Bitcoin Surges Past $71,000, Ethereum Surges Past $2,100

March 15 — Two Indian LPG carriers, the *Shivalik* and *Nanda Devi*, have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz, carrying 92,700 tons of cargo to India. The move follows high-level diplomatic talks between India, Iran, the U.S., and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), avoiding the need for U.S. military escort. Analysts note China and India account for over 52% of all oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz. If Tehran grants safe passage to its top two clients, over half the strait’s normal traffic could resume immediately. Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline can transport 7 million barrels of crude oil daily, bypassing the strait. This news may have pressured crude oil futures: Hyperliquid’s contract fell below $100 in early trading and was last at $98.1.

On March 15, The Kobeissi Letter cited JPMorgan data showing the G7’s coordinated release of strategic oil reserves will only deliver roughly 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd). Historically, the peak emergency oil release hit about 1.4 million bpd. However, ongoing oil field modernization and lower inventories mean the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s operational flexibility may now fall below its 2022 level of 1 million bpd. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz blockage has stranded some 16 million bpd of crude in the Persian Gulf daily. The 1.2 million bpd release covers just 7.5% of that 16 million bpd supply shortfall. Analysts emphasize emergency reserves can only buy time—they cannot replace lost supply or resolve supply bottlenecks.

March 15 — Prosecutors in the Taiwan region of China have indicted the defunct cryptocurrency exchange BITGIN, plus 10 others including Beijing-based tech firm leader Liu Yuxin, CEO Zhang Hansun, and COO Zhang Yuting (Zhang’s younger sister, who is also implicated in the Yangsheng Group’s 274.6 billion yuan money laundering case involving gold tycoon Tu Chengwen, head of Ruisen Jewelry). The Zhang siblings may face 12-year prison sentences. Prosecutors allege the company colluded with a fraud ring in 2023 to commit fraud and money laundering: it provided USDT and facilitated cash transactions with counterfeiters offline. The case involves 46 victims, with fraud losses exceeding NT$150 million. Related funds were transferred via cryptocurrency wallets and overseas exchanges to conceal their origin.

On March 15, Vitalik Buterin posted on X, noting he’s open to Ethereum’s current beacon chain-execution client separation architecture—but emphasized running two communicating daemons is far more complex than operating a single daemon. Vitalik pointed out Ethereum’s core goal is to let users self-custody their assets and enjoy a smooth network experience, which often requires running their own node. The current node operation method, however, adds unnecessary complexity. For the short term, he suggested enabling users to install Docker images of different clients and simplifying inter-client communication via a more standardized base packaging solution. As the LeanEthereum consensus solution matures, he added, future efforts should include reevaluating the network’s overall architecture design.

March 15 — Per LookOnChain monitoring data, ShapeShift founder and early Bitcoin backer Erik Voorhees has launched 28 new wallets since Jan. 31. He’s spent $23.76 million via Cow Protocol to acquire 2,834 XAUT (valued at $13.78 million) and 2,019 PAXG (valued at $9.97 million), with an average entry price of $4,896. As of now, he holds a $513,000 profit.

WEEX announced on March 15 that the platform has launched zero-fee spot trading for TRUMP tokens.