Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

Trump’s net worth is estimated at $6.3 billion, up about 60% before his return to the White House. This growth is mainly driven by his family’s expansion into overseas real estate deals and the cryptocurrency sector. Government ethics experts say they are concerned and believe there may be conflicts of interest. The White House and the Trump Organization deny such claims.

Gate News message, April 14, Citi Group’s strategists raised their rating for the U.S. stock market from "Neutral" to "Buy," aligning with the views of other analysts on Wall Street. Citi said that heightened uncertainty in the war situation has made investors more inclined to choose companies with higher quality and stronger defensiveness. Based on the principles of a "quality/defensive tilt," Citi adjusted its global asset allocation. Meanwhile, Citi downgraded its emerging market stock rating from "Buy" to "Neutral," saying these markets are more vulnerable to energy shocks, and that a stronger U.S. dollar puts additional pressure on them.

On April 13, Ethereum spot ETF net inflows reached $9.44 million, including a $5.78 million inflow into BlackRock’s Staking version ETHB and a $5.15 million inflow into Grayscale’s mini ETH. BlackRock ETHA and 21Shares TETH had net outflows of $4.07 million and $1.35 million, respectively, and the fund flows of the remaining products were zero.

Saudi Arabia is urgently asking the United States to lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to avoid export disruptions from the Strait of Mandeb. Threats from the Houthis have put Saudi Arabia in an energy crunch. If both major straits are blocked at the same time, global oil prices could soar to $160 to $190, triggering a drop in demand and prompting both sides of the Iran-U.S. talks to restart.

Gate News message: On April 14, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said the United States should "wait and see" before cutting interest rates.

On April 13, XRP spot ETF recorded a single-day net inflow of $1.4630 million, with the only one achieving net inflow being the Franklin XRP ETF, bringing its historical total net inflow to $326 million. Currently, the XRP spot ETF’s total net asset value stands at $959 million, with a net asset ratio of 1.16%.

Bitmine has officially moved from the NYSE American board to the main board, marking an important milestone for the company. Despite the sharp decline in its share price, it has still increased the share repurchase plan amount to $4 billion. The company holds a large amount of Ethereum, and it expects that a rebound in the crypto market will help boost its assets and share price performance.

On April 13, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of $291 million, with Fidelity’s FBTC experiencing the largest outflow at $229 million. Products that recorded net inflows included BlackRock’s IBIT, Bitwise’s BITB, and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT.

In recent weeks, Intel’s stock price has risen for 9 consecutive trading days, gaining nearly 60%, driven mainly by positive business developments such as its cooperation with Google and the buyback of wafer-factory equity. The company’s improved financial position, its capacity self-sufficiency strategy that attracts long-term customers, and the U.S. government’s return on investment of 200% have made it the biggest winner.

Iran’s ambassador to India, Fattahali, said that Indian tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz did not pay the transit fee to Iran, and the Indian government also denied having paid any fee. Since the outbreak of the Iran war, Iran has blockaded that route, and there are still 15 Indian vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned in his annual shareholder letter that a war with Iran could trigger persistent oil and commodity price shocks, creating inflation pressure that is stickier than the market expects, and that the Federal Reserve may need to maintain high interest rates for longer. He noted that the war’s economic impact is widespread, including a global restructuring of supply chains and rising energy prices. In addition, Dimon still holds a positive view of the U.S. economy, but warned that the economic shocks from the war could weaken that resilience.

Gate News message, a trader with address 0x18b0 incurred significant losses through two consecutive trading decisions. The trader sold 499.9 ETH for $1.1M at $2,197 before ETH price increased, resulting in a loss of $82.5K. Subsequently, the trader opened a long position on oil immediately before it

Broadridge Financial Solutions has launched an integrated digital asset platform for Canadian wealth management firms, enabling companies to provide cryptocurrency and traditional investment services in a single system and addressing the issue of fragmented infrastructure. The platform supports a wide range of digital assets and includes compliance control tools to lower the barrier for institutions to enter the market. This comes at a critical time when financial institutions are competing for digital asset infrastructure, strengthening the platform’s market competitiveness.

Bitcoin has recently rebounded strongly, with the price reaching $74,330. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued regulatory guidance for custody wallets of crypto securities, allowing operations in certain circumstances. Ondo Finance also submitted a request for a no-action letter to the SEC regarding tokenized equity. Market developments show that whale holdings have increased, with other coin contract trading activity remaining active. U.S. stock performance is optimistic, influenced by corporate earnings reports. Investors are taking a wait-and-see stance on Bitcoin, and market sentiment is relatively stable.

The Federal Security Service of Russia arrested three Telegram investment channel admins for manipulating stock prices through a "Pump&Dump" strategy, involving more than 55k trades across 19 large companies. Research shows that 11% of Telegram investment signals can affect stock returns, and more than 60% of investors rely on such signals. The central bank warned that it will monitor unusual transactions.

Gate News update: On April 14, after the U.S. stock market closed, the Dow Jones rose 0.63%, the S&P 500 Index rose 1.02%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.23%. The crypto sector moved higher across the board—Circle rose 12.09%, Solana rose 7.41%, a certain CEX rose 3.98%, Strategy (MSTR) rose 2.89%, SharpLink rose 2.76%, and Bitmine rose 1.08%.

Saudi Arabia is pressuring the United States to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations to prevent possible Iranian retaliation over President Trump’s sanctions, which could affect its oil exports. Saudi Arabia’s daily exports of 7 million barrels are crucial to the Strait of Mandeb, and the situation remains uncertain.

MicroStrategy announces it has increased its holdings of $1 billion worth of Bitcoin. Its total holdings now reach 780,897 BTC, and the fundraising is fully sold out through the preferred stock STRC. Founder Saylor stated that Bitcoin only needs an annual growth rate of more than 2.05% to cover dividends, avoiding dilution of common stock. This strategy demonstrates the company’s innovation in asset allocation and attracts other companies to imitate it.

MicroStrategy’s sustainable priority stock STRC saw trading volume reach $1.16B on Monday, setting a record high and up 46.5% from the prior figure. On the same day, the company announced a $1 billion Bitcoin purchasing plan, bringing its holdings to 780,897 BTC. Analysts predicted that purchases the following day could exceed $1 billion, highlighting an active accumulation trend by institutions toward Bitcoin.

On April 13, Bitcoin rose from its early-session low of 70,741 to trade as high as $74,900 during the session, approaching the $75,000 level. The main drivers came from two directions: after Trump ordered the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, traders began to view Bitcoin as a geopolitical hedge asset; and a massive net short position that had been building as funding rates stayed persistently negative was met with liquidation, triggering a chain of liquidations totaling millions of dollars near the $70,000 support level.