Iran peace talks entered their most uncertain phase yet Monday as Vice President JD Vance prepared to lead a delegation to Islamabad alongside envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Axios reported, even as Iran’s Foreign Ministry formally stated it has “no plans” for a second round and Tehran suspected the invitation was cover for a surprise US military strike before Wednesday’s ceasefire expiry.

Iran peace talks are entering their most consequential 48 hours with the ceasefire set to expire Wednesday and no Iranian delegation publicly confirmed. The US delegation is traveling regardless. Pakistan has kept Islamabad under security lockdown in anticipation of a second round, with thousands of paramilitary and army personnel deployed through the Red Zone.

The US team, the same configuration that led the failed first round on April 11 and 12, is led by Vance and includes Witkoff and Kushner. Two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes had already landed at a Pakistani air base Sunday with security equipment and vehicles, signaling the delegation was committed to arriving whether or not Iran confirmed participation.

Tehran has told intermediaries it believes the US announcement of talks is designed to build a “blame game” narrative: publicly committing to negotiations while preparing military strikes to coincide with the ceasefire expiry. The Sunday seizure of the Touska, arriving hours after Trump announced the Pakistan talks, reinforced that suspicion. Iran’s Foreign Ministry described US statements about negotiations as “a media game.”

Iran’s chief negotiator Ghalibaf said in state television remarks Saturday that Iran’s armed forces remain “ready” even while pursuing diplomacy, framing the two tracks as simultaneous rather than alternative. The original ceasefire was announced hours before a midnight deadline during which Trump had threatened “a whole civilization will die tonight.” Iran’s negotiating team arrived at the first round dressed in black, in mourning for those killed in the war. The level of institutional mistrust is not rhetorical.

What Pakistan Is Attempting as Mediator

Pakistan has framed this engagement as an ongoing “Islamabad process” rather than a single discrete round, giving itself diplomatic room to survive a second collapse without the entire framework breaking down. Prime Minister Sharif spoke with Iranian President Pezeshkian on Sunday. Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has served as the primary interlocutor between delegations throughout the conflict.

Despite Iran’s public rejection, Pakistani authorities completed Red Zone security preparations, suggesting Islamabad has reasons to believe Iran may still participate. An Iranian parliamentary official told Al Jazeera that Iran would “likely” send a team Monday or Tuesday, a gap between the Foreign Ministry’s statement and the parliamentary official’s remark that Pakistan is actively working to close.

What the Outcome Means for Crypto Markets

The next 48 hours will determine which scenario plays out for Bitcoin price markets. A ceasefire extension or genuine deal replicates the April 8 template: oil crashes and BTC surges, potentially toward $80,000. A confirmed collapse with resumed strikes tests the institutional demand floor below $70,000.

The Iran nuclear sticking point remains the hardest to bridge: the US requires Iran to permanently halt uranium enrichment, and Iran has said it will not surrender its 440-kilogram stockpile. A second round would need to find a formula, such as third-party custody of the stockpile, that neither side has publicly endorsed but that both have reportedly discussed through Pakistani intermediaries.

If Michael Saylor can sustain his trailing four-week pace of bitcoin (BTC) buying, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) could own more than Satoshi Nakamoto by September 2026. 

Buying at the world’s largest BTC treasury company now averages nearly 2,800 BTC per trading day after accelerating 40% over the last four weeks above its year-to-date average.

Strategy has publicly targeted 1 million BTC under its so-called 21/21 capital plan.

Monday’s SEC Form 8-K filing pushed the company’s holdings to 815,061 BTC. Saylor picked up 34,164 BTC last week alone, a single-week record for 2026, at an average purchase price of $74,395 per coin. 

Strategy’s blended cost basis across all holdings is now $75,527, which sits within 1% of the prevailing market price of BTC.

Although there are a variety of estimates for the total holdings of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, 1.1 million is a common estimate. For example, Arkham Intelligence attributes 1,096,354 BTC to Satoshi from roughly 22,000 coinbase rewards of the blockchain’s earliest blocks.

