Amid escalating Middle East military conflict and volatile energy markets, global cryptocurrency markets demonstrated resilience this week. Bitcoin recovered from an initial $4,000 drop to surge $11,000, later stabilizing around $70,000. Major industry developments included a Federal Reserve master account for Kraken, a $25 billion valuation investment in OKX, and a $20 million SEC settlement with Justin Sun.
Despite a military operation involving Israel, the USA, and Iran beginning last Saturday, bitcoin’s price has remained stable overall. It quickly rebounded from a $4,000 tumble to $63,000, recovering all losses and surging to a new local peak of $74,000 by Wednesday before trading around $70,000. The broader cryptocurrency market capitalized at $2.46 trillion, with a 24-hour volume of $108 billion and Bitcoin dominance at 56.9%.
Kraken became the first crypto company to secure a limited-purpose master account from a Federal Reserve Bank. This allows Kraken Financial to directly connect to the Fed’s core payment systems and bypass intermediaries for user deposits and withdrawals. In a separate major institutional move, Intercontinental Exchange—parent of the New York Stock Exchange—acquired a minority stake in OKX, valuing the crypto platform at $25 billion.
Investor sentiment showed a notable shift as around $1 billion flowed back into crypto funds, snapping a five-week streak of outflows totaling $4 billion. Billionaire Ray Dalio, however, dismissed bitcoin’s safe-haven narrative despite its performance amid geopolitical tension, “praised gold once again.” Separately, Justin Sun announced the dismissal of SEC claims nearly three years after being sued, stating he was “very pleased” with a $20 million settlement. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s central bank governor indicated plans to invest up to $350 million in cryptocurrencies, potentially funded by selling some of the nation’s gold and foreign exchange reserves.
