U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is urging the Senate Banking Committee to postpone its consideration of the crypto market structure bill until May to allow more time for banks and the crypto industry to finalize a compromise on stablecoin regulation. This move aims to provide additional room for negotiation on key disagreements surrounding stablecoins and to push for a more viable regulatory framework. (Cointelegraph)

In a tweet, Trump stated that the agreement we are negotiating with Iran will be far better than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (the Iran nuclear deal). The latter, drafted by Barack Hussein Obama and Sleepy Joe Biden, is one of the worst security agreements in the history of our country. It was a guaranteed path to nuclear weapons—something the agreement we are negotiating will not and cannot allow. They (the previous administration) loaded $1.7 billion in cash onto Boeing 757s and sent it to Iran, allowing the Iranian leadership to spend it as they pleased. They emptied banks in Washington, Virginia, and Maryland. Those bankers said they had never seen anything like it. In addition, hundreds of billions of dollars were paid to Iran. If I hadn't terminated that "agreement," nuclear weapons would have been used to attack Israel and various parts of the Middle East, including our cherished U.S. military bases. An agreement reached during Trump's term will guarantee peace, security, and safeguards, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but also for Europe, the United States, and everywhere else. This will be something the whole world can be proud of, instead of the years of embarrassment and humiliation we have been forced to endure due to incompetent and cowardly leadership, as we have done for many years. (Jin Shi)

According to CME's "FedWatch": the probability of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 25 basis points in April is 0%, and the probability of keeping interest rates unchanged is 100%. The probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by a cumulative 25 basis points by June is 2.5%, and the probability of keeping interest rates unchanged is 97.5%.

Apple announced that John Ternu will succeed Tim Cook as CEO on September 1, while Cook will become executive chairman. Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Ternu, will join Apple's board of directors after becoming CEO. Apple's non-executive chairman, Art Levinson, will become lead independent director on the same day. In a press release, Apple stated, "Cook will continue as CEO throughout the summer, working closely with Ternu to ensure a smooth transition." This marks Apple's first CEO transition since Cook succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011, shortly before Jobs' death. Under Cook's leadership, Apple's market capitalization has increased approximately 24-fold, reaching $4 trillion at Monday's close.

Toncoin experienced a 6% increase in value over the past 24 hours, emerging as the top performer among the 100 largest cryptocurrency projects by market capitalization. According to NS3.AI, a report from BSCN highlighted significant whale activity, with 189,730 TON purchased over the last three months. Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced plans to enhance the network's scalability and reduce transaction fees by up to six times.

Exports of artificial intelligence (AI) equipment from South Korea and Taiwan are showing resilience despite the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Bloomberg posted on X that these two Asian economies continue to maintain robust export levels of AI-related products, even as regional conflicts pose challenges to global trade dynamics. The Middle East, a significant market for technology exports, has been experiencing heightened instability, which typically affects international trade flows. However, South Korea and Taiwan have managed to sustain their export activities, indicating strong demand for AI technologies. Industry analysts suggest that the sustained export levels are driven by the increasing global reliance on AI technologies across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. This demand is helping to buffer the potential negative impacts of geopolitical uncertainties on trade. Both South Korea and Taiwan are key players in the global technology supply chain, with advanced capabilities in producing semiconductors and other critical components for AI systems. Their ability to continue exporting AI gear underscores the strategic importance of these technologies in the current global economic landscape. As the situation in the Middle East evolves, the resilience of AI gear exports from these countries will be closely monitored by industry stakeholders and policymakers.

US President Trump: Iran has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement. (Jinshi)

Vitol Group's Chief Executive Officer, Russell Hardy, has stated that the company's performance has been 'good' this year despite the challenges faced during the early days of the Iran war. Bloomberg posted on X, highlighting Hardy's remarks on the company's resilience in navigating the complexities of the geopolitical situation. The energy trading firm has managed to maintain stability and growth, showcasing its ability to adapt to volatile market conditions. Hardy's comments reflect confidence in Vitol Group's strategic approach and operational capabilities during turbulent times.

Bitcoin is encountering resistance at the $78,000 and $83,000 levels, according to Schwab digital assets strategist Jim Ferraioli. According to NS3.AI, these resistance points are influenced by active investor and spot Bitcoin ETP cost-basis levels. Ferraioli highlighted the CLARITY Act as a significant factor that could potentially shift the momentum in the cryptocurrency market. Additionally, CoinShares data revealed that there were $1.5 billion in U.S.-led inflows last week, indicating strong investor interest.

Helius CEO Mert shared insights on decentralization via the X platform, emphasizing that decentralization fundamentally means coordination without a central authority. According to ChainCatcher, Mert explained that if coordination costs are nearly zero, the system is effectively centralized; conversely, if costs are infinitely high, the system cannot function properly and thus cannot be considered decentralized. Mert illustrated this concept with a thought experiment involving a highly decentralized blockchain with hundreds of thousands of home-operated nodes, distributed mining power, and token supply. He posed a hypothetical scenario where North Korea could transfer funds from Wallet A to Wallet B within a specific timeframe, equating this capability to the chain's potential to simultaneously trigger nuclear weapons globally. He further speculated on whether a blockchain could be considered decentralized if it successfully forked to freeze Wallet A's funds without causing mass casualties. Mert concluded that while humans might coordinate due to the shared incentive of avoiding death, this does not imply the chain is unorganized. Decentralization remains defined by coordination without central authority.

Arbitrum's security committee transferred over 30,000 ETH from the KelpDAO hackers with a single click, demonstrating some of L2's responsiveness in a crisis, but also quickly sparking a heated debate in the crypto community about the nature of "decentralization."

Strategy bought $2.54 billion worth of Bitcoin, adding 34,1aalling more buying could follow.

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On April 18, KelpDAO's rsETH cross-chain asset suffered a massive attack, resulting in a loss of approximately $290 million.

OCBC has launched a tokenised gold fund called GOLDX with Lion Global Investors and DigiFT, giving institutional investors access to physical gold through tokens on Ethereum and Solana. The tokens can be bought using fiat or stablecoins and are sent to blockchain wallets, linking traditional gold investment with digital asset infrastructure.

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Strategy spent $2.54 billion to purchase 34,164 Bitcoins last week, bringing its total holdings to 815,061 Bitcoins; BitMine added over 100,000 ETH last week, bringing its total holdings to over 4.97 million ETH.

Bybit led an $8 million funding round in Malaysia-based Hata, joined by global family offices. The money will support user growth, liquidity, and new crypto products under local licences.

Revolut has pushed its IPO timeline to around 2028 as it focuses on becoming a fully licensed bank in the UK and expanding in the US. The company is growing strongly with rising revenue, profit and customer numbers, and is using private share sales to stay private while it builds scale and trust.