Crypto Macro News and Global Policy Updates

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.

Gate News message, April 5, according to data, within the two months after major global shock events, Bitcoin generally performed better than gold and the S&P 500 index (a U.S. stock market benchmark index). In specific data, after the Trump administration announced large-scale tariff measures in April 2025, Bitcoin rose 24% in the following 60 days, gold rose 8%, and the S&P 500 rose 4%. In early March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Bitcoin also rose 21%, outperforming gold and the S&P 500 index.

The Iranian government’s attempt to block the Telegram messaging application in the country has backfired, as users find ways to circumvent national firewalls and online controls, according to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov. “Iran banned Telegram years ago,” Durov said on Friday; however, tens

Kwasi Kwarteng, the former UK Chancellor, reflects on his short tenure and the missteps of the mini-budget while advocating for long-term economic thinking. He now focuses on bitcoin and monetary innovation as part of his role with Stack BTC.

The crypto market shows mixed signals with a 0.34% market cap increase to $2.3T, while trading volume fell by 16.99%. Bitcoin rose by 0.50% to $66,896.80, and Ethereum dropped by 0.18% to $2,053.15. Key gainers include PEPE, TRUMP IP, and TRUMP MOG, which saw significant price increases. DeFi TVL decreased by 0.35%, and NFT sales volume fell by 5.18%. Notably, Drift Protocol experienced a 40% loss after a breach, and Charles Schwab plans Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading in 2026.

Gate News message: On April 4, US President Trump posted a statement on social media, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran. Trump said that he had previously given Iran 10 days to reach an agreement or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but the time is running out. He warned that after 48 hours, "hell will come down on their heads."