[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Says Chances of Passage Have Increased for the CLARITY Crypto Regulation Bill

U.S. April producer price index (PPI) rose 6% year over year, above the market expectation of 4.9%, according to a PANews report.

On a month-over-month basis, PPI increased 1.4%, far exceeding the market forecast of 0.5%. PPI is an indicator of price trends at the producer level, and a stronger-than-expected reading may heighten inflation concerns and uncertainty over the interest-rate path.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the chances of passage for the U.S. crypto regulation bill, the CLARITY Act, are “closer than ever.”

According to Odaily, Armstrong said the bill would help make the U.S. financial system faster, cheaper, and more inclusive, while helping the country maintain its edge in the competition for the next generation of the global financial system.

He also expressed gratitude to U.S. Senate officials and 3.7 million supporters of Stand With Crypto, saying they helped move the bill discussion to its current stage.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $233 million on May 12, according to PANews, citing SoSoValue data.

The largest net outflow came from Fidelity’s FBTC, which saw $86.1294 million leave in a single day. FBTC’s cumulative net inflows stand at $11.045 billion.

On the same day, the largest net inflow came from Morgan Stanley’s ETF, MSBT, which attracted $6.0195 million. MSBT’s cumulative net inflows total $226 million.

As of the time of reporting, total net assets of spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $107.312 billion, accounting for 6.64% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization. Cumulative net inflows reached $59.134 billion.

Odaily, citing Onchain Lens, reported that BlackRock deposited 861 BTC worth about $69.59 million and 44,691 ETH worth about $103.15 million to Coinbase.

Onchain Lens added that further deposits may follow. Transfers to exchanges are generally interpreted as potential preparation for selling.

According to PeckShield, cross-chain aggregation protocol Transit Finance was hacked, with estimated losses of about $1.88 million.

The stolen funds are reportedly being held in DAI at address 0x8a63…8abA5. Cross-chain protocols support asset transfers across multiple blockchains, and hacks can lead to direct user fund losses.

Charles Schwab has gradually opened crypto accounts to retail clients.

According to Odaily, the first group of clients can directly trade Bitcoin and Ethereum on the Schwab platform and manage them alongside traditional investment products such as stocks.

Charles Schwab is a major U.S. traditional financial institution, and the move is seen as expanding crypto access for retail investors.

JPMorgan is set to launch a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, according to Watcher.Guru.

The product extends the broader trend of issuing and trading traditional financial assets on blockchain. Global financial institutions have already been expanding tokenization initiatives across payments, bonds, and funds.

Anchorage Digital has signed a partnership agreement with Mexican conglomerate Grupo Salinas to provide stablecoin-based cross-border payment infrastructure, PANews reported, citing The Block.

Under the agreement, Coinpro, Grupo Salinas’ crypto business unit, will integrate with Anchorage’s stablecoin payment network. The plan is to support blockchain-based real-time dollar settlement while meeting compliance, security, and governance standards required by large financial institutions.

U.S. spot SOL ETFs saw net inflows of $19.069 million in one day, led by the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF.

According to PANews, citing SoSoValue data, total net inflows into U.S. spot SOL ETFs reached $19.069 million on May 12 (U.S. Eastern Time).

By product, the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) led with net inflows of $15.9772 million. BSOL’s cumulative net inflows stand at $899 million.

Fidelity Solana Fund ETF (FSOL) posted net inflows of $3.0918 million. Its cumulative net inflows total $168 million.

As of the time of reporting, U.S. spot SOL ETFs had total net assets of $1.057 billion, representing 1.93% of Solana’s market capitalization, while cumulative net inflows reached $1.103 billion.

Square, the payments unit under Block, has automatically enabled Bitcoin payment functionality for about 1 million merchants in the U.S., according to PANews, citing Bitcoin Magazine.

Through the feature, customers can pay with Bitcoin via the Lightning Network, while merchants receive settlement in U.S. dollars. Currency conversion is handled by the system in real time.

The feature began being enabled by default for eligible U.S. merchants on March 30. Block said that during peak periods, a new merchant activates the feature every eight seconds.

Miles Suter, Bitcoin product lead at Block, said Bitcoin must circulate as an actual payment method, arguing that if it remains idle, its value as peer-to-peer cash weakens.