conflict – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:30:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.7 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 conflict – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Iranian crypto flows fall 11% on Israel conflict, Nobitex hack: TRM Labs https://earlybirdsinvest.com/iranian-crypto-flows-fall-11-on-israel-conflict-nobitex-hack-trm-labs/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/iranian-crypto-flows-fall-11-on-israel-conflict-nobitex-hack-trm-labs/#respond Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:30:58 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/iranian-crypto-flows-fall-11-on-israel-conflict-nobitex-hack-trm-labs/

Flows into Iranian crypto trading platforms have fallen in 2025 due to a breakdown in nuclear negotiations with Israel, a $90 million hack on Iran’s largest crypto exchange, and a major stablecoin blacklisting, says blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.

Iranian crypto flows hit $3.7 billion between January and July, an 11% decrease compared to the same period last year, with the worst drop off coming in June and July, TRM Labs said in a report on Tuesday.

“This downturn coincided with a breakdown in nuclear negotiations, a 12-day conflict with Israel beginning June 13, and widespread power outages in Iran — driven by a combination of Israeli kinetic and cyber operations, as well as regime-initiated shutdowns.”

Iran’s crypto flows started to sharply drop in June, just after the $90 million hack on Nobitex, which handles 87% of the country’s crypto transactions. 

Many Iranians rely on US dollar stablecoins as a store of value amid skyrocketing inflation and to skirt tough sanctions on the country, which has largely cut it off from the global economy.

Nobitex hack big contributor to Iran’s crypto shake-up

Confidence in Iran-based virtual asset service providers (VASPs) deteriorated following Nobitex’s security breach, which came at the hands of pro-Israel group Predatory Sparrow on June 18 — when tensions between Iran and Israel were at their peak.

While Nobitex continues to dominate Iran crypto transaction volume, the incident disrupted liquidity, slowed transaction processing and temporarily pushed users toward alternative platforms, TRM said.

Share of crypto transaction volume among Iranian VASPs between January and July. Source: TRM Labs

Heightened Iran-Israel tensions further amplified the outflows, which surged more than 150% in the worst week and a large percentage of that volume headed to high-risk foreign exchanges with little to no Know Your Customer checks, TRM said.

Tether’s blacklisting slowed flows

Stablecoin issuer Tether also carried out its largest-ever freeze of Iranian-linked funds, blacklisting 42 crypto addresses with Tether (USDT) balances on July 2.

The incident sparked a coordinated push from Iranian exchanges, influencers and state-backed channels for users to offload their TRON-based USDT balances — Iran’s most widely used network and token — and move funds into Dai (DAI) on Polygon.

Related: UAE reportedly holds $700M in mined Bitcoin: Arkham

Many everyday Iranians continue to turn to crypto as a hedge against inflation, TRM said, highlighting Iran’s strong reliance on stablecoins.

Iran continues to use crypto for political objectives

Iran is still relying on crypto to pay for sensitive goods from Chinese chip resellers, including hardware critical for artificial intelligence, drone components, and other electrical equipment — enabling it to effectively bypass sanctions, TRM noted.

It has also used crypto to fund espionage payments with foreign operatives, the crypto analytics firm added.

However, illicit crypto transactions in Iran still only account for less than 1% of total volume.

Magazine: Bitcoin is ‘funny internet money’ during a crisis: Tezos co-founder

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/iranian-crypto-flows-fall-11-on-israel-conflict-nobitex-hack-trm-labs/feed/ 0 55297 Asia Morning Briefing: Risk of Escalating Israel-Iran Conflict Keeps BTC Around 105K Says QCP https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-risk-of-escalating-israel-iran-conflict-keeps-btc-around-105k-says-qcp/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-risk-of-escalating-israel-iran-conflict-keeps-btc-around-105k-says-qcp/#respond Mon, 16 Jun 2025 03:48:54 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-risk-of-escalating-israel-iran-conflict-keeps-btc-around-105k-says-qcp/

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

As Asia opens the trading week,

is changing hands at around $ 105,000, stuck in this range due to market uncertainty about whether the Israel-Iran conflict will escalate into a broader regional war, according to a recent note from trading firm QCP.

