Author: James Wilson

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on April 29 that the United States has seized almost $500 million in Iranian crypto assets under Operation Economic Fury, including a $344 million Tether freeze on two Tron addresses, while saying Iran’s currency has fallen 60 to 70% against the dollar and the country is in the middle of a currency crisis. Summary Bessent said Operation Economic Fury has seized roughly $350 million in crypto assets plus an additional $100 million seized separately, bringing the total close to $500 million as part of a broader campaign targeting Iranian bank accounts, retirement funds, and overseas…

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig confirmed the agency is deploying AI tools to review crypto registration applications and monitor trading data, the first major US financial regulator to use artificial intelligence to compensate for a workforce cut of more than 20% under the Trump administration’s federal staffing reductions. Summary CFTC AI tools will flag incomplete applications, reject blank filings, and send inadequate submissions to the back of the queue without human review, with staff trained on Microsoft Copilot and in-house surveillance tools under development. The CFTC’s Chicago enforcement office has no active lawyers left following a string of departures and retirements,…

Bitcoin has failed to sustain a move above $78,000 in the 24 hours following Wednesday’s FOMC decision, with three straight sessions of Bitcoin ETF outflows totalling over $490 million signalling that institutional allocators are pausing rather than adding exposure as uncertainty over the Fed’s direction deepens. Summary Bitcoin ETF products logged $137.77 million in net outflows on April 29, ending a nine-day inflow streak worth $2.1 billion, with every active issuer printing negative for the first time in the streak — including IBIT at $54.73 million and FBTC at $36.13 million. Glassnode data show Bitcoin is “trapped” below its True…

XRP Las Vegas 2026 opened today, April 30, as Ripple covered the Las Vegas Strip with “Raise the Standard” billboards and Steven Zeiler of Yellow Network posted live from the floor calling XRP “only a step on the trajectory to becoming a global reserve currency. Summary XRP Las Vegas 2026 runs April 30 to May 1 and draws Ripple executives, regulators, and institutional investors, coinciding with the listing of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on OKX and a formal Ripple-OKX partnership announced April 29. White House advisor Patrick Witt hinted at major new developments for the national Bitcoin strategic reserve in the…

President Trump will receive a military briefing today from CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper on new Iran options, including a “short and powerful” wave of infrastructure strikes, a Strait of Hormuz ground operation, and a special forces mission to secure Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, as Bitcoin opened at its lowest level since April 13. Summary The Iran briefing signals Trump is seriously considering resuming major combat operations to break the stalled nuclear negotiations, according to two sources who spoke to Axios. CENTCOM has also prepared an option for US forces to physically seize part of the Strait of Hormuz to…

The dollar index is heading for its biggest monthly drop since June 2025 as U.S.–Iran ceasefire hopes unwind the war premium, even while oil and Fed bets keep it range‑bound. Summary The dollar index is heading for its steepest monthly drop since June 2025 as traders unwind safe‑haven positions following a U.S.–Iran ceasefire agreement. Jinshi News reports the index fell about 1.8% in April, though a late rebound driven by higher oil prices and shifting Federal Reserve expectations has pared some losses. Manulife portfolio manager Nathan Tuft expects the greenback to decline from here but remain “range‑bound” as markets balance…

Meta has begun paying select creators in USDC stablecoin on Solana and Polygon via Stripe, marking Facebook’s first crypto payout program four years after the company shut down its Libra project under regulatory pressure. Summary Meta USDC creator payouts launched April 29 for select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, with eligible users able to link a MetaMask, Phantom, or Binance wallet and receive earnings in Circle’s USDC directly. Stripe handles the backend and provides tax reporting for the transactions. Meta emphasized it is not issuing its own stablecoin and is using Circle’s existing USDC, which has a market cap…

Polymarket is rolling out an onchain integrity monitor with Chainalysis to detect insider trading and manipulation across its prediction markets and reassure regulators and institutions. Summary Polymarket is launching an on-chain market integrity monitoring system, built with Chainalysis, to police insider trading and manipulation across its DeFi prediction markets. The system will run real-time analytics on trades, positions, and settlements on public blockchains to flag suspicious behavior and support enforcement of platform rules. Polymarket says the move aims to set a new compliance benchmark for prediction markets and reinforce its role as a trusted source of market information for crypto…

Gemini’s Olympus unit won CFTC clearing license enabling in-house derivatives infrastructure for futures, options, perpetuals, and prediction markets. Gemini announced April 30 that its affiliate Gemini Olympus received a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, positioning the exchange… Source link

Oman has moved to formalise its artificial intelligence strategy with a Royal Decree from Haitham bin Tarik creating a dedicated economic zone for AI in the capital governorate of Muscat. Summary Oman establishes a dedicated Special Artificial Intelligence Zone in Muscat through a Royal Decree issued by Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. The zone will offer incentives under existing free zone laws to attract global tech firms and local innovators, with OPAZ overseeing its development. The initiative forms part of Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy to expand AI adoption across key sectors and boost foreign investment in emerging technologies. State media said…