Crypto Morning Brief: Strait of Hormuz Closes Again; Ethereum Foundation Continues Selling ETH
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Crypto Morning Brief: Strait of Hormuz Closes Again; Ethereum Foundation Continues Selling ETH
Polymarket Acquires Brahma to Expand Crypto and DeFi Infrastructure
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday’s Market Highlights
Iranian media: Strait of Hormuz fully closed
According to Iran’s Press TV, the Strait of Hormuz has been fully closed, forcing oil tankers to turn back.
Iran demands Bitcoin payments from oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz
As reported by the Financial Times, during a two-week ceasefire, Iran plans to impose cryptocurrency-denominated tolls on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz to maintain de facto control over the waterway.
Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for the Iranian Union of Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Exporters, stated that each tanker must first declare its cargo information to Iranian authorities via email; Iran will then notify the vessel of the applicable toll amount. The fee is set at $1 per barrel of oil, while empty tankers may transit free of charge. Payments must be made in Bitcoin to circumvent asset tracing and freezing risks associated with sanctions. Ships will reportedly have only seconds to complete payment after receiving Iran’s assessment.
U.S. Treasury proposes new AML and sanctions compliance rules for stablecoin issuers
According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will jointly issue a proposed rule requiring stablecoin issuers to establish robust anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance programs. Specific measures include freezing, blocking, and rejecting suspicious transactions, as well as complying with provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act. The rule adopts an outcomes-based approach, recognizing that financial institutions best understand their own risk profiles; issuers with sound compliance frameworks are generally exempt from enforcement actions. This initiative implements the GENIUS Act, passed last year and scheduled to take full effect in 2027.
Canary Capital files S-1 registration statement for PEPE ETF
Per SEC filings, Canary Capital has submitted an S-1 registration statement for the Canary PEPE ETF, planning to launch issuance once the registration becomes effective. Previously, the firm filed numerous altcoin ETF applications, drawing external criticism that such moves were primarily for hype generation.
Ethereum Foundation continues ETH sales, having sold 3,750 ETH for ~$8.3 million
According to on-chain analyst Embers (@EmberCN), of the 5,000 ETH the Ethereum Foundation planned to sell, 3,750 ETH have now been sold for approximately $8.3 million, at an average price of $2,214 per ETH.
Morph releases stablecoin report: Stablecoins expected to account for 10% of global cross-border payments by 2030
Morph released its “State of Stablecoins” report, forecasting that stablecoins will represent roughly 10% of global cross-border payments by 2030. The report notes that annual stablecoin transaction volume has already reached $33 trillion—exceeding the combined $25.5 trillion processed by Visa and Mastercard.
The report highlights expanding real-world adoption of stablecoins, with approximately 60% of stablecoin flows driven by B2B payments. Corporate adoption is rising notably in treasury management and procurement use cases. Morph projects that annual stablecoin settlement volume could surpass $50 trillion by 2026, AI agents may become primary transaction initiators by 2027, and the market size may reach $1.9 trillion by 2030.
Morph announced the launch of a $150 million Payment Accelerator to support institutions deploying stablecoin solutions in building on-chain payment infrastructure.
Polygon Labs seeks up to $100M in funding for its payments business
According to The Information, Polygon Labs is pursuing financing for its payments business, targeting up to $100 million; related negotiations remain ongoing.
Polymarket acquires Brahma to expand crypto and DeFi infrastructure
Polymarket, a prediction market platform, announced the acquisition of Brahma, a decentralized finance infrastructure company. Brahma specializes in on-chain asset execution and management; its infrastructure will be integrated into Polymarket’s technology stack to enhance trade execution speed, market liquidity, and cross-chain interoperability, while optimizing user onboarding experiences. Brahma’s three co-founders—Alessandro Tenconi, Akanshu Jain, and Bapireddy Karri—will retain key roles within the merged team.
Yuga Labs settles RR/BAYC counterfeit NFT lawsuit with defendants after nearly four years
Per documents disclosed on April 7, 2026, by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Yuga Labs and defendants Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen have reached a settlement agreement resolving all claims in case no. 2:22-cv-04355. Filed in 2022, the lawsuit alleged trademark infringement arising from the defendants’ issuance of the RR/BAYC series of counterfeit Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs. The parties plan to submit a proposed consent injunction—a condition of the settlement—to the court shortly, formally concluding the case.
