[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | U.S. Senate Banking Committee Pushes for Mid-May Hearing on Crypto Market Structure Bill

U.S. Senate Banking Committee Pushes for Mid-May Hearing on Crypto Market Structure Bill

According to PANews, citing The Block, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee is making progress toward holding a hearing in mid-May on a cryptocurrency market structure bill. However, disagreements remain over the treatment of stablecoin yields, ethics provisions, and President Trump's crypto-related conflicts of interest, all of which are seen as key variables in the legislative process.

According to the report, Senator Thom Tillis asked Chairman Tim Scott to move up the hearing schedule, while also saying he would oppose the bill if it does not include ethics provisions. Senator Angela Alsobrooks also stressed that illicit finance and ethics issues must be addressed in order to secure bipartisan support. Senator John Kennedy is reportedly not supporting crypto-related legislation at present due to fallout from controversy surrounding another bill.

Chairman Scott said the bill has entered a "danger zone," but still expressed hope that bipartisan discussions in mid-May could lead to a Senate vote in June or July. However, some in the industry estimate the bill's chances of passage at only 15% to 25%. Galaxy had estimated the passage probability at 50% last week.

Ethics concerns surrounding the Trump family's involvement in crypto businesses are also part of the backdrop to the current debate. Bloomberg estimated that President Trump has earned at least $1.4 billion through DeFi and stablecoin projects such as World Liberty Financial. The Trump family also holds a 20% stake in crypto mining company American Bitcoin.

Japan Exchange Group Moves to Prepare for Crypto ETF Listings

Japan Exchange Group (JPX) said it is preparing for the listing of crypto asset ETFs, contingent on legal amendments and tax framework adjustments. Listings could begin as early as 2027, though they may be delayed until 2028 depending on legislative progress.

According to Bloomberg, JPX CEO Hiromi Yamaji said the company will begin full preparations for crypto ETF listings once the regulatory and tax environment becomes clear. JPX is Japan's largest stock exchange holding company.

This plan suggests that institutionalization of crypto investment products in Japan may gain momentum. In major jurisdictions, spot crypto ETFs have drawn attention as a catalyst for institutional capital inflows.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority Unveils Plan for Digital Bond and Asset Platform by 2026

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) disclosed plans to build a digital asset platform for the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) through briefing materials submitted to the Legislative Council's Finance Committee.

According to the document, CMU operator subsidiary Clearing and Settlement Systems Limited plans to establish by 2026 a platform that supports digital bond issuance and settlement, with later expansion into other digital assets. The platform will also pursue interoperability with other tokenization platforms in the region.

In addition, CMU plans to launch a new platform in 2027 with enhanced system processing capacity, collateral management, and liquidity management functions. The plan is interpreted as part of Hong Kong's broader strategy to expand digital asset and tokenization infrastructure.

U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Return to Net Inflows After Three Straight Trading Days of Outflows

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs returned to net inflows after recording net outflows for three consecutive trading days. As of April 30 U.S. Eastern Time, total net inflows reached $14.7578 million.

According to SoSoValue, Fidelity's FBTC saw the largest inflow of the day, with $26.612 million in net inflows. FBTC's cumulative net inflows were reported at $10.869 billion.

BlackRock's IBIT also recorded net inflows of $19.0538 million. IBIT's cumulative net inflows were reported at $42.4466 million.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie's BRRR posted the largest outflow of the day, with $8.6218 million in net outflows. BRRR's cumulative net inflows stood at $336 million.

As of the time of reporting, total net assets of spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $100.533 billion. ETF net assets accounted for 6.56% of Bitcoin's total market capitalization, while cumulative net inflows totaled $58.088 billion.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had previously posted net outflows for three straight trading sessions. The return to net inflows is being viewed as a notable shift, indicating that institutional fund flows have turned positive again.

Coinbase and Superstate Launch Stablecoin Lending Fund CUSHY

Coinbase has partnered with Superstate to launch CUSHY, a stablecoin lending fund, and plans to introduce a tokenized share class in the second quarter, according to PANews citing The Block.

According to the report, CUSHY is a fund offering institutional investors exposure to lending strategies within the stablecoin ecosystem. It is the first external fund issued via Superstate's FundOS platform, and Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services will handle fund administration.

The fund seeks returns through stablecoin lending and private credit opportunities. Tokenized interests may be used as collateral or transferred on compliant digital exchanges.

A Coinbase Asset Management executive said the fund combines the efficiency of digital assets with the rigorous operational framework of traditional lending markets.

