Strategy Slows Bitcoin Buying, Switches Back to Common Sales
Treasury Companies
”Strategy Inc. bought $255 million of Bitcoin in the previous seven days, slowing the pace of its buying of the digital currency after spending $3.5 billion over the prior two weeks. Michael Saylor’s digital asset treasury company acquired 3,273 Bitcoin in the period ended April 27, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday. Saylor, the co-founder and executive chairman of the former MicroStrategy, funded the latest round of purchases through the sale of common stock. The largest corporate Bitcoin holder has been one of the main driving forces behind the latest recovery in the crypto market this month alongside an increase in demand for exchange-traded funds underpinned by the digital currency. Strategy has bought about $4.1 billion in Bitcoin in April, the most in a year, according to company data compiled by Bloomberg.”
Source: Bloomberg
Sen. Tillis Becomes 'Latest Roadblock' For Crypto Bill as He Pushes Ethics Provisions, TD Cowen Says
Regulation
“Republican Senator Thom Tillis has become the 'latest roadblock' to the crypto bill as he pushes ethics provisions to be included in the Clarity Act, investment bank TD Cowen said. Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, reportedly said Monday that he would oppose the crypto bill if it does not include ethics language. 'There has to be ethics language in the bill before it leaves the Senate, or I’ll go from one of the people working on negotiating it to voting against it,' Tillis told Politico. The ethics issue raised by Tillis is the latest hurdle for the crypto bill. 'This is a problem as it likely would apply to the Trump family,' Jaret Seiberg, managing director at TD Cowen's Washington Research Group, said in a Monday note. 'We do not see Tillis backing down as he just won a standoff with the President over the Federal Reserve.'”
Source: The Block
DeFi Rescue Hurts Anti-Wall Street Pitch After $10 Billion Run
DeFi
“Decentralized finance is in the midst of the largest coordinated rescue in its history, an effort marked by moral hazard concerns and ad-hoc coordination that sit awkwardly with the sector’s founding pitch as a disruptor of traditional finance. A week after a security breach at a small crypto protocol called KelpDAO triggered a $10 billion run on Aave, the largest DeFi lending protocol, the platform’s founder and a coalition of allied crypto projects are working to restore liquidity. Their goal is to let users withdraw funds and unwind positions. So far, the group has committed Ether tokens worth about $240 million to restore the backing of rsETH — a token meant to represent staked Ether, which sat at the center of the hack — and make Aave depositors whole. The contributions, some in the form of loans or credit lines, would go a long way toward covering the shortfall created by the exploit.”
Source: Bloomberg
Western Union Eyeing Stablecoin Launch to Settle Global Transactions Without SWIFT, CEO Says
Stablecoins
“Western Union is preparing to roll out a stablecoin strategy that could reshape how the 175-year-old money-transfer company settles payments across its global network. CEO Devin McGranahan said on the company's first-quarter earnings call that Western Union’s U.S. dollar stablecoin (USDPT) is in the final stages of readiness and is expected to launch next month. The firm announced in October that the digital dollar will run on Solana (SOL) and will be issued with federally chartered crypto bank Anchorage Digital. Western Union plans to use the stablecoin first as an alternative to the interbank settlement rails it uses today to move money between the company and its agents.”
Source: CoinDesk
South Africa Plans Exchange Control Revamp to Attract Billions in Investment
Policy
“South Africa has proposed a sweeping overhaul of its decades-old rules governing money flows, including tightening its control on crypto assets, seeking to bolster its position as a financial hub for Africa and attract more investor capital. The finance ministry's proposals include raising discretionary offshore allowances for individuals, regulating crypto assets and easing capital-flow restrictions. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange estimates the changes could attract at least 10 trillion rand ($608 billion) in investment over time. Much of the legislation being overhauled dates back to 1961, with some provisions originating as early as 1933, Vukile Davidson, deputy director-general of financial policy at National Treasury, told Reuters in an interview.”
Source: Reuters
