Today in crypto, Bitcoin neared $75,000 on hopes of a deal between the US and Iran, SEC staff proposed that some crypto interfaces don’t need to register as brokers, and Strategy says it acquired 13,927 Bitcoin for $1 billion last week.
Bitcoin nears $75,000 as Iran deal hopes spark rally
Bitcoin (BTC) surged to its highest price in nearly a month on Monday, nearing $75,000 as hopes of a deal between the Trump administration and Iran to end weeks of conflict washed the crypto market with positive sentiment.
Bitcoin tapped a four-week high just below $75,000 on Coinbase in late trading on Tuesday, according to TradingView, but It was rejected at that level with heavy resistance and retreated to $74,300 and continued to trade at that level into early Tuesday.
The wider crypto market also lifted, hitting a total value of $2.6 trillion, its highest level for a month, which saw 177,000 traders liquidated of $530 million over the past 24 hours, per CoinGlass.
Jeff Mei, the chief operating officer at BTSE, told Cointelegraph that markets are rallying largely because “traders believe the US and Iran are coming closer to a deal,” with Iran “frantically looking to broker a deal” amid a US military blockade of its vital oil shipping lanes and ports.
Trump also told reporters on Monday that Iran wants to make a deal, but his administration will not come to any agreement that allows Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
SEC proposes certain crypto interfaces don’t need to register as brokers
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a staff statement clarifying how the agency plans to interpret software interfaces facilitating crypto transactions in its broker-dealer regulations.
In a Monday statement, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets staff said that under certain circumstances, interfaces that “assist users engaging in user-initiated crypto asset securities transactions on blockchain protocols [...] utilizing the user’s self-custodial wallet” may not necessarily be required to register as a broker-dealer with the agency.
The SEC statement specified that self-custodial wallets with such user interfaces may be exempt from registration requirements, provided they do not “solicit investors to engage in any specific crypto asset securities transactions,” provide commentary on “any potential execution [routes] displayed to a user,” and other circumstances.
“While the staff expressing its view is helpful, I favor a more permanent regulatory approach that addresses the broker definition in light of current market circumstances,”said SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce.
Strategy buys $1 billion of Bitcoin, holdings near 800,000 BTC
Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public holder of Bitcoin (BTC), added a large haul of Bitcoin to its stash last week, edging toward 800,000 BTC in total holdings.
Strategy acquired 13,927 Bitcoin for $1 billion between April 6 and 12, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
The purchases were made at an average price of $71,902 per coin, marking another purchase below the company’s average acquisition price of $75,577.
Strategy now holds 780,897 BTC on its balance sheet, acquired for a total cost of $59.02 billion. The company has 19,103 BTC left to reach 800,000 BTC after buying more than 107,000 BTC so far this year.
Saylor teased the latest purchase in an X post on Sunday, sharing a chart of Strategy’s Bitcoin purchase history showing 105 acquisitions since 2020, a pattern often seen ahead of new BTC buys.
