[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Iran's Revolutionary Guard Announces Immediate Closure of the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Announces Immediate Closure of the Strait of Hormuz

According to PANews, citing a report by Jinse, the naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in the early hours of the 12th that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed immediately and that all vessel traffic would be prohibited.

The Revolutionary Guard stated that any intervention by foreign powers in matters concerning the Strait of Hormuz or any arbitrary setting of shipping routes would provoke a firm response from Iran. It said the closure would remain in effect until further notice and until the United States ends its involvement in the region.

According to the statement, several vessels attempted to navigate without Iranian approval a few hours earlier, and one of them, which was sailing with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) turned off, stopped after receiving warning shots from Iran.

The Revolutionary Guard also warned that if the United States uses the incident as a pretext to attack Iran, it will respond forcefully and strike more U.S. military bases across the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz is a key maritime route for exports of Middle Eastern crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

U.S. Senate Republicans Push for Floor Consideration of CLARITY Act on July 20

Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate are pushing for floor consideration of the CLARITY Act, a major digital asset regulation bill, on July 20, according to Odaily.

The report said the two parties have not yet reached agreement on key issues including ethics rules for government officials and measures to combat illicit finance. Observers say that if the bill fails to make progress before the August recess, the legislative calendar ahead of the midterm elections could become effectively too tight.

The CLARITY Act is designed to establish a regulatory framework for the digital asset industry. Republican leadership is aiming to bring it to the floor, but at least seven Democratic senators would need to support it for passage.

BTC Falls Below $64,000

BTC has dropped below $64,000.

According to OKX market data, BTC was trading at $63,970.90, down 0.11% on the day.

ETH Falls Below $1,800

ETH has fallen below $1,800. Based on OKX market data, it was down 0.83% over the past day.

PANews reported on the 12th, citing OKX data, that ETH was trading at $1,799.56.

Whale Address Withdraws $99.86 Million Worth of ETH and WBTC From Binance

According to PANews, Lookonchain said that a whale address beginning with 0x2684 has withdrawn 49,407 ETH and 250 WBTC from Binance since June 30.

The withdrawals amounted to about $84.30 million in ETH and $15.66 million in WBTC, for a total of roughly $99.86 million. Large-scale transfers from exchanges to private wallets are often interpreted as a sign of reduced selling pressure.

$190.91 Million Worth of USDC Moved From Aave to Anonymous Whale Wallet

According to Whale Alert, 190,880,654 USDC, worth about $190.91 million, was transferred from Aave to an anonymous whale wallet.

This was a large on-chain transfer, and the specific identity of the receiving wallet and the purpose of the transaction have not been confirmed.

Gate Records $207 Million Net Outflow Over Past 7 Days Following User Theft Incident

Wu Blockchain reported, citing DefiLlama data, that Gate posted a net outflow of $207 million over the past seven days in the aftermath of a user theft incident.

Gate ranked second among centralized exchanges in terms of net outflows. Over the same period, Binance recorded net inflows of $308 million, ranking first in inflows.

Wu Blockchain also said that Binance and Bybit have seen significant fund outflows over the past month due to the impact of the European Union's delisting policy.

Kalshi Raises Odds of Crypto Market Clarity Act Becoming Law Before August Recess to 50%

Odaily reported that on Kalshi, the probability that the Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Market Clarity Act will be enacted before the August congressional recess has risen to 50%.

Pete Rizzo said on X, "They want to get this done to ensure certainty around consumer protection," suggesting that discussions on clearer cryptocurrency regulation are approaching the final stage.

The bill is considered one of the key regulatory issues in the industry, as it seeks to clarify the oversight framework and consumer protection standards for the U.S. cryptocurrency market.

LAB Group Transfers $18.69 Million Worth of LAB to Aster Over Two Days

Source: Fannews Lab

According to on-chain analyst WiJin, the so-called “LAB group” transferred an additional 10.5 million LAB, worth about $9.15 million, to Aster last night.

As a result, the total amount of LAB moved to Aster over two days reached 18.5 million tokens, worth about $18.69 million. Over the same period, LAB's price fell 53%, from $1.2 to $0.56.

Previously, after the group transferred 8 million LAB, worth about $9.54 million, to Aster, LAB's price dropped 26%, from $1.2 to $0.89.

Phantom Investigates Performance Issues Affecting Some Transfer and Swap Functions

Phantom said some wallet users are experiencing degraded performance when using transfer and swap functions.

According to PANews, the Phantom team is investigating the issue and said it will restore normal service as quickly as possible. Further updates will be provided through separate announcements.