Strategy is a mere 281,293 coins short of that figure.

If Saylor continues his pace over the last 30 days through autumn, Strategy could close the gap in 101 trading days, or about 147 calendar days.

Strategy could buy more bitcoin than Satoshi

Strategy can buy and hold BTC around the clock, but it cannot fund new buys 24/7. At the market (ATM) offerings of MSTR common stock; as well as the preferreds STRC, STRK, STRF, and STRD; occur when Nasdaq is open.

Any realistic projection of when Strategy might own more BTC than Satoshi has to measure pace by trading day, i.e. roughly 21 trading days per month adjusted for federal market holidays.

Year-to-date through April 19, Strategy has bought 142,561 BTC for roughly $11.13 billion across 73 trading days. That’s approximately 1,953 BTC per trading day.

Extrapolating the 2026 average through November 13 would put Strategy past Satoshi on that date.

However, the trailing four weeks are running about 40% hotter than the first quarter. Strategy’s last four weekly announcements, covering March 23 through April 19, totaled 52,962 BTC across 19 trading days. 

That acceleration tracks Strategy’s March 23 expansion of its ATM sales. On that day, the company authorized another $21 billion of new MSTR common stock, $21 billion of new STRC preferreds, and a more limited $2.1 billion of STRK preferreds.

Gudtrip, the AI-powered weed vape created by “vape-to-earn” firm Puffpaw, has been branded a contender for the “grifter buzzword world record” this 4/20.

On today of all days, X users decided to comment on Gudtrip’s claims that it combines “premium cannabis, blockchain rewards, and AI-powered asset tools in one product,” asking, “Is Gudtrip going for a grifter buzzword world record?” 

Gudtrip says it will reward its users with “Bitcoin [BTC], Gudtrip Points, and VAPE token” when they smoke using the device. 

As for the AI integration, Gudtrip says that users wishing to invest their crypto rewards can use its “open-source AI agent tools to explore supported blockchain-based strategies.”

Another X user said, “In a just world, ‘AI-powered crypto weed vape’ is an object that when conceived opens a chasm to hell beneath your feet,” while one claimed, “I’ve never seen a group of more ridiculous buzz words surrounding a drug device please dear god fuck off with your crypto/agentic AI bullshit scam thanks.”

While puffing on your vape, you’re likely to be accruing its VAPE token — the price of which Protos has been unable to confirm — rather than the 20 BTC worth $1.5 million its promotional images suggest.   

Read more: Crypto’s smoking ‘solution’ will likely create more vape addicts

Just last week, shoe firm Allbirds was able to juice its stock by 508% after pivoting its operations towards investment in AI data centers.

AI has also been a major buzzword linked to many big-name layoffs this year.

Many on social media weren’t at all impressed with theGudtrip concept, with some asking for ways to short the product. Others described it as a sign of a “bubble.” 

Attempting to join in on the joke that is ripping into Gudtrip’s buzzword playbook, its own founder, Reffo Tse, also asked “how do I short this?”

Read more: AI agents want to identify your crypto wallet using social media

Puffpaw’s ‘vape-to-earn’ would only make addictions worse

When Tse first released the vaping device Puffpaw, he promised to disincentivize vaping by offering users crypto rewards for using smaller amounts of nicotine.

However, it was mocked by users who noted that a vaping habit tied to a financial incentive will only incentivize continuous vaping. 

UK Addiction Treatment Centres told Protos that Puffpaw wasn’t going to lower the usage of vapes. It said, “If anything, it could have the complete opposite effect because of the enticing gamification and crypto reward that comes with vaping.”

Read more: Snoop Dogg quits ‘smoke’ amid NFT, edibles launch rumors

The addiction center said Puffpaw might “worsen a person’s addiction,” and that it feels like “a corporate way of making money off people trying to quit smoking and lead healthier lives.”

