[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Possibility of the next U.S.-Iran talks being held on June 5

Trump: "Will discuss Iran's latest proposal... possible decision on whether to resume war by Sunday"

According to Odaily, President Trump said he would meet with negotiating representatives later in the day to discuss Iran's latest proposal.

President Trump said there is a strong possibility that a decision on whether to resume war will be made by Sunday, adding that the odds are "50-50" on whether a good deal can be reached or Iran will be bombed.

U.S. core PCE and GDP revision due next week

PA News reported on the 24th that key macroeconomic indicators are scheduled to be released next week, including the U.S. April core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the revised first-quarter real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and initial jobless claims.

Major scheduled events also include Australia's April Consumer Price Index (CPI), the European Central Bank's April monetary policy meeting minutes, the eurozone economic sentiment index, Japan's unemployment rate, Germany's CPI, the U.S. Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), and a speech by Federal Reserve Governor Bowman.

Markets remain cautious that high inflation and rising Treasury yields could increase volatility in U.S. stocks and risk assets such as cryptocurrencies. Earnings from major U.S. retailers including Costco and Best Buy are also seen as variables for assessing whether consumption is slowing.

Reports say senior CFTC officials faced suspension, investigation, and pressure to resign after raising concerns over prediction market regulation

According to Odaily, several senior officials at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) were reportedly suspended, subjected to internal investigations, and pressured to retire after questioning whether prediction market platforms were being regulated appropriately.

They were said to have raised concerns about Polymarket's lack of anti-fraud safeguards, Crypto.com's handling of small-stakes bettors, and the incomplete regulatory review of a Gemini-related company.

The report also said these companies were mentioned as having business ties to President Trump's family, and allegations were raised that then-acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham and senior aides were involved in the regulatory approval process for the related firms.

By the end of 2025, two officials who raised the concerns had reportedly been placed on administrative suspension and internal investigation, while three officials responsible for crypto enforcement were said to have faced the same measures.

The report added that while the CFTC pursued more than 80 crypto enforcement actions during the Biden administration, under President Trump it handled only two cases involving individual operators rather than major companies.

Saudi media: "Next U.S.-Iran talks may be held on June 5"

According to Odaily, Saudi Arabian broadcaster Al Arabiya, citing sources, reported that the next round of talks between the United States and Iran may be held on June 5.

It was reported that if the two sides enter final agreement negotiations, each side plans to dispatch its chief representative. The talks are seen as a variable that could affect whether Middle East tensions ease, as well as oil prices and sentiment in risk-asset markets.

CryptoQuant: "Bitcoin's structural upside momentum is weakening... this is a risk-off phase"

According to Odaily, CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler said Bitcoin is losing its structural upside momentum amid a worsening macro environment, and that the current market is closer to a risk-off phase.

He explained that until the on-chain "Impulse" indicator rises back above the zero line, there is insufficient confirmation signal for a BTC rebound.

Adler presented a macro framework based on the dollar index, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, and the VIX volatility index, arguing that when macro factors dominate the market, upside momentum can weaken even if on-chain indicators are positive.

CryptoQuant added a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF dashboard this week. The current 30-day ETF momentum stands at $362.8 million, far below the peak of $13.21 billion recorded in December 2024. The metric had previously fallen to -$5.36 billion in November 2025.

He added that the Coinbase Premium Index is a key indicator for confirming U.S. spot demand, and that if the index falls below zero, BTC's upward trend may not be strongly supported by actual U.S. buying demand.

Mark Cuban: "Bitcoin has not served as an inflation hedge... less disappointed with Ethereum"

Mark Cuban said Bitcoin has not adequately functioned as an inflation hedge and that he is relatively less disappointed with Ethereum.

Source: Odaily. Cuban pointed out that gold rose after events related to the Iran war, while Bitcoin fell, and said Bitcoin should have risen during dollar weakness but did not. He said he was more disappointed in Bitcoin and described NFTs and meme coins as "garbage."

A CryptoQuant analyst said Bitcoin rebounded 37% from its April low and then reached the 200-day moving average at $82,400, describing the pattern as similar to March 2022, when a 43% rebound was followed by a renewed downtrend.

National Assembly petition to abolish virtual asset taxation reaches review threshold with 50,000 signatures

A National Assembly public petition calling for the abolition of virtual asset taxation has become eligible for standing committee review after collecting more than 50,000 signatures.

PANews, citing Seoul Economic Daily, reported that the petition to abolish the "virtual asset tax" secured more than 50,000 endorsements within eight days of being posted on the National Assembly's electronic petition platform.

The petition will be transferred to the committee overseeing the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service for review, after which it will be decided whether it will be submitted to the plenary session.

Petitioners argued that it is unfair to apply separate taxation only to virtual assets when the financial investment income tax has been abolished, and said a comprehensive overhaul of the system is needed.

Whale Alert: About 308.26 million USDT transferred from OKX to anonymous wallet

According to Whale Alert, about 308.26 million USDT (approximately $307.9 million) was transferred from OKX to an anonymous wallet.

Large on-chain transfers can be interpreted as signals of exchange liquidity changes or fund movement, but the purpose of this transaction has not been confirmed.

Former external legal counsel to FTX US, Fenwick & West, agrees to $54 million class-action settlement

According to PANews, Fenwick & West, the former external legal counsel to the FTX U.S. exchange, agreed to pay $54 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit related to customer fraud.

The settlement also includes $11.75 million from accounting firm Prager Metis and $420,000 from former NBA player Udonis Haslem. The total amount of the second FTX-related class-action settlement is about $66.17 million.

Fenwick & West has been accused of helping Sam Bankman-Fried's fraudulent conduct, though it has not admitted wrongdoing. The law firm also faces a separate $525 million lawsuit in Washington.

FTX previously went bankrupt in 2022, and civil and criminal lawsuits have since continued over customer losses and fraud allegations involving former management.

Evmos halts network operations after governance proposal for "shutdown" passes

Evmos, a Cosmos ecosystem project, has halted network operations after a governance proposal to "shut down Evmos" was approved.

According to Odaily, the Evmos node stopped operating at block height 37,318,000. The Evmos block explorer and official website are currently inaccessible.

Evmos had been operated as a network in the Cosmos ecosystem emphasizing Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility.