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According to Cointelegraph, the South Korean crypto industry group DAXA (Digital Asset Exchange Alliance), representing 27 registered virtual asset service providers (VASP), has submitted objections to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) regarding the proposed amendments to the implementation order of the Specific Financial Information Act.The new regulations aim to require domestic VASPs to report any virtual asset transfers with foreign VASPs as suspicious transaction reports (STR) if the amount reaches 10 million won (approximately $6,800), regardless of the risk level. DAXA warned that this would cause the annual reporting volume of South Korea's five major trading platforms (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) to surge from about 63,000 last year to over 5.4 million, making compliance practically impossible.The industry also opposes the proposed requirement to verify the accuracy of customer information, arguing that the subordinate rules impose obligations not clearly defined by law. This industry backlash comes as exchanges face sanctions from financial regulators in court. On April 9, the court ruled to lift part of the business suspension against Upbit operator Dunamu, but the regulators have appealed. On April 30, the court suspended the six-month partial business suspension against Bithumb. Coinone also received a temporary stay of execution.The public consultation period for the new regulations ends on May 11, and it is expected to be finalized in July after regulatory and legal reviews. This highlights the tension between South Korea's tightening of crypto anti-money laundering regulations and the industry's concerns about excessive compliance burdens.

The venture capital firm a16z supports the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and opposes a series of crackdowns by various states on prediction markets. On Friday, a16z submitted an 18-page comment letter to the CFTC, stating that the actions taken by state regulators against prediction market platforms—including cease-and-desist orders and proposed bans—are creating "serious barriers to fair access" for users.In just the past month, the CFTC has filed a series of lawsuits against Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, and Wisconsin, claiming that these states are attempting to regulate markets overseen by the federal government, which exceeds their jurisdiction. a16z argues that requiring trading platforms to block U.S. users based on their state of residence conflicts with the CFTC's rules on fair market access. The company wrote, "Being forced to deny fair access to users from states seeking to license or ban certain event contracts could severely compress available liquidity."CFTC Chairman Mike Selig asserts that the event contracts of prediction markets fall under swap contracts, placing them within the CFTC's "exclusive jurisdiction." State regulators and state attorneys general counter that platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket offer unlicensed gambling products. a16z also discussed the utility provided by what it calls prediction markets, stating that their pricing mechanism is a "unique form of price discovery" that helps "reveal the probabilities of uncertain events." The company further argues that blockchain-based prediction markets are more transparent than traditional platforms, claiming that "the auditability of on-chain transactions" makes it easier for participants and regulators to oversee.In April, the prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi surpassed a cumulative trading volume of $15 billion.

In response to the U.S. accusations of China "stealing" intellectual property from American artificial intelligence laboratories, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiaqun stated during a regular press conference on the 24th that the U.S. claims are unfounded and are a smear against China's achievements in the development of the artificial intelligence industry. China firmly opposes this. We urge the U.S. to respect the facts, abandon prejudice, stop suppressing technology related to China, and do more to promote technological exchange and cooperation between the two countries.

According to Jinshi reports, European Central Bank Governing Council member Kazaks stated that he would not oppose the market's bets on two interest rate hikes this year.

According to CoinDesk, Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated at Paris Blockchain Week that Bitcoin developers should advance optional quantum-resistant upgrades as early as possible, even though practical quantum computers are still far from being realized.He pointed out that Taproot's flexible design can support the introduction of new quantum-resistant signature schemes without affecting existing users. Previously, Jameson Lopp and others proposed BIP - 361, which aims to gradually phase out addresses vulnerable to quantum attacks within 5 years and freeze Bitcoin that has not completed migration. Adam Back believes that the Bitcoin community can quickly coordinate responses in emergencies without the need for pre-established freezing arrangements.

The Blockchain Association submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response to Citadel's previous call for increased regulation of DeFi.The Blockchain Association stated that DeFi protocol developers do not fall under the category of brokers or exchange operators and should not be included in the regulatory framework designed for traditional financial intermediaries. The organization also urged the SEC to advance an "innovation exemption" mechanism to provide regulatory pilot space for on-chain assets and tokenized securities, pointing out that the comprehensive rule-making process is lengthy, which may delay the implementation of technology and lead to innovation outflow. Previously, Citadel had suggested that the SEC strengthen regulation of DeFi through formal legislative processes.

According to TheStreet, Ripple and its co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen each donated $5 million to the political action committee Golden State Promise to oppose California's "2026 Billionaire Tax Act." The proposal requires billionaires residing in California to pay a one-time 5% wealth tax, with 90% of the revenue going to public healthcare.Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell criticized the proposal as "a 5% theft on unrealized gains." Affected by this tax policy, several billionaires, including Google founders Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, have chosen to leave California.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour posted on X regarding the death of Khamenei and related prediction market events, stating: "We will not list markets that are directly tied to death. When a market may have a death outcome, we will design rules to prevent people from profiting from death."Because of this, Kalshi will handle the "Khamenei stepping down as Supreme Leader" related events as follows:All fees for this market will be refunded;If users opened positions before Khamenei's death, settlements will be based on the last trading price before Khamenei's death;If users opened positions after Khamenei's death, costs will be fully reimbursed.Tarek Mansour further stated: "No user will lose a dollar in this market. We will settle the market at the last transaction price before Khamenei's death, which was at 1:14 AM Eastern Time today."

The CEO of the Hyperliquid Policy Center, Jake Chervinsky, stated on the X platform that the front-end interfaces connecting decentralized trading protocols should not be required to perform KYC. U.S. law does not, and should not, mandate non-custodial software developers to "monitor" users without a warrant, as financial privacy is a fundamental right.While regulators cannot turn a blind eye to illegal financial activities on-chain, even if their scale is much smaller than that of the traditional financial system (TradFi), the solution is not to simply impose old regulatory rules that exclude billions from the financial system onto new technologies that can provide better solutions.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform that if the cryptocurrency rewards ban becomes law, it would benefit the company more due to the large rewards Coinbase pays to USDC holders. However, he does not wish for this to happen, as rewarding users is more beneficial for customers, and maintaining the competitiveness of regulated stablecoins on the global stage is more advantageous for the United States.

On Thursday local time, during a meeting where the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) discussed regulatory coordination in the cryptocurrency sector, Senator Amy Klobuchar warned that the CFTC's powers should not be expanded without a full commission in place. "We cannot grant the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission such broad new powers with only one member."

According to Jinshi reports, Principal Asset Management's Global Chief Strategist, Shama Shah, stated that Federal Reserve Governor Waller's dissenting vote against the decision to keep interest rates unchanged solidifies his position in the competition for the Federal Reserve Chair.Shah pointed out that over time, Waller's argument for the policy to be closer to a neutral stance may gain more support, especially as signs of a cooling labor market become more evident and the downward trend in inflation continues.

According to Jinshi reports, the Federal Reserve today decided to keep interest rates unchanged, citing that inflation remains at a high level and economic growth is robust. The policy statement provided little clue as to when interest rates might be cut again. The Federal Reserve voted 10 to 2 to maintain the benchmark interest rate in the range of 3.50% to 3.75%. The statement noted, "Economic activity continues to expand at a solid pace."Board members Waller and Milan cast dissenting votes, advocating for a 25 basis point rate cut. The statement did not signal when the next rate cut might occur, only indicating that the magnitude and timing of "further adjustments" will depend on subsequent data and economic outlook. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve stated that inflation "remains slightly elevated," while the labor market "has shown some signs of stabilization." Although the Federal Reserve pointed out that "job growth remains subdued," it removed previous language regarding rising risks to employment, indicating that policymakers' overall concerns about a rapid decline in the labor market have eased.

