[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Suspected $18 Million Exploit Detected in Ostium Vault

Suspected $18 Million Exploit Detected in Ostium Vault

According to Wu Blockchain, security firm Blockaid has identified signs of a suspected exploit involving the Arbitrum-based Ostium Vault, with losses estimated at around $18 million.

Blockaid believes the attacker used a registered price upkeep forwarder and oracle reports approved for a future point in time to fabricate trading profits, which then triggered a payout of roughly $18 million in USDC from the vault.

The exploit transaction and the attacker address have been disclosed, and the incident is currently under investigation. Ostium is an RWA perpetual futures trading protocol focused on equities, commodities, and foreign exchange markets, and has previously raised about $27.8 million from investors including General Catalyst, Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute, and GSR.

Trump to Discuss Crypto Clarity Bill With Senators

President Trump is scheduled to discuss the crypto clarity bill with U.S. senators on July 16 local time, according to Watcher.Guru.

The discussion appears to be related to legislative efforts aimed at clarifying regulatory standards for the cryptocurrency market in the United States.

Coinbase Policy Chief Says He Is “Very Confident” in Passage of U.S. Clarity Bill

Coinbase’s chief policy officer said on Fox that “the policy shift has already happened” and that the Clarity Bill is “an opportunity to make it permanent law.”

According to Bitcoin Magazine, he added that he is “very confident” the bill will pass. The Clarity Bill is designed to clarify the regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States, and the industry is closely watching whether it will reduce regulatory uncertainty.

BlackRock Withdraws 2,152 BTC From Coinbase Prime

BlackRock withdrew 2,152 BTC from Coinbase Prime over the past hour, according to Odaily, citing Onchain Lens.

The withdrawal was worth about $140 million. Onchain Lens noted that, unlike previous Coinbase Prime custody transfers related to IBIT, this type of movement is often associated with newly added BTC being allocated to IBIT.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs See $181 Million Inflows, Spot Ethereum ETFs Add $58.34 Million on July 14

According to Odaily, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $181 million and spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net inflows of $58.34 million on July 14. Neither category saw outflows that day.

Among Bitcoin ETFs, BlackRock’s IBIT saw $139 million in net inflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC added $21.07 million. All Ethereum ETF net inflows that day went into BlackRock’s ETHA.

There was no trading activity that day in Hyperliquid (HYPE), XRP, or Solana ETFs. Morgan Stanley submitted amended filings related to spot Ethereum and Solana ETFs, including Coinbase Custody and other service providers, as well as staking provisions.

Japanese policymakers are also reportedly pushing reforms to classify cryptocurrencies under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, a move seen as part of regulatory preparations for introducing crypto ETFs in Japan.

South Korea’s FSC Moves to Allow Refunds When Voice Phishing Proceeds Are Converted Into Crypto

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is pushing to revise enforcement rules so that victims can be reimbursed even when stolen funds from voice phishing have been converted into cryptocurrency, according to Odaily.

The FSC released amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund of Fraud Losses, clarifying return standards and valuation methods for crypto assets. The revised rules are set to take effect on October 1.

Under the amendment, if frozen assets are in cryptocurrency, victims will in principle be reimbursed based on the type and quantity of the asset. If the form of the stolen asset and the frozen asset differs, reimbursement will be made in the form of the asset that actually existed at the time the account was frozen.

If both cash and cryptocurrency are present, the final reimbursement amount will be determined by valuing the crypto based on market prices at the time of the freeze. Public comments on the amendment will be accepted through August 24.

South African Exchange Luno Formally Objects to Proposed FX Law Revision

According to Odaily, crypto exchange Luno has formally objected to South Africa’s National Treasury proposal to revise foreign exchange laws.

Luno argued that the plan to include digital assets under capital outflow controls bypasses parliament and could affect the property rights and privacy of millions of people.

In its submission, Luno said the draft includes sanction provisions that could lead to asset seizure without a court order, forced liquidation, and business shutdowns. Violators could face up to five years in prison, a fine of $53,000, or both.

Luno proposed that the final framework for regulating crypto-related capital outflows should be established through parliamentary legislation, and that digital assets purchased and held on licensed South African exchanges should be recognized as domestic assets. It also called for the removal of forced sale and warrantless seizure provisions, and for properly registered non-resident international firms to retain access to the South African market.

Aave V4 Officially Launches on Avalanche

Aave Labs has officially launched the Aave V4 decentralized lending protocol on the Avalanche network.

According to a July 16 report by PANews citing Cryptopolitan, this is the first expansion of Aave V4 to an external network after its implementation on Ethereum.

The move is part of Aave founder Stani Kulechov’s broader plan to introduce tokenized real-world assets (RWA).

Aave V4 adopts a core-branch structure that isolates risk by liquidity hub. On Avalanche, the deployment includes one core liquidity hub and three independent markets: the main market, an AVAX-related market, and a foreign exchange market.

Visa and Artemis Say AI Agent Payments Have Entered Real-World Adoption Phase

Visa and Artemis said in a joint report that AI agent payments have moved beyond theory and are now entering practical business adoption.

The report divides AI payments into macro-commerce and micro-commerce. Macro-commerce refers to agents handling consumer activities traditionally done by humans, such as bookings and subscriptions. Micro-commerce refers to high-frequency software-to-software micropayments below $1.

According to the report, x402 has processed about $150 million in payments since its launch in May 2025, with 109.6 million transactions recorded. Most of these transactions occurred on Base, Solana, and Polygon.

The MPP system built by Stripe and Tempo has processed about $25,000 in payments since its launch in mid-March 2026, with approximately 115,000 transactions.

Visa said traditional card payments are well suited for macro-commerce such as bookings and subscriptions, while stablecoins are better suited for high-frequency micropayments where fees matter more. However, it noted that determining liability when AI agents make mistakes remains a key unresolved issue.

UK Fintech Revolut Receives In-Principle Approval for Virtual Asset Business From Dubai VARA

UK fintech firm Revolut has received in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to pursue virtual asset business activities in the UAE, according to Odaily.

The approved scope includes brokerage, asset management and investment, and virtual asset trading services. Revolut plans to allow UAE users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets through the Revolut app and the Revolut X trading platform.

This approval is a preliminary step ahead of full licensing and is expected to support the company’s expansion of crypto services in the Middle East.