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The UK-listed company Quantum Blockchain announced a placement of 142,857,142 new shares at a price of 0.35 pence per share to raise £500,000. In addition, the company announced the establishment of a new Bitcoin mining subsidiary, BlocKeeper, and the new funds will be used to accelerate its AI-driven Bitcoin mining research and development.

According to Gate market data, BTC/USDT is currently reported at $78010.5, with a 24-hour increase of 5.58%.

Against the backdrop of easing tensions in the Middle East, Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is "fully open" during the ceasefire, leading to a rise in global risk assets. Boosted by the news, Bitcoin briefly surpassed $77,000, reaching a nearly two-month high, with an increase of about 5% in the past 24 hours. Major altcoins also rose, with Ethereum, XRP, and Solana recording gains of around 6%.Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated that all commercial vessels can pass through the strait during the ceasefire with Lebanon, but must adhere to the "coordinated shipping lanes" set by Iran. The strait accounts for about 20% of global oil transportation and is a critical energy corridor. In traditional markets, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both reached historic highs, indicating a significant rebound in risk appetite. U.S. President Trump also posted on social media that "the Strait of Hormuz has reopened for commercial activities," but emphasized that Iranian vessels may still face blockade measures until the U.S.-Iran agreement is fully implemented.

According to Gate market data, BTC/USDT is currently priced at $77019.3, with a 24-hour increase of 3.45%.

Nasdaq-listed company Intchains Group Limited announced its latest business developments, disclosing its Ethereum (ETH) staking scale and AI-driven operational transformation plan. The company stated that as of now, it has staked a total of 8,040 ETH, of which 1,000 ETH were completed through the FalconX platform, and 7,040 ETH were deployed on its own Goldshell Stake platform; additionally, third parties have staked 1,363 ETH on this platform. The company claims to achieve maximized returns and risk diversification through a multi-platform strategy.On a strategic level, Intchains is advancing its AI-enabled operational model transformation, focusing on chip and product research and development, market sales, and overall business operations, restructuring processes and enhancing decision-making efficiency through automation and intelligent tools. In terms of cost control, the company has reduced its workforce by about 20% based on early 2026 levels and plans to further compress it to a total of about 35%, which is expected to bring annual savings of approximately 20 million RMB in labor costs. This adjustment mainly stems from organizational streamlining and replacing repetitive manual processes with technology. The company's management stated that it will focus on core mining machine technology and Ethereum asset strategy, combining AI to enhance research and development and operational efficiency, and plans to launch a new generation of mining machine products in the second half of 2026 (depending on market conditions).

Despite Bitcoin rising to $76,300 at one point this week, market sentiment remains low, with the Fear and Greed Index still in the "extreme fear" range at 21, indicating a clear divergence between price and sentiment. Institutional views suggest that this round of increases is more akin to "valuation repair" rather than a trend reversal. QCP Capital referred to it as a "relief rally," as macro-level inflation, energy, and policy pressures have not fully dissipated.Glassnode pointed out that Bitcoin is still about 5% lower than the key resistance level of the "real market average" at approximately $78,100, and the current rebound has limited depth. The funding structure is also showing divergence. Spot demand and ETF fund flows have warmed up, but profit-taking has increased, and institutional participation remains cautious, with the derivatives market continuing to lean towards downward hedging. Exchange data also shows that demand is more from offshore and retail funds rather than dominated by U.S. institutions. Analysts state that around $75,000 has become a key support/validation level. If subsequent buying cannot sustain, the price may retreat to the range of $70,000 to $71,000.On the macro front, U.S. stocks continue to hit new highs, and oil prices remain high but have not surged further, which has warmed market risk appetite but still carries uncertainty. The market's focus is shifting towards the Federal Reserve's policy path, and the overall environment still poses constraints on crypto assets. In summary, while Bitcoin maintains its rebound, it oscillates near resistance levels, and the market tone remains cautious, with no consistent bullish trend formed yet.

Binance will hold a SOON trading competition from April 17, 2026, 21:00 to April 24, 2026, 21:00. Users can participate by trading SOON (SOON) through the Binance wallet (without private keys) or Binance Alpha, sharing a prize pool of 688,000 SOON. Rewards will be available for collection before May 8, 2026, 21:00, and eligible users must complete the collection within 14 days.

According to Gate market data, BTC/USDT is currently reported at $76000, with a 24-hour increase of 1.55%.

According to monitoring by Hyperinsight, a whale opened a BTC long position with 40x leverage, with a position size of 6.95 million USD and an average price of 75,320 USD. After gaining about 20% in floating profit, the address immediately placed a limit take-profit order, planning to close the entire position at 77,000 USD.It is worth noting that the address did not set any stop-loss orders. Considering that the liquidation price is at 74,287 USD, it may imply using the liquidation line as an implicit stop-loss level.

