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Weekly Snapshot
- BTC: US $77,635 (+2.5%)
- ETH: US $2,335 (-0.7%)
- Crypto Market Cap: US $2.67T (+4.7%)
- Gold: US $4,725/oz (-3.1%)
- S&P 500: 7,165 (+0.5%)
- ASX 200: 8,787 (-1.8%)
- WTI Oil: US $93.12 (+12%)
- Brent Oil: US $105.93 (+10.1%)
Executive Summary
- U.S. equities punched through record highs and bitcoin reclaimed US $78,000 despite the Iran conflict, with strong Q1 earnings reaffirming the U.S.'s strength in the global economy.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's US $344 million Tether freeze on Iran-linked wallets is the clearest case study yet for why bitcoin, not stablecoins, is the credibly neutral hedge against weaponised financial sanctions.
- Strategy's US $2.54 billion bitcoin buy and BitMine's largest weekly ETH haul of the year, paired with eight straight days of positive spot bitcoin ETF flows, mark the strongest institutional bid since January.
U.S. Markets & Bitcoin Continue to Outperform Despite Conflict
The S&P 500 closed Friday at record highs, up 9.6% and 13.7% from the March 31st lows - underscoring the importance of staying in the market. Underneath the price action, 88% of S&P 500 companies that have reported Q1 earnings have beaten estimates, well ahead of the 10-year average of 76%.
Meanwhile, bitcoin pushed back above US $78,000 mid-week before settling near US $77,600. Global crypto funds attracted US $1.4 billion last week, the strongest weekly inflow since mid-January. Most other digital asset prices remained flat on the week as risk-sentiment remained conservative.
Implications for investors
The narrative of oil prices causing a recession and a catastrophic crash in markets hasn't materialised. Investors are treating the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as yet another bump in the road to be navigated. In these moments where markets seem to defy logic, we're reminded of the importance of staying in the market and thinking long-term as opposed to trading on short-term news headlines and general sentiment.
If you find yourself thinking about volatility in markets, take a watch of this video by legendary investor Peter Lynch:
U.S. Freezes US $344 Million in Iranian Funds Held in Stablecoins
On 24 April, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on two Tron addresses holding US $344 million in USDT under "Operation Economic Fury".
The frozen wallets were flagged through Chainalysis and TRM Labs as showing transaction patterns consistent with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps activity, including routing through Central Bank of Iran-linked intermediary addresses. It is the largest single Tether freeze on record. Tehran has been pulling crypto rails into the conflict directly, charging Bitcoin and USDT tolls of over US $2 million per vessel for Strait of Hormuz transit since mid-March.
Implications for investors
Stablecoins are undoubtedly the future in global payments, with over US $28 trillion in economic transactions conducted in 2025. However, the freezing of assets and financial sanctions, much like what happened to US $320 billion of Russian assets in 2022 when they invaded Ukraine, is a marketing budget for bitcoin.
Whether you're a nation state or an individual, having money that can't be frozen or taken away is valuable. Bitcoin is uniquely decentralised and different to every other cryptocurrency in this respect.
Significant Institutional Buying From Strategy & BitMine + ETFs Flip Positive
Strategy disclosed on 20 April that it had purchased 34,164 bitcoin for US $2.54 billion at an average price of US $74,395, taking total holdings to 815,061 BTC and pushing the cost basis modestly into profit at US $75,527.
Strategy's Headline Financials:
The same week, Tom Lee's BitMine acquired 101,627 ETH worth approximately US $233 million, its largest weekly haul of 2026, lifting holdings to 4.97 million ETH or roughly 4.1% of circulating supply. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded eight consecutive sessions of positive flows through 23 April, with cumulative inflows hitting US $58.55 billion since launch and BlackRock's IBIT now commanding roughly 49% of the category by AUM.
Implications for investors
Institutional interest in digital assets continues to accelerate. Morgan Stanley's launch of their own bitcoin ETF as well as the upcoming launch of Goldman Sachs bitcoin product indicates that there is growing appetite to offer these products to institutional client bases. These are bullish long-term catalysts and not short-term market sentiment driven decisions.
Conclusion
Overall, this week was another positive one for the digital asset sector after 5 months of underperformance. Barring another major escalation in the conflict or breakout inflation, we think it's possible that the crypto market lows have been put in for this cycle - though anything is possible.
From a strategic allocation perspective, we are seeing strong take-up of dollar-cost-average strategies to take advantage of current price points while not allocating all capital into the market all at once given the volatility. We have yet to see the rotation away from bitcoin into smaller altcoin positions thus far as investors risk-appretite remains cautiously optimistic.
The largest catalysts on our radar remain the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices, and developments on the U.S. CLARITY Act which is the largest piece of digital asset legislation that could encourage large capital pools into the sector. The next hearing is likely to take place around the 11th of May.
Until next week,
James
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