CZ: Not involved in money laundering or fraud Trump signs first cryptocurrency bill

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering weekly key news, mining information, project trends, technological progress and other industry trends. This article is one of the news weekly news magazines, which will take you to take a look at the major events in the blockchain industry this week.

Headlines

▌CZ denies allegations: No money laundering or fraud

CZ denied allegations of money laundering and fraud against media reports on social media. He clarified that the so-called "anti-money laundering" problem is different from "money laundering". The former is for failure to effectively prevent it, while the latter is for actual implementation. CZ stressed that all customer assets are safe and said it is probably one of the most regulated people in the world. The statement also responds to reports about his legal dispute with Justin Sun.

▌Trump signs first cryptocurrency bill to repeal the IRS DeFi broker rules

U.S. President Trump signed a bill to prevent the IRS from collecting tax filing data from decentralized cryptocurrency platforms, a move that is historically significant. This marks the first time legislation specifically targeting cryptocurrencies has become law in the United States. The bill was proposed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) under the Congressional Review Act, aiming to repeal what the IRS calls the "DeFi broker rule", which was passed in the Senate on March 26 with an overwhelming bipartisan support rate of 70-28 votes. Just two weeks ago, a similar version led by Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) was passed with a similar "super majority." The controversial DeFi broker rules were proposed in the last few days of the Biden administration, requiring decentralized crypto entities (such as exchanges without central governing bodies) to comply with traditional IRS reporting requirements. Critics believe that the provision is too cumbersome and may stifle innovation and seriously hinder the development of the DeFi industry. “This rule will undermine the U.S. leadership in the cryptocurrency field, and I am grateful to President Trump for signing my resolution into law,” Cruz, who attended the signing ceremony on Thursday afternoon, told Crypto In America. “This resolution is a victory for innovation, privacy and economic freedom.”

▌US SEC releases new guidelines requiring crypto projects to strengthen token information disclosure

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement Thursday, suggesting that crypto companies that may involve securities tokens provide more detailed information disclosures. The guidelines emphasize that companies need to clearly state the business model and the specific role of tokens, but do not clearly define which cryptocurrencies fall into the securities category. The non-mandatory statement pointed out that information disclosure should include key content such as whether the company is developing encryption or blockchain networks, development milestones, network uses, and technical architecture (such as whether it is based on open source technology). The SEC said the recommendations are based on observations on past corporate disclosures, including details such as token holders’ rights, technical specifications, etc. The statement specifically mentions that token assets involving "investment contracts" (i.e. tokens that may constitute securities) require additional disclosure. The guidance is one of the SEC's efforts to clarify how the federal securities laws apply to crypto assets, aiming to lay the foundation for the follow-up to its newly formed crypto working group. The SEC also emphasized that the statement does not constitute formal rules and is "not legally effective".

▌Federal Director Bowman hopes to conduct an independent review of bank bank closures in March 2023

"Federal Director Michelle Bowman expressed his desire to conduct an independent review of the bank bank closures in March 2023 (SVB, Silvergate, Signature), although she did not directly name the banks."

▌U.S. House of Representatives passes budget to clear the way for Trump to cut taxes and raise debt ceilings

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget plan on Wednesday that laid the foundation for extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts, even as all Democrats and two Republicans worried about not adequately cutting spending voted against. The House of Representatives passed the budget by 216 votes in favor and 214 votes against, and this result is preliminary but necessary. This will allow Republicans to bypass Democratic opposition and pass the tax cut bill on a partisan line later this year. Republicans will develop these tax cuts in the coming months. The legislation passed Thursday is equivalent to a broad budget blueprint with little detail. With the budget passed, the next package will cut taxes up to $5.3 trillion over a decade and raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion in exchange for $4 billion in spending cuts. U.S. House Speaker Johnson had hoped to pass the bill on Wednesday, but he delayed the action as some Republicans opposed the bill's lack of spending cuts.

policy

▌Binance 's tax evasion trial in Nigeria was postponed to April 30

According to Catenaa, the Federal High Court of Abuja postponed the trial of Binance tax evasion until April 30. Binance lawyer Chukwuka Ikwuazom, questioning the validity of delivering legal documents by email, believes that Nigerian authorities should obtain formal approval before delivering documents abroad. The Nigerian government accused Binance of illegal operation without registration, causing financial instability and tax losses, demanding it to pay a $81 billion fine, including $2 billion in tax arrears and $79 billion in compensation.

