Gate Square Daily | April 28, 2026 - Global Agenda Summary

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1️⃣ Geopolitics: Trump Reviews Iran’s Strait of Hormuz Proposal
The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump met with his national security team on Monday to discuss Iran’s new proposal regarding the Strait of Hormuz. In the proposal relayed via Pakistan, Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade and ending the war, while deferring nuclear program negotiations to a later stage. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran appears “serious about a deal” but stressed that any agreement must definitively prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Reports indicate Trump is “not satisfied” with the offer and remains reluctant to lift the blockade without concessions. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for about one-fifth of global oil, and the negotiations are directly impacting energy markets.
2️⃣ Market Update: BTC Slips Below $77,000, Brent Hits $107
Crypto markets started the week under pressure. Bitcoin failed to break the $80,000 resistance and fell to as low as $76,600, pressured by geopolitical risks and rising oil prices. As of April 27, BTC was consolidating in the $78,000-$79,000 range but struggling to breach $80,000. Despite ETF inflows, short-term holder profit-taking points to consolidation below $80,000.

On the commodities side, tension is driving prices higher: Brent crude jumped more than 3% to $107 per barrel. Gold also continues to rise on safe-haven demand, with some analysis citing levels above $5,300 per ounce. Uncertainty over U.S.-Iran tensions and the Strait of Hormuz is pushing up energy costs and inflation expectations.
3️⃣ Crypto Regulation: China Blocks Meta’s $2.5 Billion Manus Deal
Meta’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus, announced in December 2025, has been blocked by China on national security grounds. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) prohibited foreign investment in the Manus project and ordered both parties to unwind the transaction entirely.

Meta had quickly integrated Manus into its systems, with around 100 Manus employees moving into Meta’s Singapore offices as of March. According to reports, Beijing has given the parties a preliminary deadline of several weeks to unwind the deal and fully restore Manus’s Chinese assets to their original state. Manus CEO Xiao Hong and Chief Scientist Yichao Ji are reportedly under exit bans preventing them from leaving mainland China. The decision is seen as a clear example of China’s strategy to prevent critical AI technology from flowing overseas.
4️⃣ Tech: Solana Unveils Quantum Security Roadmap - Falcon Selected
The Solana Foundation released a three-phase roadmap to protect the network against future quantum computing threats. Two core developer teams, Anza and Jump Crypto’s Firedancer, independently reached the same solution: a post-quantum digital signature scheme called Falcon.

The foundation stated that the quantum threat is “still years away” but that migration plans are well-researched, understood, and ready to deploy when needed. The roadmap consists of: 1) Continued research into Falcon and alternatives, 2) Introducing post-quantum cryptography for new wallets if the threat becomes imminent, 3) Migrating existing wallets. Solana emphasized that Falcon’s compact signatures make it suitable for high throughput and that any performance impact is expected to be minimal. Blueshift’s Winternitz Vault has also been live on the network for over two years as a quantum-resistant primitive.
5️⃣ Institutional Moves: MARA Holdings Launches Foundation for Bitcoin’s Quantum Protection
MARA Holdings CEO Fred Thiel announced the launch of the MARA Foundation on April 27 at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas. The foundation was created to support the long-term resilience of the Bitcoin network, with priorities including research into quantum computing risks, sustainability of the security budget, and open-source development.

Thiel said “Bitcoin’s future is not guaranteed and requires active stewardship,” describing the network as “a public utility that nobody owns, but everybody depends on.” The foundation aims to accelerate quantum-resistant protocol upgrades like BIP 360, strengthen the transaction fee market, and expand access to self-custody. As part of the launch, $100,000 will be awarded to one of three nonprofit organizations chosen by community vote. MARA is moving beyond mining operations to focus on protocol-level R&D.