Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy announced on the morning of the 12th an immediate blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, prohibiting all vessel passage. The move comes after several ships attempted to navigate without Iranian approval, with one vessel ignoring AIS signals and stopping only after warning shots. The Guard warned that any foreign intervention or arbitrary route-setting would trigger a decisive response, and the blockade will remain until further notice or until the US halts its regional involvement.
Strait of Hormuz blockade and market impact
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for Middle Eastern oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. The Revolutionary Guard also threatened to strike more US military bases in the Middle East if Washington uses the incident as a pretext to attack Iran. The geopolitical tension contributed to a risk-off mood in crypto markets.
Bitcoin and Ethereum prices slide
Bitcoin fell below $64,000, trading at $63,970.90 on OKX, down 0.11% on the day. Ethereum also dropped under $1,800 to $1,799.56, a 0.83% decline. The broader market weakness coincided with the Iran news and ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the US.
CLARITY Act faces Senate hurdles
US Senate Republican leadership is pushing for a floor vote on the CLARITY Act, a digital asset regulatory framework, by July 20. However, bipartisan disagreements on ethics rules and illicit finance measures remain unresolved. If the bill stalls before the August recess, legislative momentum could be lost before the midterm elections. At least seven Democratic senators would need to support it for passage.
Whale moves and exchange flows
A whale address starting with 0x2684 has withdrawn 49,407 ETH and 250 WBTC from Binance since June 30, totaling approximately $99.86 million. Such large outflows are often interpreted as reduced selling pressure. Separately, 190.88 million USDC moved from Aave to an anonymous whale wallet, though the purpose is unclear. Gate.io saw a net outflow of $207 million over the past seven days following a user theft incident, ranking second among centralized exchanges, while Binance recorded $308 million in net inflows. Kalshi now places a 50% probability on the Bitcoin and Crypto Clarity Act becoming law before the August recess, up from previous estimates.