▌Pakistan launches first compliance-based virtual asset regulatory framework

According to Tribune, Pakistan has launched its first comprehensive policy framework to regulate virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), aiming to curb money laundering, support innovation and attract foreign investment. The policy is formulated by specialized government agencies under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) agencies. The proposed framework requires approval from the legislature and opinions from digital asset companies operating in the country and is expected to be launched in phases starting in 2026.

▌Binance tries to curb U.S. regulation in deal negotiations with Trump 's crypto firm

According to the Wall Street Journal, Binance is trying to curb US regulation while negotiating transactions with Trump's crypto companies. At the same time, Binance is also negotiating with the World Free Finance Corporation to launch a new cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar. (Jin Shi)

▌SEC may set up a regulatory sandbox for crypto exchanges, intending to allow trial of tokenized securities trading

According to Decrypt, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) leadership said Friday that it would consider creating a regulatory sandbox for digital assets, allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to experiment freely in new areas, including potentially opening up tokenized securities trading.

▌McDonald 's shareholder Bitcoin proposal was rejected, and the US SEC determined that the company has the right not to discuss

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures, McDonald's has officially refused to discuss a proposal to purchase Bitcoin at its shareholders' meeting in May. The controversy began with a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank and shareholder of the company, which suggested that McDonald's follow MicroStrategy to include Bitcoin in its balance sheet as a means of store of value. The McDonald's legal team submitted an application to the SEC in March to confirm compliance with the "no discussion of the proposal". In its reply letter on March 28, the SEC clearly stated that the proposal involves the company's daily business decisions, and McDonald's has the right to exclude it from the shareholders' agenda according to regulatory rules. This incident once again triggered discussions on enterprises' allocation of crypto assets. Since Trump's victory in 2024 pushed Bitcoin to a record high, many listed companies have faced similar shareholder proposals, but the degree of corporate adoption has significantly differentiated - game retailer GameStop announced in March this year that it would raise $1.5 billion to buy Bitcoin, while Microsoft shareholders voted to reject similar proposals in December last year.

Blockchain application

▌Coinbase: The necessary updates will be implemented after the Ethereum Pectra is upgraded and the relevant preparations have been started.

On April 12, Coinbase officially announced that it has begun to actively prepare for upgrade-related work and will implement necessary updates after Pectra is officially launched. Coinbase also said that it will continue to pay close attention to the preparations for system updates to ensure that customers have a smooth online experience. Previous news, due to configuration issues during the activation of Holesky and Sepolia test networks, the upgrade of Ethereum Pectra was delayed for a while and is currently scheduled to be launched on the main network on May 7.

▌ Wintermute launches "QuoteChain" L2 network that interacts with social media platform X

Wintermute announced on the X platform that it launched the L2 network "QuoteChain" that supports interaction with the social media platform X. It is reported that the Genesis block will be launched soon. Wintermute said QuoteChain will be a "small experiment" that integrates AI, encryption, and social media platform X, and it is also a "Twitter L2" distributed based on social activities.

▌ Kraken cooperates with Mastercard to launch crypto debit cards

According to CoinDesk, Kraken is partnering with Mastercard to launch an encrypted debit card. Kraken will launch physical and digital debit cards for daily transactions using cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. The program is part of KrakenPay, a service launched earlier this year that supports cross-border payments in over 300 cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. The debit card is expected to be available in the coming weeks.

▌ MEGABIT large-scale platform upgrade announcement, platform domain name renewal, experience new and important functions

According to official news, Megabit will be officially upgraded to MGBX at 00:00 (SGT) on April 12, 2025, and the platform domain name will be changed to mgbx.com. This brand upgrade covers multiple important modules such as product interface, domain name access and international services.

▌ pump.fun: The live broadcast function has now covered all users

pump.fun posted on X platform that the previously restored live broadcast function has now covered all users (100%). The live broadcast function will be equipped with an industry-standard audit system and transparent guidelines, including prohibiting and deleting live broadcasts containing hate speech, violence, nudity or other inappropriate content. pump.fun announced the resumption of live broadcast functionality last week, but it is only open to 5% of users.

