Macro Recovery Drives Risk Asset Inflows; Crypto Market Shows Divergence Between Mainstream and Altcoins

Gate News message, April 22 — According to Gate Ventures' latest weekly report, easing Middle East tensions and falling energy prices have improved global risk sentiment, with equity indices reaching new highs and U.S. dollar and Treasury yields declining in tandem. Gold remained strong, reflecting persistent safe-haven demand. The crypto market posted modest gains, with Bitcoin up 4.3% and Ethereum up 3.3%, while ETF inflows continued. Market sentiment remained cautious, with mainstream assets supported by institutional capital showing relative resilience, while altcoins displayed limited recovery momentum.

On the regulatory and infrastructure front, France backed a euro stablecoin initiative under the MiCA framework to strengthen domestic currency competitiveness. Circle launched USDC Bridge to enhance stablecoin cross-chain liquidity, and X introduced Cashtags functionality to accelerate integration of trading and social features.

Investment activity saw 12 disclosed funding rounds totaling $41.8 million this week. Paxos Labs completed a $12 million funding round focused on compliant DeFi infrastructure, reflecting ongoing capital deployment around regulatory compliance and foundational protocol upgrades.