News linked to this event type.
on April 25 local time, Trump attended a TRUMP luncheon at Mar-a-Lago and delivered a speech lasting approximately 45 minutes, covering topics such as the cryptocurrency industry, the war in Iran, and Joe Biden.White House correspondent Sander Lutz stated that aside from expressing hope that the CLARITY Act would pass and that he would sign it immediately, Trump did not reveal many other specific details. Some industry insiders had initially hoped he would bring more news about this bill, which is significant to the crypto sector.
According to Insight Korea, South Korea’s digital bank K Bank has established a strategic partnership with blockchain company Ripple to advance the validation of next-generation blockchain-based cross-border remittance technologies. The two parties will focus on evaluating optimization opportunities in remittance speed, cost structure, and transaction transparency through Ripple’s Global Payments Network and infrastructure. Current collaboration includes a digital wallet proof-of-concept, joint development of cross-border remittance models, and expansion into the digital assets domain. The ongoing Phase II testing simulates connecting banks’ internal systems with customer accounts and tests on-chain fund transfers to the United Arab Emirates and Thailand. K Bank is also evaluating Ripple’s SaaS-based digital wallet, Palisade, to enhance compliance and deployment efficiency.
According to Caixin, Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has warned that the Trump administration’s push for financial deregulation—particularly the relaxation of bank capital requirements and regulatory transparency—is significantly increasing the risk of a future systemic financial crisis in the United States. Rogoff pointed out that one key justification currently advanced for deregulation is to enable traditional banks to remain innovative and competitive against cryptocurrencies—especially U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins. If cryptocurrency regulation is simultaneously relaxed, combined with deregulation of the traditional financial system, it could trigger a “dual deregulation” risk, ultimately leading to systemic collapse. Although a full-scale banking crisis may not erupt in the short term, the associated risks have clearly risen, and the regulatory balance between stablecoins and the traditional banking system has become a critical vulnerability.
According to The Wall Street Journal, North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis said Sunday local time that he would support the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve Chair, thereby clearing the final major hurdle for Trump’s chosen successor to Powell. Tillis had refused for months to vote in favor of Warsh, stating he would not advance any Fed nominee’s confirmation while the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Powell remained ongoing—calling the probe an attack on the central bank’s independence. However, that investigation appears to have concluded last Friday. (Jin10)
According to CoinDesk, the U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill—the Clarity Act—has seen no significant public progress over the past month and is not expected to achieve a breakthrough in April. The report notes that if the bill is to pass before the election, May 25—Memorial Day—is viewed as a critical milestone for advancement; after that date, members of Congress will gradually shift into campaign mode, leaving less time for legislative work. At present, it remains unclear whether the Senate Banking Committee will move forward with related hearings. Issues such as stablecoin yields and other outstanding matters have also yet to be publicly resolved. Even if these disagreements are addressed, the House of Representatives would still need to vote on the bill again.
According to Fortune magazine, as Kalshi and Polymarket accelerate coordination with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to crack down on insider trading, Robin Hanson—a founding theorist of prediction markets and economics professor at George Mason University—publicly voiced his disapproval, stating that “insider participation in trading” is precisely the core value underpinning prediction markets. Earlier, the U.S. Department of Justice charged a U.S. military servicemember with using classified intelligence to place bets on Polymarket regarding a Venezuelan raid operation, illegally profiting approximately $400,000. In response, Robin Hanson remarked: “You want them to trade. You want prices to be as accurate as possible—the market’s purpose is to aid decision-making.” Robin Hanson argues that, like all economic models, insiders will trade: informed participants buy “yes” contracts, thereby driving prices upward toward the truth. If insiders refrain from betting, the information-discovery function of prediction markets would be severely weakened, and such markets would fail to reflect real-world outcomes faster than news media or public opinion polls. Insider trading is likewise widespread in traditional financial markets, yet regulators address only a tiny fraction of cases. Prediction markets, like investigative journalism, are fundamentally mechanisms designed to accelerate information disclosure—and thus should not be subject to blanket prohibition. As a compromise, Robin Hanson proposes: any legislation banning government employees from participating in prediction market trading should, by the same logic, also prohibit them from speaking with journalists.
The Vietnamese government plans to launch a five-year cryptocurrency asset pilot program in Q2 2026, shifting previously offshore-dominated, unregulated crypto trading into an onshore, regulated market. Currently, Vietnamese traders’ annual cryptocurrency transaction volume stands at $22–23 billion, exceeding $600 million daily. The new pilot will only allow participation by locally registered institutions that meet stringent capital and compliance requirements, and all traded assets must be backed by real-world assets and settled in Vietnamese đồng (VND).
