[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | U.S. Senate Banking Committee Set to Review CLARITY Crypto Market Structure Bill

U.S. inflation rose to 3.8%, exceeding market expectations, according to Watcher.Guru.

A hotter-than-expected inflation reading could increase uncertainty over the timing of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

According to Odaily, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee is set to review the CLARITY bill, a crypto market structure proposal.

Kevin Wysocki, head of policy at Anchorage Digital, said the bill could receive conditional support from some Democratic senators, with ethics rules and anti-money laundering provisions likely to be key issues.

The CLARITY bill would codify crypto regulatory standards for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while allowing relevant entities to operate under a temporary registration framework until final rules are established.

Wysocki said the bill would not directly affect Anchorage’s licensing status on day one, but the role of existing financial institutions participating in large-scale partnerships could expand.

However, he noted that even if the bill passes, further institutional reforms would still be needed in five areas: Federal Reserve master accounts, financial privacy law, AI-based payment rules, comprehensive tokenization legislation, and crypto-specific tax law.

The latest draft of the CLARITY bill released by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee retains a provision banning rewards for simply holding stablecoins.

According to Odaily, Section 404 of the 309-page draft released by the committee on May 12 prohibits regulated entities from directly or indirectly paying interest or yield in any form, including cash or tokens, to recipients holding stablecoins.

This also includes compensation that is economically or functionally similar to bank deposit interest on stablecoin balances.

However, the draft states that stablecoin rewards and incentives tied to substantive activity—such as actual transactions, payments, platform activity, or liquidity provision—may be permitted.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is expected to meet with Republican U.S. senators ahead of a vote on the Bitcoin and crypto market structure bill, Bitcoin Magazine reported.

Citing Punchbowl News, Bitcoin Magazine said Armstrong is scheduled to speak with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, while the vote on the bill is expected on Thursday.

The legislation aims to establish a clearer regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto market, drawing significant industry attention.

U.S. Senator Dave McCormick said live on Fox News that he would vote in favor of the Bitcoin and crypto clarity bill this Thursday.

According to the report, McCormick publicly expressed support for the bill’s passage. His comments came as discussions continue in Congress over establishing a clearer crypto regulatory framework.

According to Odaily, Circle shares continued climbing after the U.S. stock market open, reaching an intraday high of $140 based on msx data.

The stock was up 6.12% at $139.82, with trading volume totaling $604 million.

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, may influence investor sentiment toward crypto-related equities and the stablecoin market through its stock performance.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Michael Saylor’s Strategy is estimated to have purchased more than 162 BTC shortly after the market opened on May 12.

Strategy has previously adopted Bitcoin as a core reserve asset, and any additional purchases could affect market sentiment.

According to PANews, the issuance of TRC20-USDT on the Tron network surpassed 89.3 billion on May 12, setting a new all-time high.

So far this year, a total of 8 billion USDT has been newly issued on the Tron network. The number of TRC20-USDT holding accounts has exceeded 74.15 million, while cumulative transaction count has surpassed 3.36 billion.

The total number of Tron accounts recently exceeded 380 million. According to crypto payment card analytics platform PaymentScan, global crypto card transaction volume surpassed $650 million in April 2026, with the Tron network maintaining the top spot at a 32% market share.

TRC20-USDT is a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether on the Tron network. It is widely used on major exchanges and payment services due to its low fees and fast transfer speeds.

According to Odaily, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $27.2864 million on May 11 (U.S. Eastern Time), based on SoSoValue data.

Morgan Stanley’s ETF MSBT led inflows with $26.3046 million in net inflows for the day, bringing cumulative net inflows to $220 million.

Invesco Galaxy’s BTCO posted $7.342 million in net inflows. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s IBIT saw the largest outflow, with $7.4267 million in net outflows.

Total net assets of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $109.084 billion, representing 6.66% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization. Cumulative net inflows were $59.368 billion.

According to Odaily, Web3 security firm CertiK said in its “Skynet North Korea Virtual Asset Threat Report” that North Korean hacking groups have stolen about $6.75 billion worth of digital assets since 2016.

The report said losses linked to North Korean hackers reached $2.06 billion in 2025, accounting for about 60% of the global crypto industry’s annual losses. This includes the $1.5 billion Bybit hack.

CertiK said the threat has continued into early 2026, accounting for roughly 55% of related losses.

The report said North Korean hackers have evolved from simple code vulnerability exploitation to state-level attack systems combining social engineering, deep supply chain attacks, and physical infiltration.

CertiK said that in the Drift Protocol incident, the attacker infiltrated industry offline events for half a year, building trust through real fund transactions and personal relationships before launching the attack.

CertiK emphasized that crypto firms should implement zero-trust hiring systems, strengthen third-party supply chain security, establish fund-freezing mechanisms, conduct code audits and 24/7 risk monitoring, and maintain on-chain fund tracing capabilities.