The vaping product seems not to have been enough for Puffpaw’s CEO, however, and Gudtrip entered the scene in October 2025.

Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

IRGC news on Monday confirmed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards declared they will take “necessary action against the terrorist US military” once the safety of the Touska’s crew is confirmed, CNN reported, after the USS Spruance fired on the Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman and US Marines rappelled from helicopters to board and seize the ship.

IRGC news from Monday’s CNN report confirmed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were prepared to retaliate for the Touska seizure but were constrained by crew family members aboard. The IRGC, via the Tasnim News Agency, stated it was “prepared to respond decisively” and described the US action as “blatant aggression.” The retaliation was conditional, not cancelled.

“Once the safety of the families and crew of the vessel targeted by the United States is ensured, the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will take the necessary action against the terrorist US military,” the statement said.

The Touska is an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel nearly 900 feet long that attempted to cross the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday. US Central Command reported it ignored warnings over a six-hour period. The USS Spruance fired several rounds from its 5-inch gun before US Marines rappelled from helicopters and took custody of the ship. Trump announced the seizure on Truth Social, calling the attempt something that “did not go well for them.”

The seizure crosses a qualitatively different threshold from all prior confrontations in the conflict. Iranian IRGC gunboats firing on commercial tankers, attacking Gulf state infrastructure, and even firing on US warships are all actions that have occurred in the current conflict without triggering a direct US-Iran military exchange. The US boarding and seizing an Iranian-flagged vessel is a new category.

Iran is legally and politically compelled to respond with force or concede that the US can freely seize its ships under blockade enforcement. The presence of crew family members aboard introduced a practical constraint on any immediate counter-strike. The IRGC’s specific language makes the conditional nature explicit: retaliation is deferred, not abandoned. Markets and policymakers should expect an Iranian military response within days of the crew situation being resolved.

Iran’s joint military command issued a parallel statement warning that “if attacks on civilian targets are repeated, the next stages of our offensive and retaliatory operations will be much more devastating and widespread,” adding a second threat track alongside the IRGC’s vessel-specific vow.

What Makes This Seizure Different From Prior Escalations

When Iran fires on commercial tankers, the immediate victims are private shipping companies. When the US boards and seizes an Iranian-flagged vessel, Iran faces a sovereign humiliation requiring a proportional state-level response. Trump’s public description of the event, framed as Iran failing in an attempt that “did not go well for them,” removes any diplomatic ambiguity and makes a face-saving off-ramp significantly harder to construct.

What happens to the Touska, its cargo, and its crew now determines the escalation path. If the US uses the ship as a negotiating chip, offering to return the crew and cargo in exchange for ceasefire concessions, a narrow exit exists. If the US treats the vessel as a war prize to be permanently retained, the IRGC’s stated intention to retaliate becomes near-certain once crew safety is confirmed.

The Crypto Market Implication

For Bitcoin markets, a confirmed Iranian military strike on US naval assets would constitute a new category of escalation beyond anything the ceasefire period has produced. The institutional demand floor that has kept BTC above $70,000 through the conflict has absorbed successive escalations with each drawdown smaller than the last. A direct US-Iran naval exchange would test whether that floor holds under the most severe risk-off scenario the conflict has presented, with Brent crude likely breaking through $100 and all macro tailwinds for risk assets reversing simultaneously.

Key Takeaways

• Mizuho slashed PayPal’s rating from “Outperform” to “Neutral” while reducing the price target to $50 from $60
• X Money, Elon Musk’s upcoming payment solution, poses significant competitive risks to PayPal’s peer-to-peer payment operations
• Fourth-quarter results disappointed — earnings per share of $1.23 versus $1.29 analyst expectations; sales totaled $8.68B against $8.82B forecasts
• Company insiders offloaded 87,608 shares totaling approximately $3.83M during the last three months
• Wall Street’s consensus stands at “Hold” with a mean price objective of $56.61

PayPal is navigating challenging waters as Wall Street analysts adopt a more conservative stance. Mizuho Financial Group recently lowered its assessment of PYPL from “Outperform” to “Neutral,” simultaneously slashing the price objective by $10 — dropping from $60 to $50.

