Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
After a tense weekend that saw the U.S. bomb an Iranian nuclear site, bitcoin has regained its footing, hovering around $106K as Asia begins its Wednesday session and pushing past levels from earlier this month when Israel bombed Iran.
Part of the reason why crypto has recovered alongside traditional markets is just how correlated the two have become.
“Bitcoin’s sensitivity to traditional asset classes and macroeconomic indicators has evolved markedly over the past few market cycles, reflecting its growing integration into the broader macro-financial system,” a recent report from Glassnode and Avenir Group reads. “Institutional infrastructure has reshaped how capital engages with bitcoin. As a result, its market behavior is increasingly governed by structural liquidity, long-horizon positioning, and regulated access points.”
That institutional backbone was visible again this week.
Semir Gabeljic, director of capital formation and investment strategy at Pythagoras Investments, cited ETF flows as a major tailwind: “The huge recent capital inflows in Bitcoin ETFs of $1.1 billion last week and even $350 million today alone” are driving the positive trend.
Spencer Yang, Core Contributor to Fractal Bitcoin, added that one of the reasons why BTC was able to shake off war jitters so quickly is that fundamentally, nothing has changed about the asset class due to the conflict in the Middle East.
All the metrics that investors would look to for BTC are still there, and other bullish market sentiment is possibly on the way.
“We’re seeing continued interest in protocols like BRC-20, especially with the recent upgrade, as well as Runes and Alkanes, which have been getting a lot of attention,” he added. “So overall, on‑chain activity across the board is increasing thanks to these types of assets.”
The takeaway? As bitcoin becomes increasingly defined by institutional demand and macro liquidity cycles, analysts see its price action as less about reacting to headlines and more about long-term capital commitment. This structural shift is what continues to anchor BTC above $100K, despite the noise.
Tim Draper: Bitcoin Is Eating Crypto as Innovation Flocks to BTC
The Bitcoin blockchain is becoming the new home for crypto innovation, absorbing ideas once exclusive to altcoins, just as Microsoft once consolidated the software revolution under its operating system empire, Tim Draper argued in a recent post on X.
Draper pointed to BTC dominance, a metric equivalent to its “market share,” rising over 60%,up from 40% after the 2017 boom-bust cycle and 50% following the 2021 peak, as proof that Bitcoin is reasserting control over the broader crypto ecosystem.
Much like how Microsoft integrated or cloned early success stories like Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, and PowerPoint to form its software suite, Draper says Bitcoin is now incorporating once-altcoin-exclusive innovations: smart contracts, DeFi, ordinals, and low-cost layer 2s.
“All the successful innovations on other platforms are now being ported to Bitcoin,” Draper wrote, calling it an “acceleration” that mirrors Big Tech consolidation. Developers, he said, are increasingly gravitating toward Bitcoin as the most secure and valuable chain.
Draper, who runs a Bitcoin-focused accelerator with Boost VC, said the next generation of entrepreneurs is building on Bitcoin not just for ideological reasons, but because the infrastructure and ecosystem are now ready.
“Smart entrepreneurs are always building on the platform with the strongest gravitational pull,” he wrote. “That platform is Bitcoin.”
WazirX Granted Extension to Present Revised Restructuring Plan
WazirX has received a court-approved extension from the Singapore High Court, allowing it to present further arguments in support of its proposed Scheme of Arrangement. The court also extended the moratorium on creditor actions, which will now remain in place until a ruling is issued on the revised plan.
In a statement released Monday, the exchange said it is awaiting further directions from the court and reiterated its commitment to resolving outstanding claims. The company’s original restructuring plan, rejected by the court last month, as CoinDesk previously reported, sought to reimburse users affected by a $234 million hack in July 2024 through the issuance of recovery tokens and a transfer of operations to a new entity, Zensui Corporation.
More than 93% of creditors had approved the initial plan, but the court cited concerns around governance and transparency.
Without an approved arrangement, WazirX faces the possibility of liquidation under Singapore’s Companies Act, which could lead to extended delays and reduced creditor recoveries. No date has been set for the next court hearing.
Market Movements
- BTC: Bitcoin surged past $106,000 after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran eased geopolitical tensions, triggering a breakout fueled by high-conviction buyers, bullish technical signals, and strong on-chain accumulation, while the broader CD20 index also climbed nearly 1% amid renewed market strength.
- ETH: Ethereum surged 4% to break above $2,450 as Trump’s announcement of an Israel-Iran ceasefire eased global tensions, triggering renewed institutional accumulation and strong on-chain buying momentum.
- Gold: Gold fell as much as 2% to $3,300 after Trump’s surprise Israel-Iran ceasefire announcement eased geopolitical tensions, weakening safe-haven demand even as the metal remains up over 25% year-to-date.
- Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.12% as Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Wednesday, buoyed by the Israel-Iran ceasefire and new signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
- S&P 500: U.S. stocks surged Tuesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting their highest levels since February as a tech-led rally gained momentum amid growing optimism over a fragile U.S.-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire.
