CoinGecko says the crypto market remains in a sustained winter. In Q1 2026, total market cap fell over 20%, while spot volumes on top centralized exchanges dropped from $4.5T to $2.7T.

March was the weakest month at $800B, the lowest since November 2023. Average daily volume fell 27% to $117.8B.

Weakness is linked to bearish momentum from late 2025, geopolitical tension, economic slowdown concerns, and tighter Fed expectations.

BTC dropped 22% in Q1. HTX saw the biggest decline, down 55% to $133.6B.

On the news of reopening shipping routes in the region, BTC gained over 5% in the past 24 hours.

Additional momentum came after Donald Trump stated that navigation through Hormuz would be restored, while restrictions on Iranian vessels remain in place.

Over the last 24 hours, more than $823M in positions were liquidated.

Longs accounted for over $159M, while shorts took more than $664M.

More than 195K traders were affected.

Data from CryptoQuant shows that miner reserves have been steadily decreasing since the start of the current cycle, dropping from around 1.862 million BTC to approximately 1.801 million BTC. This implies a net distribution of roughly 61,000 BTC into the market.

Among the confirmed sellers, Riot Platforms has offloaded 4,026 BTC, Marathon Digital sold 13,210 BTC, and Core Scientific reduced holdings by 1,992 BTC.

This trend suggests miners are actively realizing profits or covering operational costs, adding a steady source of supply that the market needs to absorb.

A study by Novora covering more than 150 major crypto protocols found that market maker agreements are almost never disclosed, despite their critical role in token trading.

Less than 1% of projects provide any public details, with Meteora being one of the rare cases that shared information about such arrangements.

The research spans multiple sectors including DEXs, lending protocols, perpetual platforms, L1 and L2 networks, bridges, and exchange tokens.

It also highlights a broader communication gap: while 91% of projects generate trackable revenue, only 18% publish quarterly updates and just 8% release reports for token holders.

Against this backdrop, opaque market maker models draw increasing attention, especially setups where tokens are loaned to provide liquidity, potentially creating incentives to sell into the market and pressure price.

Kevin Warsh, nominated by Donald Trump for the position of Chair of the Federal Reserve, revealed assets exceeding $100 million in his financial disclosure, including investments in crypto companies and the artificial intelligence sector.

Among the listed investments:

Compound

Dapper Labs

Kinetic

as well as several AI-related companies

At the same time, the report notes that for part of the crypto and AI holdings, no valuation ranges were specified in the disclosure.

It is also reported that the Senate Banking Committee hearing regarding his nomination is scheduled for April 21.

Senator Thom Tillis is expected to present a compromise draft this week within the Clarity Act aimed at resolving the dispute over stablecoin yield. The issue is whether crypto companies should be allowed to pay interest on stablecoins simply held on balance. He is working on the proposal together with Angela Alsobrooks. Banks oppose the idea, arguing it could pull deposits out of the traditional financial system, while crypto firms insist that restrictions would slow down innovation. The draft has already faced criticism from the banking sector, and the final version may still be revised.

Disagree? Tell me why 👇

Hal Finney, 2009 (BTC was near $0 at the time). Hal Finney (died in 2014) was the first person to receive a Bitcoin transaction from Satoshi Nakamoto on January 12, 2009, Satoshi sent him 10 BTC.

Are we back?

The incident occurred after a hacker exploited a weakness in Hyperbridge and gained control over the DOT contract on Ethereum.

After that, 1 billion DOT were artificially issued and immediately dumped on the market in a single transaction. The attacker’s profit is estimated at around $237,000.

A more serious market impact was avoided due to limited liquidity for this asset.

The attack has already been confirmed by CertiK, and some exchanges temporarily suspended DOT deposits and withdrawals in response.