Bitcoin price marched back above $70,000 on Friday morning, erasing part of the losses seen over the past two days. However, its momentum quickly gave up as Asian tech stocks dropped lower.

After dropping over 8% to a weekly low of $69,298 on Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) price rebounded back above the $70,000 psychological mark that many analysts say acts as a crucial anchor for investor confidence. The bellwether was trading at $70,749 at press time with a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion.

Bitcoin price rallied as bulls bought the dip under $70,000, which occurred after news of an Israeli attack on Iranian energy sources broke out, sparking fears of rampant global inflation as oil prices rose to record highs. 

At the same time, risk sentiment deteriorated amid a string of weak economic data. This coincided with stronger-than-expected PPI data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting the central bank intends to hold interest rates steady as long as inflation remains elevated.

While Bitcoin has managed to reclaim the $70,000 psychological support level, several hurdles could potentially stand in its path for more gains.

First, Asian tech stocks have so far traded down on Friday morning. Notably, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 1,866 points or 3.38%, while China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.50%. Yesterday, U.S. tech stock markets also showed the same weakness, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing lower by 0.44%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were down over 0.25% each. The only exception was the Russell 2000 Index, which rose by 0.65%. 

Cryptocurrencies often mirror the trend followed by these tech stocks, as they both share a high sensitivity to liquidity and interest rate expectations.

Second, investors seem to be rotating to Gold, which jumped over 2% today as it moved back above $4,700, reinforcing its status as a safe-haven asset amid the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. Silver also saw significant interest, rising over 3% to $74.

Third, institutional demand in Bitcoin appears to have taken a breather. Data from SoSoValue show that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded net outflows for the past two days, with over $250 million flowing out.

While the outflows are relatively small considering the $1.16 billion in inflows they recorded over seven straight days just ahead of this shift, investors could take this as a sign of temporary exhaustion in the current rally.

Gemini shareholders have targeted the crypto exchange through a new class action lawsuit alleging that it misled investors during and after its initial public offering.

Filed in New York, the class action lawsuit has been brought against Gemini, its co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and other company executives over misleading claims made in its IPO documents.

Plaintiffs in the filing said the documents portrayed Gemini as a growing crypto exchange focused on expanding its user base and international footprint, but later made an “abrupt corporate pivot to a prediction market-centric business model.”

In the complaint, the plaintiff said the Offering Documents were “materially false and misleading” and failed to disclose that Gemini was “poised for an expensive and disruptive restructuring.”

Further, the lawsuit stated that the company had committed to extending into “key global markets.”

Gemini held its IPO in September and priced shares at $28 on the Nasdaq; however, while the filings described the exchange as its “core product,” they subsequently pivoted to prediction markets called “Gemini 2.0.”

Subsequently, the firm also cut 25% of its workforce and exited several international markets like the UK, the EU, and Australia.

Per the complaint, such changes have caused the class group to suffer “significant losses and damages” as the stock price declined.

As such, the suit is seeking a jury trial and compensation for investors who bought shares at “artificially inflated prices” after the IPO.

Last month, several Gemini executives announced departures amid the company’s cost-cutting push; meanwhile, the exchange also shut down its NFT arm, Nifty Gateway, in February.

However, on Thursday, the company’s Q4 results showcased that the company’s revenue had risen 39%, which was beyond analyst expectations.

At the time of writing, Gemini shares had closed Thursday’s session up 0.81%, while it surged another 5.8% in after-market trading.

TLDR:

• DOJ charges allege $2.5B in Nvidia-powered AI servers were diverted to China through covert routes.
• Prosecutors claim fake documents and dummy servers were used to bypass U.S. export compliance checks.
• Over $510M in restricted AI systems allegedly shipped within weeks through a Southeast Asia network.
• SMCI stock fell after hours as legal risks emerged around export controls and the distribution of AI hardware.

Authorities in the United States have arrested Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw for allegedly conspiring to unlawfully export AI servers. Prosecutors claim the operation diverted billions of dollars’ worth of advanced systems to China.

The charges follow an indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, detailing a coordinated effort to bypass export restrictions.

Allegations of Export Control Violations

The indictment alleges that Liaw, a co-founder of Super Micro Computer, conspired with associates to ship restricted AI servers abroad.

These systems reportedly integrated high-performance GPUs developed by NVIDIA. U.S. authorities classify such hardware as sensitive due to its advanced computing capabilities.