PayPal Holdings, Inc., PYPL

With shares trading near $50, this revised target implies minimal room for appreciation. The rating change signals Mizuho’s reassessment of PayPal’s market standing beyond immediate financial metrics.

The catalyst? Elon Musk’s X Money initiative. Set for an April debut, this payment solution is designed as the financial infrastructure of Musk’s “super app” vision. It merges payment processing, digital wallet functionality, and e-commerce capabilities — all integrated within X’s platform.

This description closely mirrors PayPal and Venmo’s core offerings. Mizuho identified X Money as a significant competitive challenge to PayPal’s peer-to-peer transaction services and branded payment solutions.

X boasts more than 400 million active monthly users. This represents a substantial ready-made customer base for any financial service launch. The platform is reportedly preparing to roll out cashtags for monitoring equities and cryptocurrencies, alongside potential collaboration with Visa.

Additional speculation suggests that X Money might provide yields approaching 6% on account balances — a capability that would position it as a serious alternative to established fintech offerings.

Quarterly Results Fell Short of Expectations

PayPal’s latest financial performance did little to alleviate investor concerns. The company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.23 per share, missing the $1.29 Wall Street consensus. Revenue registered at $8.68 billion versus projections of $8.82 billion.

While revenue increased 4% compared to the prior year, such modest expansion fails to inspire confidence as competitive pressures mount across multiple segments.

Market observers project annual EPS of $5.03 for PayPal. Shares currently trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, appearing inexpensive — though the valuation discount reflects underlying concerns.

Citi and Wells Fargo both maintain Hold positions on the security, pointing to decelerating growth prospects and eroding market position. Goldman Sachs adopted a more bearish stance, reducing its target to $41 with a “Sell” recommendation issued in February.

Bank of America initiated coverage during March with a “Neutral” outlook and $48 price objective. Across the 45 analysts monitored by MarketBeat, 7 recommend Buy, 32 suggest Hold, and 6 advise Sell.

Institutional Investors and Company Insiders Reduce Holdings

Waterfront Wealth Inc. reduced its PYPL holdings by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, divesting 22,251 shares. The fund’s remaining position of 26,372 shares carried a value near $1.495 million at period close.

Company insiders have also been net sellers. During the previous 90 days, executives and directors disposed of 87,608 shares valued at roughly $3.83 million. Notable transactions include insider Suzan Kereere reducing ownership by 54.83% in February, while CAO Chris Natali cut his stake by 65.95% in March.

Institutional ownership remains substantial at 68.32% of outstanding shares. While certain smaller funds marginally increased positions in the third quarter, larger portfolio adjustments have predominantly involved position reductions.

PayPal’s 52-week trading range extends from $38.46 to $79.50. Shares opened Monday’s session at $50.81, trading above the 50-day moving average of $44.88 yet considerably beneath the 200-day average of $55.76.

The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.14, equating to an annual payout of $0.56 and yielding approximately 1.1%.

Key Highlights

• BlackBerry shares climbed approximately 15% following news of enhanced NVIDIA collaboration
• Partnership brings together QNX OS for Safety 8.0 and NVIDIA’s IGX Thor technology
• Target applications include safety-critical edge AI for industrial automation and robotics
• Announcement came weeks after the company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations
• Recent insider activity shows $260K in sales with zero purchases over three months

Shares of BlackBerry (BB) experienced a dramatic rally exceeding 15% on April 20, 2026, driven by news of an enhanced technology alliance with NVIDIA (NVDA).

BlackBerry Limited, BB

The collaboration focuses on merging BlackBerry’s QNX OS for Safety 8.0 operating system with NVIDIA’s IGX Thor computing platform alongside the Halos Safety Stack. This integration aims to enable engineers to create and launch mission-critical edge AI applications.

