[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | WTI Crude Oil Rises 4.8% Intraday, Surpasses $100 per Barrel

WTI Crude Oil Rises 4.8% Intraday, Surpasses $100 per Barrel

According to Odaily, Gate data showed that WTI crude oil rose 4.8% during intraday trading, breaking above $100 per barrel.

Higher oil prices can add to inflationary pressure and are considered a headwind for investor sentiment in risk-asset markets, including cryptocurrencies.

Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) Records $193.6 Million in Net Inflows in First Month After Listing

Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) posted cumulative net inflows of $193.6 million in its first month after listing, without recording a single day of net outflows.

According to an Odaily report citing SoSoValue data, MSBT recorded $239.6 million in net assets from its April 8 listing through May 7. While the broader spot Bitcoin ETF market saw repeated large-scale net outflows, the fund maintained a streak of 17 trading days with either net inflows or no net outflows.

The fund charges a 0.14% management fee, among the lowest for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley's head of digital assets, said the initial capital mainly came from clients’ unsolicited purchases, while the advisory channel has not yet been fully activated.

Chinese Court Dismisses 480,000 Yuan Investment Dispute Involving USDT, Refers Case to Police

The Gulou District People’s Court in Fuzhou, China, dismissed a 480,000 yuan investment dispute involving USDT and referred the related materials to public security authorities.

According to Odaily, a man surnamed Chen transferred 480,000 yuan to a man surnamed Liu under the pretext of foreign exchange wealth management. Liu then converted the funds into USDT and invested them on an overseas platform. After the platform shut down, Chen demanded a refund and filed a lawsuit.

The court said the structure of the transaction—involving yuan receipt, conversion into USDT, cross-border transfer, and foreign exchange trading—amounted to disguised illegal foreign exchange trading and could involve economic crime. The Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original ruling.

The court also stated that civil acts related to virtual asset investment may be deemed invalid if they violate public order and good morals, and any resulting losses should be borne by the investor.

$300 Million USDT Transferred From Binance to Unknown Wallet

According to Whale Alert, 300 million USDT, worth about $299.89 million, was transferred from Binance to an unknown wallet.

The transaction was confirmed on the Ethereum network, and the purpose of the transfer has not been disclosed.

225,627 ETH Transferred From Anonymous Wallet to Binance

According to Whale Alert, 225,627 ETH was transferred from an anonymous wallet to Binance.

The transfer was worth about $529,799,884 at the time. Large transfers to exchanges are often watched as potential signs of selling pressure, although no actual sale has been confirmed.

Garrett Jin Deposits 577,896 ETH to Binance Over Four Days

Large crypto investor Garrett Jin deposited 577,896 ETH into Binance over four days. On-chain analysis estimates the position represented a loss of around $1.3 billion.

According to PANews, citing Lookonchain monitoring, Garrett Jin—described as the agent of the “1011 insider whale”—deposited the remaining 225,627 ETH, worth about $528.19 million, into Binance.

Over the past four days, he deposited his entire ETH holdings of 577,896 ETH, worth about $1.35 billion, into Binance. Lookonchain said most of the ETH had been obtained eight months ago by converting BTC when ETH was priced at $4,591.

Digital Asset Seeks New Funding at Roughly $2 Billion Valuation

According to Wu Blockchain, Bloomberg reported that blockchain infrastructure company Digital Asset is seeking new financing at a valuation of about $2 billion, with a16z crypto expected to lead an investment of around $300 million.

Digital Asset is the developer of the Canton Network and is backed by DRW, Citadel Securities, and several Wall Street banks. Earlier, the company raised $50 million in a 2025 funding round joined by BNY Mellon and Nasdaq.

SpaceX Reportedly Exploring IPO at Over $2 Trillion Valuation, Claims of Holding 8,200 BTC

According to source @pete_rizzo_, claims have emerged that Elon Musk’s SpaceX may be pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of more than $2 trillion.

The account also said SpaceX holds more than 8,200 BTC, which would make it one of the major corporate Bitcoin holders.

However, neither the IPO plan nor the size of SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings has been officially confirmed by the company.

Korean Investors’ Crypto Holdings Fall by More Than Half in Just Over a Year

The value of cryptocurrency holdings by Korean investors has fallen by more than half in just over a year. Trading volume and Korean won deposits at major exchanges also declined, suggesting that enthusiasm in the domestic digital asset market has cooled.

According to Odaily, the value of crypto held by Korean investors fell from 121.8 trillion won at the end of January 2025 to 60.6 trillion won at the end of February 2026, equivalent to about $41.4 billion.

Average daily trading volume at South Korea’s five major exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax—declined from $11.6 billion in December 2024 to $3.0 billion in February 2026. Korean won deposits at exchanges also fell from 10.7 trillion won to 7.8 trillion won.

Stablecoin holdings dropped sharply from 597 million units in December 2024 to 41 million units in February 2026.

South Korean regulators plan to implement revised anti-money laundering rules in August. Crypto transactions exceeding 10 million won involving overseas exchanges or personal wallets will automatically be classified as suspicious transactions. A 22% tax on crypto profits is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Microsoft Warns of Malware Stealing Wallet Data Through Fake macOS Troubleshooting Guides

Microsoft’s security research team warned that fake macOS troubleshooting guides are being used to spread malware that steals cryptocurrency wallets, iCloud data, and browser-saved passwords.

According to PANews, attackers posted articles on Medium, Craft, Squarespace, and other platforms that appeared to offer help with freeing disk space or fixing system errors, then lured users into copying and running malicious terminal commands.

This method is a social engineering tactic known as “ClickFix.” It works by having victims execute the commands themselves, thereby bypassing macOS Gatekeeper security protections.

The malware involved includes AMOS, Macsync, and SHub Stealer. These threats can steal keys from wallets such as Exodus, Ledger, and Trezor, as well as account credentials stored in Chrome and Firefox.

In some cases, attackers were also found to have deleted legitimate wallet applications and replaced them with malicious versions. Apple added a protection feature in macOS 26.4 to block harmful pasted terminal commands.