[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | U.S. Senate moves to reduce federal government shutdown risk by advancing a stopgap spending bill

Senate Republicans are moving to reduce the risk of a federal government shutdown by accelerating passage of a stopgap spending bill before recess.

Crypto Briefing reported that if the stopgap bill passes, comprehensive budget decisions could be delayed, prolonging regulatory uncertainty and potentially affecting financial and cryptocurrency markets. Specific market impacts require further confirmation.

Claims have emerged that U.S. Senate leadership is pushing for a vote on the CLARITY Act, a digital asset regulatory bill, before the August recess.

The Bitcoin Historian account on X said on the 4th that Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Punchbowl, "We’ll stay here until we finish." The post claimed that the remark referred to a vote on the CLARITY Act. If a vote is held, the bill would advance one more step in the Senate process.

BlackRock is seeking to launch two tokenized money market funds made up of Ethereum-based digital shares and multi-chain reserve asset products.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BlackRock filed documents related to BSTBL and BRSRV in May. BSTBL is a product that tokenizes shares of an existing money market fund on Ethereum. BRSRV is a reserve asset product for stablecoins that reinvests yield daily and is designed to support multiple blockchains. BlackRock’s previously launched tokenized fund, BUIDL, has grown to about $2.5 billion and is being used as collateral in on-chain markets.

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal, warning it was the "last chance," but Iran denied claims that negotiations with the United States are underway.

Crypto Briefing reported that tensions between the two countries are rising as Trump issued an ultimatum while Iran rejected claims of talks. Trump warned that without a diplomatic agreement, military risks could increase. Iran denied reports of negotiations with the United States, presenting a conflicting stance.

A cargo ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

The incident occurred about 20 nautical miles (around 37 kilometers) northeast of Khasab, Oman. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a cargo vessel was attacked in the area.

The U.S. Treasury raised its estimated borrowing for July through September to $739 billion.

Crypto Briefing said the increase in U.S. borrowing could push Treasury yields higher and affect financial markets. It also suggested the move could influence the cryptocurrency market through dollar liquidity and stablecoin demand.

Reports said that an attack exploiting vulnerabilities in Coldcard hardware wallets led to the loss of more than 1,367 Bitcoin (BTC) from air-gapped wallets.

Crypto Briefing reported that air-gapped Coldcard wallets, which are operated separately from the internet, were affected by the attack.

Strategy Inc. sold 1,638 Bitcoin (BTC) last week for $104.7 million, reducing its holdings to 842,138 BTC.

The Block reported that Strategy disclosed the sale. The transaction generated $104.7 million. Separately from any additional company sales, Michael Saylor said, "I have never sold any of my personal Bitcoin."

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong urged the U.S. Senate to pass the CLARITY Act this week.

Bitcoin.com News reported that on the 3rd, Armstrong pressed the Senate by saying one in four Americans owns cryptocurrency. He also argued that voter support is stronger for lawmakers who back the CLARITY Act.

LpdFi appears to have suffered an attack worth about $700,000.

The attacker is believed to have used a $44 million flash loan to manipulate prices and trigger liquidations. In a report, Chainalysis said its subsidiary Hexagate detected the attack. Investigators found that the attacker used the flash-loaned funds on a decentralized exchange (DEX) to artificially drive up the price of the LPD token by 71 times. Once the price was distorted, liquidations occurred on LpdFi, resulting in estimated losses of about $700,000.