Cryptocurrency

▌Market News: Binance is negotiating the listing of USD1, a US dollar stablecoin issued by WLFI, a Trump family crypto project.

According to market news, Binance executives recently had discussions with U.S. Treasury Department officials. In addition, Binance is negotiating the listing of USD1, the US dollar stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family crypto project. The potential cooperation with WLFI highlights the evolution of stablecoins from purely technical trading tools to tools with significant market and regulatory impacts. This move will allow Binance to form a competitive relationship with other major exchanges and stablecoin issuers and may gain market advantages in the field of US dollar digital assets.

▌52% of Singapore cryptocurrency holders use digital assets to make payments

According to the Straits Times, more than half of Singapore's cryptocurrency holders have used digital assets for daily transactions. The latest research shows that 52% of cryptocurrency holders have begun to use cryptocurrency payments, and 67% plan to use them in the future. The study found that Gen Z and millennials hold 40% of the country's cryptocurrency, mainly for online shopping, bill payments and in-store spending. According to data from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Singapore's crypto transaction volume reached nearly US$1 billion in the second quarter of 2024. However, 60% of users remain concerned about the complexity and security of digital assets, while 54% of holders are troubled by limited merchant acceptance.

▌In 2015, 100,000 ETH giant whales sold 632 again, and still hold 30,189 ETH

According to ai_9684xtpa monitoring, the "OG giant whale with 100,000 ETHs in 2015" sold 632 ETHs again 5 hours ago, worth US$1.04 million. The cumulative number of ETHs sold since April has increased to 4,812, about US$8.09 million, with a cost as low as US$0.31, and still holds 30,189 ETHs.

▌Chronicle becomes oracle provider for SparkDAO 's $1 billion tokenized Grand Prix win

Chronicle was selected as the oracle provider for all the winning events of SparkDAO’s $1 billion tokenized Grand Prix. Award-winning projects include BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund, Superstate’s USTB, and the Centrifuge JTRSY Fund, which is deputy consultant with Janus Henderson.

▌World Liberty Financial denied selling ETH, saying the relevant reports were "completely untrue"

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) formally denied recent rumors about its sale of Ethereum. It was previously reported that a wallet address marked by Arkham as WLFI related to sell about $8 million of ETH when the ETH price dropped to $1,465. In response, a WLFI spokesperson made it clear: "The statement about WLFI's selling of positions is completely untrue. No assets have been sold at present, and the relevant speculations are wrong."

Important economic trends

▌Federal Collins: Tariffs push up U.S. commodity prices, which may cause the Fed to delay interest rate cuts

Fed Collins said the Fed may still have room for a rate cut this year. Interest rate policy is in good condition, and maintaining stability at the moment seems to be the best option. Tariffs push up U.S. commodity prices, which may cause the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts.

▌Federal Goulsby: The threshold for Fed 's current policy changes is quite high

Fed Gulsby: Now is the time for the Fed to suspend interest rates and wait and see. The current threshold for policy changes in the Federal Reserve is quite high. The Fed should keep all policy measures above the agenda. Current tariffs will drive inflation to rise in the short term and hurt economic growth.

▌Tokenized gold market value approaches US$2 billion, tariff concerns trigger safe-haven transactions

As market concerns over tariff policies intensify, investors turn to safe- haven assets, pushing the total market value of tokenized gold products to close to $2 billion. This trend reflects a significant increase in demand for digital gold as a safe haven in an environment of increasing uncertainty. CoinDesk data shows that recent capital inflows of related products have been obvious, highlighting the trend of integration between cryptocurrencies and traditional safe-haven assets.

▌Federal Collins: If necessary, the Fed is “absolutely” ready to help when necessary to stabilize the market

Fed Collins: Historically, we had to quickly use various tools (to stabilize the market), and now if needed, the Fed is "absolutely" ready to help when necessary to stabilize the market.

▌Federal Kashkali: The Fed has tools to provide more liquidity

Fed Neil Kashkali said, “The Fed has the tools to provide more liquidity.”