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Research institution Bernstein's latest report states that as Bitcoin approaches the $80,000 mark, the cryptocurrency market is entering a new phase of structural growth. This cycle may last longer than previous ones and has "asymmetric upside potential." The report points out that the previous drop to $60,000 has formed a temporary bottom, and the market is being driven by the integration of institutional funds and the traditional financial system.Analyst Gautam Chhugani stated, "The best times for the crypto industry are still ahead, which will be reflected in a higher and more sustained bull market cycle." In terms of supply structure, about 60% of Bitcoin has not been transferred for over a year, indicating an increase in the proportion of long-term holders; at the same time, ETFs and corporate balance sheet allocations continue to absorb supply. Strategy currently holds approximately 818,000 BTC, and its yield-generating products are attracting more traditional funds.On the institutional channel front, Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab are expanding Bitcoin ETF and spot trading access, further lowering investment thresholds. Fundamentally, the supply of stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, and the demand for real payments and settlements has increased; the tokenization scale of real-world assets (RWA) has reached $345 billion, a year-on-year increase of 110%. Additionally, platforms like Hyperliquid are driving increased activity in on-chain stock and commodity trading.The report also warns that quantum computing poses a long-term potential risk to crypto security, but it is manageable in the short term, and the industry has ample time to transition to quantum-resistant standards.

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" forum held in Hong Kong, Arda Senoz, the head of the Alchemy Pay ecosystem, delivered a keynote speech titled "Bridging the Fiat and Crypto Global Economies."Arda Senoz highlighted the recently launched Alchemy Chain, whose core value lies in connecting the settlement links between wallets, merchants, and payment partners. The ACH token serves three main functions on the chain: covering Gas fees, incentives, and governance. According to the technical roadmap, the core payment and ACH fee settlement will be implemented in Q4 2025, liquidity and interoperability will be advanced in Q1 2026, and the issuance of the Alchemy Chain stablecoin and the establishment of payment channels are planned for Q2 2026.Arda emphasized that Alchemy Pay always adheres to a compliant and secure product approach, promoting the mainstream adoption of digital assets through innovative solutions such as RWA integration, truly achieving a seamless connection between fiat currency and the crypto economy.

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, Max Zhou, the business leader of RootData, delivered a keynote speech titled "Trust as Infrastructure: How Data Transparency Reshapes the New Cycle of Web3."Max Zhou pointed out that transparency is no longer an "added bonus," but rather a threshold for institutions, regulators, and users. RootData positions itself as a leading Web3 enterprise data platform, quantifying project information completeness and credibility through financing data, relationship graphs, and the industry's unique "transparency scoring" system.He introduced that RootData has recorded over 9,600 financing events, more than 18,000 key industry figures, and has rated over 19,000 projects on a scale from A to F, becoming an important reference for institutional due diligence and exchange listing assessments. The platform has established ecological cooperation with over 220 institutions, including Binance Wallet, OKX, and ByBit.In addition, RootData has launched a three-dimensional exchange assessment model (liquidity + asset value + transparency), abandoning the "volume-only theory." Max Zhou emphasized that transparency is becoming a new axis for Web3, just as essential as security audits.

KiteAI Asia Pacific Head Laughing confirmed attendance at the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held in Hong Kong on April 19, and will participate in a roundtable discussion. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.Kite AI is building the foundational layer of the Agentic Internet, aiming to create a vertically integrated artificial intelligence ecosystem to promote the realization of real business value and the long-term sustainable development of the network. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and crypto networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leaps and economic restructuring, this themed forum not only provides insights into the current state of the industry but also offers a forward-looking reflection on the future intelligent economic system.

According to Reuters, U.S. President Trump stated that he may go to Islamabad once an agreement is reached, but no decision has been made yet. There may be more negotiations regarding the Iran agreement this weekend.

X product leader Nikita Bier posted on the X platform stating that, according to the aggregated data from the trading pilot, since the launch of Cashtags on Tuesday evening, the social platform X has driven approximately $1 billion in transaction volume globally. This data comes from the platform's early pilot phase and shows a significant pull effect on market liquidity and user engagement after the integration of social platform and trading functions.

