Escalating Middle East Tensions Drive Heightened Volatility Across Global Assets
Summary
Macro Economy：Trump delivered a national address without providing a ceasefire timeline and threatened further strikes on Iranian infrastructure, leading to a lower open for U.S. equities.WTI crude surged nearly 15% intraday, with settlement prices breaking above $110 for the first time since 2022. Spot Brent climbed past $140, reaching its highest level since 2008. Gold fell 1.84%, while silver declined about 3%. The U.S. announced new tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper. New York copper rebounded as much as 3.8% from intraday lows.
Crypto Market：Trump’s remarks dampened market sentiment. Bitcoin erased gains from the previous two sessions, revisiting the $67,000 range and remaining in a low-level consolidation pattern. Altcoins broadly corrected sharply, reflecting cooling risk appetite across the crypto market.
Project Updates
Trending Tokens: STO, NOM, SOLV
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STO: Suspected market manipulation combined with speculative momentum. A new wallet (0x5e2E) withdrew approximately $4.85 million worth of STO from exchanges. The token surged over 5x intraday before plunging more than 70%, showing extreme volatility.
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NOM: Trading volume expanded abnormally, with daily turnover up more than 180%. The token gained over 40% on the day and nearly 4x over the past seven days.
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SOLV: Trading volume and social media activity both jumped more than 7x, with the token rising over 60% in a single day.
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ONT: Continued capital inflows, with net inflows exceeding $27 million in 24 hours. Daily gain surpassed 15%, and the token is up over 80% in the past seven days.
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JLP: Impacted by Drift vulnerability, JLP experienced large-scale capital outflows; prices plunged before partially narrowing losses.
Major Asset Performance
Data as of April 3, 2026, 00:00 (UTC+0)
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BTC: $66,906.70 (-1.78%)
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ETH: $2,057.18 (-3.88%)
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S&P 500: 6,582.69 (+0.11%)
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NASDAQ: 21,879.18 (+0.18%)
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WTI: $112.42 (+13.2%)
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Crypto Fear & Greed Index: 9 (previously 12) — Extreme Fear
Today’s Outlook
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U.S. stock market closed
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U.S. March unemployment rate
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U.S. March seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls
Macro Developments
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U.S.–Iran conflict escalates; a landmark bridge in Iran reportedly bombed.
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U.S. adjusts steel, aluminum, and copper tariffs: low-content products exempt; high-content products taxed based on product value.
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Iranian Foreign Ministry: National unity remains firm; resistance will continue as long as the war persists.
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Russia imposes gasoline export ban on producers through end-July.
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Gulf states consider new oil pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Crypto Policy
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Russia proposes legislation to crack down on illegal mining; 13 regions have fully banned mining activities.
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U.S. SEC approves NYSE Arca to list options on a multi-crypto asset trust.
Industry Highlights
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Axe Compute releases its first Nasdaq annual report, bringing decentralized computing power into institutional focus.
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Genius Group liquidates its entire Bitcoin holdings to repay $8.5 million in debt.
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Goldman Sachs forecasts two Fed rate cuts this year, stating markets are overly concerned about further hikes.
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Metaplanet purchased 5,075 BTC in Q1, bringing total holdings above 40,000 BTC.
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Solana surpassed 10 billion transactions in Q1, setting a new quarterly record.
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A Polymarket team member confirms that the POLY token will receive platform fee discounts.
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Alabama becomes the second U.S. state to grant legal status to DAOs.
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Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF files another amended S-1; analysts expect a launch next week.
Weekly Outlook
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April 3: U.S. stock market closed; U.S. March unemployment rate and nonfarm payrolls release.