the U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against U.S. Army Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, accusing him of using classified intelligence to place bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket regarding the U.S. raid on Venezuela, resulting in illegal profits of over $400,000.According to the latest disclosure by CNN, Trump appears to have shifted his stance on the matter. Upon learning that the soldier had bet on Maduro's downfall, Trump compared the situation to baseball legend Pete Rose betting on his own team to win, downplaying the response. Trump stated: "It's like Rose betting on his own team to win. If he bet on his own team to lose, that would be bad, but he bet on them to win. I will look into it." Additionally, given Trump's support for Rose, at least several of Trump's allies have indicated that Trump should pardon the soldier. (CNN)
Investors closely monitored developments in the Middle East over the past week. Frequent shifts in news flow—coupled with the cancellation of a highly anticipated meeting between U.S. and Iranian representatives and multiple statements by U.S. President Trump—led to volatility in market risk sentiment. Notably, major U.S. equity indices still managed to reach new all-time highs. However, the market outlook is not entirely rosy, as conflict remains prone to sudden escalation. Below are key events investors will focus on in the coming week: Monday, 10:30 p.m. ET: Dallas Fed Business Activity Index for April Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. ET: ADP Employment Change for the week ending April 11 Tuesday, 10:00 p.m. ET: Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for April; Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for April Wednesday, 4:30 a.m. ET: API Crude Oil Inventories for the week ending April 24 Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET: EIA Crude Oil Inventories, EIA Cushing, Oklahoma Crude Oil Inventories, and EIA Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Inventories for the week ending April 24 Thursday, 2:00 a.m. ET: FOMC Interest Rate Decision Thursday, 2:30 a.m. ET: FOMC Press Conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET: Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending April 26; March PCE Price Index; March Personal Spending MoM; Q1 Labor Cost Index (QoQ); Q1 Real GDP Annualized Growth Rate (Advance Estimate); Q1 Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Growth Rate (Advance Estimate); U.S.
: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a 22-year-old California man, Evan Tangeman, has been sentenced to 70 months (approximately 5 years and 10 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for his involvement in a criminal organization that stole approximately $263 million in crypto assets through social engineering fraud and home invasions.According to court documents, Tangeman pleaded guilty in December 2025, admitting to helping the criminal network launder at least $3.5 million in illicit funds.The criminal group allegedly used the stolen funds for lavish spending, including multi-million dollar nightclub bills, Lamborghini sports cars, and high-end assets like Rolex watches.U.S. District Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, stated in a release that the organization "built a criminal system based on nearly absurd greed," emphasizing that Tangeman not only participated in money laundering but also destroyed evidence after his accomplices were arrested, demonstrating clear criminal intent.This sentencing comes as data shows that the crypto industry suffered $482 million in losses from scams and hacks in the first quarter of 2026, with social engineering fraud and physical violent robberies on the rise. (Cointelegraph)
: US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins recently reiterated the push for "Project Crypto" and announced plans to jointly develop a digital asset classification framework with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This framework will clarify when a token is deemed a security, while also introducing an "innovation exemption" to support the on-chain trading of tokenized securities.The market believes that the series of initiatives pushed by Paul Atkins represent one of the most aggressive shifts in crypto regulation in SEC history, marking a formal abandonment of the old “regulation by enforcement” model in favor of clear rule-making. This move could release a stronger entry signal for institutional capital that has been on the sidelines, potentially driving Bitcoin's price back above $80,000. Currently, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $77,586. The market is now focused on Atkins's further statements at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in late April. (Forbes)
the open interest (OI) for options on the Bitcoin spot ETF, IBIT, issued by BlackRock, rose to $27.61 billion on Friday, surpassing the $26.9 billion in the Bitcoin options market on the crypto derivatives platform Deribit for the first time.According to Volmex data, the call options holdings in IBIT are primarily betting that the Bitcoin price will rise to $109,709 in the short term, approximately 41% higher than the current level of around $77,400. Meanwhile, the Deribit market mainly expects Bitcoin to rise to about $106,000. Additionally, the average time to maturity of IBIT options is about two months longer than those on Deribit, indicating that investors in the regulated U.S. market are more inclined towards long-term holdings and stronger bullish sentiment. This further highlights the accelerating trend of institutionalization in the Bitcoin market. (CoinDesk)
Odaily, John Wang, Kalshi's Head of Cryptocurrency, responded on X to the controversy surrounding insider trading in prediction markets, stating: "I believe this is a very important issue, but it is not unique to prediction markets. The stock market is essentially a prediction market for a company's future performance, and there has been a long history of exploration and iteration regarding the boundary between 'legitimate information advantages' and 'illegal use of material non-public information.' The role of regulation is to find this balance. Just like the stock market, insider trading is a complex problem that requires refined solutions, but it is not insurmountable. I also agree that when operating at scale, introducing mechanisms such as KYC and market surveillance is very necessary to help prevent insider trading. That's why we have adopted this approach at Kalshi from day one."
