Abstract

• Bitcoin breaks past $93,000, driven by the easing of US-China trade tensions and Paul Atkins taking office as SEC Chairman.
• Some locked token holders have suffered around 50% losses over the past year.
• Inflows into Ethereum spot ETFs remain sluggish, reflecting weak market confidence.
• Polygon NFT’s 7-day sales volume surpassed that of Ethereum.
• Hyperliquid updates its mainnet validator mechanism: 21 permissionless nodes now participate, and a delegation plan is imminent.
• JD.com’s stablecoin has entered the sandbox testing phase in Hong Kong.

Market Analysis

• BTC — BTC price rose 5.38% in the past 24 hours, currently at $92,877.5. The surge came with a notable increase in trading volume, especially when breaking the key resistance level of $91,000. Bullish momentum intensified, driving prices sharply higher. Short-term moving averages (MA5, MA10, MA15) are aligned bullishly, supporting the continued uptrend. The MACD indicator shows a strong golden cross at high levels, with momentum bars expanding, reflecting strong market sentiment and continuous capital inflow. Overall, BTC has broken out of the prior consolidation range and is forming a new upward trend supported by volume. If it can hold above $92,000 in the short term, it may aim for $95,000 or even the $100,000 psychological level. [1]

• ETH — ETH price rose 13.19% in the past 24 hours, now at $1,783.45. After breaking through the consolidation zone around $1,640, ETH surged quickly, peaking at $1,778. It is now slightly retreating to test the support range of $1,740–$1,750. Short-term moving averages (MA5, MA10, MA15) are in a bullish divergence, indicating an upward trend. The MACD indicator shows a golden cross with expanding red bars, though there’s a sign of gradual narrowing, signaling weakening momentum and potential for short-term consolidation. [2]

• ETF — According to SoSoValue, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $926 million on April 22; U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs had a net inflow of $38.74 million. Data as of April 23, 12:00 PM (UTC+8). [3]
• Altcoins — Al Meme, Pump.fun Ecosystem, and Binance Launchpool sectors rose by +40.3%, +27.9%, and +27.6%, respectively. [5]
• U.S. Stock Indices — On April 22, the S&P 500 gained 2.51%, the Dow Jones rose 2.66%, and the Nasdaq climbed 2.71%. [6]
• Spot Gold — The price of spot gold dropped by 1.18% to $3,341.02 per ounce. Data as of April 23, 12:00 PM (UTC+8). [7]
• Fear & Greed Index — The index is at 72, indicating the market is in a state of greed. [8]

Top Performers

According to Gate.io market data[9], the top-performing altcoins over the past 24 hours, based on trading volume and price movement, are as follows:

DEEP (DeepBook) — Daily gain of approximately 108.88%, with a circulating market cap of $472 million.

DeepBook is a decentralized order book trading protocol (DEX) built on the Sui blockchain, designed to deliver a high-performance, low-latency trading experience. As a core infrastructure component of the Sui network, DeepBook enables on-chain order matching and management, offering an open liquidity interface for DeFi applications, allowing other projects to integrate its order book and liquidity systems.

DEEP recently launched a community vote on “What are the benefits of paying DeepBook fees with DEEP?”, proposing future perks such as gas fee savings, a 20% fee discount, additional DEEP airdrops, and access to private markets—greatly enhancing DEEP’s utility and demand. Meanwhile, DeepBook v3.1 has officially gone live, introducing a permissionless pool mechanism, lower trading costs, and deeper liquidity. This marks a major upgrade for the trading ecosystem on Sui, boosting user confidence in DEEP and fueling its price surge. [10][11]

ZEREBRO (Zerebro) — Daily gain of approximately 136.89%, with a circulating market cap of $60.61 million.

Zerebro is a decentralized project combining artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology to create, distribute, and analyze content, particularly in finance and social media. It leverages “jailbreaking” techniques to unlock the potential of large language models (LLMs) for generating culturally impactful content.