According to Coinglass data, if Bitcoin breaks through $77,000, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $1.17 billion. Conversely, if Bitcoin falls below $73,000, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $1.277 billion.Note: The liquidation chart does not show the exact number of contracts to be liquidated or the exact value of the contracts being liquidated. The bars on the liquidation chart actually represent the significance of each liquidation cluster relative to nearby liquidation clusters, that is, the intensity. Therefore, the liquidation chart shows to what extent the underlying price reaching a certain position will be affected. A higher "liquidation bar" indicates that once the price reaches that point, there will be a stronger reaction due to liquidity waves.

According to Greekslive, approximately 22,000 BTC options are expiring, with a Put/Call ratio of 1.05, a maximum pain point of $72,000, and a notional value of about $1.65 billion; at the same time, about 100,000 ETH options are expiring, with a Put/Call ratio of 0.95, a maximum pain point of $2,250, and a notional value of about $460 million.

According to Coinglass data, the current 8-hour average funding rate for ETH across the network is 0.0004%. Among the current mainstream exchanges, the rate on Binance is 0.0007%, OKX is 0.0044%, Bybit is -0.0041%, and Gate is 0.0029%.

According to Coinglass data, the current average funding rate for BTC across the network over 8 hours is -0.0009%. Among the current mainstream exchanges, the rate on Binance is 0.0027%, OKX is -0.0004%, Bybit is -0.0017%, and Gate is -0.0024%.

According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin is currently priced at $74,700, down 0.4% in the last 24 hours. News of ceasefire negotiations between the U.S. and Iran has boosted risk sentiment, with the S&P 500 index reaching a record high on Thursday. Trump stated that the prospects for a permanent ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran "look very optimistic," claiming that Iran has agreed to abandon its nuclear ambitions, hand over nuclear materials, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although Iran has not yet confirmed these concessions.Meanwhile, the market is closely monitoring the structural signals behind Bitcoin's price movements. ZeroStack CEO Daniel Reis-Faria stated, "The funding rate is so negative that it indicates the market is heavily short. If Bitcoin continues to rise in this context, a large number of short positions may be forced to close, further accelerating the price upward." He predicts that if the short base is forced to cover, Bitcoin could reach $125,000 within the next 30 to 60 days.On-chain analyst CryptoVizArt provided another perspective: Bitcoin's "True Market Mean" (TMM) shows that the average cost basis of active holders is currently above the market price, indicating that holders are overall in a state of unrealized losses. Since 2016, consistently falling below this mean has often coincided with Bitcoin's most severe downturns, including the bear market from 2018 to 2019 (with a maximum drop of 57%, lasting 282 days) and the decline following the Luna and FTX collapses from 2022 to 2023 (with a maximum drop of 56%, lasting 339 days).Analysts point out that these two judgments are not mutually exclusive—the short squeeze triggered by the extremely negative funding rate and the structural pressure of overall unrealized losses among active holders can coexist. The former may trigger a significant rise, but ultimately could be absorbed by selling from the latter. The future market direction may depend on whether the U.S.-Iran ceasefire can be sustained after its expiration next week.

According to crypto analyst Ai Yi @ai_9684xtpa, an address associated with Arthur Hayes deposited 3,000 ETH, worth approximately $6.927 million, to Binance and Bybit 11 hours ago.On-chain data shows that the Bybit deposit address used by this address interacted with Arthur Hayes a year ago. Currently, this address still holds 5,278 ETH, worth approximately $12.33 million.

According to crypto analyst Ai Yi @ai_9684xtpa, an address associated with Arthur Hayes deposited 3000 ETH to Binance and Bybit 11 hours ago, worth approximately 6.927 million dollars.On-chain data shows that the Bybit deposit address used by this address interacted with Arthur Hayes a year ago. Currently, this address still holds 5278 ETH, worth approximately 12.33 million dollars.

According to crypto analyst Ai Yi @ai_9684xtpa, "ETH 1CO 1 million ETH whale" transferred 2,000 ETH to a multi-signature address 8 hours ago, worth approximately 4.63 million USD.On-chain data shows that this receiving address has historically transferred ETH to OKX multiple times, which is considered its common withdrawal path. The source address of this transfer has frequent interactions with block builders BuilderNet and Titan Build.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, one address purchased 590,900 HYPE from Galaxy Digital's over-the-counter wallet, worth approximately $25.92 million.On-chain data shows that another address set consisting of 6 addresses may belong to the same entity, holding a total of 4,114,234 HYPE, worth approximately $181 million, all sourced from the Galaxy OTC channel.

According to data from TheMinerMag, in the first quarter of 2026, publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer collectively sold over 32,000 BTC, surpassing the total amount sold throughout last year and even exceeding the sell-off levels triggered by the Terra-Luna collapse in Q2 2022, setting a "new record for a single quarter."The backdrop of this sell-off is the key metric for measuring miner profitability, "hashprice," which has fallen to a historical low of below $35 per PH/s per day, with about 20% of miners already in the red. Asset management firm CoinShares stated in its report: "Unless the BTC price rebounds significantly, high-cost miners will further capitulate in the first half of 2026."

According to Coinglass data, the current 8-hour average funding rate for ETH across the network is 0.0005%. Among the current mainstream exchanges, the rate on Binance is 0.0008%, OKX is -0.0002%, Bybit is 0.0051%, and Gate is -0.0014%.