The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

April 17 — According to CoinDesk, the Ethereum network processed 200.4 million transactions in Q1 2026, marking the first time it’s topped 200 million transactions in a single quarter. That’s a 43% jump from Q4 2025’s 145 million transactions, forming a clear U-shaped recovery curve. Ethereum’s quarterly transaction volume hit a low of ~90 million in 2023, traded sideways between 100 million and 120 million throughout 2024, and began steady quarterly growth around mid-2025. However, a notable divergence exists between ETH (Ethereum’s native token) price and on-chain activity: ETH currently trades at ~$2,328, down over 50% from its all-time high near $5,000 in August 2025. Two key drivers fueled the transaction volume growth: 1. Layer 2 networks (e.g., Optimism, Arbitrum) settle user transactions and bridge data to the Ethereum mainnet; 2. Ethereum’s stablecoin total supply hit a record $180 billion, accounting for ~60% of the global stablecoin market. Some analysts have fl

April 17 – InvestingLive analyst Giuseppe Dellamotta noted that gold’s recent upside momentum has faded despite bullish drivers: falling real yields, easing financial conditions, a weaker U.S. dollar, and others. Since its sharp late-January drop, gold has traded lacklusterly, with the key shift being the Fed’s move from dovish to neutral. However, optimistic expectations for a U.S.-Iran deal should still support gold, limiting downside—**everything hinges on the U.S.-Iran negotiations**. - If talks collapse again, gold may see a deeper pullback; but as long as the ceasefire holds, declines should be contained. - Conversely, a peace deal could give gold a fresh boost, extending its rally to new highs. - For a larger gold move, the Fed would need to revert to a dovish stance. (Source: Golden Finance News APP)

April 17th — Pre-market trading data from Bitget shows crypto-related stocks were broadly lower ahead of the U.S. stock market opening, with the following changes: - Sharplink Gaming (SBET): -1.94% - Circle (CRCL): -0.84% - Robinhood (HOOD): -0.75% - MARA Holdings (MARA): -0.69% - Coinbase (COIN): -0.66% - MicroStrategy (MSTR): -0.63% - Bit Mining (BMNR): -0.40%

As of April 17, per Coinglass data, the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index has stayed positive for 9 straight days, currently standing at 0.0117%. U.S. market buying sentiment continues to improve, following 15 consecutive days of negative premiums. BlockBeats Note: The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index measures the gap between Bitcoin’s price on Coinbase (a top U.S. exchange) and the global market average. It’s a key indicator for tracking U.S. market capital inflows, institutional investment interest, and shifts in market sentiment. A positive premium means Coinbase’s Bitcoin price is above the global average—typically signaling strong U.S. market buying interest, active inflows of institutional or compliant funds, ample USD liquidity, and broadly optimistic investor sentiment. A negative premium, by contrast, means Coinbase’s price is below the global average, usually reflecting heavy U.S. market selling pressure, reduced investor risk appetite, heightened market risk aversion, or ca

April 17: Per HTX market data, Bitcoin is oscillating around $75,000, currently trading at $75,019 with a 24-hour gain of 0.45%. The altcoin market is seeing a rotation rally, with old-school meme coins leading the upswing before Polkadot ecosystem tokens emerged as top 24-hour gainers: - MOVR: $3.818 (24h +202.06%) - SIREN: $1.8497 (24h +122.59%) - METIS: $5.995 (24h +89.12%) - SOON: $0.2557 (24h +80.71%) - GLMR: $0.0172 (24h +48.28%) - KSM: $5.791 (24h +28.49%)

On April 17, markets shifted to repricing the "form of war" instead of the "existence of war." U.S.-Iran talks moved from a comprehensive deal to a temporary framework, with more ceasefire signals—apparently cutting the tail risk of extreme supply disruptions. This directly reduced demand for the safe-haven USD and boosted risk asset flows. But the U.S. also expanded shipping and energy-related sanctions on Iran—covering crude oil, refined products, and industrial metals—meaning supply-side constraints haven’t been lifted, just become more structural. This "expected easing vs. actual tightening" mismatch is distorting market pricing. Energy markets haven’t seen meaningful loosening, but the USD weakened as risk appetite picked up—creating a classic asset misalignment: safe havens are pricing in an optimistic scenario early, while commodities still reflect constrained supply. That’s why Wall Street is uniformly turning bearish on the USD. The shift isn’t about deteriorating fundamenta