XRP began the week with fresh demand from spot Ripple ETFs. After pulling in $55.4 million of net inflows over the prior week, the group added another $3 million in net inflows on April 20. The five ETFs now hold about 1.22% of XRP's circulating supply and have not posted a net outflow day since April 9. Bitwise remains the category leader, with roughly $417 million in assets under management.

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime will be fully enforced from July 1, requiring crypto companies operating in the bloc to secure the necessary licenses or stop serving customers. The tougher framework is accelerating the sector’s shift toward more institutional standards and compliance. Even so, the region’s stablecoin market remains overwhelmingly tied to the U.S. dollar, with more than 90% of activity concentrated in USD-backed tokens.

Aave has come under pressure in the wake of the $292 million KelpDAO exploit, which amplified liquidity concerns and drove a sharp drop in total value locked (TVL) across the protocol. Risk sentiment improved after the Arbitrum Security Council froze 30,776 ETH—about $71 million—linked to the attacker at 03:26 UTC on April 21, 2026. The move eased near-term stress and lifted expectations for partial recovery. AAVE traded with elevated volatility but recovered from roughly $80 to $93.59. Market participants say the episode is becoming a stress test for how major DeFi lending platforms handle shocks through governance processes and treasury-backed safeguards. The exploit has also renewed scrutiny of risks tied to liquid staking derivatives and cross-chain exposure. Recent on-chain and sentiment data indicate stabilization in liquidity flows, with fear-driven activity fading and trading volumes showing early signs of normalization as arbitrage across lending pools slows. Focus has shifted to governance decisions on how any recovered assets should be allocated. One approach would spread losses across markets. Another would ring-fence losses to the affected Layer 2 positions, a path that could reduce Aave's estimated bad debt from about $88 million to $17 million. Aave's treasury and the Umbrella fund are expected to absorb part of the hit, with additional measures—such as market-specific parameter changes or targeted liquidity support—still possible depending on the final outcome. Despite the setback, industry voices continue to argue that DeFi infrastructure remains structurally resilient. They point to prior incidents that saw recoveries supported by treasuries, external capital, and coordinated governance action. While short-term uncertainty remains tied to governance outcomes and recovery decisions, Aave is still viewed as capable of operating without broader systemic disruption, and the KelpDAO event is likely to inform future risk controls across DeFi lending markets.

CME's FedWatch tool, cited by CNBC and reported by ChainCatcher, shows markets assigning a 0% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 25 basis points at its April meeting, and a 100% probability it will keep rates unchanged. By June, the odds of a cumulative 25-basis-point cut stand at 1.7%, versus 98.3% for no change.

USDT on the Tron network has surpassed an $85 billion market cap. Tron now holds the second-largest USDT supply in the market, about $30 billion behind USDC on Ethereum.

Odaily Planet Daily reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed suit against Coinbase and Gemini, alleging the companies provide "indirect gambling" through prediction-market platforms in violation of New York State law. Regulators characterize event-based trading tied to outcomes such as sports and elections as gambling activity, and are scrutinizing the platforms' access for users ages 18 to 21, while New York sets the minimum age for sports betting at 21. Prosecutors are seeking major penalties and disgorgement, demanding at least $2.2 billion from Coinbase and at least $1.2 billion from Gemini. Neither company has issued an official response. Coinbase has indicated that prediction markets are overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, arguing the activity falls under federal jurisdiction.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced the PACE Act, legislation that would give compliant nonbank payment institutions direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment system, a move that has drawn support from the cryptocurrency industry. The bill would create a federal framework overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, offering payment companies a single registration route. Participating firms would be required to hold 1:1 reserves and meet risk controls and recordkeeping standards. Eligible institutions would be able to connect to key payment networks including Fedwire, FedNow and FedACH. Backers say the proposal is intended to lower payment costs and improve speed and reliability, with the ambition of making transfers as easy as sending a text message. Industry participants argue it could weaken traditional banks' grip on core payment infrastructure, opening a critical channel for stablecoins and crypto payment providers and supporting greater openness and competition across the financial system.

Coinbase has identified proof-of-stake blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana as potential security risks in a future where quantum computing becomes powerful enough to challenge today's cryptography.

Core Scientific disclosed plans for a $3.3 billion high-yield bond sale as it pushes further beyond its bitcoin-mining roots and ramps up its pivot toward AI-related computing.