Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

The U.S. Central Command announced it will implement a maritime traffic blockade for all vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports at 22:00 Beijing time on April 13, covering all countries’ ships in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, but it will not affect ships traveling to and from non-Iranian ports via the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. imposes a naval blockade on Iran, causing the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks to fall apart. Market risk sentiment intensifies, and Bitcoin drops to $71,000, with a 24-hour decline of 3.1%. Traditional market capital flows into safe-haven assets, and analysts are divided on Bitcoin’s future trend, with $70,000 support acting as a key level.

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, USDKRW (US Dollar vs South Korean won) has surged by 0.5% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market

Gate News message, April 13. According to Alternative.me data, today the Crypto Fear and Greed Index is 12, down further from yesterday’s 16, with the market in an “extreme fear” state. This index evaluates market sentiment across multiple dimensions, including volatility, market trading volume, social media, market surveys, Bitcoin’s share of the overall market, and Google Trends keyword analysis. The lower the number, the greater the level of fear.

Gate News message, April 13, Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor posted on the X platform that the annualized breakeven return on Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings is about 2.05%. If Bitcoin’s long-term growth rate exceeds this level, Strategy can pay dividends indefinitely without issuing additional MSTR stock. Michael Saylor said that the relevant data can be tracked in real time on the company’s official website.

Gate News message. April 13. On Monday, the Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened lower. The Nikkei 225 Index (Japan’s benchmark stock index) opened down 557.91 points on April 13 (Monday), a decline of 0.98%, to 56,366.20 points. The Korea KOSPI Index (South Korea’s benchmark stock index) opened down 127.08 points on April 13 (Monday), a decline of 2.17%, to 5,731.79 points.

The UK has decided not to participate in the U.S.’s blockade operation in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing the importance of supporting freedom of navigation and keeping the strait open, and is working with countries such as France to form a protection alliance.

The U.S. announces a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to respond to the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks, triggering a sharp surge in oil prices. Oil prices rebound to above $100, and U.S. stock index futures fall. Gold and cryptocurrencies also slip; Bitcoin falls back to above 70K, and the total market value drops to $2.41 trillion.

Gate News message. On April 13, following a marathon-style peace negotiation in Islamabad that failed to reach an agreement, countries across the Middle East are rushing to push the United States and Iran back onto the negotiating table. Despite strong statements from both the U.S. and Iran, the door to diplomacy remains open, and the second round of talks could take place within the next few days. Regional countries are consulting with the United States to ensure they can extend the two-week, highly fragile ceasefire period announced on Tuesday evening. Iranian officials have put forward alternative proposals, including continuing symbolic uranium enrichment activities or reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium, but the two sides were unable to reach a compromise.

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, XAGUSD (Silver) has dropped by 2% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market activity.

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, XTIUSD (WTI Crude USOIL) has surged by 8% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market

TD Cowen adjusted its price target for Bitcoin-focused Strategy while maintaining a positive outlook, contrasting it with its new buy rating for Ethereum-based Sharplink, which offers a more active digital asset growth model through staking.

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this edition, Argentinian banks start a JPM Coin-based interbank settlement pilot, TRM Labs underscores compliance advances, and Milei backpedals on dollarization. Key Takeaways:

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has shifted his stance, now supporting the CLARITY Act after previously criticizing it. He believes recent negotiations improved the bill, which he calls strong, and emphasizes the need for Congress to pass it.

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, XTIUSD (WTI Crude USOIL) has dropped by 2% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, USDKRW (US Dollar vs South Korean won) has surged by 0.5% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market

2026-04-12 20:30 to 2026-04-12 20:45 (UTC), the ETH price surged quickly within the range of 2197.57 to 2218.26 USDT. The 15-minute return recorded +0.68%, and the range reached 0.94%. During the event window, market attention increased; short-term volatility intensified, drawing investors to focus on on-chain fund movements and the direction of mainstream capital flows. The main driver behind this deviation is the significant inflow of ETF and institutional-type capital. Since the beginning of April, ETH-related ETFs have accumulated a net inflow of $114.66 million, total

With Taiwan’s Virtual Assets Service Act (expected to take effect in 2026), financial holding groups are accelerating their transformation and launching M&A competitions to find virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to strengthen their market positioning. Financial institutions such as Fubon and the Federal Bank have demonstrated and are actively evaluating M&A opportunities. Emerging platforms like HOYA BIT show strong potential, and future collaboration will promote deep integration between the financial and crypto industries.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) successfully moved up to the NYSE main board on Thursday, and Chairman Tom Lee said this is an important milestone. The company also increased the authorization for its share repurchase program to $4.0 billion; however, the stock price still faces challenges, down about 90% from its peak last year. Bitmine holds about 4.8 million ether (ETH), and its future performance will be influenced by the overall economy and geopolitical factors—especially as market risk appetite rises, the crypto market is expected to benefit.

Trump posted on Truth Social that many large tankers are delivering low-sulfur, high-quality crude oil to the United States, reflecting that geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran have led to rising demand in the market for alternative supplies. The United States has currently become the world’s largest crude oil producer, and its sweet crude oil has advantages in refining costs and efficiency. This kind of situation could reduce reliance on Middle Eastern oil, stabilize oil prices, and affect global risk assets, including the Bitcoin market.