The team released a tracking chart via Arkham and clarified that the developer wallet has remained inactive since launch, showcasing their “fiduciary responsibility” to the community. They also highlighted an unauthorized transaction and stated clearly that the team does not control the target wallet (no private key access), suggesting the issue was due to internal misconduct, not the project itself. This transparent on-chain disclosure eased fears of a “team dump” and instead boosted community trust. Meanwhile, a broader rebound in the AI token sector further propelled ZEREBRO’s price upward. [12]

Turbo (TURBO) — Daily gain of approximately 49.95%, with a circulating market cap of $243 million.

Turbo is an AI-powered meme coin launched in May 2023 by Australian digital artist Rhett Mankind in collaboration with ChatGPT-4. Started on a budget of just $69, the project aims to explore the intersection of AI and crypto.

Turbo’s price increase was mainly driven by improving market sentiment, as the broader crypto market rallied following Bitcoin’s uptrend. The AI sector in particular showed strong performance. As the first AI-generated meme coin, Turbo naturally fits the AI narrative, and with a solid community and trading liquidity, it has become a key target for capital inflow—fueling its surge. [13]

Data Highlights

Ethereum Spot ETF Inflows Remain Sluggish, Reflecting Weak Market Confidence

As of April 22, 2025, inflows into U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs remain consistently weak. Since the beginning of the year, only 32.43% of trading days have seen net inflows, compared to 48.65% for Bitcoin ETFs. Since the official launch of the ETH spot ETF on February 20, the situation has worsened—with just 4 days of net inflows out of the last 42 trading days, dropping the net inflow rate to 9.52%, while BTC ETFs recorded 42.86% over the same period. This data reflects an overall lack of investor confidence in ETH. [14]

Bitcoin is perceived as “digital gold,” carrying stronger hedging properties that appeal to more traditional institutional investors. In contrast, ETH ETFs have had less time in the market, and public awareness remains limited, making it difficult to replicate BTC ETFs’ capital attraction in the short term. Additionally, recent technical developments in the Ethereum ecosystem—such as Danksharding and EVM optimizations—have yet to translate into a clear market narrative or capital momentum.

The current ETH ETF inflow figures not only highlight issues with product adoption but also mirror Ethereum’s broader market positioning and investor sentiment. As BTC continues to dominate capital flows, ETH will need more positive news, innovative products, or compelling ecosystem narratives to reverse this trend.

Some Locked Token Holders Face 50% Losses Over the Past Year

Over the past year, many holders of locked tokens have incurred significant losses. These tokens have seen their OTC (over-the-counter) prices drop by an average of about 50%, severely devaluing what investors once viewed as promising assets. Meanwhile, despite Bitcoin rising 45% over the same period, these locked token holders were unable to cash out, missing out on gains and effectively bearing an additional 31% in opportunity cost. [15]

More than $40 billion worth of locked tokens are scheduled to be unlocked in the future, meaning a large volume of tokens will enter circulation. Due to low liquidity and market fears surrounding mass unlocks, these tokens often trade at discounts of around 50% via OTC once unlocked. However, as lock-up periods shorten over time, investors will gain more options for exit strategies, theoretically reducing future losses.

The root cause lies in the lock-up mechanism itself, which suppresses liquidity. When tokens can’t be freely sold, their real market value is significantly lower than that of freely tradable assets. In a bearish or volatile crypto market, illiquid assets are much harder to offload. Additionally, market expectations of large-scale unlocks often depress token prices even before the actual unlock occurs.

Polygon NFT 7-Day Sales Volume Surpasses Ethereum

Polygon’s 7-day NFT sales volume has surpassed Ethereum for the first time, becoming the market leader. This surge is largely driven by a new RWA (Real World Asset) NFT collection called Courtyard, which tokenizes real-world Pokémon cards and brings them on-chain, sparking intense interest and trading activity. [16]

Courtyard is launched by a startup focused on tokenizing real-world assets. The physical items behind the NFTs are securely stored by third-party custodian Brinks. Each NFT is backed by a physical asset, and users can choose to redeem the actual card. Once redeemed, the NFT is destroyed and removed from circulation.

