Tesla's BTC holdings not sold in Q1; Iran has not yet decided on negotiations to be held on Friday

Headlines

▌Tesla’s Bitcoin Holdings Were Not Sold in Q1 2026

On April 23, Tesla disclosed that it did not adjust its Bitcoin holdings in 2026 Q1, still holding 11,509 BTC, worth approximately $880 million at current prices. Affected by Bitcoin’s drop from about $90,000 to $68,000, the company recorded an after-tax fair value loss of about $173 million on digital assets. Despite this, Tesla’s overall earnings performance was mixed: profits beat expectations but revenue was slightly below market expectations, driving the stock to rise by about 4% after hours.

▌Iran Has Not Yet Decided Whether to Hold Talks on Friday

According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency: Iran has not yet decided whether to hold talks on Friday.

Market

As of the time of publication, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $78,266.46, up/down in the past 24 hours: +2.5%;

ETH price is $2,377.69, up/down in the past 24 hours: +2.1%;

BNB price is $637.72, up/down in the past 24 hours: +1.1%;

SOL price is $86.96, up/down in the past 24 hours: +1.3%;

DOGE price is $0.09579, up/down in the past 24 hours: +0.6%;

XRP price is $1.43, up/down in the past 24 hours: +0.2%;

TRX price is $0.3298, up/down in the past 24 hours: -1.0%;

WLFI price is $0.07829, up/down in the past 24 hours: -0.9%;

HYPE price is $41.19, up/down in the past 24 hours: +3.5%.

Policy

▌Russia’s State Duma Passes a Digital Currency Bill in First Reading, with the Central Bank to Control Market Access and Trading Regulation

On April 22, according to reports, Russia’s State Duma (the lower house of parliament) has passed the “Digital Currency and Digital Rights Bill” in first reading, marking a key step toward legalizing the country’s crypto assets. Under the bill, the Bank of Russia will become the core regulator for the crypto market, responsible for issuing licenses, approving or banning relevant transactions, and defining the legality of transactions. The bill proposes to classify cryptocurrencies as “property,” but explicitly bans them from being used domestically as a means of payment, with the ruble remaining the only legal tender. However, amid Western sanctions, crypto assets can be used for cross-border trade settlements, including scenarios such as paying for services and transferring intellectual property rights. In addition, the bill allows Russian residents to legally invest in crypto assets through licensed institutions, but will implement a tiered investor system, with tests and annual investment quota limits for ordinary investors (with a suggested upper limit of 300,000 rubles). Initially, only trading in high-market-cap mainstream assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum will be permitted, and a whitelist will be set by the central bank. The bill is expected to be formally passed and take effect no later than July 2026. However, some lawmakers and figures in the banking industry have criticized its regulation as being too strict, which may affect market activity and even cause funds to continue staying in the gray market. Meanwhile, accompanying legislation also proposes introducing criminal penalties, with illegal crypto trading punishable by up to 7 years in prison.

▌Trump and the White House Both Deny Setting a Final Deadline for Extending a Ceasefire

On April 23, Trump, during an interview with Fox News, said that reports about a 3-to-5-day window to extend the ceasefire are false. Regarding Iran’s seizure of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said they are not American ships and that he will continue to monitor developments. Asked about when the war will end, Trump said there is no timetable and that he is not in a hurry. “People say I want to resolve this quickly because of the midterm elections, but that’s not true,” Trump said, adding that the government hopes to secure a good deal for Americans. Trump also said that a blockade frightens them more than bombing; they have been bombed for many years, but what they hate is the blockade. Once oil wells are shut down, sometimes they are permanently closed. Trump expects that when negotiations restart again, Iran’s foreign minister will still be there. Earlier, Fox News and Axios both reported that Trump would extend the ceasefire by 3 to 5 days, not indefinitely. In response, White House press secretary Leavitt also issued a statement saying that Trump did not set a final deadline for extending the ceasefire with Iran, and that claims about giving Iran 3 to 5 days to respond are untrue.

▌The U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Was Originally Set to End Today; Trump Says Talks Could Restart as Early as the 24th; Iran Denies

On April 23, according to CCTV, the temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that was originally scheduled to end concluded on the night of the 22nd, U.S. Eastern Time, and the morning of the 23rd, Beijing time. But the new round of talks with Iran planned by the U.S. has remained difficult to move forward. On the evening of the 21st, Iran officially refused to attend the second round of talks scheduled for the 22nd in Pakistan. On the same day, Trump said he agreed to extend the ceasefire with Iran, but would continue a maritime blockade against it and maintain a state of readiness. On local time the 22nd, Trump said that the earliest on the 24th could see a restart of the new round of U.S.-Iran talks, and he said there is currently “no timetable” for when the conflict with Iran will end. Iran, meanwhile, denied holding new talks.

