[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | U.S. Senate Banking Committee to Vote Next Week on Bitcoin and Crypto Market Structure Bill

U.S. Senate Banking Committee to Vote Next Week on Bitcoin and Crypto Market Structure Bill

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis said that the Senate Banking Committee will officially vote next week on a bitcoin and cryptocurrency market structure bill.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Lummis said, “Let’s pass the CLARITY Act in the Banking Committee on Thursday.” The bill includes measures to organize the regulatory framework and jurisdiction for the cryptocurrency market in the United States.

BlackRock Pushes to Launch Two Ethereum-Based Tokenized Money Market Funds

BlackRock is preparing to launch two tokenized money market funds for investors holding cash in stablecoin form, Odaily reported, citing Bloomberg.

BlackRock filed documents to introduce a digital share class for its approximately $6.1 billion BlackRock Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund.

The fund primarily invests in cash, U.S. Treasuries, and securities with remaining maturities of 93 days or less. The tokenized securities will be issued on the Ethereum blockchain and will operate alongside the existing traditional share classes.

Global Oil Inventories Plunge Amid Fallout From Iran War

According to Odaily, global oil inventories are being rapidly depleted as crude transport through the Persian Gulf has been disrupted by the fallout from the Iran war.

Morgan Stanley estimated that from March 1 to April 25, global oil inventories declined by an average of about 4.8 million barrels per day. This far exceeds the previous record quarterly inventory draw based on International Energy Agency (IEA) data.

About 60% of the decline was crude oil, with the rest consisting of refined petroleum products. As conditions near a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz for roughly two months, governments and industries are also seeing their response options diminish.

Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities research at JPMorgan, noted that the oil market requires a minimum level of safety inventories, warning that inaccessible strategic stockpiles could effectively be reached before actual inventories are fully exhausted.

Garrett Jin Deposits 108,169 ETH to Binance

PANews reported on May 9, citing Onchain Lens, that early bitcoin holder Garrett Jin deposited 108,169 ETH into Binance.

At current prices, the holdings are worth about $250 million. Large exchange deposits are generally interpreted as a potential sign of selling and a short-term price overhang.

HyperUnit Whale Wallet Transfers $180 Million Worth of ETH to Binance

Odaily, citing Arkham data, reported that a whale wallet labeled HyperUnit transferred about $180 million worth of ETH to Binance.

Large transfers to exchanges are commonly viewed as a sign of potential selling pressure. However, the specific purpose of the transfer has not been confirmed.

68,159 ETH Transferred From Anonymous Wallet to Binance

According to Whale Alert, 68,159 ETH, worth about $157.61 million, was transferred from an anonymous wallet to Binance.

Large exchange inflows are closely watched by the market for possible selling pressure, though it has not been confirmed whether the assets were actually sold.

813.367 Million USDT Transferred From HTX to Unidentified Wallet

According to Whale Alert, 813,367,100 USDT was transferred from HTX to an unidentified wallet.

The transfer was worth about $813.18 million. Large on-chain fund movements often draw market attention as possible signs of exchange liquidity shifts or institution-related capital transfers, though the exact purpose of this transaction remains unknown.

South Korea Plans to Impose 22% Tax on Virtual Asset Gains Starting Next January

According to Odaily, South Korea plans to impose a 22% tax starting next January on virtual asset gains exceeding 2.5 million won.

Officials have confirmed that the schedule is expected to proceed as planned. However, there is still a possibility of delay, as some political figures are calling for the tax to be scrapped.

South Korea has previously postponed the implementation of virtual asset taxation several times, and the latest plan is tied to finalizing the country’s taxation framework for domestic crypto investors.

U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs See $146 Million in Net Outflows

Wu Blockchain reported, citing SoSoValue data, that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $146 million on May 8, Eastern Time.

On the same day, U.S. spot ether ETFs saw net inflows of $3.57 million. Spot ETF fund flows are widely used as a key indicator of institutional buying and selling demand.

Strategy Bought 56,000 BTC in April

Odaily reported, citing BitcoinTreasuries.net data, that Strategy (MSTR) purchased 56,000 BTC in April.

This was 28 times the combined amount of BTC purchased by all other listed companies during the same period. Strategy is one of the most prominent public companies to adopt bitcoin as a core treasury asset.