QCP wrote in a Friday note published on Telegram that risk reversals have “flipped decisively,” with front-end BTC puts now commanding premiums of up to 5 volatility points over equivalent calls, a clear indicator of heightened investor anxiety and increased hedging against downside risks.

The firm said that despite this defensive shift in positioning, BTC has demonstrated notable resilience. Even amid recent volatility, which saw over $1 billion in long positions liquidated across major crypto assets, on-chain data shows that institutional buying continues to provide meaningful support.

QCP emphasizes that markets remain “stuck in a bind,” awaiting clarity on geopolitical outcomes, and warns that the digital asset complex will likely remain tightly linked to headline-driven sentiment shifts for the foreseeable future.

With all that in mind, however, Glassnode data provides some reassurance to investors concerned about longer-term directionality.

Although recent volatility underscores short-term anxiety, bitcoin’s current cycle gain of 656%, while lower than previous bull markets, is notably impressive given its significantly larger market capitalization today.

Previous cycles returned 1076% (2015–2018) and 1007% (2018–2022), suggesting investor demand is still pacing closely with BTC’s maturation, even as near-term macro jitters dominate market sentiment.

(CoinDesk)

Galaxy Research Says OP_Return Debate Wasn’t That Important

The OP_Return debate was less important than what a “loud but small group of critics” wanted everyone to think, Galaxy Research’s Alex Thorn wrote in a recent note.

Thorn described critics’ reactions as “wild accusations of the ‘death of Bitcoin'” and argued that such hyperbole was misplaced given historically low mempool congestion.

On-chain data shows that the mempool is virtually empty compared to a year ago, and the notion that a congested blockchain is suffocating BTC, as was the prevailing narrative in 2023, now appears significantly overstated.

In the note, Thorn further highlighted the irony of labeling arbitrary data as “spam,” reminding observers that Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, famously included arbitrary text, the “chancellor on brink of second bailout” headline, in the Bitcoin’s blockchain’s very first block.

Instead, Thorn argued, Bitcoin’s community attention would be better focused on potential upgrades like CheckTemplateVerify (CTV), a proposed opcode enabling strict spending conditions (“covenants”).

“We continue to believe [CTV] is a conservative but powerful opcode that would greatly enhance the ability to build better, safer methods of custody,” he wrote, noting that around 20% of Bitcoin’s hashrate already signaled support for the upgrade.

Bitcoin upgrades require extensive consensus-building, reflecting its open-source ethos, and Thorn emphasized that cautious, deliberate evolution remains critical for broader adoption and scalability.

ByBit Launches Byreal, a Solana-Native Decentralized Exchange

Bybit is entering the decentralized exchange space with Byreal, an on-chain trading platform built on Solana, Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO announced via X over the weekend.

Byreal’s testnet is scheduled to launch on June 30, with the mainnet rollout expected later this year. Zhou said that Byreal is designed to combine centralized exchange features such as high liquidity and fast execution with the transparency and composability of DeFi. The platform will also include a fair launchpad system and curated yield vaults linked to Solana-native assets like bbSOL.

Market Movements:

  • BTC: Bitcoin held near $105,000 after more than $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, led by a $200 million long on Binance, as rising Israel-Iran tensions triggered a sharp selloff, a flight from altcoins, and a brief but intense bout of volatility.
  • ETH: Ethereum rose 2% to around $2,550 after finding strong support at $2,510, showing resilience amid Israel-Iran tensions and broader market volatility, with continued institutional inflows supporting the uptrend.
  • Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.87 percent, as investors weighed escalating Israel-Iran tensions, while oil and gold prices surged on safe haven demand.
  • Gold: Gold climbed to $3,447 in early Asian trading Monday, hitting a one-month high as Middle East tensions and rising expectations of a September Fed rate cut outweighed strong U.S. consumer sentiment data.

