Cryptocurrencies surge across the board! 80k traders liquidated! Japan and South Korea stock markets make a strong rebound!

Big Counteroffensive!

This morning, the entire cryptocurrency market surged across the board. Bitcoin jumped more than 3%. According to CoinGlass data, over the past 24 hours, 80,175 people worldwide were liquidated. The Japanese and South Korean stock markets also moved higher collectively, with the KOSPI index in South Korea up more than 2%. Analysts pointed out that the latest developments in the U.S.-Iran negotiations have eased market nerves. U.S. President Trump said the U.S. is conducting “in-depth negotiations” with Iran and “very likely” will reach an agreement with it before the final deadline on the 7th.

On the conflict front in the Middle East, Iran’s retaliatory actions are still ongoing. On April 5, local time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Public Relations Department issued a statement saying that Iran launched the 97th wave of offensives in the “True Commitment-4” operation, carrying out large-scale joint strikes with missiles and drones, destroying multiple key targets and related assets of the United States and Israel in countries around the Persian Gulf. Also, according to multiple Iranian media outlets such as Fars News Agency, on April 6 a shell hit the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq.

**Surge Across the Board **

At Beijing time on April 6, the cryptocurrency market staged a full-scale comeback. As of 8:10, Bitcoin was up 3.07%, Ethereum was up 2.72%, and SOL, XRP, Dogecoin, BNB, and others were up more than 1%.

After the opening of the Japanese and South Korean stock markets, major indexes all rose together. As of 8:10 Beijing time, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.72%, South Korea’s KOSPI index surged 2.02%, Samsung Electronics rose nearly 4%, and SK Hynix rose more than 2%.

On the news front, Xinhua News Agency reported that on April 5 U.S. President Trump, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, said the U.S. is conducting “in-depth negotiations” with Iran and “very likely” will reach an agreement with it before the final deadline on the 7th.

Citing information from sources reported by Israeli media, there are currently two communication channels between the U.S. and Iran. One is mediation through countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey; the other is direct communication between Trump’s special envoy Witcov (Wittekopf), Trump’s son-in-law Kushner, and Iran’s foreign minister Aragchi. The report said that the mediators are trying to get the U.S. and Iran to reach consensus on a series of measures.

In an interview aired by Qatar’s Al Jazeera on March 31, Aragchi said he received a message from Witcov, but that does not mean Iran and the U.S. are in negotiations.

Also, according to a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 5, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke by phone that day with Iran’s foreign minister Aragchi. The two called on relevant parties not to spoil the opportunity to resolve the crisis through political and diplomatic means.

The statement said the Russian side hopes the efforts made by many countries to ease tensions in Iran will succeed, so as to achieve a long-term, stable normalization of the situation in the Middle East. It added that if the U.S. gives up “ultimatum”-style wording and returns the situation to a negotiation track, it will help advance this process.

The statement emphasized that reckless and illegal attacks must be stopped immediately against civilian, industrial, and energy infrastructure, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant. It said it is unacceptable to risk the lives and health of nuclear power plant personnel and the risk of radioactive disaster for the entire region.

Lavrov had called Aragchi on April 2 as well, and the two discussed the conflict situation in the Middle East and efforts by multiple countries to ease the situation.

**Iran launches large-scale attacks **

According to CCTV News, on April 5 local time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Public Relations Department issued a statement saying that Iran launched the 97th wave offensive of the “True Commitment-4” operation, conducting large-scale joint strikes with missiles and drones, destroying multiple key targets and related assets of the United States and Israel in countries around the Persian Gulf.

The statement said that in this round of operations, Iran struck a hidden staging area for U.S. military officers located near the Mohammad Ahmad Naval Base in Kuwait, causing significant casualties. In addition, an Iranian cruise missile hit a ship associated with Israel near the Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates.

The statement also said that in the strike on April 4 against a U.S. personnel staging point within the UAE, 25 people on the U.S. side were killed and injured.

The statement further reminded personnel of oil tankers and merchant ships navigating in the Persian Gulf and the waters of Oman not to trust false information, so as not to endanger their own safety.

Also, according to a report by Iran’s state television on April 5, Iran’s Islamic Republic Army issued an announcement saying that Iranian forces used drones that morning to strike petrochemical infrastructure near the southern Israeli city of Dimona and the U.S. military base located on Bubi Island, Kuwait.

The announcement said that Iranian forces launched drone strikes against the “petrochemical industrial facilities and oil product storage tanks” near Dimona, as well as equipment warehouses within the military base on Bubi Island, satellite communication facilities, and the U.S. military command, as a decisive response to attacks on the U.S. and Israel.

The announcement said that the targeted Israeli petrochemical industry, oil product, and underground emergency fuel reserves in this round are crucial to meeting the energy demands of the southern region of the country.

According to the announcement, after an attack and severe damage to the U.S. personnel staging site at the Al-Rif Iraqi (Al-Rif?) Arif military camp in Kuwait, the U.S. established a new base on Bubi Island, deploying satellite communications units, interception equipment, and an operations command center. The base is one of the important hubs of U.S. Central Command in the region and plays an important role in supporting U.S. military operations stationed in Western Asia.

（Source: China Securities Journal）