Cryptocurrency Companies Urge White House to Drop Tornado Cash Criminal Case
Multiple cryptocurrency companies and foundations sent a letter to David Sacks, the cryptocurrency and AI czar from the Trump administration, urging the withdrawal of the Tornado Cash criminal case. According to DL News, they referenced the Department of Justice's April statement that developers of cryptocurrency mixers and wallets used for criminal activities would not be held legally responsible, and argued that the illegal actions to imprison Tornado Cash founder and developer Roman Storm should be stopped. The letter was led by the DeFi Education Fund and signed by Paradigm, Multicoin Capital, 6th Man Ventures, and others. Roman Storm's trial is scheduled to begin in New York in July.
UAE Sovereign Wealth Fund ADQ Plans to Launch Local Currency-Based Stablecoin
Reuters reported that Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADQ, local conglomerate IHC, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) announced plans to jointly launch a stablecoin based on the local dirham currency. The stablecoin will comply with local central bank regulations and is part of Abu Dhabi's strategy to enhance its cryptocurrency industry competitiveness.
MetaMask to Launch Physical Payment Card in Q2
According to The Block, MetaMask will launch a physical payment card in the second quarter. The card will support payments within 5 seconds using cryptocurrencies held in MetaMask without needing to convert to fiat currency. MetaMask announced the card's pilot launch in August last year and revealed the physical card in March. They also plan to support Bitcoin and SOL this year and redesign the wallet's user interface.
OKX Launches OKX Card with Mastercard Stablecoin Payment Support
Coindesk reported that Chinese cryptocurrency exchange OKX will launch the OKX Card supporting stablecoin payments with Mastercard. The service will be provided in collaboration with payment technology company Nuvei and USDC issuer Circle.
Ethereum Foundation Reveals 12-Month Roadmap
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced it will focus on two pillars - core values and strategic goals - to promote the long-term success of the Ethereum ecosystem over the next 12 months. Specific plans include: 1. Ethereum mainnet (L1) and data (Blobs) expansion 2. Improving user experience (UX) and enhancing L2 interoperability and application layer 3. Improving developer experience (DevEx) and supporting platform applications and L2 projects like Devcon The foundation aims to accelerate Ethereum development and attract a new generation of builders.
JP Morgan: Stablecoin Market Could Grow to Over $500 Billion
According to zerohedge, JP Morgan's recent report analyzed that the stablecoin market could grow to $500-700 billion in the coming years. The report suggested that if stablecoin issuers invest 70% in US Treasury bonds and 30% in repo, they could become the third-largest Treasury bond holders.
BlackRock CIO: BTC Maintaining Positive Trend Despite Global Challenges
BlackRock ETF CIO Samara Cohen stated on the Empire YouTube channel that Bitcoin is maintaining a positive trend despite recent global conditions, and BlackRock is optimistic about tokenization. She noted that the current market is a crucial moment for BTC's performance, with market volatility due to global tensions, but BlackRock's BTC spot ETF saw less fund outflow than expected, maintained by individual and institutional buying.
BTC Supply on Exchanges Hits 7-Year Low
According to Cryptoquant data, major exchanges' Bitcoin supply was 2.488 million BTC as of the 25th, a 7-year low. Currently at 2.492 million BTC, with a weekend increase of about 40,000 BTC, it remains at its lowest level since October 2018.
Government BTC Holdings Declining, Representing 2.3% of Supply
CoinGecko's recent report showed that global government Bitcoin holdings decreased from 529,591 BTC in July last year to 463,741 BTC in April this year, representing 2.3% of total BTC supply. Governments currently holding BTC include the US, China, UK, Bhutan, El Salvador, Germany, and Ukraine.
Analysis: BTC Maintains Demand Without Significant Selling Pressure
Onchain analytics firm Glassnode analyzed on X that addresses buying Bitcoin for the first time and those following trends continue participating in the market, with profitable addresses remaining active. This suggests recent rally demand continues without significant selling pressure. They also noted Ethereum (ETH) saw meaningful growth in trend-following buying addresses in the past week, with active profitable addresses potentially related to recent price consolidation.
Tether Announces XAUT Reserve Proof with $770 Million Market Cap
Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, announced the first reserve proof for its gold-backed stablecoin XAUT. According to this, XAUT holds approximately 7.7 tons of physical gold as reserves, with a market capitalization of $770 million.
Bitgo Selected as First US Compliant Custodian for Marinade
Bitgo has been selected as the first US-compliant Custodian for Solana liquidity staking protocol Marinade. The institution has improved the stability of Solana staking.
Solstice Labs to Launch SOL-based Stablecoin USX This Summer
Cryptobrief reported that Solstice Labs plans to launch a Solana-based stablecoin USX. USX is designed to target sustainable yield within Solana and is scheduled for release this summer. It provides unauthorized access to native yield protocols with over $100 million in total locked value (TVL).
Lombard Partners with Eigenlayer to Integrate Ecosystem
Bitcoin restaking platform Lombard announced collaboration with the Eigenlayer (EIGEN) Foundation, an Ethereum (ETH) restaking protocol, to integrate Lombard's wrapped BTC, LBTC, into the Eigenlayer ecosystem. This means they can jointly receive restaking rewards from Babylon and Eigenlayer.
Zhao Changpeng Meets with 12 Project Founders Invested by YZi Labs
Binance's former CEO stated that he "met one-on-one with more than 12 project founders invested by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) today".
US Commerce Secretary: "US Accepting BTC, Government Will Continue to Support"
US Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnik said that "the United States is accepting Bitcoin, and the government will continue to support it," according to Bitcoin Magazine.
Sui: Growth in Ecosystem Beyond Price Increase in Q1
Layer1 blockchain Sui announced via X that it not only achieved price increases in the first quarter but also ecosystem growth. DEX trading volume increased by 245%, and the BTCfi ecosystem grew more than 4 times. Additionally, the mainnet of Sui-based decentralized storage Wal was launched. According to CoinMarketCap, SUI is trading at $3.56, up 0.37% in the last 24 hours.
Bloomberg Analyst: ProShares XRP Futures ETF Release Date Not 4/30
Bloomberg ETF specialist James Seyfarth confirmed that the widely circulated news about global asset manager ProShares launching three new XRP futures ETFs on April 30 is not true. However, the release date is not yet confirmed but is expected to be soon.
US Stock Indices Close Mixed
US stock indices closed mixed.
S&P500: +0.06%
Nasdaq: -0.10%
Dow: +0.28%