Elsewhere in Crypto:

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Bitcoin Remains Defiant Amid Escalating Middle East Conflict and Trade War Fears https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-remains-defiant-amid-escalating-middle-east-conflict-and-trade-war-fears/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-remains-defiant-amid-escalating-middle-east-conflict-and-trade-war-fears/#respond Sat, 14 Jun 2025 15:28:51 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-remains-defiant-amid-escalating-middle-east-conflict-and-trade-war-fears/

Bitcoin hovered around $105,100 on June 14, down 0.22% over the past 24 hours as traders digested geopolitical tension. Price action remained relatively tight, with BTC moving within a $2,090 range from $104,220 to $106,135. The largest moves occurred overnight in Asia trading, where Bitcoin briefly dipped below $104,200 before rebounding on high volume.

Much of the recent volatility has been driven by developments in the Middle East. The Israel-Iran war, which some analysts fear could spread to other parts of the Middle East, combined with trade tensions between the U.S. and some of its key trading partners, has unsettled risk markets. More than $1.1 billion in crypto liquidations were recorded during the initial wave of conflict headlines, though bitcoin has shown resilience in the aftermath.

Traders appear to be leaning bullish in the medium term, as BTC continues to hold a pattern of higher lows despite intraday wobbles. Profit-taking near $106,000 capped upside momentum, but support near $105,000 continues to draw buyers on dips. Market participants are watching this range closely, particularly as safe-haven demand and risk sentiment remain intertwined.

While short-term headlines continue to drive volatility, the broader structure suggests BTC is consolidating rather than reversing. If support around $104,950 holds, Bitcoin may attempt another push above $106,200.

Technical Analysis Highlights

  • BTC traded in a $2,090 range from $104,182 to $106,272 over the past 24 hours.
  • A key bounce occurred at $104,182 with 15,342 BTC traded during the recovery.
  • Resistance formed near $106,200 amid consistent profit-taking.
  • A rising trendline of higher lows remains intact.
  • Psychological support at $105,000 is holding for now.
  • Recent price range: $104,875 to $105,202 in the last hour.
  • A sharp dip below $105K at 07:19 reversed quickly, with $105,200 acting as near-term resistance.
  • Final 15-minute candles showed minor exhaustion, but volume patterns suggest accumulation on dips.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

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Gold price nears all-time high amid fears of broader regional Middle Eastern conflict  https://earlybirdsinvest.com/gold-price-nears-all-time-high-amid-fears-of-broader-regional-middle-eastern-conflict/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/gold-price-nears-all-time-high-amid-fears-of-broader-regional-middle-eastern-conflict/#respond Sat, 14 Jun 2025 15:02:48 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/gold-price-nears-all-time-high-amid-fears-of-broader-regional-middle-eastern-conflict/

Gold price is nearing its all-time high at $3,433, further fueling its up-and-to-the-right rally in 2025, as escalating tensions in the Middle East drive investors toward traditional safe-haven assets.

The surge in gold price reflects not only geopolitical uncertainty but also a broader shift in global reserve strategies. The ECB reported last week that gold had overtaken the euro in 2024 as the world’s second-most important reserve asset, driven by record purchases by central banks.

Over the past month, the spot gold price has climbed nearly 5%, rebounding from a mid-May low of around $3,123 and gaining 1.6% overnight, pushing it above $3,400 and close to its April all-time high of $3,500. For the year so far, gold is up more than 30%, making it one of the best-performing asset classes in 2025.

Geopolitical uncertainty is driving gold price higher

The primary catalyst for gold’s recent gains is the escalation of tensions in the Middle East following Israel’s military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites. Markets have grown increasingly nervous about the potential for broader regional conflict and prompting a flight to safety, as investors pile into gold.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 679.83 points and the S&P 500 dropped 1.13%, as the price of oil soared by 7%  in a single day, the largest intraday move since the early days of the Ukraine war. Despite an initial tumble, Bitcoin recovered to $105,000 at the time of writing, showing relative stability.

Higher oil prices are expected to drive up costs for gasoline and diesel, adding to inflationary pressures that are already a concern for central banks and consumers alike and enhancing gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation and economic instability.

