[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index Stays Positive for 14 Consecutive Days

The Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index has recorded 14 consecutive days in positive territory, PANews reported on Apr. 22, citing CoinDesk. This is seen as a sign that buying interest from U.S. investors has continued for more than two weeks.

According to the report, Coinbase is a platform widely used by U.S. institutional investors, and the Coinbase Premium turns positive when Bitcoin trades at a higher price on Coinbase than on Binance. The metric is commonly interpreted as reflecting net buying flows from U.S. capital, including corporate treasuries, hedge funds, and spot ETFs.

Previously, the index remained mostly negative from mid-December last year through late February. During that period, Bitcoin fell from around $100,000 to the $60,000 range.

Bitcoin is currently trading above $78,000 and is up about 14% in April so far.

Across the broader crypto futures market, $199 million in liquidations occurred over the past 24 hours. Of that total, short liquidations reached $133 million, exceeding long liquidations of $66.6035 million.

On Apr. 21, PANews cited CoinAnk data showing that Bitcoin (BTC) liquidations totaled $87.5541 million, while Ethereum (ETH) liquidations came in at $36.6415 million. The higher share of short liquidations suggests that bearish bets were hit harder during the recent price rebound.

In the past hour, a total of $60.08 million in positions were liquidated across the crypto market, Odaily reported, citing Coinglass data.

Of the liquidated amount, $59.37 million came from short positions and $700,000 from long positions. By asset, BTC accounted for $27.46 million and ETH for $26.31 million, representing the largest shares.

These liquidations indicate heightened short-term price volatility.

President Trump late at night reshared a post claiming that he had been preparing for war with Iran for more than 40 years.

According to Odaily, Trump shared a post by U.S. activist Brigitte Gabriel containing the statement, “President Trump has been preparing for this war with Iran for over 40 years.” He also reshared an interview video featuring U.S. counterterrorism expert Jim Hanson, in which it was claimed that the United States had already completely won the war.

While these posts do not constitute an official announcement of military action by President Trump, they are being interpreted as a renewed emphasis on a hardline stance toward Iran.

A Houthi rebel leader said that if the enemy returns to the battlefield, they too will join the fight.

According to Odaily, the Houthi leader said on the 21st local time that they would never remain neutral in the face of what he described as aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He said their position was clear and public, warning that they would enter the conflict if the situation escalates again.

The remarks are being interpreted as a sign that tensions in the Middle East could intensify once more.

Global container shipping giant Maersk said that, given the high level of uncertainty in the current situation, cargo should be transported while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz.

According to panewslab.com on the 21st, Maersk said vessels should avoid transiting the Strait of Hormuz and that full navigational safety still cannot be guaranteed.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global oil and logistics transport, and rising tensions in the area could weigh on energy prices and broader risk-asset sentiment.

South Korea’s Democratic Party plans to push forward stablecoin-related legislation after the June election.

According to Odaily, Kim Hyun-jung, a member of the Democratic Party’s Digital Asset Special Committee, said that after the June local elections, the party plans to submit a second-stage Digital Asset Basic Act bill that includes provisions related to stablecoins, while also moving its review through the relevant legislative subcommittee.

Kim explained that differences remain on some issues, such as limits on major shareholder ownership in exchanges, and that further discussion is needed.

However, she assessed that the bill has a strong chance of passing, given that Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong has shown a relatively positive stance toward stablecoins.

The committee is also considering meeting with the Bank of Korea after the election to discuss the design of a CBDC and a won-denominated stablecoin framework.

Kalshi announced plans to launch crypto perpetual futures trading.

According to Odaily, the announcement is being interpreted as part of the company’s broader expansion into the crypto derivatives market. However, supported assets, launch timing, and detailed trading terms have not yet been disclosed.

Base plans to launch its first standalone network upgrade, 'Base Azul,' on mainnet on May 13.

According to PANews on Apr. 22, Base Azul is currently running on testnet and focuses on improving security, performance, and developer experience. Key features include activating a multiproof system combining TEE and ZK proofs, integration into base-reth-node and base-consensus, reducing empty blocks, and supporting burst throughput of up to 5,000 TPS.

The upgrade aims to advance toward Stage 2 decentralization and enable withdrawals within one day. It will also comply with the Ethereum Osaka execution-layer specifications.

Base is also running an Immunefi audit competition with prizes of up to $250,000. Earlier, Base said it plans to introduce Vibenet, a public development network, in mid-May, followed by a performance upgrade in late June and a user experience upgrade in late August.

According to Odaily, Justin Sun said via X that he has filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against World Liberty Financial.

Sun said the action was taken to protect his legitimate rights and interests as a WLFI token holder. He claimed that some members of the project team unfairly froze all of his tokens, stripped him of voting rights on governance proposals, and threatened to burn the tokens permanently.

Sun said the lawsuit is unrelated to any change in his views toward President Trump or the Trump administration. He added that while he has supported the United States’ pro-crypto stance, the way World Liberty has been operated is inconsistent with President Trump’s values as well.

He also said that before filing the lawsuit, he had attempted to resolve the matter amicably by requesting that the token freeze be lifted and holder rights be restored, but the project refused, leaving him to seek a court ruling.