According to court filings, Liaw worked alongside Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang and Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun to facilitate the operation.

Prosecutors allege the group used an intermediary company in Southeast Asia to mask the final destination of shipments.

In an official statement, Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg described the alleged conduct in detail. He said the indictment outlines efforts to evade export laws through “false documents, staged dummy servers to mislead inspectors, and convoluted transshipment schemes.”

Eisenberg added that the technology involved carries national importance. He noted that these chips represent American innovation and said authorities will continue enforcing export controls to protect that advantage.

Use of Shell Companies and Concealment Methods

Investigators allege that the defendants relied on a layered logistics structure to move the servers. Systems were assembled in the United States, routed through Taiwan, and then delivered to Southeast Asia before reaching China.

Authorities state that the intermediary company purchased approximately $2.5 billion worth of servers between 2024 and 2025.

A surge in shipments occurred within a short period, including roughly $510 million worth of equipment moved in just three weeks.

Officials say the defendants used deception to bypass compliance checks. Thousands of non-functional servers were staged at warehouses to simulate legitimate inventory during inspections. These replicas were presented to auditors reviewing export compliance.

Describing the scheme, FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said the defendants allegedly conspired to sell “billions of dollars’ worth of servers integrating sensitive, controlled graphic processing units” in violation of U.S. laws.

Legal Charges and Enforcement Response

Liaw and Sun were arrested and are expected to appear in federal court in California. Chang remains a fugitive. The charges include conspiracy to violate export control laws, smuggling, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton addressed the case, stating that the defendants allegedly operated through “a tangled web of lies, obfuscation, and concealment” to generate revenue. He added that such diversion schemes pose a direct threat to national security.

Federal investigators emphasized the broader enforcement effort tied to the case. According to FBI officials, safeguarding advanced AI technology remains a priority due to its strategic importance.

Following the announcement, shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) declined in after-hours trading. Authorities reiterated that the charges remain allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The quantum risk to Bitcoin investors is real, but not all wallets are vulnerable, and the people best positioned to address it are working on it, says Galaxy Digital research analyst Will Owens.

Owens said in a report on Thursday that, in theory, a quantum computer could derive private keys from public keys, allowing an attacker to impersonate the owner, forge a signature and steal coins. 

However, he argued that not all wallets are equally vulnerable to this risk.

“In fact, most wallets are not vulnerable today. Funds are at risk only when public keys are exposed on-chain,” he said.

Owens said that created two main ways wallets are exposed: those whose public keys are already visible, and wallets whose public keys are revealed at the time of spending.

The threat of quantum computing to crypto has long been debated among the community as an upcoming inflection point. Advanced computers capable of breaking encryption have been theorized as able to reveal user keys, expose sensitive data and steal user funds.

The right people are on top of the issue

Critics argue the threat posed by quantum computers is overblown because the technology is still decades away from being viable, and banking giants and other traditional targets will be cracked long before Bitcoin.

Owens said there is also online discourse that Bitcoin Core developers are “ignoring and gatekeeping” quantum-related proposals, such as the soft fork BIP 360, but he claims to have found otherwise, noting that the “pace of proposals has accelerated meaningfully since late 2025.”

“Contrary to some public criticism, our review found substantial developer work addressing the question of quantum vulnerabilities and mitigations,” he said.

“The ecosystem now has a concrete and maturing set of proposals spanning the full problem surface. These proposals are not theoretical. They are being actively developed, reviewed, and debated by some of the most experienced contributors in the Bitcoin ecosystem.”

Other people in the space have also been presenting their solutions. Crypto OG Willy Woo suggested last November that a way to keep your Bitcoin (BTC) safe until there’s a solution to the quantum threat is to hold the coins in a SegWit wallet for around seven years. 

Related: Bitcoin could go sub-$50K if quantum isn’t solved by 2028: Capriole

Governance will still likely present a challenge

When the developer community does come up with a post-quantum solution, Owens said it will likely present a challenge because “Bitcoin has no CEO, no board, and no central authority that can mandate a software update.”

“But the nature of this particular threat — external, technical, and universal in its impact — aligns incentives in a way that past disputes over Bitcoin’s economic direction did not,” he said. “Every honest participant in the network, from miners to holders to exchanges, has a direct financial interest in the network’s continued security.”

“For investors, the key takeaway is straightforward: the risk is real but recognized, and the people best positioned to address it are working on it.”

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