Major Market & Policy News
• U.S.-Iran Ceasefire & Market Surge: President Trump's announcement of a temporary ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a "risk-on" sentiment. Bitcoin (BTC) has surged past $69,000, recovering from geopolitical-driven lows.
• Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Listing: The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (ticker: MBST) becomes effective today, April 8, and is scheduled to begin trading on NYSE Arca.
• Crypto Safe Harbor Framework: A proposed framework to provide a four-year startup exemption for capital raising has advanced to White House review (OIRA), signaled by SEC Chair Paul Atkins.
• CLARITY Act Progress: Market attention is focused on the CLARITY Act markup, expected in the Senate Banking Committee by mid-April, which is considered a critical catalyst for institutional regulation.
Trending Coins & Technical Catalysts
• Ethereum (ETH): Currently trading around $2,112. Interest is building for the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade (slated for June), which aims to boost throughput to 10,000 TPS.
• Solana (SOL): The Solana Foundation has launched the STRIDE security assessment system and SIRN response network to enhance ecosystem safety.
• Sui (SUI) & Sei (SEI): High-performance Layer-1s are trending due to major catalysts: Sui's "MemWal" AI memory layer and Sei's EVM migration scheduled for this week (April 6–8).
Protocol & Institutional Updates
• Circle Expansion: Circle has launched stablecoin payout services in Singapore to expand USDC infrastructure across Asia.
• Polymarket V2: The platform is upgrading to V2, introducing its native Polymarket USD stablecoin and enhancing its trading engine for lower gas costs.
• Chaos Labs & Aave: Chaos Labs has terminated its risk management partnership with Aave, citing budget and staffing concerns for the upcoming Aave V4.