The crypto space continued to make gains with political will fueling adoption efforts.
Institutions are starting to look at digital assets seriously.
The headlines:
- Anchorage Digital is on the DHS’s radar;
- Circle improved stablecoin transaction flexibility with a refund option;
- Coinbase unveiled Solana-related upgrades;
- More ETFs are on the way;
- Plus, an AWS outage affected several major crypto exchanges (more on that later);
- And much more!
As always, these are your decentralized diaries!
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Bitcoin Continues to Swing at $87k (as of 4/21/25)
The cryptocurrency markets continued moving marginally. Bitcoin moved from a $83,861.19 low to a $87,774.05 high to settle at $87,212.41.
The altcoins also range narrowly.
Ethereum (ETH) is at $1,612.21, Solana (SOL) at $137.46, Chainlink (LINK) at $13.36, Avalanche (AVAX) at $20.33, and Polkadot (DOT) at $3.89.
The Feds Are Investigating Anchorage Digital
According to an April 14 Barron’s report, the crypto-friendly Anchorage Digital Bank is on the Department of Homeland Security’s radar. Homeland’s ‘El Dorado Task Force’ is investigating the bank for undisclosed reasons.
In addition, per the report, the task force contacted the bank’s human resources regarding internal practices and procedures.
Circle Launched a Refund Protocol
Stablecoin issuer Circle took its game to another level by introducing a refund protocol. On April 17, Circle unveiled the non-custodial solution.
The solution introduces a dispute resolution mechanism akin to chargebacks and refunds in traditional financial ecosystems.
Oregon’s AG Took Legal Action Against Coinbase
The Beaver State may have misgivings about the crypto space following the Oregon AG’s April 18 enforcement filing against Coinbase. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed charges similar to those dropped by the federal government.
The filing accuses the crypto exchange of the (alleged) sales of unregistered securities.
Coinbase Revealed Ecosystem Upgrades
Premier crypto exchange Coinbase’s announcement of several enhancements boosted the blockchain space. Chief among them are improved Solana-focused transaction speeds.
Furthermore, in an April 17 X/Twitter post, Coinbase revealed continuous efforts to improve support for the Solana blockchain.
Aptos May Cut Down Staking Rewards
Following an April 18 improvement proposal on GitHub, staking rewards in the Aptos ecosystem may soon be reduced. According to the proposal presented by a community member (MoonSheisty), staking rewards could drop from 7% to 3.79%.
The deployment could also occur following a governance vote within 90 days.
Aave Introduced its Buyback Program
Boutique DeFi lending platform Aave launched the weekly repurchase of $1 million AAVE tokens. The six-month-long process will enable digital asset redistribution for stakers.
Moreover, the move is part of expansion activities aimed at boosting adoption.
Securitize and Ethena Selected Arbitrum and the Celestia Blockchains for Ecosystem Launch
Tokenization-focused Securitize continued its RWA Layer-1 Converge blockchain plans with Ethena to combine Arbitrum and Celestia networks deployment. The dual integration leverages Arbitrum’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) Layer-1 capabilities with Celestia’s data-focused features.
Additionally, the Converge permissionless blockchain will deploy Ethena’s USDe and USDtb for gas fees and its ENA token for gas fees.
The ETF Space Continued Moving Forward
ETFs continued to dominate, with several filings. According to an April 18 SEC S-1 filing, Canary Capital showed interest in a Tron-focused offering.
Boutique crypto firm BitGo will serve as custodian.
Similarly, the SEC approved the listing of VanEck’s Onchain Economy ETF, which tracks blockchain infrastructure deployments. The offering has a (tentative) May 14 launch date.
In related news, ProShares revealed intentions to launch several ETFs. An April 15 filing revealed the ProShares Short XRP ETF, the ProShares UltraShort XRP ETF, and the ProShares Ultra XRP ETF.
According to an April 21 announcement, 21Shares revealed the launch of a Dogecoin-focused ETP.
Arizona’s Crypto Reserve Bill Crossed the Committee Hurdle
Based on the recent progress of the Arizona Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 137), digital asset adoption in the Grand Canyon State could advance. On April 17, the House committee approved the draft legislation.
Consequently, following the successful 17-12 vote by the House Committee of the Whole, the bill will be finalized on the State House of Representatives floor for review before its transmission to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D).
In related news, the Texas House of Representatives scheduled April 23 to hear its strategic Bitcoin reserve bill.
Crypto Exchanges Had Issues Following an AWS Outage
On April 15, several major cryptocurrency exchanges experienced transaction issues due to AWS power-related problems. After AWS restored cloud services, everything returned to normal.
Exchanges affected include Binance, KuCoin, and MEXC.
Vera Capital, Blocksquare Collaborated in a Billion-Dollar Tokenization Deal
European-based tokenization specialist Blocksquare expanded its American footprint by partnering with Vera Capital, a private office investment firm. The cooperation will enable tokenizing $1 billion worth of real estate across seven states.
A Fort Lauderdale property worth $5.4 million will be the first to go on-chain.
A Federal Judge Temporarily Halted a Major Case Against the SEC
America’s top regulator received some breathing space following a pause in an ongoing case involving several state attorneys general and the crypto advocacy group DeFi Education Fund.
Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky ordered a 60-day reprieve on April 16. Van Tatenhove cited the current leadership changes at the SEC as the reason for his decision.
