TL;DR
- U.S. equities finished the week at fresh highs as oil prices retreated sharply, on hopes of a durable Middle East ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
- The dollar and long-end Treasury yields both eased over the week, but gold still climbed strongly, signaling that markets embraced a risk-on stance without fully abandoning geopolitical and inflation hedges.
- Aave TVL dropped by ~$6.6B after ~$292M of unbacked rsETH (minted via a compromised LayerZero DVN setup on KelpDAO’s bridge) was used as collateral, leaving ~$196M in bad debt.
- STRC traded a total volume of $3.9B, with $2.7B above par, implying strong demand and an estimated ~$2.1B in ATM proceeds; STRC accounted for 93% of Strategy instrument trading volume.
- Among top 30 assets, XRP +6.3%, supported by continued ETF inflows exceeding $1.2B cumulatively.
- France backs a euro-pegged stablecoin initiative under MiCA, aiming to strengthen Europe’s position against dollar-based tokens.
- Paxos Labs raises $12M to build a compliant DeFi infrastructure layer for fintechs and stablecoin issuers.
- Totalis receives $500K investment from Y Combinator to build structured derivatives layer for prediction markets.
Macro Overview
US Markets Rally as Geopolitical Tensions Ease and Tech Outperforms, March CPI and PPI Data Shows Persistent Inflationary Pressures
U.S. equities had a powerful weekly advance as investors leaned into the view that the worst of the energy shock might be passing. The S&P 500 rose from 6,806.47 to 7,126.06, the Nasdaq climbed from 22,849.23 to 24,468.48, the Dow advanced from 47,718.21 to 49,447.43, and the Russell 2000 gained from 2,625.69 to 2,776.90. The impulse came from the easing in geopolitical sentiment after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial traffic during the ceasefire window. That announcement pushed Brent toward $90 and WTI toward $84, relieving one of the market’s main inflation fears and helping investors re-rate cyclical and technology exposure higher. Even though household sentiment remained fragile, markets prioritized lower immediate energy stress, healthy liquidity conditions, and evidence that the earnings backdrop had not deteriorated enough to derail the rally. The result was a week in which falling oil, softer yields, and stronger equity breadth reinforced one another.
Last week’s data presented a dual-speed inflation story. Headline PPI surged from 3.4% to 4.0% yoy, largely driven by the energy shock and supply chain disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. However, Core PPI offered a silver lining, cooling to 3.8% yoy with a monthly increase of just 0.1%. This suggests that while energy and export costs, increased by 1.6% mom, are volatile due to geopolitics, the underlying inflationary engine in the domestic economy is actually losing steam.
For markets, it was soft enough to prevent a renewed bond selloff, but not soft enough to reopen an aggressive easing narrative. The data validated the Federal Reserve’s cautious posture. Investors, therefore, treated the week not as a decisive policy pivot point, but as another reminder that progress on inflation remains uneven and highly exposed to geopolitical commodity shocks. The moderation in import prices, from 1.3% to 0.8%, indicates that trade barriers, including the new tariffs on Vietnam and Taiwan, have not yet fully metastasized into broad-based wholesale inflation. Investors are now trapped in a wait-and-see equilibrium, where technical resilience in core prices is constantly threatened by external commodity shocks.
After Iran indicated that commercial shipping could resume through the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire period, crude prices fell sharply and global risk appetite improved. The reopening signal immediately reduced fears of an escalating global supply shock. For equities, the effect was positive because lower oil eased the near-term inflation threat and reduced the probability of another upward repricing in global yields. The ceasefire therefore acted less like a full geopolitical resolution and more like a temporary macro release valve, allowing markets to rotate back toward growth assets while preserving some insurance against a reversal.