Superstate previously launched the USTB and USCC fund strategies through FundOS and has managed more than $1 billion in assets.

Bakkt Completes Acquisition of Stablecoin Infrastructure Firm DTR

Bakkt announced that it has completed the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) through a stock transaction.

Under the agreement, Bakkt issued more than 11.3 million shares to holders of DTR profit interests and may issue roughly 725,000 additional shares.

Bakkt CEO Akshay Naheta said the transaction is aimed at combining Bakkt's institutional-grade infrastructure with DTR's AI-powered payments engine and stablecoin technology. The goal is to build a 24/7 digital payments infrastructure that connects traditional financial systems with next-generation digital assets.

Along with the deal, the company name was changed to Bakkt Inc.

The project had previously raised $48 million through a stock sale in February to address market uncertainty and the possibility of delisting.

Japan's SBI Holdings Begins Talks on Capital and Business Alliance to Make Bitbank a Subsidiary

Japan's SBI Holdings has begun negotiations on a capital and business alliance with the operator of crypto exchange Bitbank. The goal of the talks is to bring Bitbank under SBI as a subsidiary.

According to a report citing CoinPost, SBI is expected to further expand its crypto business base in Japan through the proposed deal. Last month, the SBI Group completed the merger of SBI VC Trade and Bitpoint Japan, and the latest move is seen as a proactive response to tighter crypto regulations under Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Bitbank is known as a security-focused exchange and has been pursuing an IPO in the second half of 2025. In 2021, it entered into an investment cooperation agreement with Mixi and raised about JPY 7 billion.

If SBI succeeds in acquiring Bitbank, it will move one step closer to forming Japan's largest crypto platform group.

Crypto Industry Suffers 24 Security Incidents in April, Losses Exceed $600 Million

There were 24 security incidents in the crypto industry in April, with total losses exceeding $600 million. The sharp increase in monthly incidents has renewed concerns about vulnerabilities across the sector.

On May 1, PANews, citing The Block and DeFiLlama data, reported that more than 20 exploit incidents took place across the crypto industry in April. Crypto security expert Stacey Muur said that as of Wednesday, 24 hacking incidents had resulted in losses of more than $600 million.

The largest loss came from the KelpDAO exploit, which caused approximately $292 million in damage, making it the biggest single incident of the month. The Drift Protocol exploit also caused losses of about $280 million. Drift Protocol previously said the attack was a deliberate intelligence-gathering operation carried out over roughly six months.

Elsewhere, Hyperbridge, a Polkadot ecosystem protocol, suffered around $2.5 million in losses due to forged cross-chain messages. On-chain analyst Wazz said hundreds of wallets on Ethereum mainnet had assets stolen by the same address, and many of those wallets had been inactive for more than seven years.

These Ethereum-related signs are drawing attention as a possible indication of a new vulnerability. As attacks targeting DeFi and cross-chain infrastructure continue, the need for smart contract and wallet security checks is again coming into focus.

a16z Crypto Urges SEC to Clarify Regulatory Framework for Prediction Markets

a16z Crypto recently submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), urging it to clarify the regulatory framework for prediction markets. The core request was to reaffirm the SEC's exclusive jurisdiction over designated contract markets (DCMs), resolve conflicts with state-level laws, and reduce institutional uncertainty around blockchain-based prediction markets.

According to Odaily, a16z Crypto said prediction markets are growing rapidly. Kalshi's weekly average trading volume has risen from $300 million to $3 billion, and combining artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and prediction markets could enable AI agents to use on-chain infrastructure to automatically hedge risk and build information aggregation systems without human intervention.

a16z Crypto proposed regulatory improvements including introducing a mechanism similar to ISDA determination committees for contract settlement and using the auditability of on-chain transactions to monitor insider trading. It also argued that the SEC's core principles should be adjusted so decentralized protocols can use blockchain technology to lower transaction costs and improve transparency.

Prediction markets in the U.S. have long faced legal uncertainty due to jurisdictional disputes among regulators and conflicts with state laws. The latest filing is being interpreted as an industry push to create a clearer framework connecting prediction markets and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

Franklin Templeton's FOBXX Becomes Second-Largest RWA Fund on Stellar Network

Franklin Templeton's FOBXX fund has reached $1.98 billion in size, making it the second-largest real-world asset (RWA) fund on the Stellar network, according to PANews citing Cointelegraph.

FOBXX is a fund launched by Franklin Templeton five years ago. The latest figures suggest its position within the tokenized asset market on Stellar has grown further.