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BTC gyrations likely to calm as Goldman, BlackRock’s explore income ETFs: Crypto Daily

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Investors who thrive on bitcoin’s wild price swings may be in for disappointment. Major banks are preparing to introduce new products that could dampen volatility in a market that has already become significantly calmer in recent years.

Most recently, Goldman Sachs filed an application for a Bitcoin Premium Income exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposed fund relies on selling (writing) options tied to bitcoin-linked exchange-traded products to generate income while providing investors with exposure to the cryptocurrency. BlackRock is looking to launch a similar product.

Selling options is essentially writing insurance against price swings. The writers collect a premium in exchange for providing downside or upside protection, while being exposed to potentially significant losses if the market moves sharply. Traders often use covered strategies — holding the underlying asset or ETFs while writing options — to partially offset risk.

If approved, the ETFs may employ similar covered options strategies to generate yield, though the exact structures will vary by product.

Whatever the case, the net impact would be calmer market conditions. That’s because when options are sold in large numbers, dealers or market makers who take the other side of these trades end up with long positions. To manage their risks, these entities then dynamically hedge by buying the underlying asset on declines and selling on rallies. This dynamic is called hedging the positive gamma exposure, and it tends to restrain volatility.

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In addition, the availability of yield-generating institutional-grade products may suck capital away from pure speculative bets, further lowering realized volatility over time. Bitcoin’s implied volatility has been declining for three years, primarily due to the growing popularity of options-selling strategies.

Today bitcoin has pulled back to $74,000 after hitting highs near $76,000 on Tuesday. The CoinDesk 20 Index has dropped over 1% in 24 hours.

A firm breakout is expected to happen if the U.S. stock indexes hit new record highs.

“If Bitcoin is looking for external signals, it may remain indecisive until key US stock indices hit new highs. However, we are more inclined to believe that the first cryptocurrency’s stagnation is a sign of a fragile risk appetite that will soon manifest in the broader market,” Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at the FxPro said in an email.

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In the meantime, the IMF flashed a warning on the rising global debt, strengthening the bull case in bitcoin. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

What’s trending

Today’s signal

BTC's daily price swings in candlestick format and the 100-day simple moving average of the price. (TradingView)

Bitcoin is struggling to rise past its 100-day simple moving average, a widely watched technical level that reflects the average closing price over the period.

This pattern is reminiscent of mid-January, when sellers regained control at the 100-day average and stalled the recovery. Bitcoin saw a sharp decline in the days that followed.

The question now is whether history will repeat itself, or if this time the level finally gives way, paving the way for faster gains to $80,000 and higher.

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WLFI Moves to End Indefinite Token Lock with Four-Year Vesting Proposal

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WLFI Moves to End Indefinite Token Lock with Four-Year Vesting Proposal

The governance proposal would give early token buyers the ability to start unlocking their tokens in two years — notably, after Trump’s second presidential term ends.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the DeFi project tied to the Trump family, has posted a governance proposal restructuring token unlocks for all major holder categories, covering over 62 billion WLFI tokens in total.

Under the proposal, early supporters — presale buyers who purchased WLFI at either $0.015 or $0.05 per token — would see their more than 17 billion locked tokens placed on a 2-year cliff followed by a 2-year linear vest, with tokens beginning to unlock at year two and fully distributed by year four. Per the proposal, the unlock takes effect from the date that the proposal passes.

The initial WLFI presale began a year and a half ago, in mid-October, 2024, as The Defiant reported at the time. The proposed unlock and vesting schedule would mean early buyers will have to wait a total of five and a half years before their tokens are fully unlocked and distributed.

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That timeline would notably extend well past January 2029, when Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president ends.

Founders, team members, and partners, which hold a collective 45.2 billion WLFI, face a stricter schedule: a 2-year cliff with a 3-year linear vest, plus an immediate 10% burn of their allocation upon passage, per the proposal.

The proposed schedule does not replace a previous one, as the World Liberty team noted in the proposal and an X announcement today. WLFI’s original sale terms gave early buyers no guaranteed unlock date, and tokens could remain locked indefinitely, with any release contingent on a governance vote.

Holders who decline the new schedule remain under those original indefinite terms, per the proposal.

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WLFI is currently trading around $0.08, down over 75% from its all-time high near $0.33, which it reached soon after launch.

Mounting Controversy

Earlier this week, WLFI’s largest investor, Justin Sun, publicly clashed with the project, alleging a hidden blacklisting function in the token contract gives WLFI unilateral power to freeze holder assets. WLFI responded by threatening legal action and calling Sun’s claims baseless.

The conflict follows reporting that WLFI borrowed roughly $75 million in stablecoins using its own WLFI tokens as collateral on Dolomite — a lending protocol co-founded by WLFI’s own CTO — drawing comparisons to prior DeFi blow-ups involving founder self-collateralization.

