Gold (XAU) and silver (XAG) futures have moved into the top five by trading volume on Binance Futures, soon after Binance launched USDT-settled perpetual contracts for the metals. CryptoQuant said cumulative volume across the metals contracts has already reached the tens of billions of dollars, while BTC and ETH still lead overall futures activity at around the low-$20-billion range and $18.1B, respectively. WuBlockchain also reported that oil perps for CL and BZ logged $760 million and $358 million on April 2, with XAU and XAG together posting $5.58 billion in daily volume.

A February 2026 survey by consulting firm Clabo of 1,486 people in Japan found Gen Z is the most alert to crypto-related scams, while many Boomers struggle most with understanding blockchain basics. The study said skepticism is driven by low technical understanding (23.3%), worries about price swings (21.1%), and fear of fraud (19.2%), and it also reported that Millennials lead in actual crypto ownership and investment activity.

Solana (SOL) fell nearly 35% in Q1, but its stablecoin market cap still rose by around 5%, signaling a gap between price performance and on-chain conditions. The network’s total transaction volume has crossed 500 billion, while Solana’s RWA value reached a new all-time high of $2 billion, up more than 40% QoQ. The setup suggests liquidity—particularly USDC supply growth—could play a larger role than price action in driving interest this cycle.

A February 2026 survey by consulting firm Clabo of 1,486 people in Japan found Generation Z is the most aware of crypto-related fraud, while older respondents more often struggle to understand blockchain basics. The same dataset shows Millennials are the most likely to hold digital assets, though adoption remains limited overall, with 33.7% currently holding crypto and 50% never having invested.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT alleges that since 2022, Circle did not freeze more than $420M in stolen or illicit USDC across 15 incidents. He cites examples including GMX in July 2025 (~$9 million), Cetus in May 2025, and Drift Protocol (~$232 million), where funds were moved within six hours via 100+ transactions.

Japan's National Tax Agency is rolling out the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) to enable automatic cross-border sharing of certain crypto transaction data involving non-residents. The rules apply from Jan. 1, 2026, require user self-certifications, and set the first provider reporting deadline for Apr. 30, 2027.

JPMorgan analysts estimate total digital asset flows were about $11 billion in Q1 2026, roughly one-third of the same quarter a year earlier. The report said that pace implies around $44 billion annualized, well below 2025's record inflows of nearly $130 billion, with much of Q1 activity tied to corporate treasury bitcoin buying and concentrated crypto VC funding.

On April 3, bitcoin traded largely sideways near $67,000 even as U.S. political developments and renewed geopolitical risks grabbed headlines. The session ranged from $66,345 to $67,195, leaving market cap around $1.34 trillion and 24-hour BTC liquidations below $31 million. Oil prices jumped at the same time, with WTI up about 11.4% to $111.54 and Brent rising 7.8% to $109.03.