U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces are supporting a "Freedom of Navigation" plan and implementing a maritime blockade on Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command also denied that Iran used a missile to attack a U.S. Navy vessel and called the claim Iranian propaganda. A source said Tehran is prepared for any situation and will not allow U.S. warships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian drones struck the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, sending Brent crude above $120 a barrel and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to 4.46%. The UAE Ministry of Defence said it intercepted three of four Iranian cruise missiles and that the fourth fell into the sea. Fed funds futures implied no Federal Reserve rate cuts until December 2027 and a 38% probability of a rate hike by March 2027. Loading operations at the hub were partly suspended after three drone strikes in four days.

Western Union launched its US dollar stablecoin USDPT on Solana on May 4 for cross-border settlement across more than 200 countries. Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. issues USDPT, which Western Union said is fully backed by US dollars. Western Union plans to start in the Philippines and Bolivia, and the company said the token will support treasury management and near-instant settlements with its agent network.

BitMine Immersion Technologies bought 101,745 ETH for about $237.7 million in the week ending May 4, marking its third straight week of purchases above 100,000 ETH. BitMine's total holdings reached 5,180,131 ETH, equal to 4.29% of Ethereum's 120.7 million circulating supply. The weekly total included 10,000 ETH bought directly from the Ethereum Foundation in an OTC transaction announced May 2. BitMine said about 84% of its ETH is staked through MAVAN.

Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief said Iranian forces used cruise missiles and combat drones after U.S. destroyers approached the Strait of Hormuz under radar silence. The commander said Iran responded by opening fire fully. The commander said security in the region is Iran's red line.

Bitcoin rose above $80,000 as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $629 million in net inflows on Friday. SoSoValue data shows April was the best month of 2026 for spot BTC ETFs, with about $1.97 billion in net inflows led by BlackRock's IBIT. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks also released compromise text on the CLARITY Act's stablecoin yield carveout. President Trump said the U.S. military will begin "Project Freedom" in the Strait of Hormuz.

FINRA approved Securitize to expand its broker-dealer business, allowing the firm to underwrite tokenized IPOs and secondary offerings. FINRA also approved Securitize Markets to custody tokenized securities and support atomic swaps between tokenized stocks and stablecoins inside its broker-dealer ATS. Securitize said the approval makes it the first company allowed to custody tokenized securities in a regular broker-dealer.

Payward closed its acquisition of Bitnomial and gained three CFTC derivatives licenses for a U.S. market expansion. Payward said the license stack will let Kraken and NinjaTrader offer CFTC-regulated spot margin first, with perpetuals and options to follow for eligible U.S. clients. Payward did not disclose the final terms, but in April it said the deal could be worth up to $550 million in cash and stock and valued its equity at $20 billion.

Brent crude neared $120 a barrel on Monday after a drone strike hit an ADNOC tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and the waterway was effectively shut to commercial traffic again. The UAE blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the strike on the empty Barakah near Fujairah and said no crew members were injured. UKMTO said a tanker in the strait was hit by unknown projectiles and called the regional threat level critical after a separate strike on a cargo ship off Sirik on Sunday. The strait carries roughly one-fifth of global oil supply, and President Donald Trump said the Navy would begin escorting stranded vessels through Hormuz on Monday under Project Freedom.

Bitcoin swung around $80,000 at Monday's Wall Street open after news that Iran struck a petroleum facility in the United Arab Emirates. WTI crude rose more than 5% above $105 per barrel, and Brent reached $119 while US stocks came under pressure. QCP Capital said a semi-filled CME futures gap near $84,000 is the key resistance area for buyers. CryptoQuant contributor Crazzyblockk said a daily close above $81,500 would flip that level into support.