Looking ahead, the primary macro narrative pivots from geopolitical relief to fundamental economic health. The “market test” centers on U.S. Retail Sales, which will serve as a critical barometer for consumer resilience amid persistent inflationary pressures and the “Operation Epic Fury” energy shock. Markets are searching for evidence that demand can sustain growth; a strong print would likely extend the current risk-on rally, while a miss would trigger concerns about equity overvaluation.(1)
DXY
DXY moved from 99.05 to 98.23 over the week. The dollar softened as the market unwound part of its geopolitical safe-haven bid and as easing oil prices reduced immediate inflation panic. Lower yields also helped cap dollar upside, even though the Fed remained cautious rather than dovish.(2)
US 10-Year and 30-Year Bond Yields
Last week, Treasury yields experienced an orderly decline, with the US10Y slipping to 4.248% and the US30Y to 4.885%. This movement indicates that investors are beginning to fade the acute inflation-risk premium as energy prices stabilize following the recent conflict. The lack of a dramatic sell-off suggests that while the panic bid is receding, the market remains cautious about a rapid easing cycle, maintaining a “wait-and-see” approach ahead of critical retail data. (3)
Gold
Gold rose from 4744.48 to 4837.49, up 1.9% on the week. The gain shows that even as equities rallied and oil fell, investors still maintained geopolitical and inflation hedges. Gold therefore functioned as a signal that confidence improved, but underlying macro uncertainty remained far from resolved. (4)
Crypto Markets Overview
1. Main Assets
BTC Price
ETH Price
ETH/BTC Ratio
BTC rose 4.3% over the past week, while ETH gained 3.3%. Spot ETF flows remained supportive, with BTC ETFs recording net inflows of $996.4 million and ETH ETFs seeing net inflows of $275.8 million. Despite the broad market rebound, the ETH/BTC ratio declined 1.0%. (5)
Market sentiment improved with the price rebound, as the Fear & Greed Index rose to 29, though it remains in the Fear zone. (6)
2. Total Market Cap
Crypto Total Marketcap
Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding BTC and ETH
Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding Top 10 Dominance
The total crypto market cap rose 3.5% last week. Excluding BTC and ETH, the rest of the market gained 1.9%, while the broader altcoin market, measured by total market cap excluding the top 10 tokens, rose 1.6%.
Aave’s TVL dropped by about $6.6 billion after attackers used roughly $292 million of unbacked rsETH, which is minted through a compromised 1-of-1 LayerZero DVN setup on KelpDAO’s bridge, and as collateral on Aave V3, leaving about $196 million of bad debt.
STRC saw $3.9 billion in trading volume last week, with $2.7 billion above par and $1.2 billion below.
The heavier activity above $100 suggests investors are accepting lower effective yields for exposure, indicating demand outweighs near-term risk concerns.
In the previous week, about 79% of the $1.5 billion STRC trading volume was attributed to Strategy issuing new STRC shares through an ATM offering, implying roughly $1 billion in ATM proceeds.
Applying the same ratio to last week’s $2.7 billion traded above par suggests an estimated $2.1 billion in potential ATM proceeds. (7)
Among Strategy’s financial instruments, STRC accounted for 93% of total trading volume, up from 86% the previous week. The next largest were STRF (Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock) at 2.2% and SATA (Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock) at 2.1%.
Last week, Strategy purchased 13,927 BTC at an average price of approximately $71,900, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 780,897 BTC.
Source: Coinmarketcap and Gate Ventures, as of 20th Apr 2026
Among the top 30 assets, prices surged 2.1% on average, Memecore, Stellar, and XRP led the gain.
XRP rose 6.3% last week, as XRP ETF inflows continued to build, with cumulative inflows exceeding $1.2 billion. (8)
The Key Crypto Highlights
1. Circle launches USDC Bridge to enable native cross-chain stablecoin transfers across 17 blockchains
Circle has introduced USDC Bridge, a new interface built on its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), enabling predictable native transfers of USDC across at least 17 EVM-compatible blockchains without relying on wrapped tokens or third-party bridge infrastructure. The upgrade simplifies cross-chain UX through automatic gas handling, transparent fee display and real-time transfer tracking, reinforcing Circle’s strategy to position USDC as a unified settlement layer for multi-chain stablecoin liquidity as daily CCTP transfer volumes already exceed $500 million. (9)
X said its new Cashtags pilot drove about $1 billion in global trading volume within 48 hours of launch, as the feature lets users view live stock and crypto data directly inside the app. The rollout is currently limited to iPhone users in the US and Canada, with Canadian users able to route certain trades through Wealthsimple, highlighting X’s broader effort to evolve toward an “everything app” that combines market discovery, trading access and future payments infrastructure. (10)
3. France backs euro-pegged stablecoin initiative under MiCA to strengthen Europe’s position against dollar-based tokens
