[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | The Wall Street Journal: More Than $850 Million in Iran-Linked Funds Moved Through Binance Over the Past Two Years

The Wall Street Journal: More Than $850 Million in Iran-Linked Funds Moved Through Binance Over the Past Two Years

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 allegedly established a covert payment system to evade U.S. sanctions and funnel money to military organizations.

An internal Binance compliance report stated that, as of last December, the network had processed roughly $850 million in transactions on Binance over two years, with most of the activity concentrated in a single account.

U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs See Net Outflows for Five Consecutive Trading Days

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows for five straight trading days.

According to Odaily, citing SoSoValue data, total net outflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs on May 21 Eastern Time amounted to $101 million.

ARK Invest and 21Shares' ARKB posted net inflows of $2.8287 million that day, the largest daily inflow among the funds. ARKB’s cumulative net inflows now stand at $1.282 billion.

Meanwhile, BlackRock’s IBIT saw net outflows of $104 million, the largest daily outflow. IBIT’s cumulative net inflows were recorded at $64.842 billion.

Total net assets of spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $101.058 billion, representing 6.49% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization. Cumulative net inflows reached $57.189 billion.

Spot ETF fund flows are widely used as a key gauge of institutional investor demand.

Coinbase Premium Falls Further, Signaling Aggressive Selling by Institutional Investors

According to Cointelegraph, the Coinbase Premium, a key indicator of institutional participation in the crypto market, fell deeper into negative territory.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said institutions and professional investors trading on Coinbase Advanced were selling more aggressively than investors on Binance.

The Coinbase Premium has remained mostly negative since late April, and its recent seven-day decline accelerated, reaching a monthly low of -0.0983% on May 21.

Previously, since May 14, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted net outflows for four consecutive trading days, with total outflows reaching $1.3 billion. Open interest in Bitcoin futures and perpetual contracts also fell by about $1.5 billion this week.

Bitcoin declined 4.5% last week and fell below the $76,000 level on Tuesday, marking its monthly low.

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 approximately $204.93 million. Trump Media currently holds 6,889 BTC, valued at about $532.78 million.

Large exchange deposits are generally interpreted as a possible sign of selling pressure, and the market is closely watching the related fund flows.

THORChain Reveals Recovery Plan for May 15 Exploit

THORChain has revealed a recovery plan related to the May 15 exploit and has begun a vote among node operators, according to PANews.

Under the recovery proposal, THORChain will first absorb losses using protocol-owned liquidity, with any remaining losses to be shared with synthetic asset holders. The precise loss-sharing ratio is still under review.

THORChain said the plan does not involve new RUNE issuance or token sales, and there will be no dilution for existing holders. Trading will resume after the vulnerability is patched and node rotation is completed.

Attacker nodes will be slashed, while innocent nodes in the same vault will be protected. The protocol has also offered the attacker a white-hat bounty in exchange for returning the funds.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister: Final Crypto Regulation Keeps Ban on 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 will retain a provision banning transfers from Russian custodial wallets to overseas non-custodial wallets.

Relaxed conditions will apply only to participants in foreign trade, namely importers. Chebeskov said that after the law takes effect, the government will analyze the impact of the new regulatory framework and may later experiment with allowing the use of non-custodial wallets.

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

Earlier, 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 licensed intermediaries.

Korea Communications Standards Commission Launches Probe Into Whether Polymarket Hosts Illegal Prediction Content

The Korea Communications Standards Commission has launched an investigation into whether prediction market platform Polymarket offers illegal prediction content, Odaily reported.

According to the report, the commission has opened a formal probe to determine whether Polymarket constitutes gambling activity and whether it violates relevant domestic laws.

Polymarket is a prediction market platform where users trade on the outcomes of political, economic, and other events. The investigation is seen as part of a broader wave of regulatory pressure.

Robinhood Lists AERO, QNT, and ZRO

Robinhood has listed Aerodrome Finance (AERO), Quant (QNT), and LayerZero (ZRO), according to Odaily.

Robinhood is a trading platform with a large base of U.S. retail investors, and new listings are generally viewed as expanding trading access for those assets.

Source: Odaily

Circle CEO Teases Launch of Bitcoin-Linked Token cirBTC

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire announced on X the upcoming launch of cirBTC, a Bitcoin-linked token.

Circle Wrapped Bitcoin (cirBTC) is a token backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin reserves. Circle plans to issue it on the Ethereum mainnet and the Arc network.

Each cirBTC will be collateralized by Bitcoin reserves held by regulated entities within the Circle group. The launch is viewed as an effort to expand Bitcoin’s on-chain utility.

German Bundestag Rejects Proposal to Tighten Crypto Taxation

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

The proposal sought to abolish the current system under which capital gains tax is exempted if cryptocurrencies are sold after being held for more than one year.

The Greens argued that cryptocurrencies should be taxed under the same rules as other investment assets. Opponents countered that this could impose a heavier tax burden on crypto investors than on ordinary stock investors.

The Greens estimated that abolishing the tax exemption could bring in around €11.4 billion in additional annual tax revenue for the German government.