[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Fed revisits possibility of additional rate hikes

Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve show that discussions of rate cuts have effectively retreated, while the possibility of additional rate hikes has come back into focus.

According to Odaily, citing a Wall Street Journal analysis, Fed officials placed greater emphasis on whether further tightening may be needed if inflation continues to remain above the 2% target, rather than on rate cuts, which had been at the center of Federal Open Market Committee debates over the past two years.

The minutes stated that “most participants noted that if inflation were to remain stubbornly above 2%, it might be appropriate to tighten policy further.”

The minutes were from the last meeting chaired by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and also reflected the impact of Middle East tensions on the outlook for interest-rate decisions. Kevin Warsh is set to lead the Fed after taking the oath of office at the White House on Friday.

The Fed’s next policy meeting is scheduled for June 16–17.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $78,000, according to PANews citing OKX market data.

On OKX, BTC is currently trading at $78,006.10, up 0.71% over the past day.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $77,000 and traded at $76,996.10, according to reports.

PANews reported on the 21st, citing OKX market data, that Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $77,000 and traded at $76,996.10.

This marked a 0.60% decline from a day earlier. Whether Bitcoin holds or breaks key price levels could affect short-term market sentiment, drawing close attention from investors.

U.S. Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of 4,374 BTC and 35,904 ETH, respectively.

Odaily, citing Lookonchain monitoring, reported that U.S. Solana ETFs recorded net inflows of 27,115 SOL. ETF flow data is widely used as a short-term supply-demand indicator reflecting institutional capital movements in major cryptocurrencies.

Source: Watcher.Guru

President Trump has directed the U.S. government to overhaul regulations to integrate digital assets into traditional finance and payment systems, according to Watcher.Guru.

The directive is interpreted as focusing on revising the regulatory framework so that digital assets can be used within existing financial infrastructure.

Bipartisan U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced the cryptocurrency tax reform bill known as the Parity Act, PANews reported citing CoinDesk.

The bill stipulates that for regulated payment stablecoins, if the acquisition cost is at least 99% of the redemption value, no gain or loss would be recognized. It also includes provisions clarifying exemptions for transactions through brokers or taxpayer accounts, digital asset wash-sale rules, and taxation standards for staking rewards.

If passed, the bill would require the IRS to review the scope of current taxation on digital asset transactions under $200, as well as the feasibility and abuse risks of a small-transaction tax exemption. Representative Houlahan said the current federal tax code does not reflect the realities of the digital asset environment.

Kraken parent company Payward has received preliminary approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for brokerage-dealer, exchange, investment, and custody licenses, according to Odaily.

Based on the approval, Payward plans to expand its virtual asset business in the UAE. Through its local regulated entity, the company intends to offer spot, margin, and OTC trading, staking, Kraken Prime for institutional clients, and user-to-user virtual asset transfer functions.

Coinbase and Flipcash have launched USDF, a customized stablecoin built on Solana, Odaily reported.

USDF is part of Coinbase’s custom stablecoin program, which allows companies and protocols to issue branded dollar-pegged stablecoins for payments, payroll, and cross-border settlement.

The program is focused on simplifying the issuance and use of stablecoins by enterprises while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Sui has launched a feature that allows stablecoin transfers without gas fees.

According to PANews, the feature is being rolled out gradually on the Sui mainnet through Fireblocks, allowing users and businesses to conduct peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers without holding SUI tokens.

Supported assets include USDsui, SuiUSDe, AUSD, FDUSD, USDB, USDC, and USDY. Sui said the feature could be used to expand enterprise payments, fintech services, and AI agent-based automated payment infrastructure.

Tether has acquired all 891,000 Class A shares in Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin-holding company previously owned by SoftBank.

According to Odaily, citing SEC filings, the specific transaction terms were not disclosed. However, based on Wednesday’s closing price of $7.98, the stake was estimated to be worth about $7.11 million.

SoftBank purchased the stake for $9.993 million in June last year and appears to have sold it at a loss.

Twenty One Capital currently holds 43,514 BTC, valued at about $3.4 billion. Following the sale, SoftBank-appointed directors resigned, temporarily leaving the company’s audit committee with fewer independent directors than required under New York Stock Exchange listing rules.

Asset tokenization firm Securitize is planning to go public through a business combination with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Cantor Equity Partners II.

According to PANews, Securitize founder and CEO Carlos Domingo said the company has achieved profitability in the asset tokenization sector through partnerships with multiple financial institutions.

Domingo said the SPAC transaction would help expand the company’s issuance and trading business for various forms of digital tokenized assets beyond stablecoins.