[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | U.S. crypto industry set to meet senators to urge passage of bill clarifying Bitcoin regulation

U.S. crypto industry set to meet senators to urge passage of bill clarifying Bitcoin regulation

More than 50 representatives from the U.S. cryptocurrency industry are expected to meet with senators to call for the passage of a bill that would clarify Bitcoin-related regulations, according to Bitcoin Historian on X.

He claimed that the crypto regulatory clarification bill could soon head to the White House for President Trump’s signature. The bill is reportedly designed to establish clearer regulatory standards for digital assets in the United States.

Bank of England releases final policy statement and draft rules for systemically important stablecoins

The Bank of England has released its final policy statement and draft rules for systemically important stablecoins, while easing some aspects of its earlier proposal.

According to Odaily, the Bank of England withdrew its previously proposed individual holding cap and set a temporary issuance limit of £40 billion per stablecoin.

It also said issuers may hold up to 70% of reserve assets in short-term UK government bonds, up from the previously proposed 60%, with the remainder to be kept as non-interest-bearing deposits at the Bank of England.

Public comments will be accepted until Sept. 22. The rules are expected to be finalized by the end of 2026, and regulated stablecoins are projected to begin operating in the UK in 2027.

BlackRock: Bitcoin could resume its upward trend around the U.S. midterm elections

According to Bitcoin Magazine, asset manager BlackRock, which oversees $14 trillion, said Bitcoin could resume its upward trend around the U.S. midterm elections.

BlackRock explained that the greater the concern over monetary issuance risk, the more it serves as a key fundamental driver for Bitcoin. This suggests that inflation and uncertainty in monetary policy could influence demand for Bitcoin.

Fidelity executive: Greater regulatory clarity could lead to more Bitcoin product launches by major banks

A Fidelity executive said that if regulatory clarity improves, major banks could launch more Bitcoin-related products.

According to @pete_rizzo, the executive said that when he first joined Fidelity, many people viewed Bitcoin as worthless code or technology mainly used for illicit purposes, but that institutional attention has now shifted toward practical issues such as custody and compliance.

He added that institutional participation has not yet fully accelerated, but activity is likely to increase as the regulatory environment becomes clearer. Whether the U.S. establishes a formal digital asset regulatory framework remains a key variable for bank product launches and the expansion of custody services.

Etherlabs, nonprofit R&D organization founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers, officially launches

Etherlabs, a nonprofit Ethereum research and development organization founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers, has officially launched.

According to Wu Blockchain, the founding team includes Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma. Supporters include BitMine, SharpLink, Joe Lubin, Anchorage, Octant, and SNZ.

Etherlabs said it will focus on Ethereum protocol research, with key areas including payment efficiency, scalability, cross-chain interoperability, data availability, and protocol economics.

The organization said it will operate independently, with its leadership setting research priorities and sponsors not involved in the technical roadmap.

CZ: Hyperliquid proved new market demand, but control remains concentrated in a small team

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in an interview on the Galaxy channel that Hyperliquid has proven new market demand, but despite claims of decentralization, control remains heavily concentrated within a small team.

According to Wu Blockchain, CZ said Hyperliquid captured the no-KYC derivatives market, which would be difficult for Binance to compete in, and that its technical innovation was impressive. However, he added that the platform appears in practice to be strongly controlled by a small group, and he reserved judgment on its decentralization claims.

CZ also mentioned that Hyperliquid founder Jeff had previously participated in the early YZi Labs incubation program. Referring to the historical risks of no-KYC models, he said he would not operate in the same way based on his own experience, but believes the Hyperliquid team is capable of handling issues on its own.

DefiLlama: 83 crypto hacks recorded in Q2 2026, the highest on record

According to DefiLlama data, a total of 83 cryptocurrency hacks were recorded in the second quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly figure on record.

Odaily reported that while the frequency of hacks increased, total losses for the quarter came to about $755.3 million, below the $3.56 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020. Losses at KelpDAO ($293 million) and Drift Protocol ($280 million) accounted for more than three-quarters of the total.

The largest losses occurred in cross-chain bridge attacks, which resulted in about $351 million being stolen. Earlier this month, Humanity Protocol suffered losses of $36 million, while Aztec Connect’s inactive smart contracts were attacked twice, each time causing losses of about $2.1 million. Raydium was also hit by a $1.3 million exploit in June.

Goldfinch contributor claims tens of millions of dollars in loans within project are in default

According to Odaily, a contributor to the Africa-focused crypto lending project Goldfinch claimed that loans worth tens of millions of dollars within the project are in default.

Goldfinch had previously raised $25 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The price of GFI fell from $32.94 on Jan. 11, 2022 to below $0.07, with more than $300 million in market capitalization erased from its peak, according to reports.

One depositor said that two of eight borrowers had defaulted and six others were undergoing restructuring, with poorly managed funds exceeding $50 million. Partial defaults or impairments were also reported in Tugende Kenya’s $5 million loan, Stratos’ $20 million loan, and LendEast’s $10.15 million loan, bringing cumulative losses to more than $18 million.

101.665 million USDT moved from Bitfinex to Tether Treasury

According to Whale Alert, 101.665 million USDT, worth about $101.54 million, was transferred from Bitfinex to Tether Treasury.

The move was recorded on the Tron network. As the funds moved from an exchange to Tether’s treasury wallet, the transfer may be related to issuance, redemption, or treasury management operations.

927 BTC moved from anonymous wallet to Coinbase

According to Whale Alert, 927 BTC was transferred from an anonymous wallet to Coinbase.

The transfer was worth about $59.79 million. Large inflows to exchanges are often interpreted as potential selling pressure in the market, although the actual intent of the transfer and whether a sale will occur remain unconfirmed.