Happy Wednesday!

Bitcoin is seeing fresh demand — for payments in the Strait of Hormuz that is. Iran is reportedly demanding Bitcoin payments to let vessels pass the Strait.

Bitcoin ETFs were not buying yesterday, even as rumors of the eventual ceasefire were swirling. Is institutional money sidelined?

Plus, the Pentagon is quietly shifting billions away from legacy giants to smaller space firms. and while most investors can't buy SpaceX just yet, they can position for what comes next. See The Space Trade Setup

TOP STORY

Iran Demands Bitcoin Payments At Hormuz As Trump Says Strait Must Open 'Immediately And Completely'

Iran is demanding Bitcoin payments from oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz — and threatening to destroy any vessel that passes without permission.

The toll: $1 per barrel of oil, payable in Bitcoin within seconds of receiving approval, specifically chosen because it "can't be traced or confiscated due to sanctions."

That puts Iran's Bitcoin toll system on a direct collision course with Trump's demand for "complete, immediate, and safe opening" of the waterway.

SPECIAL OFFER

SpaceX Is Worth $1.5 Trillion. Here's the Backdoor In

Everyone's watching SpaceX. Smart money is already positioned in what follows: the data networks, spectrum licenses, and defense contractors moving in behind it. The Pentagon is quietly shifting billions away from legacy giants to smaller space firms — and the companies winning those contracts are getting a new seal of approval overnight. Most investors can't buy SpaceX. But they can position for what comes next.

QUICK N DIRTY

Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP are rallying as markets cheer the relief from the US-Iran ceasefire: here’s what else is driving markets today.

Coinbase is making great strides in Australia, with a new derivatives license for trading: can it drive a trend reversal?

Bitcoin is the ultimate hard money, according to one prominent economist. But how does that matter for price?

FINTECH FOCUS

Bitcoin Surges 5% But ETFs Bled $159M: Is This A Bull Trap?

Bitcoin surged 5% to $71,700 on the U.S.-Iran ceasefire — and ETFs bled $159 million the same day.

That divergence is the story.

BlackRock's IBIT dropped $17.11 million, Fidelity's FBTC shed $47.85 million, and Grayscale pulled $41.89 million — institutional money is not chasing this bounce.

The 4-hour chart tells the same story: Bitcoin spiked toward $73,000 and got rejected with a long upper wick, a textbook bull trap pattern…

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