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Bitwise Asset Management points out that the recent strength of Bitcoin is not contrary to a risk-averse environment, but is directly driven by geopolitical conflicts. Since the escalation of the situation in the Middle East at the end of February, BTC has risen by about 12%, while the S&P 500 index has fallen by about 1% and gold has dropped by about 10%, showing a clear divergence in performance.Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and research director Ryan Rasmussen state that Bitcoin is simultaneously embodying two logics: "store of value asset" and "potential international settlement currency." As the financial system becomes "weaponized" and the global payment system fractures, the appeal of non-sovereign neutral assets continues to rise. The report suggests that geopolitical fragmentation is prompting some countries to explore alternative paths to bypass the traditional financial system, such as attempting to introduce Bitcoin settlements in trade. This trend enhances BTC's potential position in the global monetary system. Based on the aforementioned changes, Bitwise indicates that the Bitcoin valuation framework is being reshaped; if it captures both store of value and transaction settlement demand, long-term price expectations may be underestimated, and $1 million could shift from a target ceiling to a "benchmark level."

According to Jinshi reports, the Iran war has restored the traditional relationship between the dollar and stock market volatility, with risk-averse investors flocking back to U.S. assets. Since the outbreak of the war, the positive correlation between the dollar and the fear index VIX has continued to strengthen, currently nearing its highest level since 2024. Shaun Osborne, Chief Foreign Exchange Strategist at Scotiabank, stated that if the situation in the Gulf region does not trigger a significant and sustained rebound in VIX, the dollar may further widen its decline.

Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital) founder Yi Lihua stated that peace negotiations typically move from disagreement to consensus. The motivation for continued warfare among all parties is weakening under the current circumstances, and the conflict may gradually come to an end. "We still insist that the war will end; neither side has any reason to continue fighting. Waiting for a rebound without taking profits, the moment an agreement is reached will be a bullish signal."He pointed out that, from a medium to long-term perspective, the market is generally waiting for a potential large-scale financial crisis. There are signs of defensive positioning on the funding side, such as large capital holding a high proportion of cash and sovereign entities increasing their gold holdings. In this context, if a crisis occurs again, it will be a key moment to test whether Bitcoin possesses the attributes of a safe-haven asset, and it may also present significant opportunities for low-position allocations.In addition, Yi Lihua believes that AI technology is bringing a new round of opportunities for outstanding entrepreneurs. A small number of teams can create global products, reducing financing and organizational management costs. Especially experienced serial entrepreneurs should seize this "AI Age of Exploration."

According to a report from Jinshi citing CCTV News, on the 11th local time, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated on social media that the high-level Iranian delegation heading to Pakistan will fully uphold Iran's national interests and will negotiate with a courageous attitude.He emphasized that regardless of the negotiation results, the Iranian government's work in serving the people will never stop, and the Iranian government will always stand with the people.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Avihu Levy of StarkWare published a research proposal titled "Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Transactions Without Soft Forks," proposing a quantum-safe Bitcoin scheme called QSB.This scheme aims to enable Bitcoin transactions to resist quantum computing attacks without changing the core rules of Bitcoin. QSB replaces the elliptic curve security mechanism with hash-based assumptions, shifting security to hash preimage resistance to defend against the threat of Shor's algorithm. The scheme operates within the existing script limitations of Bitcoin and does not require consensus changes or soft forks.However, QSB transactions exceed the standard relay strategy limitations and cannot propagate through the network under default settings; they need to be submitted directly to miners through services like Slipstream. The paper estimates that the cost of generating valid transactions using cloud GPUs is approximately $75 to $150. The complete transaction assembly and broadcasting of the project have not yet been demonstrated on-chain.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that a proposal for a "safe harbor" framework aimed at providing startup exemptions for crypto projects has been submitted to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review, which is the final step before formal release.The proposal includes a "startup exemption" that allows stakeholders in the crypto industry to raise a certain amount of funds over four years while providing specific disclosures. Additionally, Atkins proposed an "investment contract safe harbor" in conjunction with the token classification interpretive guidance released by the SEC in March of this year.Atkins pointed out that legislation is necessary because it can provide a more solid and lasting regulatory framework than agency rulemaking. Furthermore, the SEC is also exploring an "innovation exemption" as a regulatory sandbox for on-chain assets. This proposal has sparked extensive discussions between crypto supporters and traditional financial institutions over the past year. Atkins stated that the SEC has the authority to advance the innovation exemption and will announce relevant parameters soon. He believes there is still much work to be done in this area.

