Straits Blockade, Stablecoin Recap | Rewire News Morning Edition

Trump has turned the Strait of Hormuz from a military threat into an oil sales channel. Where banks pulled out of commodity trade finance, stablecoins filled the gap.

1｜Trump Orders Blockade of Hormuz, Markets US Oil to China

Islamabad With 21-hour talks collapsing, Trump orders Navy to "immediately" blockade the Strait of Hormuz, intercepting all vessels paying passage fees to Iran. Actual enforcement to begin Monday at 10 a.m. UK declines to participate but will send minesweepers to clear mines. CENTCOM says it will not intercept vessels heading to non-Iranian ports.

Oil prices surge. Sunday night Brent futures briefly jump over 7%, settling around $98 per barrel in Monday's Asian session, while WTI spikes from last Friday's close of $96.57 to near $104. EIA data shows a global loss of around 7.5 million barrels per day from the strait closure, expected to rise to 9.1 million barrels per day in April. Strategic oil reserves are running low, with the supply shortfall potentially doubling in a matter of weeks. Less than 10 days remain until the ceasefire ends, with no schedule set for the next round of talks.

The blockade is not just about military pressure. Trump simultaneously signals to China, "Bring your ships here or go to Venezuela." Brookings' Robin Brooks analyzes that the blockade could "cripple Iran economically" by cutting off its largest buyer, China, to pressure Tehran. The blockade is a weapon, and alternative supply is business.

(Source: Fortune / CNBC / NPR / EIA / Brookings)

2｜Iran War Drives Stablecoin Trade Finance, Crypto Exchanges Launch Oil Price Discovery

Western banks are exiting commodity trade finance. Legitimate trade through hubs like Oman may indirectly touch sanctioned Iranian entities, prompting banks to sever ties directly. Commodities traders facing "de-banking" are turning to stablecoin settlements, with USDT seeing a surge in usage in emerging market commodity trade. Total stablecoin market cap has exceeded $300 billion, with a projected trading volume surpassing $40 trillion by 2025.

Iran itself is also using cryptocurrency. Oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz are charged up to $2 million in passage fees, accepting payment in RMB, Bitcoin, and USDT. Meanwhile, oil perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid surged by 7% after the blockade announcement, with Bitcoin dropping to $71,000. Crypto derivative trading platforms are becoming price discovery tools during off-market hours in traditional markets.

This is not a speculative-driven narrative. What banks are not doing, the blockchain is. The Iran war did not create this trend, but it has accelerated the timeline by several years. When oil prices on Hyperliquid move in tandem with Brent, the parallel financial system of DeFi is no longer "parallel."

（Source: CoinDesk / TRM Labs / Fortune）

3｜Apple AI Head Officially Departs, Company Shifts Focus to AI Glasses

Apple's former AI chief, John Giannandrea, ended his sabbatical this week and officially exited. He parachuted from Google to Apple in 2018 and had control over Siri, robotics, and AI teams stripped in March 2025. The catalyst was Apple Intelligence underperforming, with an upgraded Siri facing multiple delays. The successor is former Microsoft AI researcher Amar Subramanya.

On the same day, Bloomberg revealed Apple is testing four AI smart glasses design concepts, featuring an oval-shaped camera, aiming for a late 2026 release. This is not the previously rumored full-fledged AR version but a product closer to Meta's Ray-Ban in terms of lightweight. From Vision Pro's spatial computing to Ray-Ban-level lightweight glasses, the product positioning has been significantly narrowed.

Apple's strategy in the AI race is increasingly defensive. With a leadership change, reduced ambition, and a safer hardware route chosen. The bet on smart glasses is about "who controls the wearing scenario controls the AI gateway," but the prerequisite is that the AI itself is sufficient. Unable to win in the model competition, retreat to the interface layer. Whether this card can be played depends on whether Apple can deliver a non-disappointing AI experience by the end of the year.

（Source: Bloomberg / 36Kr / TechCrunch / MacRumors）

4｜Linux Kernel Rule Set, AI Assistance Allowed, AI Replacement Not Accepted, Incident Personnel Backstop

After months of debate, Torvalds and Linux kernel maintainers reached a consensus. They allow the use of AI coding assistance tools like Copilot but prohibit the submission of AI-generated code without human review (internally referred to as "AI slop"). All AI-assisted code is the full legal and quality responsibility of the submitter.

The core logic is not to ban AI but to assign clear accountability. Machines can help you write, but your name is on the commit. In cases of security vulnerabilities, license violations, or quality issues, the committer bears full responsibility. This rule set distinguishes between the "tool" and the "author," drawing a line that has never been drawn before.

Governments around the world are still discussing an AI legislative framework. An open-source community without a legal entity has already made an executable decision. Rules are effective not because of enforcement, but because the Linux ecosystem's consensus on code quality is harder than any regulation. The world's most important open-source project has set the rules for generating AI code for the first time, and this precedent will be cited for a long time.

(Source: Tom's Hardware / The Verge / Linux Kernel Mailing List)

Worth Knowing ↓

The Federal Reserve proposes FedNow to support cross-border payments. The April 8 proposal allows U.S. banks to use FedNow for international transfers through intermediaries, paving the way for real-time cross-border settlement. The comment period is 60 days. Stablecoins are moving faster in the cross-border race, but the Fed's pace of catching up is not slow this time.

(Source: Federal Reserve / Finextra)

A Tether-affiliated Super PAC's first ad spending flows to the founder's own company. Fellowship PAC claims to have raised $100 million, with the initial $300,000 ad fee paid to Nxum Group, founded by Tether US CEO Bo Hines. Hines was also a White House crypto policy advisor last year. The cryptocurrency industry's largest political action committee, Fairshake, holds $193 million to prepare for the midterm elections.

(Source: CoinDesk / OpenSecrets)

Saudi east-west pipeline resumes full 7 million bpd shipment. The pump station attacked hours after the ceasefire has been repaired, and the export towards the Red Sea has been restored. With the strait blockade in place, alternative routes around the Red Sea have become more crucial.

(Source: Fortune)

Rockstar Games confirms data breach, hacker ransom deadline on April 14. ShinyHunters breached a Snowflake instance through cloud service provider Anodot, and Rockstar stated that the leaked data does not involve core systems.

(Source: The Verge / Kotaku)