Memecoins Became Top-Performing Crypto Sector in April

Amid the bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market after Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed its $81,000 mark this week, Coinbase released COIN50 Index data for April, where the overall crypto market witnessed strong performance over the last month. 

According to the official data shared by Coinbase Institutional, the COIN50 Index has jumped by approximately 11.05% in the last month. One of the major reasons behind this surge is the easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran returned to peace talks following a ceasefire in the biggest war of the decade.

The upward momentum in the crypto market was witnessed after initial shocks earlier this year, when Bitcoin drastically plunged below $70,000. In April, Bitcoin price increased by around 16%, while Ethereum shot up by around 14%. 

Bitcoin Triggers Correlation in Altcoins, Ethereum Follows the Lead

After the bear run at the beginning of this year, Bitcoin has entered in April month with around $67,000. By the end of April, BTC price soared by around $76,000. On the other hand, the second biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has started the month at around $2,100 and wrapped up at around $3,300.

After the rough start of 2026, in April, the crypto sector has witnessed strong institutional adoption. In the last month, Bitcoin ETFs have witnessed impressive steady inflows as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded around $1.7 billion in net flows. These constant inflows in the biggest cryptocurrency have boosted investors’ confidence to some level and sparked bullish sentiment in the overall crypto market.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) price is trading at around $81,505 with a 16.58% gain in the last 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.

Apart from this, U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in the intense war between the U.S. and Iran, which provided temporary relief in the global energy crisis. While the Strait of Hormuz is still closed for all commercial shipping, this ceasefire announcement has helped stop missile attacks on oil refineries in the Middle Eastern countries.

On this ceasefire news, the crypto market has reacted quickly and helped Bitcoin (BTC) to soar above $70,000 in the first few days. According to the official tweet, the announcement of a ceasefire has “helped foster a risk-on move across markets.”

Memecoin Sector Dominates Crypto Sector with Strong Rally in April 

According to the Coinbase Institutional report, memecoins were the top-performing sector in April after they maintained the upward trajectory started in March. In the Coinbase 50 Index, the memecoin category has dominated after a 15.60% gain in one month.

According to CoinMarketCap, the cumulative market capitalisation of memecoins is hovering around $39 after jumping by around 31% in the last 30 days. The daily trading volume also increased by around 106%. 

Dogecoin, the biggest memecoin, has soared over 20% in 30 days. 

DeFi Sector Took a Hit from the Kelp DAO Hack

While the crypto sector was following a rebound trajectory, a very unfortunate event took place, which shook the entire DeFi sector for a while. On April 18, Kelp DAO suffered the biggest exploit of this year, where it lost around $292 million in rsETH after hackers exploited a vulnerability present in the cross-chain bridge with LayerZero.

This hack has created panic in the entire DeFi market. People have started pulling out their money from the lending platforms. In a very short time, Aave has witnessed withdrawals of around $6 billion. The total value locked in DeFi has dropped by more than $13 billion in just two days. After this hack, many protocols and L2s have immediately stopped withdrawals to avoid “bad debts.” 

In order to resolve this catastrophic situation, Aave has immediately launched the DeFi United program to take quick action and absorb losses. 

Bittensor (TAO) Plunged After Biggest Subnet Departure

Bittensor (TAO) has turned out to be the worst performer of April after the controversy around its biggest subnet operator. Last month, one of the biggest subnets, Convenant AI, announced its departure from the project. It slammed the project for how it is governing the project, calling it “decentralisation theatre.”

“When a single actor can suspend a subnet’s emissions, override an owner’s authority over their own community spaces, publicly deprecate projects without process, and use token sales as a coercive mechanism to compel compliance, that is not decentralization. It is centralized control with decentralized branding,” stated in the official post from Covenant AI.

The cryptocurrency fell more than 20% in a very short period of time, wiping out hundreds of millions in market capitalisation. 

Arbitrum and Algorand Became Top Gainers

Despite all odds in the DeFi sector, Arbitrum and Algorand have managed to become top gainers of April after surging by around 37% and 27%, respectively. 

“ARB, a leading Ethereum L2, benefited from ETH’s strong momentum in April, and ALGO shot higher after Google’s Quantum AI paper cited it as a real-world deployed example of post-quantum cryptography,” Coinbase Institutional stated.

Also Read: Bitcoin Surges Past $81K While Altcoins Hint at a Comeback