Things continued to move smoothly for the industry as digital assets weathered the choppy waters. The Federal Government continued to explore ways and methods of enabling innovation with appropriate guardrails.
The headlines:
- The states continued pushing crypto bills;
- The SEC wants a crypto sandbox;
- Jack Dorsey’s Block settled with the NYDFS for $40 million;
- There’s a new Bitcoin smart contract framework;
- Plus, BNY launched a digital assets accounting tool (more on that later);
- And much more!
As always, these are your decentralized diaries!
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Bitcoin is at $83k (as of 4/14/25)
The crypto markets are on the rebound with Bitcoin coming from a $74,436.67 low to an $86,015.18 high. Bitcoin is currently at $83,336.35.
The altcoins are also looking promising, too.
Ethereum (ETH) is at $1,588.60, Solana (SOL) at $127.18, Chainlink (LINK) at $12.51, Avalanche (AVAX) at $19.47, Polkadot (DOT) at $3.63, and Uniswap (UNI) at $5.29.
State-Level Crypto Bills Continued Advancing
Crypto-focused legislation in the states remained prominent. In the Prairie State, the Illinois State Senate voted 39-17 to pass the Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act (Senate Bill 1797).
The Grand Canyon State Capitol wasn’t left out. Arizona’s State Senate advanced HB 2342, legislation that seeks to protect Bitcoin mining rights, passed by a 17-12 margin.
New Hampshire’s lower house in the Granite State passed its Bitcoin reserve bill (HB302) by a (slim) 192-179 vote.
Similarly, in the Sunshine State, Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee passed HB 487 unanimously. The legislation aims to create a Bitcoin reserve for the state.
On the tax end, North Carolina State Rep. Neal Jackson (R) introduced the Digital Asset Freedom Act (HB 920) in the Tar Heel State. The legislation aims to enable tax and state transactions in crypto tokens.
New York State Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (D) put forward Assembly Bill A7788 in the Empire State. The bill aims to create a framework for state-level crypto transactions.
The SEC’s Chair Wants a Crypto Sandbox
America’s top regulator provided further clarity about its approach to policing the industry. SEC acting Chairman Mark Uyeda revealed his position during the Crypto Task Force’s roundtable session.
At the April 11 event, Uyeda called for an operating environment that allowed players to experiment with digital asset technologies and for a federal-level single umbrella approach to regulating the crypto space.
There Was Some Activity on Capitol Hill
The Capitol wasn’t excluded from the crypto-related activities, with consumer protection bills taking center stage. In a bipartisan move, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) reintroduced the Proving Reserves of Others Funds (PROOF) Act.
The legislation aims to prevent mixing client and institutional or related funds. Similarly, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the Clean Cloud Act of 2025.
The bill aims to regulate AI and crypto-related emissions.
Tokenized Assets Will Hit $19 Trillion by 2033-Ripple
A report from Ripple Labs suggests that the opportunities in the tokenization sector provide room for exponential growth. The document, developed in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), projects an increase in global tokenized assets from $0.6 trillion to $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Furthermore, the increase indicates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53%.
In related news, Ripple Labs acquired Hidden Road for $1.25 billion as part of its institutional-focused expansion plans.
Jack Dorsey’s Block Reached a $40 Million Settlement with the NYDFS
Things got better for the Jack Dorsey-led Block when the Fintech settled with New York’s top regulator for $40 million. The NYDFS revealed this in an April 10 consent order.
In addition, the agreement is the last of actions taken to quell compliance issues Block had with regulators across the nation.
The FDIC Clarified its Crypto Stance
Following a recent policy shift, the FDIC clarified its position on digital assets. On April 8, at the American Bankers Association’s Washington Summit, acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill revealed that the regulator had revised several policies to create a level playing field for financial institutions.
Hill also iterated that financial institutions had to manage crypto-related risks.
Vitalik Buterin Unveiled an Ethereum Layer-1 Privacy Proposal
If Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has his way, there may be new privacy-oriented solutions for Layer-1 blockchains. In an April 11 Twitter/X post and on the Ethereum Magicians website, Buterin introduced a roadmap that enables privacy features for regular network users without changes to the blockchain core.
Additionally, Buterin called on popular ecosystem wallets (like MetaMask) to deploy cloaked services such as Privacy Pools or Railgun for their users.
There’s a New Bitcoin Smart Contract Proposal
Similarly, Israeli researchers unveiled a framework that could lead to efficient smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain without core alterations. Blockchain professionals at the Weizmann Institute and StarkWare introduced ‘ColliderVM’, an ecosystem that allows added-layer transactions while preserving Bitcoin’s network integrity.
Moreover, the platform optimizes trust via STARK proofs, a transaction method that doesn’t require the revelation of base data.
The ETF Space Had Some Action
ETFs also had several developments. On April 9, the SEC approved options trading for BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) and others.
Nasdaq also filed for a rule change to list VanEck’s Avalanche-focused ETF. An April 9 filing also revealed a 21Shares Dogecoin ETF.
BNY Introduced a Crypto Accounting Offering
Banking behemoth BNY introduced the ‘Digital Asset Data Insights’ solution, boosting the crypto space. The product enables access to accounting data across several blockchains, including Ethereum.
Consequently, BlackRock is the first to transmit accounting data of its ‘BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL)’ for participants and investors.
