Uzbekistan Launches Besqala Mining Valley

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Market Snapshot: Overnight Moves

Daily Updates:

• After President Trump’s extended ceasefire announcement on Tuesday, risk-sentiment has continued to increase across markets. 
• In a move that occurred alongside US equities reaching new all-time highs, BTC rallied to as much as $79,500 yesterday, a level it last traded at in the tail-end of January this year. 
• The S&P 500 closed up 1.05% yesterday after two days of losses and the Nasdaq-100 rose nearly 2 percentage points, while Brent crude continues to trade above $100. 
• Sentiment in BTC and US equities has also been supported by other idiosyncratic factors too: for BTC, Spot ETFs purchased $335.8M worth of bitcoins yesterday, marking their seventh day of inflows, while the latter has been supported by strong corporate earnings (according to Bloomberg, nearly 80% of the S&P 500 companies reporting first-quarter results have beaten analyst earnings estimates so far). 
• The nearly-three month high in spot price has had some effect on the 25-delta skew at the front end of the term structure. The put-premium in 7-day options has risen from -3% to -0.6%, though has yet to rise enough to turn positioning in options markets bullish. 

• Still, despite an indefinite extension of the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz remains a key area of contention between the US and Iran. 
• The US has maintained its naval blockade on all ships entering and leaving Iran’s ports, a move which Iranian officials have claimed is detrimental for a move towards peace. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the blockade a violation of the ceasefire agreement, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, said the “blockade and threats are main obstacles” to diplomacy.
• At the same time, Iran has a blockade of its own in the Strait — shutting it for most international traffic. Iranian news outlet Tanim reported yesterday that Iran had seized two ships trying to pass through. 
• President Trump claimed the April 7 truce will remain in place until Washington receives a new peace proposal from Iran and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters yesterday that the president “has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal.”

• Uzbekistan has introduced a presidential decree establishing “Besqala Mining Valley,” a special mining zone in Karakalpakstan aimed at scaling Bitcoin and crypto mining through structured regulation, tax incentives, and large-scale use of renewable energy sources
• The framework allows licensed legal entities to conduct mining operations using solar, hydrogen, and grid electricity, with requirements for separate metering, onshore registration, and mandatory conversion or repatriation of mined crypto proceeds via regulated exchanges or bank accounts
• The policy includes tax exemptions on mining income until 2035, differentiated electricity pricing (including higher tariffs for grid usage), strict compliance and KYC rules, and infrastructure development plans leveraging underutilised energy assets, positioning the zone as a state-backed hub for industrial-scale BTC mining and energy optimisation. 

• Prediction market Kalshi has fined and suspended three congressional candidates- Mark Moran, Matt Klein, and Ezekiel Enriquez, for trading on the outcomes of their own races.
• Moran has received a $6,229 fine, has been required to return profits, and has been banned for five years, while Klein ($540) and Enriquez ($784) have also been penalised and suspended for the same duration after placing sub-$100 bets on their campaigns.
• The candidates have responded publicly, with Moran stating he bet on himself because he “wanted to get caught,” after “how rife with corruption Kalshi is,” alleging broader platform issues, while Klein has said his single wager was made out of curiosity.

• The American Bankers Association, alongside three other US banking groups: the Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, and Independent Community Bankers of America are asking regulators to give more time to review new stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act until a key regulator (the OCC) finalises its main framework. 
• They argue that multiple proposed rules from different agencies are closely linked, so reviewing them separately with tight deadlines makes it harder to give meaningful feedback. 
• The request aims to avoid inconsistent regulation and ensure all stablecoin rules are aligned before being finalised. 

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