[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Possibility Raised of Delay in U.S. Senate Vote on Crypto Market Structure Bill

Possibility Raised of Delay in U.S. Senate Vote on Crypto Market Structure Bill

On the 22nd, PANews, citing crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, reported that a vote in the U.S. Senate on the crypto market structure bill known as the 'Clarity Bill' may be delayed.

Terrett said the bill’s schedule overlaps with the June budget reconciliation bill, legislation related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and a housing bill that passed the House. As a result, it is uncertain whether the Senate will be able to process all major bills, and some observers believe one of them could be pushed back to July.

Wall Street Journal: Iran-Linked Financial Network Moved More Than $850 Million Through Binance

The Wall Street Journal reported that a financial network linked to the Iranian regime moved more than $850 million through Binance over the past two years.

According to Odaily, the network was operated by Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani and reportedly built a secret payment system to evade U.S. sanctions and funnel funds to military organizations.

A Binance internal compliance report said that, as of last December, the network had processed about $850 million worth of transactions on Binance over a two-year period, with most of the transactions concentrated in a single account.

Trump Media Deposits 2,650 BTC to Crypto.com

Trump Media deposited 2,650 BTC to Crypto.com, according to Odaily citing Onchain Lens.

The deposit was worth about $204.93 million. Trump Media currently holds 6,889 BTC, valued at about $532.78 million.

Large deposits to exchanges are generally interpreted as a potential sign of selling, and the market is closely watching the related fund flows.

Glassnode: 6.04 Million Bitcoin Public Keys Exposed On-Chain, Theoretically Exposed to Future Quantum Computing Attacks

Glassnode said that 6.04 million BTC, worth about $469 billion, have public keys exposed on-chain and are therefore theoretically exposed to future quantum computing attack risks.

According to Wu Blockchain, this amount represents 30.2% of the circulating supply. The exposed amount consists of 1.92 million BTC in structural exposure and 4.12 million BTC in operational exposure, with the latter mainly attributed to address reuse.

Exchange-held balances accounted for 1.66 million BTC, or 8.3% of total supply. This is about 40% of the operationally insecure BTC.

German Bundestag Rejects Proposal to Tighten Crypto Taxation

According to Odaily, the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag rejected a crypto tax reform proposal submitted by the Green Party.

The proposal sought to abolish the current rule that exempts capital gains tax on cryptocurrency sold after being held for more than one year.

The Greens argued that crypto should be subject to the same tax rules as other investment assets. Opponents pointed out that such a change could leave crypto investors with a heavier tax burden than ordinary stock investors.

The Greens estimated that abolishing the tax exemption could allow the German government to secure an additional €11.4 billion in annual tax revenue.

Verus-Ethereum Cross-Chain Bridge Attacker Returns 75% of Stolen Funds

The attacker of the Verus-Ethereum cross-chain bridge returned 4,052.4 ETH, or about $8.5 million, representing 75% of the stolen funds.

PANews reported, based on monitoring data, that the remaining 25%, about 1,350 ETH, remains in the attacker’s wallet as a bounty. The Verus-Ethereum bridge was attacked on May 18, resulting in losses of about $11.58 million.

Russian Finance Ministry Retains Clause Banning Transfers to Overseas Non-Custodial Wallets

According to PANews, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said the final version of the government’s crypto market regulation bill retains a clause banning transfers from Russian custodial wallets to overseas non-custodial wallets.

The relaxed conditions apply only to foreign trade participants, namely importers. Chebeskov explained that after the law takes effect, the authorities will analyze the effectiveness of the new regulatory framework and may experimentally allow the use of non-custodial wallets in the future.

The final draft of the bill is expected to be prepared next week, and the Finance Ministry hopes it will pass before the end of the State Duma’s spring session.

Previously, the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets opposed the central bank’s stance on banning transfers to non-custodial wallets and proposed judicial protection for all crypto holders. The bill passed its first reading on April 21 and stipulates that from July 1, Russians and companies may purchase digital assets only through authorized intermediaries.

Bitcoin Historian Claims SpaceX Holds $775 Million More in Bitcoin Than Previously Disclosed

A Bitcoin historian claimed on X that SpaceX holds $775 million more in Bitcoin than previously disclosed.

He said that SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has continued to accumulate Bitcoin. However, the claim is based on a post on X rather than an official filing, so further verification is needed.

U.S. HYPE Spot ETF Records $16.155 Million in Daily Net Inflows

According to SoSoValue data, U.S. HYPE spot ETFs posted total net inflows of $16.155 million during the trading day of May 21, U.S. Eastern Time.

By product, the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF saw the largest net inflow at $8.446 million, bringing cumulative net inflows to $25.003 million.

The 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF recorded net inflows of $7.71 million, with cumulative net inflows reaching $42.5993 million.

Total net assets of HYPE spot ETFs stood at $81.1334 million at the time of reporting, while cumulative net inflows totaled $63.9552 million.

Web3 Fintech Startup Gia Raises $3 Million in Seed Funding

Web3 fintech startup Gia has raised $3 million in seed funding. Participants included Coinbase Ventures, Stellar Development Foundation, A100x Ventures, TCG, and Hashed Emergent.

According to Odaily, Gia’s cumulative funding has now increased to $7.3 million. Gia is currently securing liquidity across networks such as Base, Stellar, Arbitrum, and Polygon, while operating decentralized lending pools and stablecoin-based cross-border payment services.

The newly raised funds will be used to expand service functions such as business bank accounts and cash flow management.