The recent conflict between Iran and Israel had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market, leading to a sharp decline in prices on April 14. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to Uniswap, signaling potential legal action against the exchange amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny. Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is seeking to appeal his sentencing.

**Market Volatility**

At the beginning of the week, the global crypto market cap surged by 3.6% to reach a 3-month high of $2.62 trillion on April 8, with Bitcoin regaining the $72,000 price level after a 3% increase. Despite approaching its all-time high on April 8, Bitcoin experienced a price drop of 3.45% to $68,000 on April 9 following the release of higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data.

**Bitcoin Recovery and Whale Activity**

Bitcoin managed to recover from the price decline, rallying by 2.15% on April 10 to surpass the $70,000 mark. This upward trend persisted despite a noticeable drop in whale activity in the market. BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes expressed skepticism about Bitcoin’s ability to sustain its all-time high as the halving event approaches.

**Impact of Iran-Israel Conflict**

As the week progressed, bears regained control of the market, causing Bitcoin to drop to the $65,000 range on April 12 for the first time in over a week. The broader market experienced a significant downturn, leading to a decrease in the global crypto valuation to $2.2 trillion on April 12. The escalating tension surrounding the Iran-Israel conflict exacerbated the market decline, resulting in massive liquidations totaling over $860 million from the derivatives market.

**Uniswap Faces Regulatory Challenges**

Amidst market volatility, the SEC considered filing charges against Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) built on Ethereum. Uniswap disclosed receiving a Wells Notice from the SEC, indicating the regulator’s intent to take legal action against the DEX. Following this development, the price of UNI, Uniswap’s native token, dropped by 17% to $9.27 as selling pressure intensified.

**U.S. Regulatory Landscape**

The U.S. regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies remained in focus, with reports indicating that the Treasury Department is seeking expanded authority to regulate crypto activities involving sanctioned entities like North Korea, Russia, and Iran. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand revealed ongoing discussions in Congress about introducing a bipartisan bill to regulate stablecoins. Former Ethereum advisor Steven Nerayoff initiated a lawsuit against the U.S. government seeking $9.6 billion in damages for alleged mistreatment.

**Global Regulatory Developments**

In Russia, the central bank urged lawmakers to accelerate the implementation of regulations governing cryptocurrency use, especially for international settlements amid U.S. sanctions. Hong Kong’s crypto exchanges faced regulatory uncertainty, prompting some firms to explore relocation options. British Columbia aimed to address energy consumption issues related to crypto mining through legislative amendments.

**Bankman-Fried’s Appeal and Do Kwon’s Extradition**

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team sought to retain him in temporary detention in Brooklyn pending an appeal of his 25-year jail sentence. Former FTX executive Ryan Salame awaited sentencing on May 28 after pleading guilty. Terra founder Do Kwon’s extradition was approved by a court in Montenegro, awaiting a decision on whether he would be extradited to South Korea or the U.S.

**Solana Network Congestion**

Solana experienced network congestion despite increased adoption and trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) within the DeFi sector. Anza, a Solana developer team, deployed an update to address congestion issues resulting from the growing deployment of meme coins like Bonk (BONK) and dogwifhat (WIF) on the network.

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