#Gate13周年现场直击

1. Bitcoin nears $80,000 as short positions are massively liquidated
Bitcoin is up 4.4%, trading at around $79,100, as continued upward momentum pushes it toward the $80,000 mark. Ongoing inflows into Bitcoin ETFs are supporting this rally, with net inflows totaling $1.54 billion over six consecutive days. Meanwhile, about $200 million worth of short positions were forcibly liquidated over the past 24 hours, further driving prices higher.
Market impact assessment:
Short term (1-3 days): Bitcoin may test the $80,000 psychological level; if it breaks through, it could trigger more short covering and technical buy orders
Medium term (1-2 weeks): Continued ETF inflows provide fundamental support for the market, but it’s important to watch how changes in macroeconomic data affect risk appetite
Risk level: Moderate — the price is near key resistance levels and a technical pullback is possible
Affected assets: BTC, Bitcoin-related ETFs, crypto concept stocks
2. Sun Yuchen sues the Trump family’s crypto project—how big is his chance of winning?
On April 22, 2026, crypto heavyweight Sun Yuchen filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court in California, accusing the crypto project World Liberty Financial(WLF) supported by the Trump family of extortion and illegally freezing his tokens, causing his personal and company losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawsuit’s focus includes allegations that in August 2025 the project team secretly modified the smart contract by embedding blacklist backdoor functionality without informing investors.
Market impact assessment:
Short term (1-3 days): It may spark discussions about compliance and transparency for crypto projects, affecting investor sentiment
Medium term (1-2 weeks): It may push the industry toward standardizing disclosure requirements for smart contracts and blacklist permissions
Risk level: Moderate — the case involves celebrity litigation and political connections, which may attract regulatory attention
Affected assets: WLF tokens, Sun Yuchen-related projects, other similar structured projects
3. Hong Kong Web3 Carnival 2026’s three highlights ignite worldwide attention
From April 20 to 23, 2026, the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, expected to attract more than 50,000 global participants.
Three highlights: 1 ) Nakamoto statue unveiling, symbolizing Hong Kong becoming a “digital asset rules output hub”;
2 2) traditional finance and the crypto world formally “merge,” with executives from BlackRock and JPMorgan and leaders from Gate ,bn, OK discussing stablecoin regulation on the same stage;
3 3) RWA and AI Agents become the “new favorites,” and Vitalik Buterin emphasizes that Ethereum is evolving into a “global programmable trust layer.”
Market impact assessment:
Short term (1-3 days): Strengthens confidence in Asia’s Web3 compliance development and may attract more institutional focus
Medium term (1-2 weeks): Drives the concept of integrating RWA and AI with blockchain, and related projects may benefit
Risk level: Low — a signal of positive development for the industry
Affected assets: Hong Kong-related crypto concepts, RWA projects, AI + blockchain projects
4. An Ethereum whale opens a $90.8 million long position, targeting $3,200
An Ethereum whale has opened a sizable Ethereum long position(ETH) worth $90.8 million, using 20x leverage. Another whale, 0x6C851, has also opened a $61 million ETH long position on HyperLiquid with 20x leverage. These moves echo the continuous inflows of spot Ethereum ETF funds; this category of products has recorded net inflows for seven consecutive days, with a total amount of $426 million. Technical analysis shows that Ethereum has formed a classic ascending triangle on the daily chart, and the breakout target points to around $3,230.
Market impact assessment:
Short term (1-3 days): May boost confidence in the Ethereum market and push prices to test the $2,400 resistance level
Medium term (1-2 weeks): If the ascending triangle breaks, it could trigger more capital inflows, with targets looking toward $3,000-$3,200
Risk level: Moderate — high-leverage positions carry liquidation risk
Affected assets: ETH, Ethereum-related ETFs, DeFi protocols
5. Arbitrum urgently freezes 30,766 ETH tied to the Kelp DAO hacker
On April 21, the Arbitrum security committee took emergency action, freezing 30,766 ETH (worth about $70 million) related to the Kelp DAO vulnerability, and transferring the funds to addresses controlled by the protocol. This operation was carried out with assistance from law enforcement agencies, aiming to prevent the attacker from bridging the funds back to the Ethereum mainnet. The Kelp DAO vulnerability occurred on April 18, when the attacker exploited a LayerZero cross-chain bridge vulnerability to steal approximately $292 million.
Market impact assessment:
Short term (1-3 days): May strengthen confidence in Layer2 security mechanisms, but could spark decentralization-related controversy
Medium term (1-2 weeks): Will drive industry discussion on DeFi security standards and cross-chain risk management
Risk level: Moderate — involves freezing a large amount of funds, which may affect trust in related protocols
Affected assets: ARB, Kelp DAO-related tokens, LayerZero ecosystem, other Layer2 projects
Market outlook
Short term (1-3 days)
Bitcoin’s key battle: $80,000 becomes the dividing line between bulls and bears; if it breaks, it could trigger a short panic, with targets in the $82,000-$85,000 range
Ethereum tracking the market: Whether ETH can break through the $2,400-$2,500 resistance zone will determine the near-term trend; whale high-leverage positions increase market volatility
Watch sector rotation: RWA and AI + blockchain concepts may be catalyzed by the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, and related tokens may have short-term opportunities
Risk warning: Geopolitical risks (U.S.-Iran talks) and regulatory uncertainties (the Sun Yuchen lawsuit) may trigger risk-off sentiment
Medium term (1-2 weeks)
Sustained institutional inflows: If the ETF fund inflow trend continues, it will provide solid fundamental support for the market
Industry compliance acceleration: The compliance signals released by the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival may promote more standardized development in Asian markets
DeFi security upgrades: Follow-up handling of the Kelp DAO incident will affect the formulation of DeFi security standards and cross-chain risk management
Key technical levels: Bitcoin at $80,000 and Ethereum at $2,500 will become important observation points for the medium-term trend
Key risk warnings
Technical risk: Bitcoin is approaching the $80,000 key resistance level; if it fails to break through, a technical pullback may occur
Leverage risk: The Ethereum whale’s $90.8 million 20x-leveraged long position; if prices fluctuate, it could trigger a chain reaction of liquidations
Regulatory risk: The Sun Yuchen lawsuit involves political connections, which may lead to stricter regulatory scrutiny
Security risk: DeFi vulnerability incidents are frequent; cross-chain bridge security issues still need to be watched closely
Geopolitical risk: Progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations may affect global risk-asset sentiment