🪙 2 Days. 25 BTC.
💸 USDh Meets STR
🎙️ hBTC Takes the Stage
💰 USDh Yield Recap
📈 Weekly Market Review

I told you last week we had surprises lined up. They did not disappoint. 

First, hBTC is live. Half of the 50 BTC cohort filled in less than 2 days, half the time it took to fill the private beta. The next cohort opens soon. If you are not on the waitlist, request access now.

The second surprise caught almost everyone off guard. We integrated STRC into the USDh platform as a second yield engine. Bitcoin credit is scaling fast, and we are proud to be among the first teams bringing its leading instrument on-chain. 

Want to learn more? I spent some time across a few live shows getting into the details.

The new standard for BTC yield is here. hBTC is live. 

hBTC is Bitcoin that earns Bitcoin from blue-chip strategies, including BTC credit (STRC), basis, and Stacks Dual Staking. Profits are harvested and compounded back into Bitcoin. 

The market was ready for it. Half of the 50 BTC launch cap filled in under two days, twice the pace of private beta. 

The next deposit window opens soon.

If your mandate is BTC-denominated yield with transparent, rules-based risk controls, join the waitlist now.

USDh has a second yield engine: STRC. 

STRC is the leading instrument in digital credit, issued by Strategy and backed by its Bitcoin balance sheet, with a current annualized dividend rate of 11.50%. 

USDh now earns from STRC through stUSDh, adding Bitcoin-backed credit alongside basis. Together, these give USDh exposure to two distinct sources of yield: corporate credit demand and leverage demand in Bitcoin derivatives. 

Read our launch blog post for full details on how stUSDh earns from STRC.

hBTC was a major focus this week, and our Founder, Jakob, took it live twice.

At Stacks’ Builder Bash, he gave a live walkthrough of the hBTC app, covering the Yield and Reserve dashboards, the deposit flow, and how the product works in practice.

We also hosted a one-on-one session with Jakob, Yield You Can Underwrite: hBTC and the Institutional Bitcoin Yield Stack. The conversation went deeper on the inspiration behind hBTC, the design choices behind it, and how the protocol works under the hood. 

Watch the recaps for a deeper look at hBTC.

5.65% on hBTC. 6.92% on USDh.

Bitcoin earning. Stables earning.

Big week for your wallet.

Bitcoin traded above $79,000 intraweek and sits near $77,800, its highest level since early February. Strategy (MSTR) disclosed a purchase of 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion at a $74,395 average on Monday, its third-largest, increasing holdings to 815,061 BTC, surpassing BlackRock’s IBIT (≈806,000 BTC). 

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed at record highs on Wednesday at 7,137.90 (+1.05%) and 24,657.57 (+1.64%), respectively. The NASDAQ’s record followed two down sessions that ended its April 17 thirteen-day streak.

Data Summary:

Simple Moving Averages (SMA) in Figure 1:

Bitcoin has held above the 7-day ($76,400) and 30-day ($71,500) SMAs for a second straight week, with both levels now acting as support. Price is within 6% of the 180-day ($82,700) for the first time since the February selloff, making it the next key test level. Price remains below the 360-day ($96,800) and above the 200-week ($60,100) SMAs. Support levels are $76,400, $71,500, $67,000, and $60,100, while resistance levels are $78,500, $80,000, $82,700, and $86,000.

Net inflows were $1.276 billion since last Thursday.

The week marked a second consecutive week of inflows above $900M, following last week’s $921M. Cumulative 2026 net flows are now positive at ~$3.5B, reversing the $210M year-to-date deficit in March. With spot near $77,800, the ETF cohort’s average drawdown is now the narrowest since the October 2025 selloff.

DVOL is 42.48%, down from 43.28% last week and about 10 volatility points below the April 2 level. Realized volatility has been lower over the past two weeks, with Bitcoin trading between $66,700 and $79,000; Wednesday’s ~4.5% move on the ceasefire extension headline was the only daily move above 3%. 

Structural vol-suppression dynamics have reemerged. Market-maker delta hedging linked to covered calls on Strategy, IBIT, and the mining complex has returned to levels seen earlier this year.

The equal-weighted basis spread tightened to 1.77% APR from 2.22% last week. The 45 bps compression was driven by the front-week contract printing -0.90%, briefly flipping into backwardation for the first time since the February selloff.

Basis remains positive across longer maturities. Figure 6 shows the curve beyond the front week: May 29 at 2.89%, June 26 at 1.16%, September 25 at 1.97%, December 25 at 2.58%, and March 2027 at 2.91%.

Blockades and interdiction authority in the strait remain in place amidst the ongoing ceasefire and negotiation. A cargo-ship seizure in the Gulf of Oman over the weekend was the first known enforcement action, followed by two reported attacks on ships in the strait on Wednesday. 

Oil prices increased amid uncertainty over the conflict. Brent closed Wednesday up 3% at $101.91, while WTI settled up 3% at $92.96, leaving both 35% to 40% above levels seen before recent geopolitical developments. Hormuz tanker traffic remains near zero, and estimated supply loss tied to the Strait closure has risen to 4-5 million barrels per day, roughly 5% of global supply. European TTF gas has stabilized near €42-44/MWh, with storage at 28%-29%. 

The Fed remains at 3.50%-3.75% ahead of the April 28-29 FOMC meeting. The 10-year yield closed at 4.30%, little changed as lower oil offset March CPI. The DXY firmed into the upper 98s, while gold fell to about $4,700 on Tuesday on dollar strength. Cross-asset positioning now resembles the pre-escalation setup, with equities and crypto in risk-on while gold and Treasuries soften.

Sincerely,
The Hermetica Team