WS #9047

The dominant signal in this window is a severe crypto market rout, with over $500 million liquidated in the past hour and Bitcoin falling to ~$61,100, Ethereum to ~$1,620, and broad altcoin losses of 7-15%. This is corroborated by multiple sources (Bluesky priority posts, Seeking Alpha, Polymarket activity). The selloff is broad-based, hitting Bitcoin treasury firms (MSTR, MARA) which shed $62B in market value. Separately, a Bloomberg report indicates senior US officials are exploring taking stakes in AI firms, corroborated by Alpaca News, which could be bullish for AI names (NVDA, MSFT, GOOGL) and counters the prevailing AI trade unwind narrative. The House passed a $2B Ukraine aid bill, which may escalate geopolitical tensions with Russia. The Reserve Bank of India held rates at 5.25% but raised inflation forecast to 5.1%, a negative for Indian equities but limited US market impact. European gas is set for a weekly gain as US-Iran deal remains elusive, supporting energy names (XOM, CVX). The Iran-Hormuz crisis narrative remains stable with no new escalation data beyond the prior drone strike, which was quickly resolved.