Iran’s Economy Is Collapsing. Institutions Are Still Buying.

Hey Lantern Community,

Iran's economy is under a naval blockade with no peace talks in sight. Bitcoin just had its best month since the bull run started. And April was DeFi's worst month.

We break down all three below. But first, market update!

The Blockade Is Strangling Iran

CENTCOM has turned back 38 ships and seized at least one Iranian-flagged vessel since the blockade began. On April 28, Trump claimed Iran told him directly that their country was "in a state of collapse.”

Peace talks that were supposed to happen in Pakistan haven't materialized, and the word analysts keep using is "stalled."

Markets are treating this as the new normal. BTC spiked to $78,000 on April 22 when Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely, then stalled at resistance around $78,500. The market is no longer reacting to the war but reacting to whether the war gets worse.

Institutions Are (Still) Buying Bitcoin

Bitcoin is up 14.5% over the past month.

While headlines focus on the ceasefire hour-by-hour, the more interesting story is who's been buying BTC.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw roughly $2 billion in inflows over eight consecutive trading days this month. BlackRock's IBIT recorded net inflows on 48 of 62 trading days in Q1 2026. A single-day inflow of $246.9 million hit recently, with Fidelity and Bitwise also consistently positive.

Bloomberg's ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted this is the first time in months that all major rolling timeframes show positive flows simultaneously, which is a pattern that has historically preceded sustained moves.

April Was The Worst Month In DeFi History

$624 million in 30 days across 25 protocols was lost to hackers. While crypto markets were rallying on ceasefire news, hackers were methodically draining protocol after protocol. This is a structural problem with how DeFi is built. Shared liquidity, composable risk, and code that is exploitable.

At Lantern, your collateral sits in BitGo's insured cold storage custody wallet. It is not deposited into a protocol. It does not touch a bridge. It is not collateral in a smart contract that someone in Eastern Europe is currently reading line by line.

Lantern Update

You can now select a USDC address from your address book when you upsize your loan.

Previously, Lantern defaulted to the original USDC address from your initial loan agreement, and changing it meant emailing us. Now, when you go to upsize, you can specify exactly where you want your funds sent.

No more back-and-forth.

Also, peep our booth at XRP Las Vegas! If you are here, come and visit us! 🙂

Borrow While Institutions Are Still Building Their Position

The ETF data tells a story most retail investors haven't acted on yet: institutions are accumulating at $68K–$78K with a persistence that suggests they're sizing into a cycle.

If you are interested in joining them, Bitcoin-backed loans at Lantern start at 8%.

Same-day funding, including weekends. Your collateral never touches a smart contract.

Borrow against your crypto here: https://lantern.finance/borrow

Until next week,

The Lantern Team

This newsletter is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always consult with your financial advisor before making lending decisions.