Odaily News White House officials stated that Witkoff and Kushner have also not left the United States. They were originally scheduled to travel to Pakistan as members of the U.S. delegation alongside Vance, but all three individuals are currently remaining within U.S. territory. (Jin10)
Odaily News: During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh faced questions regarding his financial disclosures exceeding $100 million, potential conflicts of interest, and the Fed's independence. Senator Elizabeth Warren raised concerns that he might provide special accounts for the Trump family's crypto company or bailouts for Wall Street. Kevin Warsh stated that his holdings include cryptocurrencies and AI companies, and he pledged to divest these assets before taking office if his nomination is confirmed. Regarding cryptocurrencies, Kevin Warsh stated that digital assets are part of the U.S. financial services industry. Additionally, Kevin Warsh denied that Trump had ever asked him to commit to any specific interest rate decisions. Jerome Powell's current term is set to end on May 15th, and Polymarket users predict a 78% probability that his nomination will be approved before June.
Odaily News KALSHI will launch perpetual futures cryptocurrency trading.
Odaily News: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: No decision has been made yet on whether to attend the talks. (Jin10)
Odaily News According to local time on the 21st, the leader of the Houthi forces stated, "If the enemy returns to the battlefield, we will also join the fight." The Houthi leader said: "Our position is clear and public; in the face of aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will absolutely not remain neutral."
Odaily News White House official: US Vice President Vance has not yet departed for talks in Iran. (Jin10)
Odaily News According to recent reports, Iran announced a Bitcoin toll of $1 per barrel for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Subsequently, scammers impersonating Iranian government officials sent false information to shipowners. On April 18th, at least one tanker that had paid Bitcoin fees to the scammers was fired upon and intercepted by Iranian vessels while attempting to pass through the strait, forcing it to turn back. Greek maritime risk management company MARISKS warned that criminals are demanding shipowners pay fees in Bitcoin or Tether and instructing them to submit documents for assessment by a so-called Iranian security department. MARISKS confirmed that the aforementioned demands are all part of a scam, and the specific identities of the affected companies remain unclear.
Odaily News Fed Reserve Chair Nominee Warsh: Need to gradually and cautiously reduce the balance sheet. (Jin10)
Odaily News According to sources, it remains unclear when U.S. Vice President Vance will leave Washington for Pakistan. The White House plans to hold further meetings on Tuesday to discuss follow-up matters, in which Vance will also participate. A White House official revealed: "The White House is holding more policy meetings, and the Vice President will also attend these meetings." Vance was originally scheduled to depart for Islamabad on Tuesday morning. However, a key question remains unresolved: whether the Iranian delegation will travel together. As of late Tuesday morning local time, Iran had not yet decided to send officials to Pakistan for the second round of talks. (Jin10)
According to Gate data, both WTI and Brent crude oil prices continue to rise, with WTI crude oil surpassing $92 per barrel, up nearly 4% intraday. Brent crude oil rose 3.65% intraday, reported at $93.68 per barrel.
Odaily News A 50-page report commissioned by Coinbase indicates that although current quantum computers are not yet capable of cracking the encryption technologies of networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum, fault-tolerant large-scale quantum computers will eventually be built, and the crypto industry must begin preparations now. The report was authored by an independent advisory committee, including cryptographers and scholars such as Dan Boneh from Stanford University, Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation, and Sreeram Kannan from Eigen Labs.
The report states that estimates for the time it would take quantum computers to break current encryption standards range from several years to over a decade. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends migrating to post-quantum cryptography by 2035, but the report suggests this timeline may be optimistic. Post-quantum cryptography already exists and is undergoing standardization, but post-quantum digital signatures can be tens to hundreds of times larger than existing signatures, potentially increasing block sizes by up to 38 times and introducing challenges such as wallet migration. The Ethereum Foundation has proposed a post-quantum digital signature scheme, and projects like Solana are also experimenting with post-quantum wallet designs. The report recommends adopting flexible transition strategies, such as hybrid systems, to prepare for future upgrades without compromising current security.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, whales/institutions are buying ETH.
A newly created wallet withdrew 35,000 ETH ($80.7 million) from Binance in the past 2 hours and transferred it to BitGo.
Odaily News: Fed Reserve Chair Nominee Warsh: Will Be Independent from US President Trump. (Jin10)
Odaily News Nominee for Federal Reserve Chairman Warsh stated that if appointed and in charge of the Fed, he would promote comprehensive reforms in policy-making. Warsh told the Senate Committee: "In my view, the Federal Reserve needs fundamental policy reforms. The mistakes made in dealing with inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitate such reforms, and I believe this means a change in the way policies are implemented. I think this means a need for a different, completely new inflation framework." Warsh said we need new tools, we need new ways of communication, mentioning forward guidance, economic forecasts, and the dot plot. He said the Fed should wait until the meeting to issue statements because forecasts can hinder decision-making. (Jin10)
Odaily News Pakistan Information Minister: Still awaiting a formal response from Iran regarding confirmation of a delegation to participate in the Islamabad peace talks. (Jin10)
Odaily News: Crypto law firm Burwick Law has filed a federal class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against defendants including AI16Z and ELIZAOS creator Walters. The lawsuit alleges violations of consumer protection laws, false advertising, and unjust enrichment. Legal documents indicate that the defendants are accused of leveraging the brand reputation of Andreessen Horowitz to package the project, launching the AI16Z token on Solana on October 24, 2024, which was later rebranded as ELIZAOS.
The complaint alleges that the project promoted an AI agent capable of autonomous investing, but it was actually manually operated and generated no revenue during the litigation period. On January 2, 2025, the token price reached an all-time high of approximately $2.47, with a market capitalization exceeding $2.6 billion. Subsequently, the price declined due to large holder sell-offs. On-chain data shows that the most profitable traders realized profits of around $39 million.
