[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | U.S. and Iran Near Agreement to End War

According to Odaily, reports emerged that a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by a missile.

This development once again highlights geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Instability in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil shipments, could weigh on global financial markets and sentiment toward risk assets.

According to Odaily, President Trump said on the 6th that he is optimistic about the possibility of a framework agreement between the United States and Iran.

He said a deal could be reached within a week and that the proposal may include transferring Iran’s highly enriched uranium to the United States.

Trump emphasized that the U.S. and Iran are getting close to an agreement to end the war and said the chances of a deal are very high. However, he warned that if Iran refuses the agreement, bombing could follow.

He also said discussions include Iran not operating its underground nuclear facilities and faithfully complying with the agreement for a substantial period of time. His remarks are being closely watched as a factor that could influence Middle East geopolitical tensions as well as energy and risk-asset markets.

About 70 minutes before reports said the U.S. and Iran were nearing an agreement to end the war, analysis showed that an unusually large $920 million crude oil short position had been opened.

According to Odaily, market analysis firm The Kobeissi Letter said that roughly 70 minutes before Axios reported that the United States and Iran were nearing a 14-point agreement to end the war, around 10,000 crude oil futures short contracts were opened at once.

The position was established at 3:40 a.m. Eastern Time on the 6th, when there was no major news, and its notional value was estimated at about $920 million. Axios then reported the related story at 4:50 a.m., and by 7:00 a.m. oil prices had fallen more than 12%.

The Kobeissi Letter estimated that the mark-to-market profit on the short position may have reached about $125 million.

The trade has drawn market attention because of its unusually large size and because it was executed during a typically quiet trading period.

The German government is reportedly reviewing tax reforms for crypto assets.

A proposal under discussion would abolish the tax exemption currently applied to Bitcoin held for more than one year and instead tax it in a manner similar to stocks.

PANews reported on the 7th, citing Bitcoin News, that German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil confirmed plans to introduce a different tax policy for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Germany currently classifies Bitcoin similarly to gold as a private disposal asset, allowing gains to be tax-free if held for more than one year.

This framework has been regarded as one of the more crypto-friendly tax regimes among major countries. If the proposed reform is implemented, the tax burden on long-term holders could increase.

Critics argue that the review could conflict with the coalition government’s existing tax revenue pledges. Legal experts have also raised concerns that differing tax treatment for Bitcoin may violate the principle of equality under Germany’s constitution.

Austria previously abolished its crypto tax exemption based on holding period. Bitpanda co-founder Eric Demuth criticized the idea, saying it could only increase administrative costs and complexity.

Defunct crypto exchange Bittrex has asked a federal court to void its 2023 settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and return a $24 million penalty.

On the 7th, PANews, citing Decrypt, reported that in a recent filing Bittrex argued that the SEC’s stance on crypto regulation has fundamentally changed since President Trump took office, undermining the basis of the original settlement.

Bittrex had been sued by the SEC during the Biden administration over allegations of operating an unregistered securities exchange, and later paid the fine under a settlement. However, it said that under the regulatory and economic conditions at the time, it could not continue operations and ultimately shut down.

Bittrex argued that the SEC has effectively acknowledged flaws in its previous legal theory that most tokens should be treated as securities, and that related enforcement actions have since been halted. It therefore asked the court to order a refund before the SEC’s transfer of the penalty to the U.S. Treasury, a process that began in March this year, is completed.

The filing is being watched as a case that could indicate whether changes in the U.S. regulatory stance on crypto may affect past enforcement actions as well.

According to Blockaid, 1inch market maker and resolver TrustedVolumes was attacked on the Ethereum network, with about $5.87 million in assets stolen so far.

The source is PANews. The target was TrustedVolumes’ resolver contract, and the stolen assets included 1,291.16 WETH, 206,282 USDT, 16.939 WBTC, and 1,268,771 USDC.

Blockaid said the attacker appears to be the same entity behind the 1inch Fusion V1 attack in March 2025. However, it explained that this vulnerability was not in 1inch itself, but in a customized RFQ trading proxy contract managed by TrustedVolumes.

Blockaid said further details about the incident will be disclosed later.

According to PANews, U.S. spot Solana (SOL) ETFs recorded total net inflows of $21.3014 million on May 6 (U.S. Eastern Time).

The product with the largest inflow was the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which saw $20.773 million in daily net inflows. BSOL’s cumulative net inflows reached $850 million.

The Fidelity Solana Fund ETF (FSOL) recorded net inflows of $528,400 on the same day. FSOL’s cumulative net inflows stand at $160 million.

The total net asset value of spot SOL ETFs is currently $938 million, with a net asset ratio of 1.82%, while cumulative net inflows have reached $1.044 billion.

The figures, citing SoSoValue data, suggest that investor demand for U.S. spot SOL ETFs remains strong.

According to Odaily, U.S. Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said at the Consensus event that a crypto market structure bill would have difficulty passing a Senate vote unless it includes ethics provisions.

Gillibrand said lawmakers, senior government officials, the president, and the vice president should be barred from using their positions to obtain private gains from the crypto industry. Several Democratic senators have raised concerns about President Trump and his family’s ties to crypto.

The bill had previously stalled in the Senate over issues related to stablecoin compensation treatment, but a compromise was reached. However, ethics provisions have emerged as a new sticking point, and Gillibrand said she is working with the White House and lawmakers from both parties to incorporate those measures along with consumer protection and anti-terrorism financing provisions.

She added that the bill could pass before the August recess.

Kraken has launched a regulated crypto spot margin trading service for U.S. retail investors.

Users can secure liquidity by using their crypto holdings as collateral and trade with up to 10x leverage without selling their assets.

On the 6th, PANews, citing The Block, reported that the service is the first product released after Kraken’s parent company Payward secured the relevant license through its acquisition of Bitnomial. Kraken said U.S. retail investors had previously struggled to access such trading tools in a regulated environment, causing some demand to shift to unregulated offshore platforms.

Kraken said the acquisition also lays the groundwork for expanding in the U.S. beyond regulated spot margin trading into perpetual futures and options products. It added that the move could also support Kraken’s IPO plans and the expansion of its institutional and derivatives businesses in the U.K. and Europe.

HyperLabs deposited 400,000 HYPE tokens into centralized exchanges Bybit and OKX over the past 11 hours.

The amount is worth about $17.34 million.

According to panewslab.com, Lookonchain reported on the 7th that HyperLabs unstaked 421,879 HYPE tokens, worth about $18.08 million, two days earlier and then transferred 400,000 of them to Bybit and OKX.

Large token transfers to exchanges are generally interpreted as a possible sign of selling pressure. However, whether an actual sale took place has not been confirmed.

Bithumb announced the listing of EdgeX on its KRW market.

According to Odaily, the listing was confirmed through Bithumb’s official notice. Details such as the trading support schedule can be found in the exchange’s announcement.