This trend not only highlights the Courtyard project’s breakout potential but also signals growing market recognition of the “real asset + NFT” model. Moreover, Polygon’s lower gas fees and faster transactions compared to Ethereum make it more suitable for high-frequency RWA-based NFT trading, positioning it as a preferred platform for both users and project teams.

Spotlight Analysis

Bitcoin Breaks Past $93,000, Driven by Easing US-China Trade Tensions and Paul Atkins’ Appointment as SEC Chairman

Overnight, Bitcoin’s price broke above $93,000, reaching a new high since March. This rally was largely driven by positive sentiment surrounding the easing of US-China trade relations. U.S. President Trump publicly stated plans to “significantly reduce” the current 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, while Treasury Secretary Bassent emphasized in a closed-door meeting that the ongoing trade deadlock is “unsustainable” and likely to ease “in the near future.” These developments boosted confidence in the global economic outlook, triggering a rebound in U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 rising 2.5% and the Nasdaq gaining 2.7%. Meanwhile, gold prices pulled back 1% from a record high of $3,500, indicating a shift of capital from safe-haven assets to risk assets. [17][18]

At the same time, major changes are unfolding on the U.S. regulatory front. Paul Atkins was officially sworn in as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Known for his tenure as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, Atkins is recognized for supporting innovation and advocating for light-touch regulation. He also personally holds approximately $6 million in crypto assets. Atkins has called for clear regulatory frameworks to provide legal certainty for the crypto market. His appointment is widely seen as a bullish signal for the crypto industry, with expectations that the SEC will shift from litigation-heavy tactics to more regulation-friendly reforms. Under this dual boost from policy and regulation, the total crypto market capitalization has returned to $3 trillion. While welcoming these positive developments, investors should also remain cautious about market volatility.

Hyperliquid Updates Mainnet Validator Mechanism: 21 Permissionless Nodes Participate, Delegation Program to Launch Soon

Hyperliquid has introduced a validator delegation program aimed at improving the network’s security and decentralization by allowing HYPE token holders to delegate their tokens to high-performing and trustworthy validators. The mainnet will dynamically select the top 21 staked nodes to form the active validator set, enhancing both security and decentralization. [19]

Applicants must meet several threshold criteria, including holding and locking at least 10,000 HYPE tokens for over one year, operating at least two non-validator nodes with high uptime, publicly disclosing their node IPs, and completing KYC/KYB verification, with exclusions for individuals from restricted jurisdictions.

By delegating tokens to reliable, high-performance validators, Hyperliquid aims to boost network security and promote diversity among validators, which in turn enhances decentralization. This mechanism is also expected to address past concerns, such as the security and trust issues linked to the Jelly token incident. Moreover, it incentivizes validators who are committed to long-term ecosystem growth and network stability, helping to build a more robust and sustainable financial infrastructure ecosystem.

JD.com Stablecoin Enters Hong Kong’s “Sandbox” Testing Phase

JD.com has announced that its stablecoin project has officially entered the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s regulatory “sandbox” testing phase. This may mark the first attempt to bring RMB-backed assets into the global financial system via a compliant stablecoin format, making JD one of the few large Mainland Chinese tech companies actively exploring stablecoin regulation.

As Hong Kong is currently at a critical stage of stablecoin legislation—with regulations not yet fully established—JD’s move to enter the sandbox now positions it to gain a first-mover advantage. The sandbox mechanism allows companies to conduct innovation experiments under regulatory oversight, and JD’s participation signals its intent to promote fintech deployment on a compliant foundation. [20]

JD’s entry into the sandbox and its advancement of a stablecoin initiative represent the first foray by a Chinese enterprise into the compliant stablecoin arena. This could serve as a model for building a compliant framework outside the U.S. dollar system. Against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s upcoming stablecoin regulatory guidelines, this move is likely to accelerate the formation of a compliant ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region, promote regional capital mobility, and upgrade digital payment infrastructure—potentially becoming a crucial node in future cross-border currency corridors.

