[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | SEC Approves Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options Trading

SEC Approves Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options Trading

Watcher.Guru reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Nasdaq's Bitcoin index options trading.

The approval is seen as a move to broaden institutional investors' options for managing Bitcoin-related risk and engaging in derivatives trading.

Strategy's Saylor Mentions Possibility of Selling Some Bitcoin Before Year-End

According to Odaily, Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor said in an interview that he would not rule out the possibility of the company selling some of its Bitcoin before the end of this year.

The remark marks a shift from his previous stance that the company would not sell Bitcoin. Saylor added that the firm could also sell shares and credit products to manage its dollar and cash positions.

Strategy currently holds 843,768 Bitcoin with an average purchase price of $75,700. The holdings are valued at about $65 billion, and the company aims to maximize Bitcoin held per share by 2033.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs See $105 Million in Net Outflows in One Day

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $105 million on the 22nd U.S. Eastern Time, according to Odaily citing SoSoValue data.

The product with the largest outflow was BlackRock's IBIT, which saw $68.894 million leave in a single day. IBIT's cumulative net inflow stands at $64.773 billion.

Fidelity's FBTC posted net outflows of $36.291 million. FBTC's cumulative net inflow is $10.764 billion.

Total net assets of spot Bitcoin ETFs came to $98.866 billion, with ETF net assets accounting for 6.49% of Bitcoin's total market capitalization. Cumulative net inflows reached $57.084 billion.

JPMorgan's Kinexys Surpasses $1.5 Trillion in Cumulative Transaction Volume

JPMorgan's blockchain platform Kinexys has processed more than $1.5 trillion in cumulative transaction volume since its launch in 2020. Its daily processing volume exceeds $2 billion.

Source: Odaily. In May 2026, JPMorgan filed to launch a tokenized Treasury fund using Kinexys infrastructure. The move targets reserve asset demand from stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.

According to JPMorgan's Q3 2025 13F filing, its holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust rose 64% to 5.28 million shares, valued at about $343 million. Kinexys and Digital Asset also plan to introduce JPM Coin to the Canton Network in 2026 to support institutional settlement using deposit tokens.

ECB Opposes Proposal to Ease Euro Stablecoin Regulation

According to Wu Blockchain, Reuters reported that the European Central Bank (ECB) opposes a proposal to relax regulations on euro-denominated stablecoins.

The ECB believes that if euro stablecoin issuance expands, bank deposits could flow out, reducing banks' lending capacity and making it harder for central banks to control interest rates.

ECB officials, including President Christine Lagarde, expressed concern that stablecoins could weaken banks' funding base.

Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank, argued the opposite, saying that if European Union (EU) regulations are too strict, related activity could move overseas and accelerate "digital dollarization."

Bank of America Held About $53 Million in Crypto ETFs and Related Stocks in Q1

Bank of America held about $53 million worth of crypto ETFs and related stocks in the first quarter.

According to Odaily, Bank of America's recently disclosed Q1 13F filing showed that its holdings in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF IBIT were worth about $37 million, totaling 972,590 shares. This was up from 719,008 shares in the previous quarter.

Bank of America also held about $7.98 million in Bitwise products, about $3.32 million in the Grayscale mini fund, and about $1.71 million in Fidelity products. It also maintained small positions in Grayscale GBTC, VanEck HODL, and Ark 21Shares products.

By contrast, it sharply reduced its Ethereum ETF exposure, leaving only 67,492 shares of BlackRock's Ethereum ETF worth about $1.06 million. It also cut Solana ETF exposure while maintaining 13,000 shares of the Volatility Shares XRP ETF.

In addition, Bank of America held about 3.96 million shares of MicroStrategy stock, valued at about $660 million.

Israel and U.S. Reportedly Agree Iran Must Not Retain Uranium Enrichment Capability

According to Odaily, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israel and Washington have agreed that Iran must not be allowed to retain uranium enrichment capability.

The Israeli military has gone on highest alert in preparation for a possible confrontation with Iran. Israel is closely watching a draft agreement between the U.S. and Iran and is concerned that Tehran could receive sanctions relief without the nuclear issue being fully resolved.

U.S. House Plans Probe Into Possible Insider Trading at Polymarket and Kalshi

CoinDesk reported that the U.S. House Oversight Committee plans to investigate possible insider trading involving prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer said he would review internal records from the companies' executives to determine whether government officials used information related to policy, geopolitics, or military operations for profit.

Comer also mentioned the possibility of introducing legislation to ban lawmakers, government officials, and public employees from participating in prediction markets. The probe comes amid rapid growth in prediction markets and heightened congressional scrutiny over national security risks, insider trading, and gambling-related concerns.

Uniswap Foundation Proposes Expanding V2 and V3 Fee Mechanism

The Uniswap Foundation has proposed expanding the V2 and V3 protocol fee mechanism to BNB Chain, Polygon, and Celo.

According to Odaily, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams said the Uniswap protocol fee mechanism is currently active on nine blockchains and is designed to be used for UNI burns.

The proposal aims to broaden the scope of fee application in order to increase UNI burn volume and reduce total supply.

Aave, MetaMask, and Mastercard Launch Debit Card Linked to Deposited Assets

According to Odaily, Aave, MetaMask, and Mastercard have launched a MetaMask debit card feature that allows interest-bearing assets deposited on Aave to be used for payments.

The card supports everyday spending with tokens such as mUSD, USDC, wETH, and USDT. When a user deposits mUSD into Aave and receives a receipt token, only the amount needed is converted into fiat currency at the time of payment.

Settlement is supported by Linea, the Ethereum layer-2 network developed by Consensys. Unused balances continue to earn interest on Aave until just before payment.