Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing! As Asia starts its trading day, major cryptocurrencies are facing a downturn due to market uncertainty following an Israeli attack on Iran.

Israel’s military carried out multiple airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities early Friday Hong Kong time, causing BTC and ETH prices to drop. Despite this, ETH is still up almost 40% in the last three months, outperforming bitcoin and the CoinDesk 20 index, according to CoinMarketCap.

Market observers are monitoring investors’ risk appetite, with a focus on ETH’s rally as an indicator of interest in altcoins. Ethereum’s recent dominance surge, along with a drop in BTC dominance, signals a shift towards alternative sectors like DeFi, modular infrastructure, and decentralized AI.

Institutional interest in ETH remains strong, with spot ETH ETFs attracting over $1.25 billion since mid-May. This could pave the way for a sustained altcoin rally, especially if ETH continues to anchor liquidity in emerging ecosystems.

In other news, MAS recently enforced a ban on offshore exchanges operating in Singapore solely for foreign clients. This move was anticipated, as MAS had been hinting at tighter regulations since 2023.

Additionally, Quranium has introduced the QSafe Wallet, a quantum-secure wallet designed to protect digital assets from quantum computing threats. Built with post-quantum encryption, the wallet supports various cryptocurrencies and aims to preempt potential quantum breaches.

Market Movements:
– Bitcoin is down 4.7% to $103.3K due to geopolitical tensions from the Israeli attack on Iran.
– ETH remains under pressure, trading within a descending channel.
– Gold surged over 3% to $3,426.95.
– Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix fell after the Israeli military strike.
– The S&P 500 rose 0.38% on Thursday.

For more on the latest in crypto, be sure to check out the articles linked below:
– ‘Attack of the Clones’: Coinbase Raises Alarm on Risks With Bitcoin Treasury Model (Decrypt)
– Galaxy’s Novogratz suggests Bitcoin hits $1 million if adoption trend persists (The Block)

Let’s see how these market movements play out in the coming days.