[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | T. Rowe Price Active Cryptocurrency ETF Approved by SEC

T. Rowe Price Active Cryptocurrency ETF Approved by SEC

According to Odaily, T. Rowe Price’s active cryptocurrency ETF was approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2026. It has cleared a key step required for listing on NYSE Arca, although trading has not yet begun.

The ETF is being structured to hold 5 to 15 cryptocurrencies. The current draft includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP, along with more volatile assets such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

T. Rowe Price had submitted several amended filings since April. Market participants view this approval as a case that could broaden the scope of regulatory acceptance for multi-asset cryptocurrency ETFs.

Humanity Says H Token Security Incident Used Methods Similar to North Korean Hackers

Humanity released an independent investigation report by Quantstamp, stating that tools and tactics similar to those used by North Korean hackers were involved in the H token security incident.

According to the report, the attacker impersonated Bithumb in a phishing email to trick a project director into opening a malicious attachment, then used remote-access malware to steal device access and wallet private keys.

The attacker then used the stolen key on Ethereum to upgrade the contract and move about 141.18 million H tokens. On BNB Chain, the attacker took control of the ProxyAdmin contract and minted additional tokens. The stolen assets were sold over about eight hours on Uniswap and PancakeSwap, impacting liquidity and price.

The H token contract on Ethereum is currently frozen, and the mainnet bridge was not affected. However, the BNB Chain deployment contract remains under the attacker’s control, and minting authority is still active.

Humanity said it is discussing follow-up actions and recovery plans with exchanges and security firms, while warning users to be cautious of fake compensation or claim links.

India Intensifies Enforcement on Crypto Tax Reporting

Source: Wu Blockchain

Indian tax authorities have stepped up enforcement on cryptocurrency-related tax reporting, sending more than 44,000 notices and identifying $104 million in unreported income, according to reports.

Citing The Economic Times, Wu Blockchain reported that in India’s 2026 crypto tax regime, a 30% tax rate remains in place for virtual digital asset income, and a 1% tax deducted at source applies to certain transfer transactions. Investors must separately report transaction, swap, and disposal records.

Exchanges, custodians, and wallet providers are required to submit user transaction data to India’s Income Tax Department, which is automatically cross-checking it against investor filings.

CLARITY Act Unlikely to Be Enacted Into Law Before July 4

Source: Odaily

Cryptocurrency journalist Eleanor Terrett said it is “virtually impossible” for the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill, to be enacted into law before July 4.

She explained that it would require an ethics framework acceptable to both Republicans and Democrats, revisions to agriculture-related provisions, consolidation of multiple bills, securing 60 votes in the Senate, and completion of both House and Senate procedures.

The CLARITY Act is intended to establish a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency market in the United States. The assessment suggests that short-term passage is unlikely given the remaining legislative schedule and procedural hurdles.

Circle’s USDC Circulation Falls by About 700 Million Over 7 Days

PANews, citing official data, reported that Circle’s USDC circulating supply declined by about 700 million during the seven days ending June 11.

During the same period, Circle minted about 8.5 billion USDC and redeemed about 8.2 billion USDC. Total USDC circulation currently stands at 74.8 billion, with reserves of about $75 billion.

The reserves consist of about $44.7 billion in overnight reverse repurchase agreements, about $18.6 billion in U.S. Treasuries with maturities under three months, about $11.0 billion in deposits at major financial institutions, and about $700 million in other bank deposits.

Kraken Named Official Cryptocurrency Exchange of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Source: Odaily

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has been named the official cryptocurrency exchange of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA said it places importance on innovation in improving the fan experience, while Kraken said the tournament would be an opportunity to demonstrate an open financial system accessible via mobile devices.

MetaMask Network Outage Resolved

MetaMask’s support team said on X that the network outage issue has been resolved and that platform operations have been fully restored.

Earlier, MetaMask had announced connectivity disruptions across multiple networks, preventing some users from accessing related services normally.

Anonymous Whale Transfers 135.14 Million USDC to Aave

According to Whale Alert, an anonymous whale wallet transferred 135.14 million USDC, worth about $135.12 million, to Aave.

The transaction was confirmed on the Ethereum network. Aave is a leading DeFi protocol that supports crypto deposits and lending.

Coinbase Teases USDC Payment Function for AI Agents

Source: Odaily

Coinbase Developer Platform said that since launching Coinbase for Agents, it has provided AI agents with independent account creation and automated trading and asset management functions.

In the coming weeks, Coinbase plans to enable direct payments using USDC balances held by Coinbase for Agents users through the x402 protocol. This would allow agents not only to manage accounts but also to execute real payments using stablecoins.

Coinbase also unveiled a new Coinbase CLI, simplified MCP-based login, a Claude integration demo, and developer wallets for iOS apps built on a Swift SDK. On June 16, it plans to release a system update enhancing payment- and agent-related features.

Strategy CEO Says Sale of 32 BTC Was Intended to Reduce Market Impact

According to Wu Blockchain, Strategy CEO Phong Le said in a CNBC interview on June 11 that the company’s sale of 32 BTC was intended to reduce market impact and test internal sale procedures.

Le explained that the tax loss generated by the sale could be used to offset related taxes. He added that the sale was not intended to fund dividend payments and that other financing methods could be used for dividends.

He also noted, however, that the company could choose to sell Bitcoin if it determines doing so would benefit common shareholders.