Paul Atkins, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated at the digital asset summit held at Vanderbilt University that the SEC's proposed crypto "safe harbor" framework has been submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) under the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, with only the final step remaining before official release.The proposal includes a "startup exemption" clause that allows crypto projects to raise a certain amount of funds over a four-year period while providing specific disclosures to protect investors. Atkins also revealed that the SEC is advancing an "innovation exemption" mechanism aimed at creating a regulatory sandbox for on-chain assets, but this initiative has sparked controversy between crypto advocates and traditional financial institutions. Atkins emphasized that relevant legislation is still necessary to ensure the regulatory framework has durability across different administrations.

Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee stated that since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, Ethereum has become the second-best performing asset, with Bitcoin ranking third, and both have significantly outperformed the stock market.He pointed out that current war spending is about $30 billion per month and could rise to a scale of $100 billion in the future; in contrast, the impact of rising energy prices on consumers is relatively limited—each $10 increase in oil prices corresponds to about $4 billion to $5 billion per month in consumer pressure.Tom Lee believes that against the backdrop of high fiscal spending and energy volatility, the allocation value of crypto assets as "liquidity and risk assets" is rising.

According to Bloomberg, the Irish government officially launched the testing phase of the digital wallet on April 3 local time, which includes an age verification feature.According to a statement from the Irish Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, this digital ID will support age verification on social media platforms, aiming to protect children and adolescents from online harm.

According to Einnews, quantum-safe Layer-1 blockchain developer Diamante Financial announced the completion of a $1.5 million strategic funding round, with participation from Khofiz Shakhidi, founder of Jefferson Capital Ltd and co-founder of Minexx Ltd.The new funds will support its development of a production-grade L1 encryption network based on post-quantum cryptography technology (FIPS 204) to address the quantum security vulnerabilities faced by crypto assets.

According to Jinshi reports, ECB board member Panetta stated that the appreciation of the dollar, pressure on long-term interest rates, and capital outflows from emerging markets reflect an increasing market preference for safer assets.

Michael Hwang, CEO of the Solana liquidity protocol Orca, tweeted that Orca was not affected by the Drift attack incident and that user funds are safe. Its smart contracts have been audited by four independent auditing firms, and operational security (Opsec) measures have recently been reviewed by external security consultants.

DeFi project Steakhouse Financial disclosed yesterday that it encountered a phone social engineering attack targeting OVH Cloud, where the attacker changed the DNS A records of the main site and app subdomains to point to a malicious IP, and attempted to initiate a 5-day domain transfer. The related changes have been revoked, the DNS records have been cleared, and they are working with OVH to resolve the issue. All vaults and contracts were unaffected, depositor funds are safe, and no other service accounts were compromised. Please do not interact with the official website and emails until the issue is resolved; a detailed post-incident report will be released as soon as possible.Early this morning, Steakhouse Financial stated that during the period when the official website domain DNS records were cleared, the vault could still be accessed directly through Morpho, and all functions such as deposits and withdrawals were operating normally. Confirmation will be provided once the front end is restored.

According to a report by Jinshi, Mitsubishi UFJ analyst Derek Halpenny stated that if the conflict in Iran leads to an increase in capital inflows into safe-haven assets, the dollar may strengthen further. He anticipates that if the stock market experiences a larger decline, the dollar will strengthen further. In a more severe scenario, if Brent crude oil prices rise from $110 per barrel to the range of $120 to $160, the dollar index could rise to around 105.

