Author: John Smith

Crypto prices stayed muted with major assets, including Bitcoin, experiencing slight declines on Friday as hopes of peace between the U.S. and Iran began to fade. Summary Crypto prices remained subdued as fading U.S.-Iran peace hopes kept Bitcoin range-bound and weighed on overall market sentiment. Ongoing naval blockade and stalled negotiations pushed oil prices higher, raising macro uncertainty and keeping investors in a wait-and-watch mode. Analysts remain divided, with derivatives data signaling caution while some expect a potential short squeeze if Bitcoin breaks key resistance near $80,000. Bitcoin (BTC) price traded sideways between $77,000 and $79,000 over the past 24…

Morgan Stanley has introduced a new portfolio designed to hold stablecoin reserves within its money market fund structure. Summary Morgan Stanley has launched a stablecoin reserve portfolio that allows issuers to place backing assets into its money market fund while earning yield. The fund invests in cash, short-term US Treasuries, and repo agreements, with a $10 million minimum and a 0.15% fee. According to Morgan Stanley, the “Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio” allows issuers to place backing assets into its Institutional Liquidity Funds trust while earning yield without compromising liquidity or capital stability. The fund, listed as MSNXX, is structured to maintain…

The FTX bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in Cursor for $200,000 in April 2023.  Summary FTX estate sold its 5% Cursor stake for $200K during bankruptcy asset liquidation in 2023. Cursor’s $60B SpaceX-linked valuation now puts the former FTX stake near $3B in value. The sale has renewed scrutiny over FTX estate asset sales and missed upside from early exits. The sale matched the original amount Alameda Research invested in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022. The stake has drawn fresh attention after Cursor’s reported valuation rose sharply. SpaceX said it secured the right to acquire Cursor…

Deloitte and Touche LLP has completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination for Chainlink’s CCIP and Data Feeds, making Chainlink the only data and interoperability oracle platform in the blockchain industry to hold SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 1, and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certifications simultaneously, the full stack of security credentials that institutional risk teams require before deployment. Summary Deloitte and Touche LLP completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination for Chainlink CCIP and Data Feeds on April 21, 2026, announced by Chainlink via X on April 21. The certification covers Chainlink Price Feeds, SmartData feeds including Proof of…

Ethereum opened at $2,375.12 on Thursday April 23, 2026, rising 2% from Wednesday’s open as Bitcoin led a broad morning rally past $78,000, though ETH pulled back to $2,316.88 by 7:10 a.m. ET as traders remained cautious over the lack of progress in Iran peace talks and continued US naval activity near the Strait of Hormuz. Summary Ethereum opened at $2,375.12 on April 23, 2026, up approximately 2% from Wednesday’s opening price, tracking Bitcoin’s move above $78,000 for the first time since early February. ETH pulled back to $2,316.88 by 7:10 a.m. ET as traders weighed stalled Iran ceasefire talks…

GraniteShares has delayed the launch of its 3x Long and 3x Short XRP Daily ETFs from April 23 to May 7, marking the fifth postponement in three weeks and raising fresh questions about whether the SEC will ultimately clear 3x leveraged crypto products under the framework it applied to reject similar products from ProShares in December 2025. Summary GraniteShares delayed its 3x Long and 3x Short XRP Daily ETFs from April 23 to May 7 using Rule 485, which allows issuers to shift effective dates without restarting the SEC review process. The delay is the fifth since the original April…

Senator Bernie Moreno declared at a Washington event on April 22 that the CLARITY Act must clear Congress by the end of May, stating plainly that missing that deadline could shelve the legislation indefinitely as midterm election politics consume the remainder of the congressional calendar. Summary Senator Bernie Moreno set an end-of-May deadline for the CLARITY Act at a DC event on April 22, 2026, warning that failure to meet it could permanently delay the bill. Moreno’s statement pushed Polymarket odds of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 from 38% to 46%, but Galaxy Research still puts chances at roughly…

XRP spot ETFs have not recorded a single day of outflows since April 9, pulling in $71.31 million so far in April and putting the month on track to be the strongest of 2026, fully erasing March’s $31.16 million loss, which was the first monthly loss XRP ETFs had ever posted. Summary XRP spot ETFs have gone two consecutive weeks without a single outflow day since April 9, their longest positive streak ever recorded. The funds have pulled in $71.31 million in April, fully erasing March’s $31.16 million loss and pushing cumulative net inflows back to $1.28 billion. Bitwise and…

XRP is grinding in the mid‑$1.40s, trapped between stubborn resistance and strong support as fresh “digital commodity” clarity, ETF rails and April seasonality fight flat flows. Summary XRP trades around 1.42–1.45, still roughly 60% below its 2018 all‑time high near $3.65, with a key 1.30–1.35 support band and 1.50–1.52 acting as near‑term resistance. April is historically XRP’s strongest month with average returns above 20%, and 2026 is already shaping up as one of its better Aprils thanks to renewed regulatory clarity, ETF access and altcoin rotation. A joint SEC–CFTC statement now treats XRP as a digital commodity, Ripple is leaning…

Summary Iranian state-linked media reject claims Tehran is already collecting Strait of Hormuz tolls in Bitcoin or stablecoins. Maritime security firms warn of parallel scam emails demanding crypto “clearance” fees from stranded vessels. The controversy comes after Western media detailed Iranian plans to charge about $1 per barrel for oil transit, potentially worth tens of billions of dollars a year. Iranian media have dismissed reports that Tehran is currently collecting transit tolls for the Strait of Hormuz in cryptocurrency, underscoring the confusion surrounding a wartime payment regime that has rattled global shipping and crypto markets. Tehran moves to quash ‘crypto…