Odaily Odaily: U.S. President Trump stated at a private event for TRUMP Meme coin holders held at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that the White House will not allow banking lobbying groups to hinder the progress of the crypto market structure bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. He said the crypto industry has entered the mainstream, declaring "America is the leader in crypto," and that banks should not obstruct the establishment of stablecoin and crypto regulatory frameworks.Dubbed the "most exclusive meeting in the world," the event invited hundreds of large TRUMP coin holders. Guests included Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley, and boxing champion Mike Tyson. Previously, the U.S. banking industry had expressed concerns that stablecoin reward mechanisms could impact traditional deposit businesses, which had slowed the legislative process. (CoinDesk)
the CFTC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, aiming to prevent New York state from enforcing its gambling laws on federally regulated prediction market platforms. The CFTC argues that federal law grants it exclusive regulatory authority over such markets and is seeking a permanent injunction against New York's enforcement actions. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that registered exchanges face multiple state-level lawsuits, which undermine the CFTC's sole regulatory authority over prediction markets. Previously, New York state had sued Binance and Gemini, alleging their products violated state gambling rules, and had also requested Kalshi to cease certain sports-related contracts. Currently, 37 states and Washington D.C. have submitted amicus briefs supporting Massachusetts' enforcement against Kalshi, arguing that federal law has not legalized sports betting and has not abolished the states' historical regulatory powers.
the lending protocol Purrlend was attacked on the MegaETH and HyperEVM networks, resulting in losses of approximately $1.52 million. The attacker extracted approximately $1.2 million in assets from the HyperEVM network, including 449,683 USDC, 214,125 USDT0, 194,745 USDH, and portions of UBTC, wstHYPE, UETH, kHYPE, and WHYPE. The attacker also extracted approximately $324,000 in assets from the MegaETH network, including USDT0, WETH, and USDm. Purrlend has since paused the protocol and launched an investigation. The attacker's address has been identified on the block explorers of both networks.
Fu Peng, Chief Economist of Xinhuo Group, posted on X stating that commodity ETFs are essentially regulatory-compliant products packaging the business model of “holding commodities long-term and generating rental income continuously.” Fund companies focus not on the commodity market’s outlook but rather on the asset’s ability to generate “rent” consistently. Since BitMEX launched the world’s first BTC perpetual contract and introduced the funding rate mechanism on May 13, 2016, long-term BTC holders have been able to earn rental income through hedging operations—transforming BTC from a pure faith-based speculative asset into a “rental asset” with stable positive cash flow logic. The costs paid by retail participants when trading derivatives constitute the foundation for large-position holders’ risk-free hedging rental income. This income is then packaged into ETF-like products sold to liquidity providers (LPs), whose raised capital is subsequently used to purchase Bitcoin—creating a virtuous cycle that reduces volatility and reinforces BTC’s income-generating attributes.
According to a report released by a16z crypto researchers Robert Hackett and Jeremy Zhang, stablecoins are evolving from early-stage tools for trading and savings into core financial infrastructure. On the regulatory front, the U.S. GENIUS Act has established the first federal framework for stablecoin issuance. Although the European Union’s MiCA regulation—after coming into effect—led to the delisting of USDT from several exchanges, it has instead spurred sustained demand for non-U.S. dollar stablecoins, with monthly trading volume remaining steady in the $15–25 billion range. In terms of usage, consumer-to-business (C2B) stablecoin transaction volume grew 128% year-on-year in 2025, reaching 284.6 million transactions. Stablecoin velocity rose from 2.6x in early 2024 to 6x, indicating that existing supply is now being used more frequently for payments rather than held as savings. After excluding transactional and financial flow activity, an estimated $350–550 billion in stablecoin value in 2025 was attributable to genuine payment use cases. Geographically, nearly two-thirds of stablecoin payment volume originates from Asia (primarily Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan), roughly one-quarter comes from North America, and approximately 13% from Europe. Notably, cross-border transaction share has actually declined, while domestic transactions have risen from ~50% in early 2024 to nearly 75% by early 2026. The BRL-pegged stablecoin BRLA, for example, now sees monthly transfers totaling approximately $400 million—evidence of the growing adoption of localized stablecoin payments.
According to CriptoNoticias, citing Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper, Colombian and U.S. law enforcement agencies jointly conducted an operation that successfully dismantled a transnational cryptocurrency money laundering network linked to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Since 2023, the network has laundered over $190 million in illicit funds via cryptocurrency channels; multiple crypto wallets and cash were seized on-site. Investigations revealed that the network routinely employed techniques such as fund fragmentation, dispersal of transfers across multiple wallets, cross-jurisdictional fund movement, and token swapping to evade detection. Authorities have not yet disclosed details—including specific cryptocurrencies involved, trading platforms used, or the number of arrests made—and the investigation remains ongoing.
According to the Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore’s Police Anti-Scam Centre and the Cybercrime Investigation Division collaborated with cryptocurrency platforms including Coinbase, Coinhako, StraitsX, and Upbit in a month-long targeted enforcement operation from March 16 to April 15 this year, successfully intercepting over S$2.86 million in scam proceeds. During the operation, authorities used analytical tools from blockchain intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis to identify victims involved in multiple scam categories—including impersonation of government officials, investment scams, job scams, and online romance scams—and carried out more than 90 direct interventions via telephone and in-person contact. The police stated that the operation’s success stemmed from a rapid information-sharing mechanism between law enforcement agencies and private-sector platforms, and emphasized their continued commitment to deepening public-private collaboration to counter increasingly sophisticated cryptocurrency scams.