According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts stated that during the Iran war, Bitcoin outperformed gold and silver, showing signs of inflows and increased activity, while precious metals faced significant outflows and position liquidations.Analysts pointed out that gold ETFs saw outflows of nearly $11 billion, and silver ETFs have completely reversed the inflows since last summer, while Bitcoin showed net inflows during the same period, indicating its strong performance relative to traditional safe-haven assets. The analysts noted that following the outbreak of war, cryptocurrency activity in Iran surged, with local residents transferring funds from domestic exchanges to self-custody wallets and international platforms. Bitcoin's borderless nature, self-custody capability, and 24/7 trading make it the preferred tool for capital movement during times of economic instability, currency pressure, and capital controls.In terms of institutional holdings, gold and silver futures positions have significantly decreased since January, while Bitcoin futures positions have remained relatively stable. The liquidity situation has also reversed, with Bitcoin's market breadth surpassing that of gold.

JPMorgan stated that in the recent context of the Iran conflict, Bitcoin has exhibited characteristics similar to safe-haven assets, showing greater resilience compared to gold and silver. Data shows that gold prices have fallen by about 15%, while gold ETFs have seen nearly $11 billion in outflows, and the inflows previously accumulated in silver ETFs have essentially been completely reversed. In contrast, Bitcoin has experienced net inflows during the same period, indicating relative strength.Analysis points out that gold and silver were previously at high levels, and with rising interest rates and a strengthening dollar, the market has seen profit-taking and position reductions. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has attracted inflows during this phase, demonstrating a different funding behavior compared to traditional safe-haven assets. Additionally, on-chain data shows that cryptocurrency activity in the Iran region has significantly increased during the conflict, with users transferring funds to self-custody wallets and overseas platforms. JPMorgan believes that Bitcoin's characteristics of strong cross-border liquidity, support for self-custody, and 24/7 trading make it an important tool for capital transfer in environments of economic instability and capital controls.

According to Jinshi reports, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that the dollar has reestablished its safe-haven status, and the dollar is currently appreciating, with capital continuously flowing in.

Brazilian President Lula has signed Law No. 15,358, which explicitly incorporates seized cryptocurrency assets during law enforcement into the public safety funding system for expenditures such as police equipment, intelligence operations, and personnel training.The law allows for the temporary use of relevant cryptocurrency assets prior to final conviction with court approval. The new regulations also significantly expand the powers of judicial authorities, allowing them to freeze, block, or confiscate cryptocurrency assets during the investigation phase, including restricting access to exchange accounts, digital wallets, and related platforms. Once convicted, the individuals involved will be permanently deprived of the ability to use the formal financial system and cryptocurrency systems. Additionally, the law categorizes the use of encrypted communication tools or privacy technologies to conceal criminal activities as an aggravating circumstance, promotes cross-border asset recovery and intelligence sharing, and establishes a national database to integrate the financial structures of criminal organizations. Analysts believe that this initiative marks Brazil's shift of cryptocurrency assets from potential reserve tools to law enforcement resources, strengthening the crackdown on organized crime (such as PCC and Comando Vermelho) while advancing the judicial system's regulatory and disposal capabilities regarding digital assets.

According to Jinshi Data, Christopher Wong, a strategist at OCBC Bank in Singapore, stated that as people expect the Middle East conflict to ease and the strength of the dollar has weakened, the safe-haven demand for gold has begun to re-emerge. This further proves that gold has not lost its appeal as a safe-haven asset. It was once pushed out of the market by the dollar, and now that pressure is easing.In the short term, gold prices may continue to be influenced by expectations of the Federal Reserve's policy path, the movement of the dollar, and changes in the geopolitical situation. However, this rebound indicates that price declines may still find support unless real yields rise significantly.