Geopolitical tensions escalated again as the ceasefire collapsed and oil prices surged, pushing global markets back into a risk-averse mode.
➡️ Crypto market
- $ BTC : US-Iran negotiations break down, Donald Trump announces blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin plummets below $71,000, down from around $72,500 at the end of the week.
→ Liquidation of Longing orders reached $200 million in 24 hours — another difficult session for the buyers. - $ETH : After briefly surpassing $2,200 overnight, it quickly corrected and is currently trading around $2,192, down nearly 4% in 24 hours.
→ Buying pressure is weaker compared to BTC. - $ SOL : Almost completely ignored, trading around $81.5 and following the general downtrend.
➡️ Global Stocks
- Japanese and South Korean markets opened the week in the red:
- Nikkei 225 fell 0.98%
- KOSPI fell 2.17%
- US stock Futures Contract fell by more than 1% across the board.
- With earnings season beginning and geopolitical risks rising, Arthur Hayes commented: "The opening session in Asia could be very negative."
Goods
- Gold : Down to $4,708 per ounce, losing 0.86% on the day.
Even safe-haven assets are being sold, indicating widespread liquidation pressure. - Silver : Down 1.7% to $74.50 per ounce.
- Crude oil :
- WTI rose 9% to $104 per barrel.
- Brent crude rose 7.3% to $104 a barrel.
Concerns about a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have caused oil prices to surge.
➡️ Macroeconomic developments
- Donald Trump said the US and Iran had agreed on “most of the issues,” but remained at a standstill on the nuclear program. Following the failure of negotiations, the US announced it would blockade the Strait of Hormuz by naval force.
- Britain refused to participate in this plan and instead partnered with France to form a "Freedom of Navigation" alliance, revealing a rift within NATO.
- The US CPI in March reached 3.3%, with energy contributing 75% of the increase.
→ CITIC Securities forecasts the Fed will only cut interest rates by 25 basis points this year. If oil prices remain high, inflation could stay above 3% throughout the year. - Some experts warn that the current situation resembles 2022 — liquidation could become a drag on Bitcoin.
➡️ Featured crypto news
- Justin Sun alleges the WLFI smart contract has a "backdoor," and the Token wallet is allegedly blacklisted.
- Chaos Labs stated that WLFI accounts for 82.7% of Dolomite's TVL through centralized borrowing, raising concerns about liquidation.
- SpaceX is believed to hold 8,285 BTC (approximately $600 million), deposited with Coinbase Prime. on-chain data shows that this amount has not moved since mid-2024.
- Michael Saylor continues to signal a potential buy of Bitcoin. Strategy reported an unrealized loss of $14.5 billion in Q1 but has not yet sold any assets.
- AAVE DAO approves the “AAVE Will Win” proposal:
→ AAVE Labs receives $25 million in stablecoins + 75,000 AAVE. - In the last 24 hours:
- $284 million was liquidated.
- 148,000 traders lost all their money.
- The largest liquidation order on Bybit (BTC/USD) was worth $4 million.
