Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report  

Bloomberg Intelligence has boosted its estimated odds of US regulators approving a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) in 2025 to 90%, according to an April 30 post on the X platform. The company also set more favorable chances of approval for other altcoin ETFs, including proposed funds holding XRP (XRP) and Dogecoin (DOGE), Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in an X post. The estimates reflect an improved outlook from Bloomberg analysts. In a February analysis, Bloomberg pegged the odds of a Solana (SOL) ETF approval at only 70%. They ascribed a 65% and 75% chance of approval to funds holding XRP and DOGE, respectively. As of April 30, six asset managers — including Grayscale, VanEck and 21Shares — are awaiting clearance from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list ETFs holding the Solana blockchain network’s native cryptocurrency. The same number of issuers are waiting on approval for XRP ETFs, and three are seeking approval for DOGE funds, according to Bloomberg data. The SEC has until October to review and potentially approve the proposed funds. Revised altcoin ETF approval odds. Source: Bloomberg IntelligenceRelated: SEC acknowledges slew of crypto ETF filings as reviews, approvals accelerateAltcoin ETF maniaAsset managers are seeking the SEC’s permission to list dozens of altcoin ETFs, with up to 70 crypto ETFs awaiting the agency’s review as of April. The deluge of filings reflects US President Donald Trump’s efforts to soften the SEC’s regulatory posture toward cryptocurrencies since taking office in January. In March, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the US’s largest derivatives exchange, listed futures contracts tied to Solana.According to Chris Chung, founder of Solana-based swap platform Titan, the listing on the regulated futures exchange signals that approvals for Solana ETFs could be next.“[T]he timeline could extend into 2026 due to the SEC’s precedent of taking 240–260 days to review filings,” Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart also said in a previous forecast. In April, US securities exchange Nasdaq asked regulators for permission to list a 21Shares ETF holding Dogecoin, adding to the roster of DOGE funds awaiting a US public listing.Magazine: TV hit Peaky Blinders to launch crypto game, FIFA Rivals on Polkadot: Web3 Gamer

The crypto industry has seen a significant shift toward regulatory compliance since its early days, according to James Smith, co-founder of Elliptic, a crypto compliance firm established in 2013.“In the early days, only a few companies approached compliance in a serious way,” Smith told Cointelegraph at the Token2049 event. “Coinbase was our first customer — they knew from the start that they wanted to build their business that way. But for most others, it just wasn’t a major priority.”Elliptic co-founder James Smith at Token2049. Source: CointelegraphThat began to shift as regulators, including those in New York State, took a more active interest in the crypto industry. The involvement of traditional financial institutions like Fidelity and DBS Bank also contributed, as they entered the space with established compliance expectations from traditional finance services.Fidelity, for instance, offered its first crypto service for customers in 2019, while the Asian giant DBS created a digital exchange for accredited and institutional investors in 2020.“We’ve seen a big change in the last couple of years. Exchanges on the global map all care about compliance now, because they want to be part of a global ecosystem,” Smith said.Related: DeFi security and compliance must be improved to attract institutionsCompliance questions after Bybit hack Crypto exchanges and peer-to-peer protocols remain the industry’s key compliance targets. For authorities, these firms are seen as critical choke points where Anti-Money Laundering and broader financial surveillance controls take effect. At the same time, they’re frequent candidates for sophisticated hacks and laundering operations, as seen in the Lazarus Group’s tactics.The latest example comes from the Bybit hack, where the Lazarus Group engaged in a sophisticated money laundering scheme to funnel funds. The hackers quickly swapped low-liquidity tokens for Ether (ETH), then swapped them for Bitcoin (BTC) using no-KYC (Know Your Customer) decentralized exchanges. “They went through some no KYC exchanges, which probably shouldn’t exist, but also through a decentralized protocol where there was lots of liquidity provision that enabled them to get it into Bitcoin,” Smith said, adding that “we’re making it too easy for them as an industry.” Smith also noted that even after firms flagged the funds as stolen, users continued to trade them through decentralized platforms. “Why was there so much liquidity available to help launder this money?” he said, arguing that those providing liquidity to such protocols should be subject to basic checks on the source and destination of funds. “Go and look at who’s making money. And that’s the first place to start putting some controls.”Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis

US Dollar-pegged stablecoins are on track to reach an aggregate market capitalization of approximately $2 trillion by 2028, according to the United States Department of the Treasury’s Q1 2025 report. Stablecoins’ cumulative market cap currently stands at roughly $230 billion, but “[e]volving market dynamics [have] the potential to accelerate stablecoins’ trajectory to reach ~$2tn in market cap by 2028,” the Treasury said in the April 30 report. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a traditional asset like the US dollar. According to the report, such tokens are already “ubiquitously utilized as ‘cash on-chain,’ effectively serving as a new payment mechanism.” Additionally, the emergence of “tokenized [money market funds] has recently created an alternative option to stablecoins, primarily given their yield-bearing feature,” the report reads.Treasury on stablecoins’ impact. Source: US TreasuryRelated: Stablecoins boosting demand for US T-bills: Treasury DeptEmbracing tokenizationThe report is the latest example of how the US government is embracing blockchain technology, especially after US President Donald Trump commenced his second term of office on Jan. 20. The Treasury previously endorsed cryptocurrency in December, noting that the technology promises to create a “new financial market infrastructure,” potentially increasing global demand for US Treasury bills. US Dollar-pegged stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) invest fiat backing into yield-bearing instruments such as US Treasurys. “[B]ecause most stablecoin collateral reportedly consists of either Treasury bills or Treasury-backed repurchase agreement transactions, the growth in stablecoins has likely resulted in a modest increase in demand for short-dated Treasury securities,” the Treasury said in December.The current state of stablecoins. Source: US TreasuryIn its April report, the Treasury said that pending stablecoin legislation would “require stablecoin issuers to hold [short-dated] T-bills,” thus solidifying the link between stablecoin adoption and US Treasury bill demand. The report also noted that the proliferation of stablecoins could put pressure on retail banks to pay higher interest rates to depositors. As of April 25, Tether’s USDT is the dominant stablecoin, commanding approximately 66% of market share, according to a report by researcher Nansen. The token has a market capitalization of roughly $150 billion, according to CoinGecko. Circle’s USDC ranks second, with a market capitalization of approximately $60 billion as of April 30. Magazine: TV hit Peaky Blinders to launch crypto game, FIFA Rivals on Polkadot: Web3 Gamer