Huobi HTX has launched AERGO perpetual contracts and kicked off a contract trading party.

On April 12, The New York Times reported that current U.S.-Iran negotiations face three key sticking points: the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, uranium enrichment, and the unfreezing of Iran’s overseas assets. ### Strait of Hormuz Iran has rejected the U.S.-proposed "joint control" plan for the Strait of Hormuz, insisting it retain control of the waterway and claiming the right to charge "transit fees" to passing vessels. Tehran says it will only consider reopening arrangements after a final bilateral peace agreement is reached. By contrast, the U.S. holds a starkly different stance. President Trump said on April 10 that the Strait of Hormuz is international waters, adding the strait will be reopened "soon" regardless of "Iranian cooperation"—and that he will not permit Iran to charge transit fees. ### Nuclear Issue The U.S. is demanding Iran hand over its entire stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium (roughly 900 pounds). Tehran has offered a counterproposal,

April 12 – Xinhua reported that U.S. President Trump retweeted a social media post on April 12 referencing a "naval blockade" against Iran. Iran’s embassy in Austria responded the same day, noting that a blockade cannot "open" the Strait of Hormuz. "Here’s a simple point for anyone asking: A blockade is a blockade—it doesn’t 'open' the Strait, only restricts it. The only way out of this self-created bind is to keep negotiations open and flexible, and follow reason." Per monitoring from PolyBeats (via https://t.me/PolyBeats_Bot), the probability that the Strait of Hormuz will remain navigable by month’s end has dropped from 35% (before U.S.-Iran talks) to 17% on the prediction market Polymarket.

April 12: U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis — a leading cryptocurrency advocate — issued an urgent call for Congress to pass the **CLARITY Act** this year, warning the legislative process could be delayed until after 2030 without action. “This is our last chance to pass this bill until at least 2030, and we cannot afford to jeopardize the future of American finance,” Lummis stated. Industry concerns mount that the November midterm elections will shift Congress’ legislative focus, rapidly narrowing the window for the highly anticipated bill to pass in 2024. Former White House AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks voiced support, urging the Senate Banking Committee and full Senate to expedite market structure legislation. He predicted the bill would ultimately be signed by Trump. The CLARITY Act aims to clarify regulatory boundaries for crypto assets across federal agencies; the industry widely believes it will unlock U.S. crypto innovation and boost retail investment demand. a16z Crypt

Reports emerged on April 12 that prediction market Polymarket’s link briefly appeared in Google News search results alongside mainstream outlets like Reuters and The Guardian—only to be quickly removed. A Google spokesperson later clarified the appearance was an “error,” adding the platform will no longer show up in the news box. Previously, when users searched for event-focused prediction queries (e.g., “Will the ship transit the Strait of Hormuz?”), Polymarket’s entry would display directly below traditional news outlets. Both Polymarket and rival Kalshi have recently ramped up media-platform integration efforts. Google partnered with both last year to add their data to Google Finance. Additionally, X (formerly Twitter) announced in June 2023 that Polymarket is its official prediction market partner. Crypto wallets MetaMask and Worldcoin’s World App have also integrated Polymarket’s app.

April 12th, per HTX market data, RAVE—one of the "pump-and-dump" meme coins—has jumped 56% in the past 24 hours, last trading at $2.78. It hit a high of $3.17 at one point and has surged over 10x since April 8, when it was priced at $0.26. On-chain analyst Ai Auntie (@ai_9684xtpa) noted that a Bitget-linked multisig address (0x0A1...790d7) has withdrawn 31.93 million RAVE tokens in the past two days. The address’s asset value has soared from $37.54 million to $89.10 million—up roughly $50 million in two days. Back on April 8, those tokens were worth just $8.52 million.

April 12 U.S.-Iran negotiations will continue, with sources noting U.S. official Sullivan’s departure was merely a show of strength. Iranian Parliament Speaker stated the Iranian delegation put forward a forward-looking proposal, but the U.S. side failed to earn the Iranian delegation’s trust in this round. The U.S. has understood Iran’s logic and principles—now it is up to the U.S. to decide whether it can gain Iran’s trust. Earlier today, U.S.-Iran talks concluded without an agreement. Post-negotiations, Sullivan left Pakistan; the Iranian delegation will depart on April 12. Details (timing, location, plans) for the next round of talks have not been announced.