[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Senator Cynthia Lummis Says Bipartisan Support Secured for Crypto Market Structure Bill

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis said bipartisan support has formed in Congress to advance crypto market structure legislation.

According to @WatcherGuru, Senator Lummis said support from both Democrats and Republicans is gathering behind efforts to push forward digital asset market structure legislation in Congress.

Market structure bills often include provisions to more clearly define oversight authority, trading rules, and registration frameworks for digital asset businesses. If the bill advances, expectations may grow for reduced regulatory uncertainty in the United States.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said a Middle East war and a closure of the Strait of Hormuz would represent the greatest energy security threat the world has ever faced.

According to CNBC, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said that war in the Middle East and a shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz have pushed instability in global energy supply chains to an extreme. He warned that the situation could deliver a major shock across global energy markets.

The Strait of Hormuz is considered a key route for global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. The comments came as concerns grow over surging energy prices and supply disruptions amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Israel said it has completed preparations to resume war with Iran and is now only waiting for U.S. approval.

According to Odaily, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said after a security assessment meeting on the 23rd that Israel is ready to restart the war with Iran. He said, "We are now only waiting for the green light from the United States."

The remarks suggest that military tensions in the Middle East could escalate again. Rising geopolitical risk typically weakens risk appetite for global risk assets and may increase short-term volatility in the crypto market.

The EtherFi Foundation said it plans to commit 5,000 ETH to a separate relief facility to cover the rsETH shortfall following this week's exploit and reduce the risk of bad debt across the broader DeFi ecosystem.

According to the source, EtherFi is working with Aave and other participants on a plan to resolve the shortfall. The move is seen as an effort to prevent the impact of the attack from spreading across DeFi protocols.

Lido submitted a proposal to its research forum to participate in a joint relief plan being pursued by Aave in connection with the Kelp rsETH LayerZero bridge exploit.

Wu Blockchain said via X on the 23rd that the proposal includes support of up to 2,500 stETH. The move is part of a broader response aimed at mitigating damage from the rsETH bridge hack that occurred this week.

If approved, Lido's proposal could provide some support for rsETH-related recovery efforts and liquidity stability. Kelp rsETH had previously raised market concern following the LayerZero bridge exploit.

Belarus is pushing to introduce a 'crypto bank' framework that would support around 26 crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL).

According to Odaily, Aleksandr Yegorov, deputy governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, said the country is building a crypto bank framework that would support about 26 crypto assets and 11 core business functions.

Under the relevant legal framework, crypto banks would be able to use major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Toncoin, and Solana. Their scope of business would include crypto deposits, crypto lending, staking, staking mining, asset transfers, issuance of proprietary tokens, trading and exchange, and custody.

The initiative is interpreted as part of Belarus' effort to expand institutional financial infrastructure for digital assets.

About $158.69 million worth of 2,045 BTC was moved from an unknown wallet to Coinbase.

According to Whale Alert, the bitcoin was transferred from an unknown wallet to Coinbase. Exchange inflows are generally viewed as a possible sign of increased sell-side supply and may weigh on the market in the short term.

However, it has not yet been confirmed whether the transfer led to an actual sale. The transaction was well above the $10 million threshold commonly used for whale tracking.

According to Whale Alert, 1,653 BTC (about $129 million) was moved from an unknown wallet to Coinbase Institutional.

Large bitcoin inflows to exchanges are often interpreted as signals of potential selling pressure, but the transfer could also reflect movement into an institutional custody account, so whether it represents an actual sale remains unconfirmed.

Source: @whale_alert

According to Whale Alert, 225 million USDT was transferred from Tether Treasury to Kraken.

The large stablecoin transfer to Kraken could reflect a range of possibilities, including exchange liquidity provision, customer demand response, or fund reallocation. However, on-chain transfers alone are not enough to determine actual buy or sell intent or market impact.

Morgan Stanley purchased an additional 143.34 BTC, according to Odaily citing data compiled by Onchain Lens.

According to the report, the purchase took place about an hour earlier and was worth $11.17 million, bringing Morgan Stanley's total bitcoin holdings to 1,964 BTC.

The development is interpreted as an on-chain sign of continued institutional bitcoin accumulation.