News linked to this event type.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig stated at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference that U.S. digital asset regulation is entering a "new phase." The two agencies are working together to advance a regulatory framework for crypto assets and encourage related businesses to remain based in the United States.The two officials mentioned that a jointly released token classification guide has already distinguished between digital commodities, collectibles, and tokenized securities, and will push for clearer, forward-looking regulatory rules. Paul Atkins also said the SEC is preparing to launch an "innovation exemption," which could allow companies to test on-chain tokenization and securitization tools in a regulated environment within the coming weeks.
According to Cointelegraph, Israel’s Authority for Capital Markets, Insurance, and Savings has approved the virtual asset trading platform Bits of Gold to launch BILS, a stablecoin pegged to the Israeli shekel. BILS previously completed a two-year pilot on the Solana blockchain. Per the announcement, BILS reserve assets will be held in designated, segregated accounts within Israel. This initiative is also part of the Israel Tax Authority and Ministry of Finance’s efforts to establish a regulatory framework for the crypto industry, specifically covering certain stablecoin activities.
with the revision of the Clarity Act expected to move forward in May, the crypto industry is closely watching its legislative window before the August congressional recess. Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, stated that the Senate has limited time remaining, and the industry hopes to get the bill to President Trump's desk for signature before August.However, after accounting for recess periods and other legislative agendas, the Senate effectively has only about 9 to 10 working weeks left to advance the bill. Currently, the bill still needs to first pass through the Senate Banking Committee, with disagreements over stablecoin yield and rewards remaining key obstacles.
U.S. Representative Nick Begich stated at the Bitcoin 2026 conference that he plans to reintroduce his Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act in the coming weeks, renaming the original "BITCOIN Act" to the "U.S. Reserve Modernization Act." The bill aims to codify President Trump's executive order into law, establishing a permanent Bitcoin reserve. It requires Bitcoin to be held for an "extended period" and to acquire 1 million BTC over five years through a "budget-neutral strategy." Begich stated that the renaming is intended to help Congress and the American people better understand the bill's objectives, ensuring Bitcoin is treated as a reserve asset. He also noted that given the uncertainty surrounding the next administration's stance on digital assets, now is the opportune moment to lock in gains by having Congress take action. (The Block)
The Canadian House of Commons has passed the second reading of Bill C-25, which proposes to ban political parties and candidates from accepting cryptocurrency political donations. Introduced on March 26 as part of electoral law reforms, the bill aims to enhance transparency, strengthen enforcement, and reduce the risk of foreign interference. It will proceed to committee review and may still be subject to amendments. No fixed review date has been set yet.Meanwhile, Canada is advancing a regulatory framework for stablecoins and refining rules related to crypto investment funds, custody, and cold storage. (Cointelegraph)
According to an official announcement, ZetaChain stated that its GatewayEVM contract was attacked today, with the impact limited solely to internal wallets controlled by the ZetaChain team. The official statement confirmed that the attack vector has been blocked and no further funds are currently at risk. As a precautionary measure, ZetaChain has suspended cross-chain transactions. Meanwhile, the investigation remains ongoing; according to the official statement, no user funds have been affected by this incident, and a detailed post-mortem report will be released upon completion of the investigation.
Canada’s Bill C-25, the “Stronger Democracy for Canada Act,” passed second reading in Parliament and has moved to committee review. The bill proposes banning the use of cryptocurrencies for political donations. It classifies crypto assets alongside instruments such as bank drafts and prepaid payment instruments as “hard-to-trace sources of funds,” applying this restriction to political parties, candidates, and third-party election advertising entities. Violating donations must be refunded to the donor or remitted to the Receiver General within 30 days. While Canada has permitted cryptocurrency donations since 2019, actual usage has been minimal. The UK has already implemented a similar ban, whereas the U.S. continues to allow crypto-based political contributions.
A research report released by a16z Crypto states that stablecoins have evolved from niche trading tools into the foundational layer of a new global financial infrastructure, giving rise to a new generation of “Banking-as-a-Service” (BaaS) models. Unlike the previous wave of BaaS, this new model is built on onchain infrastructure and integrates account management, payments, foreign exchange, and credit functions via self-custodial wallets—significantly reducing reliance on traditional intermediaries. The report classifies blockchains into three categories: general-purpose public chains (e.g., Solana and Ethereum), purpose-built chains optimized for payment use cases (e.g., Stripe’s Tempo and Circle’s Arc), and compliance-focused networks designed for regulated institutions (e.g., Canton). On the regulatory front, following the passage of the GENIUS Act, stablecoin issuers are competing aggressively for national trust charters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), aiming to gain direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment rails and secure a central position within the payments stack. The report also notes that stablecoins have made significant progress in the “middle mile” of cross-border payments; however, liquidity bottlenecks between stablecoins and local fiat currencies remain unresolved in emerging markets. Looking ahead, as stablecoin scale grows, the onchain credit market is poised to become the next major opportunity after payments—providing capital to borrowers underserved by traditional financial systems. Moreover, the widespread adoption of stablecoins is expected to further reinforce the U.S. dollar’s global dominance.
According to The Wall Street Journal, on April 27, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against New York State in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking a court ruling that the CFTC holds exclusive regulatory authority over prediction markets—aiming to halt New York State’s enforcement actions. Previously, New York State had filed lawsuits against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Gemini over their prediction market operations. Earlier this month, the CFTC also initiated similar lawsuits against Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, intensifying jurisdictional disputes between federal and state regulatory agencies.
According to Blockchain for Europe, the European Blockchain Association, together with Dr. Ulrich Bindseil, former Director General of Market Infrastructure and Payments at the European Central Bank, and Erwin Voloder, the Association’s Director of Research and Strategy, jointly released the report “Reforming MiCA to Support Euro Stablecoins” on April 27. The report acknowledges MiCA’s significance as a landmark regulatory framework, while also pointing out that certain design choices may place Europe in an unfavorable zone of the regulatory “Laffer curve”—overly stringent requirements could undermine the competitiveness of EU markets and drive related business activities outside the EU. To address this, the report puts forward a series of targeted, pragmatic reform proposals aimed at enabling MiCA to foster a more competitive, resilient, and globally influential euro stablecoin ecosystem. It further calls on policymakers, industry participants, and all stakeholders to actively engage in discussions to collectively advance the continuous refinement of the MiCA framework.
According to an official announcement by Banking Circle, the company officially launched its stablecoin settlement service on April 27, 2026. Prior to this, Banking Circle had obtained a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), on April 15. The new service enables instant, two-way conversions between fiat currencies and major stablecoins—including USDC, USDG, and EURI—and leverages Banking Circle’s core banking platform to deliver 24/7 settlement with full regulatory traceability. Globally, the stablecoin market capitalization currently stands at approximately €250 billion, with annual payment transaction volume reaching around €330 billion and monthly on-chain transaction volume exceeding €8 trillion. Laust Bertelsen, CEO of Banking Circle, stated that stablecoins have become core infrastructure for cross-border settlement and treasury management. This launch aims to combine the efficiency of blockchain-based payments with banking-grade compliance standards, serving Banking Circle’s global network of over 750 payment institution clients.
the French National Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office (PNACO) issued a statement on Friday stating that France has launched judicial investigations into 12 cryptocurrency kidnapping cases orchestrated by organized crime groups, and has indicted 88 suspects, including more than 10 minors.According to statistics, since 2023, France has recorded 135 cryptocurrency-related attacks, including 18 in 2024, 67 in 2025, and 47 so far in 2026. The accused individuals face charges including kidnapping, illegal detention, extortion, and money laundering. Recently, police arrested six suspects in two operations targeting kidnapping cases, and all individuals are currently in preventive detention. CertiK blockchain intelligence analyst Jonathan Riss stated that the masterminds behind such criminal gangs are typically located outside the European Union.
According to an official announcement by the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA), under the 2026 Virtual Assets Act, all virtual asset services fall within PVARA’s regulatory purview and must obtain prior authorization before commencing operations or making public announcements. PVARA welcomes responsible innovation and encourages relevant stakeholders to engage with the authority at an early stage. Innovators may pursue compliant business activities through pathways such as the regulatory sandbox, No-Action Relief Letters, and Letters of No Objection (NOC).
According to the official website of the Council of the European Union, the EU formally adopted its 20th round of sanctions against Russia on April 23, 2026—the largest sanctions package in two years—adding 120 new individuals and entities to its sanctions list and intensifying pressure across multiple dimensions, including energy, finance, defense industries, and trade. In the cryptocurrency sector, given Russia’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies for international settlements amid financial sanctions, the EU imposed a comprehensive sectoral ban on cryptocurrency transfer and trading platforms operating within Russia. It also sanctioned a Kyrgyzstani platform facilitating government-backed stablecoin A7A5 transactions and banned all transactions involving the cryptocurrency RUBx, as well as any EU support for the development of the digital ruble.