France’s finance minister Roland Lescure endorsed the Qivalis euro-pegged stablecoin project led by European banks including ING and UniCredit, targeting a 2026 launch under the EU’s MiCA regulatory framework. The move reflects growing policy support for euro-denominated digital money to counter the dominance of dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC and advance Europe’s institutional tokenization strategy. (11)
Key Ventures Deals
1. Paxos Labs raises $12M to build compliant DeFi infrastructure layer for fintechs and stablecoin issuers
Paxos Labs has raised $12 million in a funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures, Maelstrom, and Uniswap Labs, to develop a compliance-aware software suite that helps enterprises integrate stablecoins with onchain lending and yield markets. The platform enables companies to launch branded stablecoins, offer yield on user balances, and support crypto-collateralized borrowing through a unified integration layer, targeting growing demand from fintechs and neobanks seeking to activate stablecoin deposits inside their applications. (12)
2. Totalis receives $500K investment from Y Combinator to build structured derivatives layer for prediction markets
Prediction market infrastructure startup Totalis has received $500,000 in USDC funding from Y Combinator, marking the accelerator’s first investment fully settled in stablecoins onchain via Solana. Totalis is developing a structured trading layer for prediction markets that enables users to construct cross-market “parlay-style” positions spanning categories such as geopolitics, crypto, and sports, aiming to improve capital efficiency and expand beyond single-position exposure toward bundled and hedged multi-outcome strategies. (13)
3. Brix raises $5.5M to tokenize emerging market yield products, with first Turkish lira fund-backed asset launching on MegaETH
Brix has raised $5.5 million to bring high-yield emerging market financial products onchain, with backing from investors including Yapi Kredi’s venture arm FRWRD, Is Asset Management, Circle Ventures, ConsenSys, and Borderless Capital, as it builds tokenized access rails for trades historically limited to banks and institutions. The startup’s first product, iTRY, is a digital asset backed by Turkish lira money market funds, designed to package local-currency yield into a token that can be traded, used as collateral, and integrated into DeFi applications. Launching via MegaETH’s World Markets platform, Brix aims to expand this model across other emerging market asset classes — including equities, funds, and bonds in regions such as the UAE, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil, and South Korea. (14)
Ventures Market Metrics
The number of deals closed in the previous week was 12, with Infra having 8 deals, Defi having 3 deals and Social having 1 deal.
Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 20th Apr 2026
The total amount of disclosed funding raised in the previous week was $41.8M, 5 deals in the previous week didn’t announce the raised amount. The top funding came from the Infra sector with $18.8M. Most funded deals: Paxos Labs ($12M).
Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 20th Apr 2026
Total weekly fundraising declined to $41.8M for the third week of Apr-2026, a decrease of 43% compared to the week prior.
About Gate Ventures
Gate Ventures, the venture capital arm of Gate.com, is focused on investments in decentralized infrastructure, middleware, and applications that will reshape the world in the Web 3.0 age. Working with industry leaders across the globe, Gate Ventures helps promising teams and startups that possess the ideas and capabilities needed to redefine social and financial interactions.
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Reference:
- IG Week Ahead Economic Preview, https://www.ig.com/sg/news-and-trade-ideas/week-ahead--20-april-2026-260414
- DXY Index, TradingView, https://www.tradingview.com/chart/z1UD772v/?symbol=TVC%3ADXY
- US 10 Year Bond Yield, TradingView, https://www.tradingview.com/chart/B9cgEklh/?symbol=TVC%3AUS10Y
- Gold Price, TradingView, https://www.tradingview.com/chart/z1UD772v/?symbol=TVC%3AGOLD
- BTC & ETH ETF Inflow, https://sosovalue.com/tc/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
- BTC Greed and Fear Index, https://alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/
- Micro Strategy STRC Dashboard, https://bitcoinquant.co/company/MSTR
- XRP ETF, https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/69e4fad993a38e09a174f9a9/
- Circle launches USDC Bridge to enable native cross-chain stablecoin transfers across 17 blockchains, https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-launches-usdc-bridge-native-cross-chain-transfers
- X’s new Cashtags feature generated roughly $1 billion in trading volume within its first two days, https://cointelegraph.com/news/x-cashtags-feature-drives-1-billion-trading-volume-first-two-days
- France backs euro-pegged stablecoin initiative under MiCA to strengthen Europe’s position against dollar-based tokens, https://cointelegraph.com/news/french-finance-minister-euro-pegged-stablecoins
- Paxos Labs raises $12M to build compliant DeFi infrastructure layer for fintechs and stablecoin issuers, https://fortune.com/2026/04/14/paxos-paxos-labs-fundraise-blockchain-capital/
- Totalis receives $500K investment from Y Combinator to build structured derivatives layer for prediction markets, https://x.com/totalistrading/status/2043812703408664865
- Brix raises $5.5M to tokenize emerging market yield products, with first Turkish lira fund-backed asset launching on MegaETH, https://www.theblock.co/post/397546/brix-raises-5-5m-to-tokenize-emerging-market-assets-megaeth