ZachXBT discloses internal payment server data from North Korean IT workers
According to ZachXBT, an anonymous source shared stolen data from an internal North Korean payment server, including records for 390 accounts, chat logs, and cryptocurrency transaction details. Since late November 2025, associated payment wallet addresses have received over $3.5 million, with funds subsequently withdrawn via exchanges or converted into fiat currency and deposited into Chinese bank accounts through platforms like Payoneer.
On-chain analysis links these internal payment addresses to known North Korean IT worker clusters; one Tron-based payment address was frozen by Tether in December 2025. Three affiliated companies listed in the user database—including Sobaeksu—have been sanctioned by OFAC. ZachXBT has compiled a complete organizational chart; the dataset covers the period from December 2025 to February 2026.
SBI Ripple Asia completes development of XRP Ledger-based token issuance platform and registers in Japan
According to CoinDesk, SBI Ripple Asia has completed development of its XRP Ledger-based token issuance platform and registered as a prepaid payment instrument issuer in Japan. Enterprise users can now issue tokenized payment instruments via this platform.
Market Data
Recommended Reading
Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF launches tomorrow; advises clients to allocate up to 4% of portfolios to crypto assets
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31033
This article reports that Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF (ticker: MSBT) will list on NYSE Arca on April 8, 2026—the first spot Bitcoin ETF directly issued by a major U.S. bank. With an annual management fee of just 0.14%, the lowest in the market, MSBT is expected to attract substantial institutional and retail investor interest. Additionally, Morgan Stanley is building comprehensive crypto infrastructure, including spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Solana, as well as an Ethereum staking ETF, and plans to offer retail crypto trading via its E*Trade platform.
84% of Polymarket traders are losing money; 0.033% capture most profits
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31018
This article analyzes Polymarket data showing that 84.1% of traders are unprofitable, only 2% of wallet addresses have earned more than $1,000, and a tiny fraction—0.033%—have earned over $100,000. Wealth distribution on Polymarket is highly skewed: only 0.26% of addresses earn over $5,000 monthly, yet over half of those are active for just one month. Though Polymarket’s valuation exceeds $20 billion—drawing significant capital market attention—the report questions whether new users can avoid repeating past losses.
New evidence in Argentina’s President Milei–LIBRA scandal: Seven call records revealed, $5M promotion payment agreement surfaces
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31020
This article details Argentine President Milei’s involvement in the LIBRA token scandal—the most severe political crisis of his administration to date. Milei is alleged to have held multiple phone calls with Novelli, a central figure behind LIBRA, and to have participated in a $5 million promotional payment agreement. Created by U.S. entrepreneur Davis’s company, LIBRA allocated most of its supply to insiders. Milei’s promotion triggered a sharp price surge followed by a rapid collapse, costing investors $251 million. Although Milei previously denied any connection to the project, new evidence suggests possible insider trading. Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies has reopened its investigation, subpoenaing senior government officials to testify, while opposition parties have introduced impeachment motions. The incident severely undermines Milei’s political image and anti-corruption stance.
OpenAI Codex Product Lead reveals: How we built the product—with no specs or roadmap
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31021
This article details how OpenAI’s Codex team developed its product without traditional product specifications or roadmaps, leveraging innovative workflows and tools—including Codex and Codex Spark. It explores the team’s product design philosophy, evolving professional roles, the future vision for intelligent agents, and hiring criteria.
After cutting 30,000 jobs, Oracle hires a CFO who used to run power plants
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31023
This article discusses Oracle’s appointment of a new CFO with prior experience in the energy sector following its layoff of 30,000 employees—signaling a strategic pivot from legacy database software toward cloud infrastructure, especially AI data centers. Oracle plans to invest $50 billion in data center construction and has signed massive infrastructure contracts with OpenAI, Meta, and others. Yet this strategic shift has not yet won full confidence from capital markets: Oracle’s stock price has fallen roughly 24%. The new CFO’s background underscores Oracle’s transformation from a software company into an energy-infrastructure company.
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