Rumors Spread Online About the Death of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, Increasing the Likelihood of His Resignation to 72% by April

April 4 – Cryptoquant analyst Darkfost says a major shift in Ethereum’s derivatives market structure has occurred, marking the first such change since the 2023 bear market. Darkfost notes that while ETH’s net trading volume has been negative for most of the period since 2023, it has now turned positive. (Note: Net trading volume measures whether buying or selling pressure is dominant in the derivatives order book.) Right now, the indicator signals dominant buying pressure, with $104 million in buying volume. Notably, even when ETH prices neared a new high earlier, the indicator still showed strong selling pressure—but that dynamic now seems to be shifting. Darkfost argues the positive buying pressure could help ETH form a stronger bottom. If this momentum holds and the spot market plus ETFs start backing the trend, ETH may be set to resume its uptrend.

April 4 — Israel has resumed operations at its Leviathan natural gas field in the eastern Mediterranean, the country’s Ministry of Energy announced Thursday. The nation’s largest gas field was shut down for 32 days due to escalating regional tensions. The resumption is aimed at restoring natural gas exports to Egypt and Jordan. (CCTV International News)

On April 4, Shanghai officially released the *Several Measures of Shanghai Municipality to Support the Development of the Gaming and Esports Industry* (dubbed the "Shanghai Ten Articles on Gaming"), according to Xinmin Evening News. The measures outline key priorities: - Supporting gaming and esports firms in researching/applying technologies (AI large models, blockchain, big data, cloud computing) and terminal devices, plus building basic game tools like engines and 3D modeling software. - Promoting blockchain use in copyright registration, rights protection, transactions, and settlement. - Encouraging game companies to partner with electronic device makers to explore more multi-terminal development opportunities for games.

On April 4, per Onchain Lens data, a whale emerged from 5 months of dormancy to deposit 1 million USDC into HyperLiquid and open a 20x leveraged long position on 20,000 BRENTOIL. Before this move, the whale had already accumulated over $12.44 million in gains.

**India Resumes Iranian Crude Imports Amid Middle East Supply Turmoil** India’s Ministry of Petroleum announced Saturday that its oil refineries have purchased Iranian crude oil as Middle East turmoil disrupts supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. As the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, India had not received Iranian oil shipments since May 2019, when U.S. pressure forced it to halt purchases. Supply disruptions linked to the U.S.-Iran conflict have hit India hard. Last month, the U.S. temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil and petroleum products to ease global shortages. In a post on social platform X, the ministry stated: “Against the backdrop of disrupted Middle East supplies, Indian oil refineries have met their crude oil requirements—including from Iran—and there are no payment barriers for Iranian crude imports.” The ministry added India has secured all crude oil needs for the coming months. “India imports crude from more than 40 countries, and c

April 4th — Glassnode data reveals Bitcoin’s “Sharks” (holders with 100–1,000 BTC) and “Whales” (1,000–10,000 BTC) posted average daily losses of roughly $188.5 million and $147.5 million, respectively, in Q1 2026 — totaling around $337 million daily. Year-to-date cumulative locked losses have hit $30.9 billion, approaching 2022 bear market levels. Analysts note current selling pressure stems from rising macro risks (inflation expectations, AI trading congestion, etc.) and waning market confidence, with large holders accelerating exits via stop-losses. Meanwhile, Long-Term Holders (LTH) continue to post an average daily loss of ~$200 million, signaling no clear “selling pressure exhaustion” yet. Institutions warn Bitcoin faces further downside risk amid multiple pressures, with some projecting a potential bottoming range of $40,000–$50,000.