[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | SEC to Work with CFTC on Digital Asset Classification Framework

SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently reaffirmed his commitment to advancing 'Project Crypto' and announced plans to work with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to establish a digital asset classification framework.

According to Odaily, Chair Atkins said the SEC will clarify the criteria for determining whether a token qualifies as a security and plans to introduce an 'innovation exemption' to support on-chain trading of tokenized securities.

Market participants view these measures as a signal that the SEC is moving away from its previous 'regulation by enforcement' approach toward clearer rulemaking. As a result, expectations for institutional capital inflows are rising, with some forecasts suggesting Bitcoin could reclaim the $80,000 level.

Bitcoin is currently trading at around $77,586. The market is also closely watching for additional comments from Chair Atkins at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in late April.

President Trump said he would ensure that key cryptocurrency legislation moves forward without being derailed by banking industry lobbying. Analysts say this could strengthen legislative momentum for stablecoin and digital asset regulatory frameworks.

According to PANews, citing CoinDesk, Trump made the remarks at a private event held at Mar-a-Lago in Florida for holders of the Trump memecoin. He said the White House would not allow banking lobby groups to undermine passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act).

Trump emphasized that the cryptocurrency industry has already become mainstream and that the United States is leading the sector. He added that traditional banks should not obstruct the adoption of stablecoins or the establishment of a regulatory framework for crypto assets.

Attendees at the event reportedly included Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, and Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley.

U.S. banks have previously opposed stablecoins, arguing that their reward structures could negatively affect the traditional deposit business. That opposition has delayed deliberations on the CLARITY Act, and Trump's public backing is seen as potentially giving the bill new momentum.

Next week, markets will focus on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate decision, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's press conference, and major U.S. growth, inflation, and labor market data releases.

According to panewslab.com, investors are also monitoring the recent impasse between the U.S. and Iran, as well as Trump's remarks, both of which could unsettle risk sentiment. Gold prices may also see elevated volatility depending on geopolitical developments.

Key events on the calendar include the Dallas Fed business activity index, ADP employment data, consumer confidence, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index, API and EIA crude oil inventories, the FOMC rate decision, Powell's press conference, initial jobless claims, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the preliminary first-quarter GDP reading, and the S&P Global manufacturing PMI.

Markets have recently remained resilient despite shifts in Middle East tensions and ongoing policy uncertainty. However, if geopolitical risks escalate again, volatility across financial markets could increase alongside macroeconomic events.

The Ethereum Foundation has begun unstaking roughly $48.9 million worth of ETH, drawing market attention to the possibility of additional selling pressure.

According to Odaily, on-chain analytics platform Arkham said on X that the Ethereum Foundation deposited its WSTETH into Lido's unstETH contract and will receive the equivalent amount of ETH once the unlock process is completed.

Market participants are now watching closely to see whether the unstaked ETH will ultimately be sold. The Ethereum Foundation has previously sold ETH multiple times for operating fund management, reviving concerns about potential sell pressure.

Open interest in options on BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT has, for the first time, exceeded the size of Deribit's Bitcoin options market. Analysts say this shows accelerating institutionalization of Bitcoin as long-term bullish positioning expands in the regulated U.S. market.

According to Odaily, open interest in IBIT options reached $27.61 billion on Friday, surpassing Deribit's Bitcoin options market, which stood at $26.9 billion.

Based on Volmex data, IBIT call option traders are targeting a short-term Bitcoin price of around $109,709. That is about 41% above the then-current level of roughly $77,400.

By contrast, the key positioning range on Deribit was around $106,000. The average maturity of IBIT options was also about two months longer than that of Deribit options, suggesting that investors in the U.S. regulated market are expressing stronger upside expectations over a longer investment horizon.

CoinDesk noted that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have already become a core channel for institutional capital inflows. The growth of the IBIT options market suggests that Bitcoin demand is expanding beyond spot ETFs into derivatives as well.

Bitcoin advocate Pete Rizzo said on X on April 26 that the daily trading value of Strategy, Michael Saylor's Bitcoin-holding company, had surpassed that of Google.

He claimed that Strategy's common stock MSTR had become the 16th most actively traded stock in the U.S. market and that STRC was making weekly purchases worth billions of dollars.

Based on this trend, Rizzo predicted that Strategy's Bitcoin holdings would eventually reach 1 million BTC. However, this remains a market participant's opinion, and the specific scale and timing of future purchases require further confirmation.

Strategy has previously continued to accumulate Bitcoin through capital market fundraising, including stock issuance and convertible bond offerings. Increased capital inflows into Strategy are viewed as another factor supporting Bitcoin demand expectations.

Aave launched the 'DeFi United' rescue plan on April 18 in response to the rsETH incident, according to Odaily.

The plan, led by Aave founder Stani Kulechov, is structured as a public fundraising initiative that accepts ETH donations from the community.

According to the latest tally, DeFi United has raised more than 100,000 ETH, worth over $232 million, with participation from more than 85,000 addresses.

The initiative was introduced in the aftermath of the rsETH-related incident that occurred on April 18.

Aave has launched a dedicated recovery fund aimed at restoring rsETH-backed collateral to 100%.

According to panewslab.com, Aave officially announced the establishment of the 'DeFi United' recovery fund alongside ecosystem partners and service providers. The move is intended to resolve the bad debt crisis tied to rsETH that was triggered by a KelpDAO cross-chain vulnerability.

Aave said the plan has been integrated into Aave DAO and Arbitrum chain governance votes, as well as into protocol design and implementation procedures. It also said technical recovery pathways are being developed in consultation with KelpDAO and LayerZero.

The top priority is to protect affected users and stabilize the DeFi ecosystem. Major protocols including Lido, ether.fi, and Ethena have already joined the recovery effort, with more than 13,500 ETH committed so far.

Aave said detailed final recovery measures, user guidance, and the key timeline will be announced at a later date.

The Balancer attacker exchanged 21,000 ETH for 617.43 BTC over the past three days, according to on-chain data. The amount is worth about $48.72 million, and the attacker still holds another 1,000 ETH, raising the possibility of further selling.

On April 26, PANews cited monitoring by Onchain Lens in reporting the transfer activity. The remaining 1,000 ETH is valued at about $2.32 million at current market prices.

The report is based on on-chain tracking of hacked funds and may weigh on market sentiment.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old California man involved in a criminal ring that stole about $263 million worth of cryptocurrency through social engineering and home invasion tactics, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

According to Odaily, Tangeman admitted to helping launder at least $3.5 million in illicit proceeds tied to the organization. Prosecutors also said he destroyed evidence after the arrest of his accomplices.

Authorities said the group used millions of dollars in criminal proceeds on nightclub expenses, Lamborghinis, Rolex watches, and other luxury goods.

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. described the case as organized crime driven by extreme greed. The ruling comes as industry-wide losses from crypto fraud and hacking in the first quarter of 2026 were estimated at $482 million.