Gold overtook the euro among reserve assets in 2024

Gold’s rise to become the world’s second-largest reserve asset in 2024, surpassing the euro, is a sizable development in global finance. According to the latest data from the ECB report, the U.S. dollar remains dominant with a 46% share of global reserves, followed by gold at 20% and the euro at 16%.

The shift reflects a long-term trend of central banks diversifying their reserves away from traditional currencies in response to geopolitical risks and concerns over the weaponization of the dollar.

Central banks have been net buyers of gold for three consecutive years, with annual purchases exceeding 1,000 tonnes, double the pace of the previous decade. Demand is expected to continue, stoking the bullish case for gold and prompting everyone’s favorite gold bug, Peter Schiff, to comment:

“Gold is close to a new record high, but the $GDX is already trading at its highest level since Sept. 2012. The fact that gold mining stocks are now leading the metal is a sign that this gold bull market has kicked into a higher gear, as is the recent breakout in silver. Got gold?”

Gold’s performance in 2025 reinforces its appeal as a safe-haven asset, with prices close to all-time highs and its new status as the world’s second-largest reserve asset. Meanwhile, while Bitcoin continues to hold steady, the world’s number-one crypto has yet to displace gold as the ultimate hedge in turbulent times.

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Concerns over Trump’s conflict of interest are slowing the progress of broader crypto policy https://earlybirdsinvest.com/concerns-over-trumps-conflict-of-interest-are-slowing-the-progress-of-broader-crypto-policy/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/concerns-over-trumps-conflict-of-interest-are-slowing-the-progress-of-broader-crypto-policy/#respond Sun, 11 May 2025 01:16:49 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/concerns-over-trumps-conflict-of-interest-are-slowing-the-progress-of-broader-crypto-policy/

Discussions around the personal enrichment and potential conflict of interest arising from U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto asset ventures gained steam over the past week. These concerns are slowing not only the progress of the stablecoin legislation but also broader crypto policy. The founder of fintech venture capital fund Launchpad Capital, Ryan Gilbert, told CNBC:

“It’s unfortunate that personal business is getting in the way of good policy…I would hope that everybody in the administration, including the president, gets out of the way of good policy.”

The stablecoin legislation, known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, aims to establish a regulatory framework for U.S. payment stablecoins.

The bill “is generally perceived to be the legislation that’s gonna be the easiest to get through,” Katrina Paglia, chief legal officer at venture capital firm Pantera Capital, told CNBC earlier this week. Therefore, Paglia was disappointed when the GENIUS Act failed to pass the Senate on Thursday with a 48-49 vote, but was not “surprised.”

Ethical concerns around Trump’s profits from crypto assets and ventures had blocked discussion of the draft U.S. crypto market structure bill scheduled for May 6. The market structure bill was introduced on Monday, aiming to provide much-needed regulatory clarity. The bill aimed to provide clear guidelines on how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would classify and oversee digital assets.

The sequence of events that raised conflict of interest concerns

Days before Trump’s inauguration, he launched the official $TRUMP memecoin, whose price spiked to an all-time high of $75 on Jan. 19, according to CryptoSlate data.

The price of $TRUMP fell rapidly after Trump’s inauguration, leading small investors to lose over $2 billion. Meanwhile, Trump-linked companies, which control 80% of the memecoin’s supply, earned around $100 million in trading fees by Jan. 30, Reuters reported in February.

In March, Trump family representatives were reportedly in talks to acquire a stake in the U.S. arm of Binance, which paid a historic fine after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws in 2023.

On March 13, the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act. On March 25, World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project linked to the Trump family, announced plans to launch its own stablecoin, USD1.

The investment by Abu Dhabi-based investment giant MGX into Binance was announced on March 12. But on May 1, WLF co-founder confirmed that USD1 was selected to execute the transaction, according to Reuters. MGX is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and a brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. Abu Dhabi’s state-owned $330 billion wealth fund Mubadala, is a partner in MGX.

In late April, Trump invited the top 220 of his memecoin holders to a private audience at a gala dinner on May 22. At the time, Democratic U.S. senator for Georgia Jon Ossoff called the move an “impeachable offense.”

Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that insiders made nearly $100 million by buying the memecoin of Melania Trump, the U.S. First Lady, hours before its public launch.

Past week intensified tensions around ‘Trump’s corruption’

The GENIUS Act was supposed to sail through. But last weekend, nine Senate Democrats, including four who previously voted for the bill, said they would withhold support if the bill was not revised to address national security and money laundering concerns.

On May 6, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, used the time scheduled to discuss the crypto market structure bill to protest against “Trump’s corruption.” Waters stated that Trump made at least $350 million from his memecoin, adding:

“Trump ran on a campaign to put more money in the pockets of Americans—turns out he just meant his pockets and those of his cronies.”

At the same hearing, Chastity Murphy, senior advisor for financial institutions at the Treasury Department, said Trump’s crypto empire is a vehicle for “influence peddling, bribery, and regulatory capture.” Representative Stephen Lynch asserted that Trump has earned around $2.9 billion—nearly 40% of his wealth—from his crypto ventures.

On May 7, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act to prohibit members of Congress and family members from “issuing, endorsing, or sponsoring crypto assets, such as meme coins and stablecoins.” He noted:

“Trump is cashing in on his presidency and making millions from his own crypto coins—this is corruption in broad daylight.”

In a letter on Friday, Democratic Senators urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Trump’s ties to Binance, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who served four months in prison, has requested a pardon from Trump.

Senator Jeff Merkley told CNBC in a statement:

“Currently, people who wish to cultivate influence with the president can enrich him personally by buying cryptocurrency he owns or controls…This is a profoundly corrupt scheme.”

Despite the concerns, Senators from both parties have already started negotiating since the failed vote on Thursday and could vote on the GENIUS Act again as soon as next Monday. Most lawmakers expect the GENIUS Act to eventually pass the Senate and land on Trump’s desk, but the timeline is uncertain amid the conflict of interest concerns.

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EU sanctions Russian crypto exchange Garantex over Ukraine conflict ties https://earlybirdsinvest.com/eu-sanctions-russian-crypto-exchange-garantex-over-ukraine-conflict-ties/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/eu-sanctions-russian-crypto-exchange-garantex-over-ukraine-conflict-ties/#respond Tue, 25 Feb 2025 05:05:13 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/eu-sanctions-russian-crypto-exchange-garantex-over-ukraine-conflict-ties/

The European Union has taken action against Garantex, a Russia-based crypto exchange, as part of its 16th sanctions package targeting entities linked to the Ukraine conflict.

In a statement released on Feb. 24, the EU identified Garantex as a key player in facilitating Russia’s efforts to bypass financial restrictions.

The council cited the exchange’s close association with Russian banks already under EU sanctions as a primary reason for the measure. This move marks the first time the EU has directly sanctioned a Russian crypto exchange.

The EU’s latest sanctions seek to limit Russia’s access to financial resources and disrupt its ability to fund military operations. By targeting Garantex, the EU aims to close financial loopholes that enable Russia to circumvent economic restrictions through crypto.

Notably, CryptoSlate previously reported that Russians had turned to digital assets like Bitcoin and Tether’s USDT to neutralize the impact of Western sanctions on its economy.

Meanwhile, the package includes restrictions on 48 individuals and 35 entities, increasing the total number of sanctioned persons and organizations to over 2,400.

The EU stated that these sanctioned entities actively support Russia’s war efforts. As a result, their assets are now frozen, and EU citizens and businesses are prohibited from conducting transactions with them. Additionally, individuals on the list face travel bans, restricting their movement within EU member states.

Beyond Garantex, the sanctions apply to Russian oil transport companies, a Chinese satellite imaging firm, media propagandists, business figures, and political entities. These measures aim to tighten economic and financial pressure on Russia’s war-linked networks.

This action against Garantex follows prior restrictions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2024, investigators in both countries were examining the exchange’s role in processing approximately $20 billion USDT.

Before that, the US Treasury accused Garantex of failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations, which allowed illicit transactions to occur on its platform.

As a result. the exchange’s wallets are now listed on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.

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