Slippery slope

In the face of criticism that it’s merely an orchestrated pump, RaveDAO’s native RAVE (for no apparent reason) rocketed another 240% over the past 24 hours. This is RAVE’s latest bender within an extraordinary week-long festival during which time the utility token exploded by 3,800%, from about a quarter to now nearly ten dollars, CoinGecko said. 

Coinglass data revealed $31.1M in liquidations of short RAVE positions.

RaveDAO’s market capitalization is now roughly $2.4 billion, making it the 41st-largest digital asset. A “Web3-native entertainment collective,” RaveDAO occasionally garners some attention for throwing extravagant dance parties but faces constant scrutiny over its low circulating token supply with some analysts warning of potential insider manipulation.  (Bitcoin News).

A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports — including those along the strategically paramount Strait of Hormuz — is set to begin today. As of about 5 a.m. (EST), international benchmark Brent crude oil futures had surged by 7% to $102. Risk assets, including U.S. equities and Bitcoin, declined. 

Checking the largest digital asset at 9:50 a.m. (EST), we found a coin that still appears somewhat sturdy at roughly $71K, down a mere 0.1% over the prior 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

President Trump ordered the blockade after peace talks between the U.S. and Iran concluded over the weekend without a deal. So much for a quick end to the conflict in the Middle East: Effective at 10 a.m. (EST), the U.S. military will seek to turn away all vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, including those on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. 

The energy industry now has to grapple with a formal U.S. shutdown of a vital passageway that was already effectively closed by Iran, although some tanker traffic started to flow through the Hormuz Strait last week after the two-week ceasefire was announced. Overland pipelines are mitigating some of the impact but probably the global refinery system is losing one-tenth of supply, or 10 million barrels, per day, analysts said.

With its blanket ban on Iranian ports, the U.S. essentially is going for the jugular, trying to deprive Iran of oil revenue. But the move could trigger a fresh cycle of hostilities while simultaneously drawing other countries into the fray (CNBC).

Despite crude oil rising sharply and Dow futures tumbling by a few hundred points, Bitcoin pretty much stayed flat, clinging close to $71,000 as of Monday at 9 a.m. (EST). 

War and inflation fears hang heavily in the air. The coming days will see the release of the March edition of the monthly Producer Price Index (PPI). These numbers (what makers of things shell out for materials) will reflect the impact of the first month of the war. The prospect of an uptick has investors on edge. Recent inflation data already has begun to fray nerves.

While headlines coming out of the Middle East have dominated investor attention, a pair of consumer price reports released last week continued to show upward pressure on prices, according to Mosaic Asset Company. 

In a note to clients, per Cointelegraph, Mosaic warned that the Fed may end up enacting “tighter” monetary policy, keeping interest rates steady or even raising them. 

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, which relies on data from options traders betting on the direction of the Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate, shows that market participants envision no rate cuts coming before Q3 of 2027.