The strategic initiative zeros in on industries demanding absolute dependability — specifically industrial automation and advanced robotics. In these environments, software malfunctions transcend mere technical glitches and become serious liability concerns.

Blackberry’s QNX platform has maintained a steady presence in the safety-certified operating system landscape. This alliance provides the technology with prominent exposure through NVIDIA’s cutting-edge hardware.

Market sentiment was amplified by recent context. BlackBerry had delivered better-than-expected quarterly results in early April, generating renewed investor interest even before this partnership was unveiled.

The dual catalyst — strong financial results combined with a prominent AI-focused announcement — propelled shares significantly higher during Monday trading.

Breaking Down the NVIDIA Integration

The NVIDIA IGX Thor architecture serves edge AI deployments in harsh operational conditions. Combining it with QNX OS for Safety 8.0 delivers engineers a certified, real-time operating foundation for systems requiring stringent safety compliance.

The Halos Safety Stack enhances the package by providing additional functional safety capabilities. This comprehensive toolkit targets developers creating advanced robotics and industrial AI solutions.

BlackBerry has consistently expanded its software and IoT presence. Earlier in 2026, the company secured an agreement with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Leap Motor, demonstrating ongoing traction in automotive markets.

Current Stock Positioning

BB traded near $4.86 when the partnership was disclosed. According to GuruFocus analysis, the GF Value stands at $3.58, suggesting the stock trades roughly 35.8% above the platform’s calculated fair value estimate.

The price-to-earnings ratio currently registers at 59.73x, significantly lower than the five-year median of 113.81x — indicating valuation compression from historical peaks, though still elevated in absolute terms.

The company’s GF Score of 71 out of 100 demonstrates respectable financial strength and growth metrics, though a profitability ranking of merely 3 out of 10 highlights persistent challenges converting revenue into sustainable earnings.

Regarding insider transactions, no purchases occurred during the previous three months. Sales by company insiders totaled $260,489 during this timeframe.

Daily trading volume averages approximately 8 million shares. Prior to today’s surge, BB had gained roughly 8.4% year-to-date.

Technical indicators already signaled a buy rating before the session’s rally commenced.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the world’s largest public holder of Ether, increased its ETH treasury last week with another large purchase.

The company acquired 101,627 ETH during the week of April 13 to April 19, according to a press release and an accompanying Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The purchase marks Bitmine’s largest Ether buy since Dec. 15, 2025, according to chairman Tom Lee. “Bitmine has maintained the increased pace of ETH buys in each of the past four weeks, as our base case ETH is in the final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter,’” Lee said.

Following the purchase, Bitmine said it held 4,976,485 ETH valued at roughly $11.5 billion at a reference price of $2,301 per token. The company also holds 199 Bitcoin (BTC), a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, a $107 million stake in Eightco Holdings and $1.12 billion in cash. The company’s total crypto and cash holdings are $12.9 billion.

The latest update extends Bitmine’s lead among public company Ether treasuries as crypto balance sheet strategies continue to spread across public markets.

Bitmine is 82% of the way to the “alchemy of 5%”

In holding 4.98 million ETH, Bitmine now owns more than 4% of total Ether circulating supply.  The company said its broader goal remains to reach the “alchemy of 5%,” a long-term target it has been working toward through repeated large-scale purchases.

The purchase came after Bitmine recently started trading on the New York Stock Exchange after uplisting from the NYSE American as the company expanded its share buyback program.

Bitmine has also expanded its staking operations through its MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network) platform. The system is designed to support institutional-grade Ethereum staking with an emphasis on performance and security.

The company reported that 3.33 million ETH is currently staked, generating annualized staking revenues of over $200 million.

Related: Ether treasuries need liquid staking edge to beat ETFs, says Lido exec

At Paris Blockchain Week 2026, Lee said the recent crypto slump was a “mini crypto winter,” and predicted that Ether could climb above $60,000 over the next few years.

Magazine: Your guide to surviving this mini-crypto winter