[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Trump orders review of restrictions on fintech and crypto firms’ access to U.S. payment networks

President Trump has ordered a regulatory review that could block crypto firms’ access to U.S. payment networks. Japan is moving to incorporate foreign trust-beneficiary stablecoins into its electronic payment instrument framework, while growth in real-world assets (RWA) and tokenized equities also continued.

According to PANews, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies, financial regulators, and the Federal Reserve to review within 3 to 6 months the factors limiting fintech and crypto companies’ access to payment accounts and services.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency announced revisions that would recognize foreign trust-beneficiary stablecoins as electronic payment instruments under the Payment Services Act. The revisions will take effect on June 1.

BlackRock deposited 5,847 BTC, worth about $450 million, to Coinbase. The U.S. government also transferred 319 ETH and roughly $930,000 in stablecoins, seized from FTX and Alameda assets, to Coinbase.

Pump.fun said it will introduce USDC trading pairs for newly issued tokens starting May 21, while maintaining existing SOL pairs. According to DefiLlama estimates, about 5.07 million SOL has been removed from circulation under the related structure since January 2024.

The total market capitalization of real-world assets (RWA) surpassed $65 billion, with Ethereum maintaining the lead at about 33% market share. BNB Chain, XRP Ledger, and Solana each accounted for about 6%.

Meanwhile, Truth Social withdrew its Bitcoin ETF application, and GitHub said it is investigating an unauthorized access incident involving an internal code repository.

According to Odaily, the U.S. Senate voted 50-47 to advance procedures for a War Powers resolution aimed at limiting President Trump’s military authority related to Iran.

The resolution would restrict the use of U.S. forces in Iran without congressional approval, amid U.S.-Iran tensions that have continued for about three months.

Andri Fauzan Azima, head researcher at Bitrue Research Institute, said the move could be a strong positive catalyst for the digital asset market, with Bitcoin potentially seeing a 6% to 10% relief rally in the coming days.

As of the time of reporting, Bitcoin was holding steady near $76,500 over the past 24 hours.

According to Odaily, the U.S. Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its April 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting at 3 a.m. Korea time on the 21st.

The minutes, which record the final meeting under Chair Powell’s term, may reveal disagreements among policymakers over the interest-rate path and inflation assessments.

Waller is scheduled to take the oath of office at the White House on the 22nd under President Trump’s supervision, and markets are watching for shifts in policy direction ahead of the leadership change at the Fed.

Odaily, citing Alhadath Breaking, reported that according to an Israeli assessment, President Trump has decided to strike Iran and that execution is only a matter of time.

If Middle East tensions escalate further, volatility in global financial markets and the digital asset market could increase.

Iran’s military emphasized control over the Strait of Hormuz and warned that it could open a new front if hostile forces launch another attack.

According to Odaily, Iranian military spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said on Tuesday that the military has treated the so-called ceasefire period as wartime and has strengthened its combat capabilities.

He said Iran would neither be besieged nor defeated, and warned that if hostile forces attack Iran again, it would respond with new means and methods.

Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he said, “The status of this strategic waterway cannot return to what it was before,” adding that “the enemy’s only way out is to respect the Iranian people and their legitimate rights.”

According to Odaily, Vitalik Buterin said on X that Ethereum is pursuing several short-term measures to implement native privacy.

Key initiatives include strengthening transaction prioritization for privacy protocols through account abstraction and FOCIL, securing stronger inclusion guarantees, and introducing keyed nonces.

At the access layer, related technologies including Kohaku and private reads are also under development.

According to Odaily, on-chain analyst Ai Yi Mo said Harvard Management Company first established crypto positions during the market rally in the second quarter of 2025, and significantly added to them in the third quarter when BTC prices neared all-time highs.

At the time, its IBIT holdings rose to 20% of its disclosed portfolio, becoming its largest disclosed holding. It later reduced its BTC exposure during the fourth-quarter market correction and initiated an ETH position, but reportedly liquidated the entire ETH stake within one quarter at a loss.

According to the analysis, Harvard’s average BTC purchase price was between $107,000 and $114,000, while its ETH purchase price was around $4,000. Losses in the crypto segment are estimated to have exceeded $150 million over one year.

PANews reported that Tether International acquired SoftBank’s entire stake in Twenty One Capital (XXI), becoming its largest shareholder.

Following the transaction, the XXI directors appointed by SoftBank resigned in accordance with the shareholder agreement. Tether said the move reflects its long-term support and confidence in XXI’s goal of building a publicly listed company centered on Bitcoin.

SoftBank had previously contributed institutional foundations and governance experience through its early participation in XXI. Tether said it now plans to drive the company’s next phase of growth.

According to CoinDesk, German stablecoin startup AllUnity is set to launch SEKAU, a Swedish krona-denominated stablecoin, as early as June after completing regulatory and operational approval procedures.

SEKAU will be issued under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and will be fully backed by Swedish krona reserves.

AllUnity also unveiled an AI payments system based on Coinbase’s x402 standard. Businesses can receive payments initiated by automated software agents and settle them into local bank accounts.

Backed by DWS, Flow Traders, and Galaxy Digital, AllUnity aims to provide European businesses with local-currency stablecoins and blockchain payment infrastructure to reduce dependence on dollar-based stablecoins.

According to Odaily, Greeks.live said on X that large put-option trades accounted for nearly 40% of total Bitcoin options volume that day.

The main trade was a bearish spread involving $75,000 and $71,000 put options expiring at the end of May, with a notional value of about $200 million.

Greeks.live said the market is using the short-term rebound to build defensive positions against a correction during the remainder of the month.

It added that investors do not appear to be expecting a sharp crash, but are rather increasing effective protection strategies while controlling costs.