Blockchain Applications

▌Google Cloud Launches a $750 Million Fund to Help Partners Accelerate the Development of Agentic AI

Google Cloud announced the establishment of a $750 million fund, aiming to provide new resources and incentives for its partner ecosystem to help accelerate its joint customers’ transformation through agentic AI. The fund is open to global consulting firms, system integrators, software partners, and channel partners. (Bloomberg)

▌Tencent and Alibaba Are in Talks to Invest in DeepSeek at a Valuation of More Than $20 Billion

On April 22, according to The Information: Tencent and Alibaba are in talks to invest in DeepSeek at a valuation exceeding $20 billion.

▌Robinhood Ventures Invests $75 Million in OpenAI

Robinhood Ventures invested $75 million in OpenAI via Robinhood Ventures Fund I, a publicly traded fund recently launched by the company. It is said that this is the largest transaction by the fund to date. Sarah Pinto, president of Robinhood Ventures Fund I, said that bringing Robinhood into the investor lineup provides a way to connect with future shareholders of companies considering an IPO, including OpenAI.

▌SBF’s Early $200,000 Investment in Cursor; If Not Sold, Its Stake Is Currently Worth About $3 Billion

On April 22, SpaceX announced that it has reached an intent-to-cooperate agreement with AI programming startup Cursor. Cursor granted SpaceX the right to acquire it later this year at a price of $60 billion, or to pay $10 billion to advance cooperation between the two sides. It is understood that Cursor developer Anysphere completed a $400,000 Pre-Seed round financing in April 2022, jointly invested by Alameda Research and Heroic Ventures. Of this, Alameda invested $200,000 in Anysphere for about a 5% stake. This equity was sold at the original price during the FTX bankruptcy liquidation. If the stake is not sold, it is currently worth about $3 billion.

Cryptocurrencies

▌Coinbase Q1 Report: The Crypto Market Is in a Bear Market—or Late-Stage Bear Market—With Bitcoin’s Value Significantly Undervalued

On April 23, Coinbase Institutional and glassnode jointly and recently released the “2026 Q1 Crypto Market Chart Analysis Report,” with the key points as follows: 1. 75% of institutional investors and 61% of non-institutional investors still believe Bitcoin is undervalued. “The crypto market is still influenced by some important specific factors, such as regulatory progress and the rise of agentic AI, but against the backdrop of global macro turmoil, the importance of these factors has declined.” 2. Currently, 82% of institutional investors and 70% of non-institutional investors believe the crypto market is in a bear market or a late stage of a bear market, up significantly from 31% and 36% in December. At the same time, expectations for Bitcoin’s dominance are shifting toward a more “stable” state, which reflects macroeconomic impacts more than anything else. 3. In 2026 Q1, the amount of BTC supply that moved over the past three months decreased by 37%, while the amount of supply that has not moved for more than a year increased by 1%. This indicates that short-term trading activity has reduced and more coins are being locked by long-term holders. 4. Finally, although the crypto market has gone through a more volatile period, cumulative net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs are still close to historical highs. Taken together, the report indicates that market sentiment is cautious, but the underlying fundamentals of the crypto market continue to improve.

▌BlackRock’s BTC Holdings Reach 806,700

On April 22, according to Lookonchain monitoring, BlackRock has been continuously increasing its BTC holdings recently, with its holdings reaching 806,700 BTC (63.73 billion dollars), setting a new all-time high.

▌Aave Founder Responds to Recent Events: Recovering $70 Million in ETH, Advancing Multiple Plans to Mitigate Risks

On April 23, Aave founder Stani Kulechov spoke out about the recent incident, stating that the team is continuously pushing forward multiple solutions, with the core goal of protecting users’ interests and helping the market return to normal order. He revealed that, through collaboration among multiple parties, the Arbitrum Security Council has successfully recovered about $70 million worth of ETH assets, which is expected to significantly reduce overall risk exposure. The team is currently discussing with multiple partners, assessing different disposal paths, and is confident in the final solution. Kulechov emphasized that the focus at this stage is on advancing problem-solving rather than assigning blame, and that they will continue to conduct post-incident reviews and optimize mechanisms. He said the incident is not only about Aave itself, but also an important moment for the DeFi industry, and the team will continue to share progress externally.

▌Aave Funds Continue to Flow Out; Total Deposits Drop to $30.7 Billion

On April 22, according to on-chain analyst Yu Jin monitoring, due to the rsETH incident, funds on Aave have continued to flow out. Aave’s total deposit amount has fallen from the previous $48.5 billion to $30.7 billion, with about $15.1 billion leaving within three and a half days, and the outflow rate is close to one-third. At the same time, other major lending platforms show mixed performance: Morpho: total deposits fell from $11.7 billion before the incident to $10.2 billion, with outflows of about $1.5 billion. Spark: its SparkLend business TVL increased from $1.9 billion before the incident to $3.2 billion, growing by about $1.3 billion against the trend. Spark absorbed some of the whale and institutional capital withdrawn from Aave, including JustinSun, as well as a whale that had bought the dip earlier this year with $500 million.

▌USDC Treasury Mints 200 Million USDC on Ethereum

On April 22, according to Whale Alert monitoring, at 22:00:23 Beijing time, USDC Treasury minted 200 million USDC anew on Ethereum.

▌Coinbase Will List Fluent (BLEND)

On April 23, Coinbase will list Fluent (BLEND) spot trading.

Important Economic Developments

▌Hasset Supports Powell’s Explanation for Remaining as “Interim Fed Chair”

On April 23, Hasset, director of the White House National Economic Council, expressed support for Fed Chair Powell’s plan—namely that if Powell’s successor has not been confirmed by the Senate by the time his term ends in May, he will temporarily remain as Fed Chair. Hasset said Wednesday: “I believe this is the appropriate legal understanding.” Trump has nominated Waller to replace Powell, but Republicans currently do not have enough votes to move the nomination from the Senate Banking Committee to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Republican Senator Tom Tillis said he will hold off on voting until the Justice Department stops what he calls “false” investigations into cost overruns on the Federal Reserve building renovation project. Hasset, speaking about Waller, said: “We are very confident that he will become chairman at the appropriate time. I believe there will be discussions on how to proceed.” (Jinshi)

▌Iran’s Parliament Speaker: Reopening the Strait of Hormuz Is “Impossible” in the Case of Open Ceasefire Violations

On April 23, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Kalibaf said that a comprehensive ceasefire is only meaningful if it does not involve actions that violate a maritime blockade and “hijack the world economy.” Under such blatant violations, reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible. They failed to achieve their goals through military aggression, and they will never succeed through intimidation. The only way out is to acknowledge the rights of the Iranian nation.

▌Pakistani Official: Positive Signals Received from Iran on Its Willingness to Restart Face-to-Face Negotiations

On April 23, on Wednesday, Pakistani officials remained optimistic, believing it may still be possible to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table, even though Iran’s act of seizing two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz has created new obstacles to their efforts to broker long-term peace. Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif met with Iran’s ambassador on Wednesday. A Pakistani official who briefed on the talks said that a second round of negotiations could be held within the coming few days. Malihah Rodi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. and the U.K. who has knowledge of current diplomatic efforts, said: “The ceasefire has opened space for diplomatic channels, and Pakistan believes this space is sufficient. Neither side has rejected negotiations.” Another Pakistani official, who requested anonymity after briefing on the negotiations, said that after the ceasefire was extended, mediators received positive signals from Iran, hoping to restart face-to-face negotiations. The official did not specify what those signals were, nor did they explain whether Iran told Pakistani mediators that the U.S. lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a prerequisite for participating in the second round. (The New York Times)

▌Trump: “Good News” on Iran Talks Could Come as Early as Friday

On April 22, according to the New York Post, people familiar with U.S. President Trump and Pakistani officials said on Wednesday that “good news” regarding a second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran could appear as early as Friday. Pakistani sources said that the positive mediation efforts with Iran have once again increased the possibility that more peace negotiations will be held within “36 to 72 hours” in the future. When asked about this potential breakthrough, Trump replied by text message: “Possible!.” Earlier, Trump said he would extend the ceasefire until Iran’s leadership could propose a “unified plan.” In the hours that followed, Pakistan continued to communicate with Iran through diplomatic channels. A Pakistani person said that this timeline arrangement was based on an assessment of the relevant work.

▌Hasset: Trump Wants Waller to Take Office at the Fed as Soon as Possible

On April 23, Hasset, director of the White House National Economic Council, said that Trump wants Waller to take office at the Fed as soon as possible; core inflation is falling significantly, and the decline in inflation should help the Fed normalize interest rates.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌Can Bitcoin Under Geopolitical Crisis Still Be Called “Digital Gold”?

Every time a geopolitical crisis occurs, the price of gold rises while the price of Bitcoin plummets. After six tests, the “digital gold” claim has never been confirmed by data. Countries hoard gold yet keep Bitcoin out of reserves. For investors, Bitcoin is asymmetrical: it falls along with stocks, but it does not rise along with stocks. Three structural asymmetries prevent Bitcoin from gaining a safe-haven position: excessive derivatives (market structure), the dominance of leveraged traders (participant composition), and a lack of repeated behavior records (behavioral accumulation).

Bitcoin is not a safe-haven asset, but it is a “useful asset in times of crisis,” and it can indeed play a role when borders close and banks fail. If these three major asymmetries shrink, Bitcoin may no longer be a replica of gold, but could instead become a brand-new “next-generation gold.” Generational replacement and the widespread adoption of algorithmic applications are key factors that may accelerate this process.