[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Russia’s Largest Bank Sberbank Plans to Build Virtual Asset Trading Infrastructure by December 1

Russia’s Largest Bank Sberbank Plans to Build Virtual Asset Trading Infrastructure by December 1

According to Odaily, Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, plans to establish virtual asset trading infrastructure, including a digital repository, by no later than December 1.

The digital repository will record ownership of virtual assets and handle most transactions off-chain, outside major blockchains.

Sberbank also plans to operate active wallets that support customer deposits, withdrawals, and transfers. Russia has previously been working to integrate virtual asset trading, custody, and payments into its regulated financial system.

Blockaid: About 450,000 USDT Stolen in Garden HTLC Attack

Blockchain security firm Blockaid said Garden’s hash time-locked contract (HTLC) was exploited, resulting in the theft of approximately 450,000 USDT across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, and BNB Chain.

Garden said on X that it detected unusual activity, temporarily suspended the app, and launched a full investigation. Additional details will be disclosed after the investigation is completed.

Morgan Stanley Mentions Potential for Expanded Bitcoin Investment

Morgan Stanley mentioned the possibility of increasing Bitcoin investment, saying there is still room for additional capital inflows because many clients have not yet invested in Bitcoin.

According to @pete_rizzo_, Morgan Stanley said Bitcoin allocations remain limited and many clients still have no Bitcoin exposure. It also noted that Wall Street is actively building Bitcoin-related products.

The remarks come as institutional access to Bitcoin continues to expand.

Fidelity Urges U.S. Senate to Pass the CLARITY Act

Fidelity Investments urged the U.S. Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, according to Odaily.

According to Bitcoin News, Fidelity emphasized that a clear regulatory framework is necessary to boost investor confidence and help the United States maintain leadership in the digital asset industry.

POSCO International and LG CNS Launch Injective-Based Blockchain Pilot for Trade Receivables

POSCO International and LG CNS are conducting a pilot project to record trade receivables on blockchain in order to speed up settlement procedures among global subsidiaries.

According to Odaily, the two companies will place real-time trade receivables on the Injective blockchain to create a single transferable record based on a shared ledger, while also applying compliance requirements.

The pilot is focused on reducing reconciliation time among buyers, sellers, and banks. POSCO International plans to explore expanding the pilot into a live operating environment afterward.

The project is linked to blockchain use cases such as trade finance, stablecoin-based fund transfers, and asset tokenization.

Brian Armstrong: Crypto Is the Financial Infrastructure for AI Agents

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said AI and crypto are not competing trends, but that crypto will serve as the financial infrastructure for AI agents.

According to Wu Blockchain, Armstrong said AI agents could eventually process more transactions than the entire global human population.

He added that Coinbase is building “agent finance” through x402, Base, and USDC.

Whale Alert: 1,813 BTC Moved Between Anonymous Wallets

According to Whale Alert, 1,813 BTC, worth about $117.94 million, was moved on the 27th from one anonymous wallet to another.

No exchange inflow was detected, and the purpose of the transfer remains unknown.

Onchain Lens: Wang Chun (@satofishi) Deposits About $6.73 Million in Assets to Binance

According to Odaily, Onchain Lens reported that Wang Chun (@satofishi) deposited approximately $6.73 million worth of assets into Binance.

The deposited assets included 3,440 ETH (about $6.7 million) and 3.51 WBTC (about $228,400). The latest transfer occurred around eight minutes before the report.

GLC Research: Hyperliquid’s Priority Fee Mechanism Has Generated More Than $5 Million

According to Odaily, GLC Research said on X that Hyperliquid’s priority fee mechanism has generated more than $5 million in revenue to date.

Based on 14-day and 30-day averages, the annualized buyback amount supported by this revenue exceeded $30 million, accounting for about 7% of HYPE’s total revenue.

GLC Research said that since the priority fee mechanism is still in its early stages, the annualized scale of related revenue could rise to $50 million to $100 million by year-end.

Chainlink Whale Withdraws 467,180 LINK From Binance Over 13 Hours

Odaily, citing Onchain Lens, reported that a Chainlink whale address withdrew 467,180 LINK from Binance over the past 13 hours.

The withdrawals were worth about $3.94 million, including 253,920 LINK valued at about $2.14 million and 213,260 LINK valued at about $1.8 million. The most recent transfer took place about three hours ago.

The whale address currently holds 2.05 million LINK, valued at approximately $17.7 million.

Storj Parent Company Storj Labs Files for Chapter 11 Restructuring in the U.S.

Source: PANews and GlobeNewswire. Storj Labs, the parent company of cloud storage platform Storj, filed for restructuring under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to reorganize existing debt.

The company said business operations, customer services, and the network will continue without interruption during the restructuring process.

Storj Labs plans to pursue a post-restructuring ownership structure in which management, the token community, and investors jointly hold ownership of the company.