US court blocks Anthropic ban as Strategy reveals retail demand for low-volatility products and X taps ex-Aave lead for payments. Meanwhile, BTC remains deadlocked at $70K amid macro and geopolitical hedging. Bitcoin (BTC) continued to oscillate around $70K on Thursday without securing a breakout. Bulls appeared to be struggling to defend this psychological level, as the market remained caught between rising institutional adoption and mounting macroeconomic pressure. Although institutional investors from traditional finance showed solid willingness to enter the market, and some analysts argued that levels below $70K had become an attractive accumulation zone with support-building characteristics, external headwinds remained significant. Escalating tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, along with Trump’s hardline remarks on geopolitics, triggered notable selling pressure in U.S. equities, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 400 points. This wave of risk aversion directly weakened Bitcoin’s ability to break through the $70K range. The latest data showed that spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of USD 171 million yesterday, including USD 41.9191 million in net outflows from BlackRock’s IBIT. This reflects the market’s cautious stance in the face of inflation risk and war-related uncertainty. On-chain data further suggested that if Bitcoin breaks above $72,073, short liquidations across major CEXs could reach USD 1.954 billion. If it falls below $65,430 instead, long liquidations could climb to USD 1.282 billion. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently stands at just 14, which signals that market sentiment remains in Extreme Fear.

Ethereum (ETH) has recently shown relative weakness, with price correcting by around 6% over the past 24 hours and briefly retesting the $2,050 support level. Its overall performance has lagged behind the broader crypto market cap. The main reason ETH has struggled to reclaim and hold above $2,400 is the sharp contraction in decentralized exchange trading activity. Current weekly DEX volume is roughly USD 9.4 billion, down nearly 50% from the peak reached in late 2025. At the same time, regulatory uncertainty has added to the selling pressure. These factors include the U.S. Senate’s investigation into exchange stablecoin yield practices and seven consecutive days of net outflows from spot Ether ETFs, both of which suggest that institutional demand has not yet turned bullish. Futures market data also remains weak. The annualized premium on 2-month Ether futures is only 2%, well below the neutral range of 4% to 8%, which indicates a lack of bullish leverage demand. According to Coinglass data, if ETH reclaims the $2,163 level, short liquidations across major CEXs could reach USD 1.424 billion. If it drops below $1,958, long liquidations could total USD 745 million. In the near term, Ethereum still needs a recovery in on-chain activity and a repair in institutional confidence before any rebound can regain traction.

Key News Highlights:

U.S. Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Pentagon Ban on Anthropic

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday that temporarily blocked the Department of Defense from placing AI giant Anthropic on its supply chain risk list. The ruling also suspended the Trump administration’s order directing federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s Claude chatbot. In the decision, the judge criticized the government’s administrative actions as arbitrary and inconsistent. The dispute began with contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon in 2025, when the government asked the company to allow unrestricted military use of its technology for lethal autonomous weapons and large-scale domestic surveillance. Anthropic refused on the grounds that such use would violate its ethical principles. The government then launched a series of restrictive measures, which Anthropic argued were unlawful retaliation for exercising its free speech rights and criticizing the government’s contract position. Judge Lin stated that labeling a U.S. company as a potential disruptor simply because it disagreed with the government does not align with current legal standards. Anthropic currently holds about 32% of the enterprise AI market, and the judge’s timely intervention prevented its market position from being rapidly damaged by the proposed ban. The case will continue as the court reviews the legality of the government’s actions.

Strategy Reveals That 80% of Stretch Buyers Are Retail Investors

Software company Strategy said on Wednesday that around 80% of holders of its high-yield, low-volatility digital credit product Stretch (STRC) are retail investors. The figure suggests that even with Bitcoin trading about 45% below its all-time high, retail appetite for crypto exposure remains strong, though investors are increasingly choosing lower-volatility channels. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said at the Digital Asset Summit that Stretch was designed to offer an entry point for investors who believe in Bitcoin’s long-term value but cannot tolerate sharp short-term price swings. The product works by carving out roughly 11% of Bitcoin’s annual return and directing it to credit investors, while Strategy is effectively betting that Bitcoin’s long-term annualized growth will far exceed that level and generate upside for equity holders. In March, Strategy raised about USD 1.2 billion through STRC sales to buy more Bitcoin, and it plans to raise another USD 21 billion through future market programs. Although the company’s common stock has underperformed this year, Stretch has successfully attracted a large amount of retail capital seeking stable returns, supported by its roughly 11.5% annualized dividend and perpetual structure with no maturity date.

Musk’s X Hires Former Aave Product Lead to Head Design

Elon Musk’s social platform X has officially hired Benji Taylor, a veteran with deep crypto experience, as its new Head of Design as the company enters the final push ahead of the planned launch of X Money next month. Taylor previously served as Chief Product Officer at Aave Labs and also led design work for Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network. He brings extensive experience in digital asset interface design and product strategy. X product lead Nikita Bier praised the appointment and said Taylor’s addition would help build one of the strongest design teams in the industry. X Money is widely seen as a central part of Musk’s effort to transform X into an Everything App. The product is expected to integrate peer-to-peer payments, wallet services, and a Visa debit card tied to user accounts. It is currently in limited external testing and is expected to offer annualized yields of up to 6% on cash balances. Taylor’s appointment signals that X is accelerating the convergence of financial services and social media, while using crypto-native technology to improve the user experience in payments and digital asset management.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this section is for informational purposes only and doesn't represent any investment advice or FameEX's official view.