Funding Update

According to RootData, five projects publicly announced funding rounds in the past 24 hours, spanning infrastructure and decentralized finance (DeFi), with total funding amounting to $215 million. Details of the projects are as follows: [21]

Bitdeer — Raised $179 million through a mix of loans and equity for Bitcoin chip expansion.

Bitdeer is a crypto mining technology company initially focused on Bitcoin mining services, including miner hosting, proprietary mining, and cloud computing power. In recent years, Bitdeer has evolved into a full-spectrum mining platform, actively developing its own ASIC chips (such as the SEALMINER series) and expanding global data centers.

The raised capital will be primarily used for three purposes: (1) expanding data center infrastructure with plans to add 1.1 gigawatts of power capacity in 2025 to support expansion across the U.S., Norway, Bhutan, and the Netherlands; (2) accelerating chip design, R&D, and mass production to strengthen its proprietary ASIC supply chain; and (3) enhancing operational liquidity as part of general corporate funding. [22]

Arch Labs — Completed a $13 million Series A round led by Pantera Capital and Multicoin Capital, with participation from OKX Ventures and CMS Holdings.

Arch Labs is developing ArchVM, a Bitcoin-native virtual machine designed to enable fast, secure, and verifiable smart contract functionality. The platform will allow decentralized applications (dApps) to be deployed directly on the Bitcoin mainnet, without asset bridging or reliance on Layer 2 solutions.

The funding will accelerate development and mainnet launch of ArchVM, while also expanding the Arch Network’s application ecosystem. After launch, developers will be able to create smart contracts, deploy DeFi protocols, mint and trade NFTs, and establish decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) on Bitcoin. Initial applications will include AMM trading, lending platforms, Bitcoin-backed stablecoins, and gaming. [23]

Analog — Raised $15 million through a token sale, with digital asset investment firm Bolts Capital acquiring the tokens.

Analog is a project aimed at improving unified liquidity across multiple blockchain networks. The platform focuses on enhancing blockchain interoperability, allowing assets and data to move seamlessly between different chains.

The funds will be used to develop interoperability tools that support cross-chain asset liquidity. Analog’s goal is to deliver more efficient cross-chain solutions for DeFi and other blockchain applications. [24]

Airdrop Opportunity

Superform Labs

Superform Labs is a DeFi (decentralized finance) yield aggregation project with a core goal of creating a unified cross-chain yield marketplace. It aims to make it easier and more efficient for users to invest and earn on-chain yields. On April 21, Superform launched its latest rewards-based “points farming” program.

How to participate:

1. Deposit funds on the official website to earn Superform points.
2. Refer friends to join.
3. Hold a SuperFrenNFT.

Note:
Participation methods and the airdrop plan may change at any time. Users are advised to follow Superform Labs’ official channels for the latest updates. Always exercise caution, be aware of risks, and conduct thorough research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee the distribution of future airdrop rewards.


Reference：

1. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
2. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
3. SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
4. SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-eth-spot
5. CoinGecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
6. Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
7. Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
8. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/bigdata
9. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
10. X, https://x.com/DeepBookonSui/status/1914665034455580924
11. X, https://x.com/DeepBookonSui/status/1912577645608313213
12. X, https://x.com/0xzerebro/status/1914840437904622065
13. X, https://x.com/TurboToadToken
14. X, https://x.com/VetleLunde/status/1914651171576312116
15. X, https://x.com/Taran_ss/status/1914715638247120952
16. Cryptoslam, https://www.cryptoslam.io/
17. Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/04/22/crypto-ally-paul-atkins-sworn-in-to-replace-gary-gensler-atop-u-s-sec
18. Cnyes, https://news.cnyes.com/news/id/5914549
19. Hyperliquid, https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/validators/delegation-program
20. NBD, https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2025-04-22/3842528.html
21. Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/
22. Theminermag, https://www.theminermag.com/news/2025-04-22/bitdeer-bitcoin-loan-sealminer
23. Chainwire, https://chainwire.org/2025/04/22/arch-labs-announces-13m-funding-round-to-launch-a-native-bitcoin-virtual-machine/
24. Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/04/22/interoperability-project-analog-raises-usd15m-to-unify-liquidity-across-blockchains

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