The latest governance vote runs for seven days with a 1 billion WLFI quorum threshold.

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This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

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Is Donald Trump Bluffing About China To Reopen the Strait of Hormuz?

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Polymarket Trader Loses $6 Million Betting on the US Iran Strikes

President Donald Trump says China agreed to stop arming Iran. He tied the claim to efforts to permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The US is enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Bitwise analysts argue the crisis could expand Bitcoin’s (BTC) role in global finance.

Trump Declares China Partnership, Beijing Pushes Back

In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was “permanently opening” the Strait, predicting that President Xi Jinping “will give me a big, fat, hug” during an upcoming visit.

“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz…They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” wrote Trump in the post.

The post came days after peace talks between VP JD Vance and Iranian officials collapsed in Islamabad. The US began a targeted blockade of Iranian ports around April 13.

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Forces interdicted vessels and cleared mines near one of the world’s most critical oil routes.

The Strait handles roughly 20% to 30% of the global seaborne oil trade. Prolonged disruption threatens higher energy costs and supply chain risks worldwide. Shipping data shows traffic remains severely curtailed.

China’s Foreign Ministry offered a sharply different view. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the blockade “a dangerous and irresponsible move.”

He said it would “aggravate confrontation” and “undermine the already fragile ceasefire.”

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Beijing denied US intelligence claims about weapons transfers to Iran. Officials called the allegations “groundless smears” and said China follows strict export controls.

No independent confirmation of a formal arms agreement has surfaced.

Bitwise Says Crisis Expands Bitcoin’s Addressable Market

The standoff has sharpened debate about BTC’s function beyond a store of value. Since US and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28, Bitcoin has gained 12%. The S&P 500 fell 1%, and gold dropped 10% over the same period.

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Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan argued the outperformance stems directly from the conflict. He framed Bitcoin’s potential as a currency like an out-of-the-money call option that gained value as geopolitical volatility increased.

Iran’s decision to collect bitcoin tolls of roughly $1 per barrel from ships transiting the strait bolsters that thesis. The toll system could generate an estimated $21 million per day in crypto inflows. Hougan said the move points to a reality that “transcends the current conflict.”

“If Bitcoin starts to take on a dual role as both a store of value (like gold) and an actual currency (like the dollar), we may need to revise our targets higher,” wrote Hougan.

Bitwise head of research Ryan Rasmussen echoed that assessment. He said their internal price targets “are too low.” If BTC captures both roles, “$1 million per bitcoin begins to look like a starting point,” he added.

BTC traded for $73,894 as of this writing, holding gains from a recent rebound to its highest level since early February.

Whether the Strait fully reopens depends on fast-moving negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The post Is Donald Trump Bluffing About China To Reopen the Strait of Hormuz? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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WLFI Proposes Vesting Plan for 62B Tokens With Conditional Burn

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WLFI Proposes Vesting Plan for 62B Tokens With Conditional Burn

Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform World Liberty Financial on Wednesday posted a governance proposal that would place 62.28 billion locked WLFI tokens under new multiyear vesting schedules and introduce a potential burn for founder, team, adviser and partner allocations. 

Under the proposal, early supporters’ locked tokens would face a two-year cliff followed by a two-year linear vest. Founder, team, adviser and partner allocations would face a two-year cliff followed by a three-year linear vest if those holders opt in to the new terms.

The plan also provides for a burn of up to 4.52 billion WLFI tokens, or 10% of the founder, team, adviser and partner allocation. Holders who do not accept the new vesting terms would remain locked indefinitely.

The move formalizes a phased unlock approach previously signaled by the project, offering a structured release of tokens while avoiding a near-term increase in supply. It comes as the Trump-linked platform faces growing pressure from holders and broader scrutiny of its governance.

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Source: World Liberty Financial 

WLFI proposal follows backlash, governance scrutiny

The proposal follows mounting criticism from early WLFI buyers over prolonged lockups and limited liquidity. On April 10, the project said it would introduce the proposal after some holders threatened legal action. 

Additional scrutiny emerged around the platform’s governance structure and decision-making process.

On Monday, Tron founder Justin Sun, who previously invested $30 million in WLFI, criticized the platform over transparency concerns, alleging that prior governance votes were dominated by a small number of wallets and lacked meaningful participation. In response, WLFI threatened to file a lawsuit against Sun.

Related: Trump faces renewed backlash as Trump-linked crypto tokens hit lows

On the same day, Sun urged WLFI to disclose who controls key wallets tied to its smart contracts, warning that the setup could allow significant control, including the ability to freeze tokens. 

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The proposal also follows recent concerns around WLFI’s treasury activity and market performance. On Saturday, WLFI fell to a new all-time low, just days after wallets linked to the project used billions of tokens as collateral to borrow about $75 million in stablecoins. 

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