[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund Increases Holdings of BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF, While Harvard Sells Entire Ethereum ETF Position

US SEC Receives Amended Filings for VanEck and Grayscale BNB ETFs, Signaling Launch Preparation

Odaily, citing The Block, reported that VanEck submitted the fifth amended version of its BNB ETF registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 15th. On the same day, Grayscale also submitted the second amended prospectus for the Grayscale BNB ETF.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said the simultaneous amended filings appear to be responses to SEC feedback and may signal preparations for launch. He added that BNB could be the next crypto asset to gain a path toward US listing after SEC review.

Meanwhile, Canary Capital separately submitted an amended proposal for a Tron (TRX) staking ETF. The filing aims to incorporate Tron staking yield within a regulatory framework.

Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund Increases Holdings of BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF, While Harvard Sells Entire Ethereum ETF Position

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala increased its holdings of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, while Harvard University’s endowment fully exited its spot Ethereum ETF position.

According to Odaily, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and banks disclosed their Q1 2026 holdings through 13F filings. Mubadala increased its IBIT holdings from 12,702,323 shares to 14,721,917 shares, bringing the total value of the position to about $660 million.

Mubadala-affiliated Abu Dhabi Investment Council maintained its holding of 8,218,712 IBIT shares. That stake was valued at about $315.8 million.

Harvard University’s endowment reported holding 3,044,612 shares of IBIT, worth about $117 million, down 43% from 5.35 million shares at the end of last year. Harvard had already reduced its IBIT position by 21% in the previous quarter.

Harvard also fully sold the $86.8 million BlackRock spot Ethereum ETF position it had held in the previous quarter. As a result, IBIT was no longer among the endowment’s top holdings.

Dartmouth College maintained its 201,531 IBIT shares. It also shifted its position from the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust to the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF, and newly added 304,803 shares of the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF.

Brown University maintained 212,500 shares of IBIT, while Emory University sold part of its IBIT stake and increased its holdings in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust.

Financial institutions also adjusted positions. Royal Bank of Canada expanded its direct IBIT holdings and options hedges, Scotiabank increased its IBIT holdings after unwinding Trump-related Bitcoin equity positions, and Barclays disclosed both spot IBIT shares and related options positions.

Japan’s SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities Move to Sell Crypto Investment Trust Products

PANews, citing Nikkei, reported that Japan’s SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are moving to offer cryptocurrency investment trust products.

SBI Securities plans to sell ETFs and investment trust products based on highly liquid cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, developed by its subsidiary SBI Global Asset Management. Rakuten Securities also plans to develop in-house crypto investment trust products in cooperation with group affiliates, allowing trading through its smartphone app.

According to a Nikkei survey of 18 major Japanese securities firms, 11 said they would consider offering such products once the regulatory framework is finalized. Major brokerages including Nomura Securities were also reported to be open to launching similar products after regulations are clarified.

Crypto Futures Market Sees $368 Million in Liquidations Over 24 Hours

Source: PANews. According to CoinAnk data, a total of $368 million in positions was liquidated across the cryptocurrency futures market over the past 24 hours.

Long liquidations totaled $345 million, while short liquidations came to $23.2539 million. Bitcoin liquidations were $123 million, and Ethereum liquidations reached $94.7371 million.

Futures liquidations occur when positions are forcibly closed by exchanges because margin requirements are no longer met due to price volatility.

BTC Falls Below $78,000

BTC fell below the $78,000 level. Its intraday decline was recorded at 0.32%.

According to PANews, based on OKX market data, BTC was trading at $77,983.80.

Hyperliquid Whale’s 114,000 ETH Long Position Swings From $13 Million Profit to $10 Million Loss

A trader holding a 114,000 ETH long position on Hyperliquid reportedly swung from a $13 million profit to a $10 million loss, PANews reported, citing on-chain analyst Eugene.

The trader opened the long position in late April by purchasing 99,000 ETH at $2,270, and later added twice more, bringing the total position to 114,000 ETH, worth about $259 million. The average entry price was around $2,268.

$138.2 Million in USDC Moved Between Aave and Anonymous Whale Wallet

Whale Alert reported that 138,220,412 USDC, worth about $138,215,989, was transferred from an anonymous whale wallet to Aave.

The transaction was a large-scale stablecoin movement on the Ethereum network. However, the exact purpose of the funds, such as deposit, borrowing, or other asset management activity, has not been confirmed.

Another 138,191,988 USDC was moved from Aave to an anonymous whale wallet.

According to Whale Alert, that transfer was worth about $138,193,992. Large stablecoin transfers may be interpreted as signals of changes in market liquidity depending on whether they are destined for exchange deposits.

China’s Ningbo Customs Busts Crypto Mining Machine Smuggling Rings

PANews reported on the 17th, citing Zhejiang Daily, that the anti-smuggling bureau of Ningbo Customs in China uncovered several cryptocurrency mining machine smuggling rings and seized more than 400 mining machines.

The confiscated equipment included Antminer L9 and Glacier KS3 units. Customs investigators found that the groups purchased miners overseas, disassembled them, falsely declared them as ordinary goods, and imported them through Ningbo and Guangzhou ports via international express shipments.

After reassembly, the machines were either sold within China or moved to illegal mining sites in Xinjiang and Hunan for cryptocurrency mining. Investigators said the groups used cryptocurrencies such as USDT for cross-border payments in order to evade financial monitoring.

Tokenized US Treasury Market Reaches $13.7 Billion

According to Token Terminal data, the market size of tokenized government bonds reached about $13.7 billion.

The largest products by market capitalization were USYC at $3.0 billion, BUIDL at $2.7 billion, and IBENJI at $1.5 billion.

Token Terminal said tokenized Treasuries are becoming core infrastructure products for stablecoin issuers.

It also projected that by the end of 2030, the stablecoin market could grow roughly tenfold, increasing on-chain dollar supply by about $2.7 trillion.

Prediction Market Kalshi Prices 75% Chance of US CBDC Ban

The prediction market Kalshi is now pricing a 75% probability that the US will ban a central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to the Bitcoin Historian account.

A CBDC ban would restrict the introduction of a government-issued digital currency. Among Bitcoin supporters, such a move is often seen as easing concerns over financial surveillance and as potentially supportive for demand for private digital assets.