Geopolitics

Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte responded to the Drift Protocol theft incident, emphasizing that freezing USDC is being carried out according to law, calling for stronger coordination between law and technology, and suggesting that DeFi protocols should draw on protection mechanisms from traditional markets to advance legal protection of property rights and financial privacy.

Banks such as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and investment banks like Goldman Sachs predict that gold may rebound in the long term, mainly driven by central bank demand, geopolitical uncertainty, and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. ANZ expects the gold price to reach $5,800 by year-end, while Goldman Sachs maintains a $5,400 outlook, saying that central bank gold purchases will be a support factor.

Gate News Message, April 10, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Lavanchi said today at a meeting attended by representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Iran and international organizations that all parties have reached consensus, and Iran’s Ten-Point Plan will serve as the basis for negotiations. He emphasized that Iran has always welcomed diplomacy and dialogue, but it will never accept dialogue based on false information, intended to deceive, and meant to pave the way for a renewed military aggression against Iran. (CCTV News)

Gate News message, April 10, the Kremlin issued a statement regarding special envoy Dmitryev’s visit to the U.S. The Kremlin said that this trip was not a restart of peace talks on Ukraine, and that Dmitryev did not negotiate on the Ukraine issue. The Kremlin emphasized that Russia is seeking peace rather than a ceasefire; as long as Ukraine’s President Zelensky makes a decision, peace can be achieved today. In addition, the Kremlin noted that a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter has humanitarian significance.

Bitcoin prices fell to $70,981 amid uncertainty over a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, affecting market confidence. While Bitcoin saw a minor decrease, altcoins like Ether and Solana faced sharper declines, and global risk assets struggled with tightening monetary policy.

Gate News message, on April 10, according to market news, a chief adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine and Russia have reached reciprocal commitments for a short ceasefire during Easter.

Gate News update. On April 10, a senior Lebanese official said that Lebanon plans to take part in a meeting in Washington next week to discuss and announce a ceasefire. The official noted that the ceasefire is a prerequisite for further negotiations.

Gate News message: On April 10, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will announce today at 5:00 p.m. the list of the first stablecoin issuer licensees. Driven by expectations of regulatory positives, Conflux (CFX) surged strongly in the short term. According to market data from a certain trading platform, CFX opened today at $0.0518, and the intraday high reached $0.0557. The gain for the day was 7.5%.

The Office of Management and Administration at the White House sent a warning email to employees on March 23, prohibiting the use of their position to speculate in the futures market. The warning came after the announcement by Trump of a pause in attacks on Iran, and suspicious trading appeared in the market. Senior officials described the email as a timely “reminder.”

Jefferies’ economists report that the Middle East conflict affects all parties. The United States is the least affected, due to oil and gas price increases, Russia is the winner, and Iran may lift sanctions. The main losers are the Gulf states and Asia, which relies on Middle East oil and gas, while Europe has lost ground geopolitically.

The Iranian government charges oil tankers a $1 per-barrel toll for passage through the Strait of Hormuz and requires payment in bitcoin to bypass U.S. sanctions. This move has caused extreme volatility in the cryptocurrency market, with bitcoin’s price surging, highlighting the importance of digital assets in geopolitics. Global shipping has been disrupted, Iran and the United States have taken differing positions in ceasefire talks, and financial markets have also roiled in response to this event.

The French National Assembly has passed a rule requiring mandatory reporting of crypto assets held in self-custody wallets above 5,000 euros, applicable to multiple mainstream wallets. The DGFIP opposes this, arguing that enforcement will be difficult and that data centralization will increase user risk. Experts say the law may be hard to implement and urge users to closely monitor subsequent developments.

An FBI report shows that in 2025, the United States lost $11.4 billion due to cryptocurrency scams, up 22% from the previous year. Many of the scams are controlled by criminal groups in Southeast Asia. Victims lose an average of more than $60k each, and many even lose their life savings.

Middle East conflict turned for the better after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with market risk sentiment recovering. U.S. stock index futures jumped sharply. Bitcoin broke through the $72,000 high, while oil prices plunged. Although the current rebound is significant, analysts warn that uncertainty around how the ceasefire agreement will be carried out and the overall economic pressure may still limit how long the rally can last.

CryptoQuant research indicates that after the ceasefire agreement, the price rise in Bitcoin and Ethereum was driven by new longs establishing positions, not by short liquidations. The open interest in BTC and ETH perpetual futures increased by $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively. Renewed institutional buying in the U.S. brought the Coinbase premium back into positive territory. Bitcoin broke above $69,400, targeting $79,000.

The U.S. CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said the CIA will incorporate AI into its analytical platforms over the next few years, but humans will still be the decision-makers. He mentioned a dispute with Anthropic and emphasized that competition between the U.S. and China in technology innovation is intensifying. AI and blockchain analytics will be key areas.

Bitcoin surged in the short term to $71,830 before pulling back. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent advancing the “CLARITY Act” faces challenges that could affect stablecoin legislation. WLFI borrowed $75 million in stablecoins, raising liquidation risk. U.S. stocks rose on expectations of peace talks, and market sentiment is optimistic, but liquidity in capital flows still needs improvement.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury expands its Cybersecurity Threat Identification Program, providing free threat intelligence services for blockchain companies to address the cybersecurity challenges facing the digital asset industry. A series of recent attack incidents, especially cases involving North Korean infiltration, have highlighted the risks to the crypto industry, prompting the government to incorporate it into its financial infrastructure protection framework to improve security defenses.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it will open a cybersecurity threat information sharing service to encrypted businesses, and qualifying companies can apply to receive cybersecurity intelligence for free to build a safer digital asset ecosystem.

Russian President Putin announced a 32-hour Easter ceasefire from April 11 at 16:00 to April 12 at 24:00, and called on Ukraine to follow suit. Ukrainian President Zelensky said he is ready to take reciprocal measures. Both sides expressed consistent views on this ceasefire window, but whether it can be implemented remains to be seen.