The Investment Committee under the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a document titled “Understanding the Nature of Investment through Prediction Markets,” which states: Prediction markets are speculative markets created for the purpose of making predictions. Trading activities or contracts in prediction markets are not investment products. Key features include: events subject to prediction, trading mechanisms, trading prices, and payouts. Before considering any investment, investors should carefully consider the investment’s value, asset allocation, and regulatory safeguards. The Investment Committee notes that members of the public engaging in trading activities on prediction markets are not protected by the Securities and Futures Ordinance or any regulations enforced by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Should problems arise, redress may be difficult—or even impossible—to obtain.
, Morpho CEO Paul Frambot posted on X that over the past week, he has communicated with several large institutions to understand their views on the current DeFi landscape. The core conclusions are as follows.First, institutional interest will not disappear. The reason is simple: distribution channels will not disappear — massive amounts of assets under management (AUM), payments, and lending businesses are moving on-chain. Almost all fintech companies aim to be fully on-chain. For institutions, this is not a question of "whether," but a matter of "necessity."Second, they have lost trust in the pool/hub model. Institutions and distributors want to control everything, including control over code, control over risk, and control over compliance. At the same time, they also desire flexibility — the ability to isolate their own operations and connect to a global liquidity network that is compatible with them.
Odaily, According to sources, CertiK has confirmed its participation as a sponsor at Consensus Miami 2026. As the world's largest Web3 security company, CertiK plans to deeply engage in industry dialogue and ecosystem building through a series of activities.During the conference, CertiK will host and co-host two side events, inviting global founders, technical professionals, and industry representatives to discuss topics such as Web3 security, AI applications, and on-chain infrastructure. Founder and CEO Ronghui Gu will also participate in relevant roundtable forums to explore security and transparency in blockchain and financial infrastructure. Additionally, CertiK will set up a booth at the venue and conduct multiple fireside chats with partners, focusing on industry pain points including institutional adoption, risk visualization, and Web3 compliance implementation.Organized by CoinDesk, Consensus Miami 2026 will be held from May 5 to 7 in Miami, USA. It is expected to bring together over 20,000 industry participants globally, making it one of the most influential conferences in the crypto and Web3 industry.
According to Cointelegraph, Vanessa Perrée, France’s National Prosecutor for Organized Crime, stated that French law enforcement has charged at least 88 individuals—including 10 minors—in connection with 12 “crypto heists” targeting cryptocurrency holders; 75 of those charged are currently in pre-trial detention. Such incidents typically involve violent methods—including home invasions and kidnappings—to coerce victims into surrendering assets stored in their crypto wallets. Perrée noted that some suspects are linked to multiple cases, and investigations have uncovered an organized criminal network behind these crimes. Official records from French authorities indicate 18 such cases in 2024, rising to 67 in 2025, and reaching 47 thus far in 2026.
According to information disclosed by journalist Ken Klippenstein, the White House Correspondents' Dinner attack suspect Cole Allen's actions may have been directed at the AI-generated Jesus portrait released by Trump.Records show that Cole Allen, as a Protestant, once referenced the description of the "Antichrist" from the Book of Revelation regarding the image on social media. Although Trump claimed that Cole Allen hated Christians, his manifesto indicates that Cole Allen was actually using biblical teachings to justify his violent actions, arguing that remaining silent while others are oppressed violates his faith. Cole Allen graduated from Caltech and previously worked on developing precision hardware involving drones and military targeting systems. The FBI is currently investigating whether he acted alone.
Chloe (@ChloeTalk1), a columnist for HTX DeepThink and researcher at HTX Research, analyzes that the current macro framework for the crypto market has shifted from “liquidity trades awaiting rate cuts” to a constraining environment characterized by “higher-for-longer interest rates + sticky inflation + war-related shocks.” According to the latest Reuters survey, most economists have pushed back their expectations for rate cuts to after September, with nearly one-third believing no cuts will occur this year. The primary reason is that the Middle East conflict has driven up energy prices, pushing inflation trajectories higher once again and thereby constraining the Federal Reserve’s policy space. This shift directly undermines the two key narratives previously supporting crypto assets: expectations of liquidity easing and a declining interest-rate path. Elevated oil prices, coupled with consecutive upward revisions to PCE inflation expectations, increase the likelihood that interest rates will remain high—or even extend their elevated period—leading to a higher discount rate and shrinking risk budgets. As a result, marginal capital inflows into the crypto market are diminishing, and high-volatility assets broadly face mounting pressure.