April 2, 2026, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market fell 2.6%. Bitcoin dropped to $66,250, Ethereum is nearing $2,000, and major assets generally pulled back. Due to Trump making tough remarks about the Iran situation, risk-off sentiment intensified in the market, and funds are taking a wait-and-see stance in the short term. High interest rates and geopolitical risk together are weighing on prices; going forward, attention will be on developments in the Middle East and changes in macro liquidity.

Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre announced that it will shut down its in-house cryptocurrency, Mercado Coin, starting on April 17. Users will be able to sell the token, use it to offset purchases, or wait for it to be exchanged for fiat currency. The token launched in 2022 and was intended to serve as shopping rewards. The company has not explained the reason for the shutdown.

2026-03-31 08:30 to 08:45 (UTC), ETH’s short-term return recorded -0.66%, with the price range between 2039.73 and 2054.49 USDT, and the amplitude reaching 0.72%. During this period, market volatility intensified, with a clear increase in trading attention, reflecting investors’ rapid reaction to risk events and a rise in safe-haven sentiment. The main drivers behind this unusual move were a significant drop in the number of active addresses on-chain (down about 14.49% from the previous day to 490,239), which weakened network liquidity and reduced the market’s ability to absorb demand. Meanwhile, trading volumes also declined, indicating a cautious market sentiment and a wait-and-see attitude among investors.

HTX Research analysts point out that the impact of macro variables on the cryptocurrency market has shifted to a triple pressure of high interest rates, energy shocks, and liquidity contraction, leading to market valuations being under pressure. In the short term, cryptocurrency assets are influenced by U.S. dollar liquidity, with most altcoins entering a valuation repricing cycle, and the strategy is to wait for clear macro directional opportunities.

Recently, the movement of institutional funds has turned, with a net outflow of $171 million from U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs on March 27, marking the largest capital withdrawal in three weeks. Analysts believe that the fund pullback reflects a reassessment of market risks by institutions, which may be entering a wait-and-see phase, increasing uncertainty around short-term Bitcoin price support levels.

Last week, institutional investors sold a net of $11 billion in U.S. stocks, the largest single-week sell-off in nearly five weeks. Hedge funds, on the other hand, bought a net of $1.8 billion, ending four weeks of selling. Overall, U.S. stocks experienced a net outflow of $9.3 billion, with a total outflow of $25.5 billion over 16 weeks, indicating that institutional investors are gradually shifting to a wait-and-see stance.

Pi Network (PI) price is hovering around $0.188, with a slight decline intraday but an 11.6% increase this month. Technical analysis indicates the market is approaching a potential reversal point, showing bullish signals and a cup-and-handle pattern. However, short-term momentum depends on the PISI indicator, which is currently near neutral, suggesting that PI has not yet formed a strong upward trend. The key resistance level is at $0.200; a break above this could lead to further gains toward $0.246. The market still needs to wait for changes in capital flow to trigger a breakout.

Gate News, on March 19, a certain CEX parent company Payward Inc. has suspended its initial public offering (IPO) plan, choosing to wait for better market conditions.

Gate News reported that on March 19, the Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision (the central bank's policy decision on whether to adjust the benchmark interest rate) and meeting minutes at 20:00 Beijing time tonight, and the European Central Bank will announce its interest rate decision at 21:15. Affected by the Middle East conflict, the monetary policies of the two major central banks face uncertainty. The market expects this meeting to maintain a wait-and-see stance, but bets on future rate hikes continue to increase.

Gate News reported that on March 19, DWF Labs Managing Partner Andrei Grachev posted on X platform stating that some media outlets spreading claims that he said "altcoins will never rise" is misinformation. He indicated that the current market is in an activation and expansion phase, recommending attention to actual market performance, and cautioning against blindly trusting media reports, instead using original information sources as the basis for judgment. Previously, he disclosed that he had increased holdings in altcoins, Bitcoin, and BNB in February of this year, and plans to wait for a market rebound.