Cuy Sheffield, the head of Visa's crypto business, stated that two American banks, Lead Bank and Cross River, have settled transactions using USDC on Solana.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin's monitoring, the last whale trader on Hyperliquid has completely closed a long position in ETH and BTC worth approximately $398 million, with a total profit of about $68.47 million.This trader opened long positions of 120,000 ETH and 1,500 BTC through four addresses between February and March, and began to take profits in batches after a significant rebound in the crypto market. The opening range for ETH was approximately $2,000 to $2,150, with profits taken around $2,390; the opening price for BTC was around $68,420, with profits taken around $74,700.

Sentient Asia-Pacific Business Director Anita confirmed her attendance at the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held in Hong Kong on April 19, and will participate in a roundtable discussion. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival Conference.Sentient Labs is a leading technology research and product organization dedicated to advancing open-source AI, currently supported by top funds such as Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Franklin Templeton. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and cryptocurrency networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and cryptocurrency infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leaps and economic restructuring, this themed forum not only provides insights into the current state of the industry but also offers a forward-looking reflection on the future intelligent economic system.Event registration: https://luma.com/18v6vwpf

According to CoinDesk, Ron Hammond, the policy head of crypto market maker Wintermute, stated that the legislative process for the U.S. crypto market structure bill, the Clarity Act, is still hindered by multiple factors, with a probability of passing this year at about 30%.The bill aims to clarify the division of responsibilities between the SEC and CFTC in the regulation of digital assets, but the current negotiation progress is uneven, with the timeline repeatedly delayed. The main resistance comes from traditional banking institutions, particularly around the significant disagreements regarding whether stablecoins should offer yields. Compromise proposals have been blocked multiple times, and additionally, the internal divisions within the Democratic Party, as well as issues related to DeFi compliance and anti-money laundering, add uncertainty to the legislation.However, Ron Hammond believes there is still room for the bill to advance, but whether it can be enacted within the year depends on whether key disagreements can be resolved.

The head of the Alchemy Pay ecosystem, Arda Senoz, confirmed attendance at the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held in Hong Kong on April 19, where he will deliver a keynote speech. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.Alchemy Pay is a payment solution provider that connects consumers, merchants, developers, and institutions to the fiat and crypto economy worldwide. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and crypto networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leaps and economic restructuring, this themed forum not only provides insights into the current state of the industry but also offers a forward-looking reflection on the future smart economic system.Event registration: https://luma.com/18v6vwpf

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointment of David Woodcock as the new head of the enforcement division, succeeding the previous director who has stepped down.Woodcock previously served as the director of the SEC's Fort Worth office (2011--2015), overseeing enforcement attorneys, examiners, and accounting teams, and participated in investigations across nearly all major enforcement areas. Recently, he was a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn. Notably, Woodcock does not have a clear background in the cryptocurrency industry, and this appointment comes at a time when the SEC is facing controversy over its enforcement direction in the crypto space. Previously, disagreements over case handling and enforcement standards led to a short tenure for the former director and drew congressional attention. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that this appointment will help strengthen the crackdown on "misconduct that causes the greatest harm to investors."

According to monitoring by Hyperinsight, the "Silver Iron Head Air Force" whale today reduced its position by approximately $11.4484 million in ETH short positions (6,100 units), realizing a small profit. Currently, it still holds about 5,126 ETH short positions, valued at approximately $11 million, with an entry average price of $2,237.4 and a liquidation price of $3,079.42. It is reported that this whale has been continuously increasing its short position since opening an ETH short with 20x leverage on April 1, and has set up short limit orders, with the position size once exceeding 10,000 ETH, valued at over $20 million.This whale does not hold a single-direction position but is engaging in swing trading: currently, it has set up 5,126.93 ETH long positions in the $2,180--$2,200 range, while also setting up 10,869.56 ETH short positions in the $2,260--$2,340 range.

According to monitoring by Hyperinsight, the short-selling "Silver Iron Head Air Force" whale (0x61c) briefly opened short positions in BTC and ETH, with average entry prices at $67,500 and $2,055, respectively, totaling about $4 million in positions.Meanwhile, this address has densely placed limit orders above, with a total of 200 orders amounting to approximately $29 million, waiting for price increases to trigger:BTC: Sell orders of about $20 million set in the range of approximately $68,000 to $70,000;ETH: Sell orders of about $5 million set in the range of approximately $2,080 to $2,120.In addition, this address has also placed 100 buy orders below the BTC price range of approximately $62,000 to $63,000, planning to gradually take profits as that range is reached.