear disagreements over the timing of rate cuts. Most members believed restrictive policy should remain until inflation sustainably returns to 2%, but some expressed concerns about economic downside risks from Iran conflicts and global trade disruptions. The minutes showed a market consensus of “penetrating energy shocks,” but a few members warned that persistent supply-side pressures could unanchor inflation expectations. Currently, markets expect the Fed to likely hold rates steady through the first half of 2026.

Looking ahead, market focus will shift from geopolitics to US consumer resilience and manufacturing health, depending on progress in peace negotiations. Key data such as retail sales and the New York Fed manufacturing index will determine whether high interest rates begin to exert greater pressure on domestic demand. While easing Middle East tensions provide support, the “higher for longer” policy narrative remains until core inflation shows clear cooling.

(1)

Dollar Index DXY

The US dollar index (DXY) weakened significantly, falling from 100.18 to 98.70. The main reason was reduced safe-haven demand as progress was made in Middle East peace negotiations. Despite hawkish CPI data, the dollar failed to sustain recent highs, as investors reallocated funds into riskier assets and emerging market currencies. (2)

US 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields

US Treasury yields edged lower at week’s end. The 10-year yield declined to 4.317%, and the 30-year yield fell to 4.878%. Initially, yields reacted to the data with an upward move, but as Q1 earnings season began, market focus quickly shifted to geopolitical developments and corporate profit outlooks. (3)

Gold

Gold prices continued rising, closing at $4,746.90. Although easing geopolitical tensions typically pressure gold, the significant weakening of the dollar and ongoing inflation data (CPI/PPI) provided strong support. If peace talks falter, investors will still view gold as a hedge against potential stagflation risks. (4)

Crypto Market Overview

Mainstream Assets

Bitcoin Price

Ethereum Price

ETH/BTC Ratio

Bitcoin rose 2.5% over the past week, while Ethereum performed even better, up 3.9%. Spot ETF inflows remained strong, with Bitcoin ETFs seeing a net inflow of $786.3 million and Ethereum ETFs $187.1 million. (5)

The ETH/BTC ratio also increased by 1.4%, reaching 0.0309. Despite the rebound and positive fund flows, overall market sentiment remains fragile, with the Fear & Greed Index at 13, indicating “Extreme Fear.” (6)

Total Market Cap

Crypto Market Total Cap

Crypto Market Cap Excluding BTC and ETH

Crypto Market Cap Excluding Top 10 Tokens

Last week, total crypto market cap rose 2.5%. However, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, the rest of the market was essentially flat, up only 0.3%, indicating that most gains are still driven by these two major assets.

Meanwhile, the altcoin market measured by excluding the top ten tokens increased by 1.5%, showing some strength in mid- and small-cap tokens, but overall rebound magnitude remains limited.

Top 30 Crypto Assets Performance

Source: Coinmarketcap and Gate Ventures, as of March 30, 2026

Among the top 30 assets, average price increased by 1.9%, led by ZEC, TON, and HYPE.

Zcash surged 43.9%, mainly supported by Grayscale’s accumulated privacy ZEC holdings of about $46 million, reflecting institutional confidence in Zcash’s privacy infrastructure rather than short-term speculation. (7)

TON followed with a 15.9% increase, driven by Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s emphasis on the major network upgrade, which boosts block processing speed sixfold and reduces final transaction confirmation time to under 1 second. (8)

Key Industry Developments

Bitwise Accelerates Spot Hyperliquid ETF, Competition for HYPE Exposure Heats Up

Bitwise Asset Management has submitted a second amended registration statement to the U.S. SEC for its proposed spot Hyperliquid ETF, adding trading symbol $BHYP and a 0.67% management fee. If approved, the fund will list on NYSE Arca, providing direct exposure to spot HYPE and potentially earning additional yields through staking. This update indicates institutional capital is accelerating its deployment into Hyperliquid-related products, amid strong demand driven by the past year’s token performance. (9)

Hong Kong Issues First Stablecoin Licenses as Regulated Digital Currency Framework Goes Live

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued the first stablecoin licenses to Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation) under the new fiat-backed stablecoin regulatory regime, marking the official operational phase of Hong Kong’s institutional digital currency infrastructure.

