April 6th Weekly Market Recap: Solana DEX Drift Protocol Hacked for $285M

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The US Added 178K Jobs

The US economy added 178K jobs in March, nearly tripling the 60K consensus and marking the strongest monthly gain since December 2024, while unemployment ticked down to 4.3%. However, the headline strength is tempered by a sharp downward revision of the prior month to -133K. Gold rallied throughout the week, despite with the geopolitical risk premium from the ongoing Iran conflict.

With US equity and bond markets closed for Good Friday, crypto offers the only real-time read on risk sentiment – BTC held steady at ~$66.9K while ETH drifted lower to ~$2,055, with altcoin sentiment still weighed down by this week's $285M Drift Protocol exploit.

Crypto Risk Appetite Report 2nd April 2026

The weekly addition of our Market Sentiment Report.

Solana DEX Drift Protocol Hacked for $285M

Solana-based DEX Drift suffered a major exploit, with $285M stolen after attackers used a sophisticated durable nonce attack to seize administrative control. Crypto markets pulled back as Trump signalled intensified US military action against Iran, with BTC falling to around $69K (-2.9%) and ETH to ~$2K (-3.6%) amid rising oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions.

Relief Rally Despite Ongoing Uncertainty

Markets rebounded overnight, with crypto and equities recovering losses as oil prices fell on growing optimism that the US–Iran conflict may de-escalate. Despite the relief rally, Q1 2026 marked the weakest quarter for major indices in years, driven largely by geopolitical tensions and sustained volatility.

Swift Completed the Design of its Blockchain-based Shared Ledger

Overnight, BTC fell 1.3% to $66.7K, ETH declined 1.1% to $2,037, the S&P 500 closed down 0.39% at 6,343.72, the Nasdaq fell 0.73% to 20,794.64, and Brent/WTI eased to around $111/$102 per barrel, as Powell reiterated a cautious Fed stance amid persistent inflation uncertainty and softer labour market conditions.

In crypto, the most notable quantitative developments were Keyrock’s Series C at a $1.1B valuation, Nakamoto’s sale of 284 BTC for $20M at roughly a 40% discount to cost, and Bitmine’s additional staking of 167,578 ETH, bringing its total staked ETH to 3.31M ETH worth about $6.72B.

Altcoins Analytics 30th March 2026

The weekly addition of the Crypto Altcoins Analytics, covering ETF flows, Onchain Activity and Regression-Based Valuation vs BTC.

“They Want to Make a Deal”

Risk sentiment remains fragile, with bitcoin rebounding above $67,000 after an overnight dip below $65,000, while oil holds above $110 and US equities remain under pressure amid continued Middle East escalation. The S&P 500 is now close to correction territory, with weaker consumer sentiment and firmer inflation expectations adding to the broader macro headwind.

In crypto, the Ethereum Foundation’s large ETH stake, Lido’s proposed LDO buyback and Aave’s X Layer launch show that protocol-level activity remains resilient despite the softer market backdrop.