Gate Research: Extreme Fear Persists | Blockchain Competition Shifts to Settlement and Execution Layers

Gate Research: On March 30, BTC and ETH remained in a narrow trading range, with the market still in extreme fear. Risk appetite and liquidity have yet to recover, and capital is primarily focused on defensive positioning and existing liquidity rotation. Structural opportunities are concentrated in RWA, application-driven projects, and decentralized network infrastructure, with the gains in GF, STIK, and NKN reflecting narrative recovery and high-beta capital rotation. At the industry level, Pharos is integrating USDC and CCTP into mainnet settlement design, shifting public blockchain competition from performance toward settlement and liquidity capabilities. Meanwhile, Sui continues to improve protocol usability and security, and the launch of TxFlow’s mainnet further strengthens the trend toward integrated execution layers in on-chain finance.