According to The Block, the Korea Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) issued a statement strongly opposing the government's consideration of setting a cap on the shareholding ratio of major shareholders in digital asset exchanges.On Tuesday, DAXA warned in a statement that the proposed restrictions could "severely hinder" the development of the country's digital asset industry and market, and any attempt to artificially alter the equity structure of private enterprises would undermine the foundation of the emerging industry. DAXA is a self-regulatory organization representing the five major cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea—Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax.Earlier this month, the Financial Services Commission of Korea proposed to limit the shareholding ratio of major shareholders in cryptocurrency exchanges to between 15% and 20% to address potential governance risks arising from concentrated ownership. The proposal has sparked controversy as it could apply to existing companies with established equity structures.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has changed its stance and supports the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s proposal for stablecoin regulation. The proposal requires that stablecoins must be issued by a bank-led consortium, with banks collectively holding more than 50% to maintain control. Although technology companies can become the single largest shareholder, their shareholding must still be below the overall bank shareholding.However, this plan faces opposition in the National Assembly from lawmakers such as those from the ruling Democratic Party, highlighting the divisions between the ruling party, financial regulators, and the central bank. The proposal also imposes stricter requirements on cryptocurrency exchanges, including higher IT stability standards, mandatory compensation for hacker losses, and fines of up to 10% of annual revenue.

The Trump administration recently launched a unilateral military strike against Venezuela and arrested President Nicolás Maduro, provoking strong dissatisfaction from the Democratic Party in the United States. Several Democratic lawmakers accused the administration of bypassing Congress and lacking transparency, with some even calling for impeachment proceedings against Trump.Democratic leaders on the House Foreign Affairs Committee stated that they had not received any briefings beforehand and learned about the details of the operation only through the media. Democratic leaders in both the Senate and the House have requested the administration to provide an explanation to Congress as soon as possible. The U.S. Attorney General stated that the Maduro couple would face federal charges. Most Republicans expressed support for the action, but a few lawmakers voiced their concerns.

The U.S. prosecution has submitted a letter to the Southern District of New York Federal Court opposing the court's acceptance of the amicus brief submitted by the digital asset advocacy organization DeFi Education Fund while considering whether to re-examine a case related to Ethereum MEV.U.S. Acting Attorney Jay Clayton stated in a document addressed to Judge Jessica Clarke that the brief "is detached from the trial record and merely reiterates legal arguments previously rejected by the court," and should not be accepted. The case involves brothers Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, who are accused of exploiting approximately $25 million through automated MEV bots on Ethereum. In November, the court declared a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on guilt or innocence. Subsequently, the U.S. government requested the court to schedule a retrial as soon as possible in late February or early March 2026.According to the draft brief submitted by DEF on December 19, the organization supports the dismissal of the case or a not guilty verdict, arguing that such prosecutions create uncertainty and fear for DeFi developers, potentially stifling industry innovation and driving participants away. The prosecution, however, contends that these views do not provide new legal grounds. The direction of the case remains unclear. If the brothers are found guilty of the same charges in the retrial, they could face up to 20 years in prison for each count. The outcome of the case is also seen within the industry as having significant implications for MEV behavior and the related compliance boundaries.

According to Jinshi reports, the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes show that a minority of participants believe that a rate cut in December is not reasonable.

The proposed "Billionaire Tax Bill" in California has sparked strong opposition from several figures in the cryptocurrency industry. The proposal aims to impose a 5% wealth tax on individuals with a net worth exceeding $1 billion, to fund the healthcare system and state aid programs. Industry insiders believe that this policy could lead to an outflow of entrepreneurs and capital, negatively impacting the local innovation ecosystem.Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell pointed out that the wealth tax is partially based on unrealized gains, which may force taxpayers to sell shares or business assets to raise funds. Powell stated on the X platform that this measure could become the "last straw" that drives billionaires out of California, with related spending, jobs, and charitable activities potentially shifting elsewhere.Nic Carter, founding partner of Castle Island Ventures, and Jeff Park, Chief Investment Officer of ProCap BTC, also believe that in a context of highly mobile capital, a one-time wealth tax could signal the market for future further taxation. Meanwhile, Fredrik Haga, co-founder of Dune, cited Norway as an example, stating that similar tax systems have led to the migration of high-net-worth individuals, with actual tax revenue outcomes falling short of expectations.Supporters of the proposal include Ro Khanna, a representative from California's 17th congressional district, who believes that the tax revenue will be used to improve childcare, housing, and educational conditions, thereby benefiting innovation in the U.S. However, opponents have pointed out that California's audit reports have revealed issues with the efficiency of public fund usage, questioning whether the new tax revenue can truly be used for its intended purposes.