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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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Trump-Backed World Liberty Proposes 62B Token Vesting Reset

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

TLDR

  • World Liberty has proposed converting 62.3 billion WLFI governance tokens from indefinite lockups into fixed vesting schedules.
  • Insiders who opt into the new terms must burn 4.5 billion WLFI, equal to 10% of their allocation.
  • Founders and team members would face a two-year cliff followed by a three-year linear vesting period.
  • Early supporters would follow a two-year cliff and a two-year linear vest without any token burn.
  • The proposal requires a quorum of 1 billion WLFI and a simple majority within a seven-day vote.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has proposed a sweeping change to its token lockup structure while outlining insider burn terms. The Trump-backed decentralized finance project seeks to convert 62,282,252,205 governance tokens into fixed vesting schedules. The plan would impose new cliffs, introduce token burns for insiders, and require holder approval through a formal vote.

World Liberty Sets New Vesting Terms and Insider Burn Condition

World Liberty said it would apply a two-year cliff to all holders who opt into the proposal. Insiders must permanently destroy 4.5 billion WLFI, equal to 10% of their 45,238,585,647 token allocation, upon acceptance. The team stated that holders who decline the new terms will remain locked indefinitely under existing agreements.

Founders, team members, advisors, and partners would face a two-year cliff followed by a three-year linear vest. Tokens would begin unlocking after year two and reach full distribution by year five. The proposal requires a quorum of 1 billion WLFI tokens, a simple majority for passage, and a seven-day voting window.

Early supporters holding 17,043,666,558 WLFI would follow a separate schedule under the plan. They would face a two-year cliff and then a two-year linear vest, with full distribution by year four. The team confirmed that this category would not burn any tokens under the revised structure.

The project stated that it would open a 10-day acceptance window after deploying the new functionality. Participants must affirmatively opt in to activate the revised vesting schedule. Those who do not respond will remain subject to indefinite lockups.

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Governance Proposal Follows Dispute and Ecosystem Updates

World Liberty launched WLFI in September 2025 and currently trades at $0.082. The price marks a 75.1% decline from its all-time high of $0.33, according to market data. The team linked the governance update to broader ecosystem expansion tied to USD1.

USD1 operates as a stablecoin deployed across multiple blockchain networks. The platform also supports lending and borrowing features within the WLFI interface. The team framed the vesting overhaul as part of this broader operational update.

The governance move follows a public dispute with Tron founder Justin Sun. Sun alleged that the WLFI smart contract includes an undisclosed blacklisting function. He said the function gives the team “unilateral power to freeze, restrict, and effectively confiscate the property rights of any token holder.”

Sun described himself as “the first and single largest victim” of the feature. He pointed to his wallet, which the project froze in September 2025 after he moved about $9 million in WLFI. In response, World Liberty accused Sun of “playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct,” and the team stated that it would address the matter in court.

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Tax Day Relief Skips Bitcoin Users Buried in Capital Gains Paperwork

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Tax Day Relief Skips Bitcoin Users Buried in Capital Gains Paperwork

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent marked Tax Day by praising the Working Families Tax Cuts, saying tens of millions of Americans now keep more of their paychecks. But for Bitcoin (BTC) users, the tax code tells a very different story.

Cato Institute research fellow Nicholas Anthony published a new analysis arguing that capital gains rules have made it nearly impossible to spend Bitcoin as money in the United States.

Bitcoin Spending Triggers a Paperwork Avalanche

Anthony explained that every purchase made with BTC requires users to record the acquisition date, the spending date, the original cost, and the gain or loss.

All of those details must land on IRS Form 8949 and Schedule D of Form 1040.

The result, he wrote, is staggering. A person who buys a cup of coffee every day with bitcoin could face more than 100 pages of filings by year-end. Form 8949 alone could run to roughly 70 pages for daily transactions.

“Capital gains tax rates are structured to incentivize long-term holding. This policy distorts the market by incentivizing buying and selling solely to mitigate tax losses. However, it’s especially distortionary in the context of money, given that long-term holding policies discourage what is generally considered ‘currency use,’” wrote Nicholas Anthony,

Congress Has Options, Anthony Says

Anthony outlined several potential fixes. The simplest would eliminate capital gains taxes entirely. A narrower approach would exempt cryptocurrency and foreign currency from capital gains treatment.

He also referenced the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act, which would create a de minimis exemption for gains under $200, though he argued the threshold should rise to match average household spending of $80,000.

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Meanwhile, payment infrastructure is moving faster than the tax code. Square recently launched no-fee Bitcoin payments at merchant terminals, and self-hosted wallets from Bull Bitcoin, Zeus, and Trezor have simplified consumer spending.

The post Tax Day Relief Skips Bitcoin Users Buried in Capital Gains Paperwork appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Bitnomial Launches US-Regulated Injective Futures with ETF Implications

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Coinbase, Kraken, Derivatives, Bitcoin Futures, Injective

Chicago-based crypto exchange Bitnomial has launched monthly futures contracts tied to Injective, marking the first US-regulated derivatives product for the Web3 financial ecosystem’s native token.

According to Wednesday’s announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the contracts settle in INJ (INJ) with monthly expiries, allowing traders to gain price exposure without holding the underlying asset, and can be margined in crypto or US dollars through Bitnomial’s clearinghouse.

The listing also starts a six-month track record that could support a spot exchange-traded fund under US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) listing rules. In July, Canary Capital filed for a staked INJ ETF, with Cboe BZX Exchange submitting a corresponding rule change to the SEC.

Institutional clients can access the futures immediately, with retail trading expected to follow via Bitnomial’s Botanical platform in the coming weeks. The company said it also plans to add perpetual futures and options tied to INJ.

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Coinbase, Kraken, Derivatives, Bitcoin Futures, Injective
Source: Injective

Injective runs on a Layer 1 blockchain built for financial applications, with an onchain order book and cross-chain connectivity to networks including Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL).

Bitnomial is a derivatives exchange that operates a trading venue, clearinghouse and brokerage for crypto futures and options that is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In January, the exchange launched monthly futures contracts tied to Aptos (APT) marking the first US-regulated derivatives product for the alt coin. 

Related: Injective community passes governance vote to slash INJ token supply

Exchanges push to expand US crypto futures offerings

US-regulated crypto futures remain largely concentrated in major assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), with Bitnomial among the few venues listing derivatives tied to altcoins. Expanding those offerings has required navigating a shifting and often uncertain regulatory environment.

In August 2024, Bitnomial moved to list XRP (XRP) futures through CFTC self-certification, but the SEC challenged the plan, arguing the contracts could require securities exchange registration. 

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After filing a lawsuit in October 2025, Bitnomial dropped the case in March and later that month launched regulated XRP futures for US users, citing evolving SEC policy.

Other platforms have taken a more gradual approach. Coinbase launched CFTC-regulated futures tied to Bitcoin and Ether for institutional clients in June 2023, later expanding access with retail-sized contracts in May 2025 and introducing 24/7 trading to provide round-the-clock market access for US participants.

Also in May, Kraken acquired futures platform NinjaTrader for about $1.5 billion, gaining a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant and expanding its reach into regulated derivatives markets.

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