Crypto Weekly 4/12/26

Bitcoin Rallies on a US-Iran Ceasefire, the NYT Names Adam Back as Satoshi Nakamoto, and Morgan Stanley Launches Wall Street's First Bank-Issued Bitcoin ETF

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- Crypto Market Cap ($2.50T): +2% / -18%
- BTC ($71,098): +3% / -19%
- ETH ($2,202): +4% / -26%
- SOL ($82): 0% / -34%
- UNI ($3.04): -3% / -46%
- OP ($0.11): -2% / -60%
- COIN ($168): -2% / -26%
- Tether Mkt Cap ($184B): 0% / -1%
- USDC Mkt Cap ($79B): +1% / +3%
- BTC / ETH Dominance: 57% / 11%

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THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Bitcoin and risk assets touched a three-week high as global markets turned more optimistic after a ceasefire deal between the US and Iran. Link.

- Iran is considering charging tolls in bitcoin for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz during the 2 week cease fire with the US and Israel. Link.

- A NYT investigative report identified Adam Back, the creator of HashCash, as pseudonymous bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto based on circumstantial analysis of Back’s communications on the Cypherpunk listserve and early bitcoin communications. Back has denied the claims. Link. Link.

- White House economists said banning crypto firms from offering customers yield on stablecoins would not have a meaningful impact on community banks, estimating a net increase in traditional lending of ~0.02%, or $2.1 billion while costing consumers $800 million in lost welfare. Trade groups have argued that small banks are at risk of potentially losing $1.3 trillion in deposits and $850 billion in loans if crypto firms are allowed to offer customers yield on stablecoins. Stablecoin yields are the primary blocker for passing the comprehensive crypto legislation, the CLARITY Act. Link. Report.

- Kalshi controls 89% of US prediction market trading volume, followed by Polymarket at 7% and Crypto.com at 4%. Link. Link.

- Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal urging Congress to pass the comprehensive crypto regulation bill, the CLARITY Act, before the Midterm elections. The bill has stalled in congress primarily due to disagreements over the ability of crypto firms to offer yield-bearing stablecoin products. Link. Op Ed.

- Morgan Stanley became the first Wall Street bank to launch a bitcoin ETF, ticker MSBT. Link.

- Binance CEO CZ published a memoir “Freedom of Money” describing his navigation of a federal investigation with the SEC that ended with a $4 billion fine and a 4 month prison sentence. Link.

- The FDIC, which backs deposits at thousands of US banks, is laying out guidelines for how those institutions could use stablecoins. The guidelines would establish requirements related to reserve assets, redemptions of outstanding stablecoins, and permissible activities. Link.

- The US Treasury is extending its cybersecurity information sharing program to include crypto firms, in an effort to provide real-time, actionable hacking information historically only available to traditional finance firms. Link.

- The DOJ is asking an Arizona judge to block a lawsuit by the state against Kalshi for operating an illegal gambling business, arguing that Kalshi’s products fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. Arizona is the fourth state to sue a prediction market for violating state gambling laws. Link.

- Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy reported a $14.5 billion unrealized loss in Q1 as the price of bitcoin fell more than 20% in the first quarter. Link.

- The Aave DAO approved a $25 million stablecoin grant and 75,000 AAVE token allocation, worth roughly $6.8 million, to development firm Aave Labs to continue building on the protocol. Link.

- The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 181,565 crypto-related complaints in 2025, with reported losses up 22% from 2024 to $11.36 billion. Link. Report.

- A solo bitcoin miner earned 3.128 BTC, roughly $222k, for mining block 944,306. Link.

- Polygon Labs is in talks to raise up to $100 million for a new stablecoin payments business. Link.

- DeFi platform Drift suffered a $280 million hack via a sophisticated social engineering act presumed to be led by North Korea. Link.