Iranian Statement Says Hormuz Strait Will Remain Closed, "Largest Long Position ASTER" Enters $5M Long Crude Oil Trade

March 12 – In his first statement since assuming office, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mujtaba Khamenei declared the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed, adding all U.S. military bases in the region should shut immediately or face attacks. He also noted research has been conducted on other fronts where adversaries lack experience and are highly vulnerable, with these fronts potentially activated if the war continues and such action is deemed appropriate. Analyst Dara Doyle stated the market views Khamenei’s remarks as strongly hardline, with little indication Iran is prepared to compromise with the U.S. or Israel. Per Bitget data: - WTI crude oil rose over 9% intraday to $96.42 per barrel; - Spot gold fell 0.93% intraday to $5,128 per ounce; - U.S. major stock indexes declined: Nasdaq down 1.82%, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.45%, S&P 500 down 1.39%; - Cryptocurrencies remained resilient amid market volatility: Bitcoin was up 0.05% in 24 hours at $70,399, Ethereum up 0.

**March 12 – Bond traders have stopped fully pricing in Federal Reserve rate cut expectations for 2026.** Rate swaps linked to Fed policy meeting dates showed traders on Thursday expected just a 24 basis point (bp) rate cut this year—less than a full 25bp cut—versus ~30bp of easing expected the prior night. The shift comes as U.S. Treasury yields have fluctuated, with the two-year yield (most sensitive to Fed policy moves) rising 4bp to nearly 3.70%. U.S. bonds faced pressure this week as investors fret the Middle East conflict will keep pushing energy prices higher, fueling a resurgence in inflation. (FXStreet)

On March 12, per LookOnChain monitoring, the DNA Fund-affiliated wallet (0x2b0d) withdrew 11,067 ETH (worth $22.83 million) from Kraken two hours ago.

On March 12, per Onchain Lens data, a newly created wallet withdrew 720 BTC from Binance, valued at $50.14 million.

On March 12, traders no longer fully price in a single interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve (Fed) for 2026. (Golden Ten) ### Notes on alignment with American English habits: 1. **Date format**: Added preposition *On* before the specific date (standard for U.S. English news framing). 2. **Clarity**: Replaced "one rate cut" with "a single interest rate cut" to explicitly link to the Fed’s core policy (avoids ambiguity with other "rate" references). 3. **Terminology**: Used "Federal Reserve (Fed)" (common parenthetical abbreviation in U.S. financial news) instead of just "Fed" at first mention for readability. 4. **Preposition choice**: Swapped "by the Fed" for "from the Fed" (more natural in U.S. English when describing policy actions originating from the central bank). 5. **Temporal phrasing**: Changed "in 2026" to "for 2026" (aligns with how U.S. traders/analysts refer to policy expectations tied to a calendar year).

On March 12th, Garrett Jin—tied to the "BTC OG Insider Whale"—posted on X, noting: “Oil prices have already broken out. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is also approaching a key level. If risk assets finally begin aggressively repricing, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Stay cautious.”