Lighter Introduces On-Chain Perpetuals Linked to Major Korean Stocks

Newly Created Wallet Deposits $1.99M USDC to Hyperliquid, Opens 5x Leveraged ASTER Long

Gate News message, April 18 — According to Onchain Lens, a newly created wallet deposited $1.99 million USDC to Hyperliquid and opened a 5x leveraged long position in ASTER.

BTC falls 0.49% in 15 minutes: fragile long leverage and active sell-off pressure resonate to weigh on the short term

From 18:00 to 18:15 (UTC) on 2026-04-17, the BTC price fluctuated and trended downward within the 77097.4 to 77573.2 USDT range. Over these 15 minutes, the return rate recorded -0.49%, and the amplitude reached 0.61%. During this period, market trading was active; short-term volatility was amplified, and trading attention increased significantly. The main driver behind this abnormal move is that the overall leverage structure is bearish and long positions are fragile. At present, the BTC perpetual contract funding rate has remained negative for 11 consecutive days, indicating that the bears have the upper hand in the market. In addition, futures open interest (OI) is about 628.3 billion USDT, which is at a historical high. During the anomaly window, trading volume increased noticeably. On-chain data shows large amounts of BTC flowing from long-term holder addresses to exchanges, suggesting that active sell orders may have triggered longs to passively reduce positions, amplifying downward price pressure. Moreover, institutional positioning enthusiasm in the mainstream contract market has cooled off; liquidity boundaries have tightened, causing large-trade activity to have an amplified effect on market volatility. In the options market, implied volatility rose to 39.81%, increasing demand for downside protection and reflecting a defensive posture among market participants. Macro-environment volatility and some capital flowing into safe-haven assets, together with the recent regulatory uncertainty-related historical events, reinforced the move, pushing overall market risk appetite lower. Current BTC leverage risks still remain. If, in the future, there are concentrated sell-offs, volatility may be further amplified. It is recommended to continue monitoring sustained high OI levels, the persistence of negative funding rates, and on-chain transfers of large amounts of funds, and to stay alert for whale behavior and any disruptions to market sentiment caused by macro-policy developments. For subsequent price action, please watch key support levels, institutional and whale on-chain moves, and relevant global market news, and guard against short-term risks.

Bitcoin Liquidations Hit $815M as BTC Surges Above $78K Amid Iran Strait Opening

Over $815 million in leveraged cryptocurrency positions were liquidated recently, mainly due to short positions against Bitcoin. Markets improved as Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz and Trump hinted at a deal with Iran, boosting Bitcoin prices significantly.

XRP Consolidation Signals Reset as Bullish Setup Emerges

XRP has recently rebounded to $1.39 after trading between $1.20 and $1.40 due to improved market sentiment. A significant drop in futures open interest reflects reduced speculation, while technical indicators suggest a potential bullish breakout, targeting $1.50 and possibly $1.80.

BTC drops 0.45% in 15 minutes: Whale concentrated transfers into exchanges stack up sell pressure while leverage withdrawals amplify the pullback

From 17:00 to 17:15 (UTC) on 2026-04-17, BTC saw a brief drop. The return rate recorded was -0.45%, with the price ranging from 77354.3 to 77916.9 USDT and a swing of 0.72%. During the event, market attention warmed up, volatility intensified, and spot market liquidity changed significantly. The main driver of this price anomaly was that whale wallets concentrated transfers to exchanges. In a single 15-minute period, the exchange inflow surged to 11,000 BTC, reaching a new high since December 2025. The average amount deposited per transaction was as high as 2.25 BTC, indicating that large holders chose key price levels to concentrate and release their positions, clearly lifting sell pressure. At the same time, BTC futures open interest fell to a 14-month low of $841 million, as leverage funds exited sharply. The spot market’s pull on price fluctuations became the main factor, further magnifying the impact of whale trading. In addition, although ETF funds had a net inflow with a hedging effect—bringing the April cumulative inflow to $5.651 billion—within this anomaly window they were not able to fully absorb large sell orders. The spot market mainly relied on institutional buying to digest the selling pressure, and overall risk appetite contracted. On-chain data shows that 41% of the BTC supply is in a loss-making range, and some holders who bought at lower prices face take-profit and stop-loss pressure. With multiple factors converging, short-term tension formed among exchange inflows, leverage withdrawal, profit realization, and institutions’ ability to absorb, increasing the magnitude of spot volatility. Short-term risks are worth watching closely. Users should closely monitor core indicators such as the subsequent exchange inflow volume, the pace of ETF net inflows, and futures open interest. If whale sell orders still have not eased and ETF inflows cannot accelerate in step, the BTC price may remain under sustained pressure. Users should focus on on-chain transfers and changes in major holders’ positions, watch the spot market’s key support ranges and trading structure, obtain more market information in a timely manner, and stay alert to risks brought by sharp volatility.