Anchorpoint is a consortium supported by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecom; HSBC’s inclusion highlights a regulatory preference for bank-led issuance in the early stage. (10)

Japan Reclassifies Crypto as Financial Instruments to Promote Institutional Market Integration

Japan has revised its Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, reclassifying crypto assets from payment tools to financial instruments, while introducing insider trading bans, strengthening issuer disclosure requirements, and imposing stricter penalties on unregistered exchanges.

Led by the Financial Services Agency, this reform reflects increased institutional participation and aligns crypto regulation more closely with investor protections in stock markets. It also supports broader policies, including a proposed 20% unified crypto income tax rate and plans to launch crypto ETFs by 2028, with institutions like Nomura and SBI expected to participate. (11)

Key Investment and Financing Updates

Pharos Completes $44 Million Strategic Funding to Build Financial-Grade Layer 1 Infrastructure Connecting TradFi and DeFi

Pharos Network is developing a financial-grade, asset-native Layer 1 blockchain designed to connect approximately $50 trillion in RWA with traditional finance and DeFi markets. Backed by strategic investors including Sumitomo Corporation’s CVC, SNZ Holding, Chainlink Labs, and Flow Traders.

Built on a deep parallel execution architecture with compliance features, it aims to support institutional real-time settlement and large-scale high-frequency financial applications. Its AtlanticOcean testnet has attracted millions of users and established multiple RWA collaborations, such as with GCL Group on photovoltaic assets. (12)

Giggles Raises $1.23M to Build Meme-Native Prediction Market Combining Social Feeds and Crypto Trading Mechanics

Giggles raised $1,234,567 in a funding round led by 1kx, aiming to develop a TikTok-like social prediction platform. Users can invest via tokenized “Aura Points” into viral content, with plans to expand participation to crypto assets.

Founded by young creator Justin Jin, the platform is currently in invite-only testing with over 450k users on the waitlist. Its core goal is to turn meme virality into tradable signals, increasing user engagement time. (13)

Enhanced Secures $1M in Strategic Pre-Seed Funding to Expand On-Chain Structured Yield Infrastructure

Enhanced Labs raised $1 million in a strategic pre-seed round led by Maximum Frequency Ventures, with participation from GSR, Selini Capital, and Flowdesk.

The project aims to build DeFi products that encapsulate options and derivatives strategies into more user-friendly on-chain yield solutions. Focus areas include improving capital efficiency, auction mechanisms, and expanding yield strategies from mainstream crypto assets to tokenized real-world assets, simplifying user experience in yield generation, hedging, and structured exposure. (14)

Venture Market Metrics

Last week, 11 funding deals were completed, with 6 in infrastructure, 2 in DeFi, 2 in social, and 1 in data.

Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of April 13, 2026

Total disclosed funding last week was $73.37 million, with 5 deals undisclosed. Infrastructure sector led with $66.5 million, the largest being Pharos’ $44 million raise.

Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of April 13, 2026

In the second week of April 2026, total funding surged to $73.37 million, a 142% increase from the previous week.

About Gate Ventures

Gate Ventures is the venture capital arm of Gate, focusing on investments in decentralized infrastructure, ecosystems, and applications, dedicated to reshaping the Web 3.0 era. Collaborating with global industry leaders, Gate Ventures empowers innovative teams and startups to redefine social and financial interactions.

For more information, visit: Official Website | X | Telegram | LinkedIn |

References:

1. Trading Economics Upcoming Economic Preview,

2. DXY Index, TradingView,

3. US 10-Year Bond Yield, TradingView,

4. Gold Price, TradingView,

5. BTC & ETH ETF Inflows,

6. Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index,

7. Grayscale Holdings,

8. TON Blockchain Upgrade,

9. Bitwise Moves Closer to Spot Hyperliquid ETF Launch as Competition for HYPE Exposure Intensifies,

10. Hong Kong Issues First Stablecoin Licenses to Anchorpoint and HSBC as Regulated Digital Currency Framework Goes Live,

11. Japan Reclassifies Crypto as Financial Instruments to Promote Institutional Market Integration,

12. Pharos Raises $44M in Strategic Funding to Build Financial-Grade Layer 1 Infrastructure for Bridging TradFi and DeFi, []$44M (

13. Giggles Raises $1.23M to Build Meme-Native Prediction Market Blending Social Feeds with Crypto Trading Mechanics, [])(

14. Enhanced Secures $1M in Strategic Pre-Seed Funding to Expand Structured Yield Infrastructure Across More On-Chain Assets,[])$1M