Crypto Macro News and Global Policy Updates

A Middle East scholar, Mohammad Ali Shabani, says the U.S. may carry out its threats against Iran's infrastructure, which could escalate the situation in the region. Iran, meanwhile, has sent a defiant signal by attacking Kuwait's infrastructure, and the risk of a serious escalation within the next 24 hours is high.

News that President Trump is gravely ill and hospitalized spread online in the U.S. on April 4, and the White House communications director posted to deny it, saying that Trump works in the White House and accusing the media of inventing conspiracy theories. White House officials said that Trump has never stopped working and criticized users who spread false information.

Gate News update, April 5, according to Fox News, U.S. President Trump said that if Iran does not reach an agreement as soon as possible, he is considering taking military action to blow up everything and take over the oil resources. Trump also said he believes an agreement with Iran could be reached as early as tomorrow.

Gate News message: On April 5, OPEC+ held a committee meeting on Sunday, expressing concern about attacks on energy assets during the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. It said that the repair costs for the relevant facilities are high and will take a long time, which will affect overall supply capacity. The meeting statement emphasized that ensuring the safety of international sea lanes is crucial to keep energy flowing without interruption. The statement also noted that attacks on energy infrastructure are concerning and that restoring damaged energy assets back to full-load operation is both costly and time-consuming, thereby affecting overall supply capacity.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on April 16 to consider Kevin Wosch’s nomination to serve as the Federal Reserve Chair. Although the current chair, Powell, is facing a criminal investigation, Wosch’s nomination process is still ongoing and could conflict with the investigation. Committee member Thom Tillis said he will not confirm Wosch before the investigation is concluded. This shows that Trump faces challenges in advancing two parallel processes.

A six-month intelligence operation preceded the $270 million exploit of Drift Protocol and was carried out by a North Korean state-affiliated group, according to a detailed incident update published by the team earlier on Sunday. The attackers first made contact around fall 2025 at a major crypto c

Gate News message: On April 5, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement saying it has launched strikes on petrochemical plants in the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain, on refinery plants in Israel, and on natural gas facilities in the UAE. The statement warned that if attacks on civilian targets within Iran occur again, the intensity of the blow to the United States’ economic interests in the region will further increase.

A World Gold Council report shows that in February 2026, central banks net bought 19 tons of gold, up from January but below the 2025 average. Some central banks have continued to accumulate gold; China has increased its holdings for 16 months. Goldman Sachs and UBS predict that the gold price could rise to $5,400 and $5,900, respectively, in the future.

Gate News, on April 5, the Speaker of the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly Kalibaf posted a photo of aircraft wreckage on social media and commented that if the United States were to achieve such a “victory” again, it would be “completely destroyed.” Kalibaf wrote: “If the United States achieves 3 more such victories, it will be completely destroyed.” Iranian student news agency and other Iranian media had previously published the same photo, saying that the wreckage shown in the picture is of a U.S. military aircraft that took part in the rescue operation. Some Iranian media said that Kalibaf’s post this time was intended to mock the “imagined victory” claimed by U.S. President Trump.

Digital asset ETPs saw a peak of over $250B, ending 2025 with $184B AUM, mainly driven by Bitcoin products. The market is evolving, with over 125 new filings indicating a trend toward diversified asset offerings.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that in March, the average daily trading value of the Hong Kong stock market exceeded HK$300 billion, up 8% year over year. This year, funds raised through IPOs have already exceeded HK$103 billion, the world’s No. 1, and companies collectively view Hong Kong as an important window for financing and for “going global.”

Iranian parliamentary speaker Qalibaf threatened on social media to block commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, citing the strait’s importance to global oil and food transportation. In recent years, the Strait of Hormuz has been targeted by attacks from Houthi forces supported by Iran, and in 2023, about 12% of global seaborne oil passed through this area.

The UK government is working to help AI company Anthropic expand its operations in the UK, including an expansion in London and a dual listing, with plans to raise it during the company CEO's visit. The move comes amid the backdrop that Anthropic has been placed on a U.S. government blacklist due to national security risks, and it is currently challenging that decision.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could surpass gold ETFs in total assets under management (AUM) as investor demand expands beyond the traditional “digital gold” narrative, according to ETF analyst James Seyffart. “There are just more use cases of why somebody would put a Bitcoin ETF in a p

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor believes that Bitcoin (BTC) has gained overwhelming dominance in the global “media war.” However, he also warns that changes at the protocol level—especially the proposed BIP-110—could become the biggest remaining risk to the network

The head of the International Energy Agency, Birol, warned that if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, the oil losses in April will be twice those of March. Currently, 72 energy assets have been damaged. Saudi Arabia has redirected some oil exports through a new pipeline, but if this route is attacked, the global economy will face serious consequences.

Google's Quantum AI team said earlier this week that a future quantum computer could derive a bitcoin private key from a public key in roughly nine minutes. The number ricocheted across social media and spooked markets. But, what does it actually mean in practice? Let's start with how bitcoin

Gate News message, April 5, the Kuwaiti side said that two power and seawater desalination plants were hit by Iranian drone attacks, causing "significant" material damage, and two generating units have been shut down.

Gate News message, April 5, economists said that the sudden jump in gasoline prices that American consumers can feel firsthand will be fully reflected in the key inflation data to be released this week. The U.S. is expected to see March CPI rise 1% month over month, which would be the largest monthly increase since 2022; core CPI could rise 0.3% month over month. Earlier, the Iran war pushed gasoline prices at U.S. gas stations up by about $1 per gallon. As a result, the Federal Reserve may find it difficult to carry out interest rate cuts this year.