Sen. Thom Tillis said Thursday that a draft on stablecoin yield provisions under the CLARITY Act will not be released this week, Politico reported, as Senate negotiations continue and lawmakers remain split over how rewards linked to stablecoin activity should be treated. Tillis, a key sponsor working with Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, said he wants clarity on when the Senate Banking Committee will hold its markup before circulating text publicly. He cautioned that putting out language without a defined legislative runway could draw scrutiny and complicate the process. The draft is now expected next week or later. FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett added that lawmakers are trying to avoid a prolonged public backlash before a markup date is set, a strategy aimed at smoothing the bill's formal review. Tillis' team continues to meet with bank trade groups and crypto firms, signaling that core issues are still unresolved. The central dispute remains the stablecoin yield clause. The draft is reported to preserve earlier language that would bar rewards on idle balances, while permitting yield tied to transactional activity. Banks argue that allowing such incentives could siphon deposits from the traditional financial system. Crypto firms, including Coinbase, say tighter limits would curb innovation. The debate is sharpened by overlap with the GENIUS Act, which already prohibits issuers from paying interest but does not stop third-party platforms from offering yield. That distinction has become a focal point inside the CLARITY Act talks. The delay adds pressure to the legislative calendar. The bill failed to hit a targeted April 13–20 markup window, and attention is turning to the May 21 Senate recess. Despite months of discussions, no compromise has emerged. The White House has hosted closed-door meetings since early this year to push talks forward, but positions on both sides have held. JPMorgan has previously said it expects the bill could pass this year, while warning that shifting political dynamics could still affect its path.

Japan has approved amendments to its Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) that would classify digital assets as financial instruments and ban insider trading based on nonpublic information, Nikkei reported.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said this week that regulators will issue additional joint crypto guidance with the SEC. The CFTC has aligned with an SEC interpretation intended to address "significant ambiguity" over which crypto assets should be treated as commodities versus securities, a move aimed at clarifying the rules for millions of Americans who use crypto.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said Europe needs a larger ecosystem of euro-denominated stablecoins and called on EU banks to speed up work on tokenized deposits, according to CoinDesk. He described the current euro stablecoin market—still far smaller than the dollar-pegged segment—as "unsatisfactory." The push highlights a shift in tone from some French policymakers. Former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had previously opposed privately issued stablecoins. Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau has also warned that stablecoins could undermine monetary sovereignty.

Huo Xing Finance reports that President Trump on April 18 delivered a flurry of statements over the past 24 hours, laying out his stance on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional security. Trump said navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has resumed, while stressing that a maritime blockade on Iran will remain until any agreement is "100% completed." He also claimed Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely. Under the arrangement he described, the U.S. would take part in retrieving Iran's enriched uranium and transporting it to the United States, while adding that no frozen Iranian funds would be released. On the diplomatic timeline, Trump said talks would continue over the weekend. He warned that if no agreement is reached by next Wednesday, a return to war "cannot be ruled out." Addressing perceived inconsistencies in Tehran's messaging, he said Iran "needs to say different things domestically." He also rejected reports of fees for transit, saying no tolls would be charged for passage through the Strait. On regional security, Trump said the U.S. has stopped Israel from continuing airstrikes in Lebanon and plans to deal with Hezbollah independently. Trump also used the remarks to sharpen political attacks at home and abroad. He criticized NATO as "useless at a critical moment" and faulted certain allies for a lack of cooperation. He renewed claims that The New York Times, CNN and other outlets reported inaccurately. He thanked Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Pakistan for supporting operations. He additionally said the first batch of UFO-related documents would be released soon, and announced plans to sign an executive order and hold a press conference on Saturday. Overall, Trump's rapid-fire messaging is shaping market and diplomatic expectations, pairing a hard line with uncertainty as ceasefire efforts, negotiations and the blockade proceed in parallel. (Jin Shi)

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure is pressing European banks to accelerate the development of euro-denominated stablecoins and tokenized deposits, arguing the bloc must respond to the U.S. dollar's overwhelming lead in digital payments. Speaking in prerecorded remarks at a crypto conference in Paris, Lescure said the limited supply of euro-pegged stablecoins is "not satisfactory" and urged the banking industry to move faster on tokenized assets to protect Europe's financial sovereignty, Reuters reported. Dollar-linked stablecoins continue to dominate global digital liquidity. Tether, the El Salvador-based issuer, has more than $185 billion in circulation. By contrast, Societe Generale's euro stablecoin, launched three years ago, has remained small at 107 million euros ($126 million). A consortium that includes ING, Unicredit and BNP Paribas has set up a new venture aiming to launch a competitive euro-pegged stablecoin in late 2026. "That is what we need and that is what we want," Lescure said on Friday, April 17. He also urged banks to further explore issuing tokenized deposits, which would convert traditional bank liabilities into blockchain-based tokens to modernize payment infrastructure and reduce reliance on foreign providers. Lescure framed the push in strategic terms, pointing to concerns in the EU that dependence on U.S. payment rails could leave the euro area exposed to external policy shifts or service disruptions. He also backed the European Central Bank's digital euro project amid resistance from some bank groups that fear it could siphon deposits. Lescure said the ECB's plan to use a central bank digital currency as an "anchor" for tokenization efforts from 2026 strikes "the right balance," envisioning a system where public and private digital money operate side by side. Market appetite remains uncertain. RBC Capital Markets data shows 66% of European banks still see limited customer demand for stablecoins. Even so, Lescure warned that Europe is running out of time to respond, citing momentum in the U.S. after President Donald Trump signed landmark stablecoin legislation last year. For Lescure, the objective is to keep the euro relevant as digital trade becomes increasingly automated.

Kraken said its $550 million acquisition will provide access to the only complete crypto derivatives infrastructure in the U.S. that is licensed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

REGULATION: Russia has introduced draft legislation that would make it a criminal offense to provide crypto-related services without proper registration.

A recap of this week's key developments in blockchain and crypto. CLARITY Act stalls again in the US Senate The market-structure bill known as the CLARITY Act was pulled from the US Senate's daily session calendar this week, again failing to land a Banking Committee markup date. The proposal aims to spell out how oversight of digital assets is split between the SEC and the CFTC. The House passed the bill in July 2025 by 294 to 134, but it has remained stuck in the Senate. The main obstacle is stablecoin yield. A compromise floated by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks would ban passive interest payments while allowing activity-based rewards. The Council of Economic Advisers estimates a yield ban would add USD 2.1 billion in bank lending, while raising consumer costs by USD 800 million. Without a vote by 25 April, the initiative is effectively dead for 2026. Warsh details crypto-linked positions ahead of Fed hearing Kevin Warsh, nominated by Donald Trump in March as the prospective successor to Jerome Powell, disclosed assets ahead of his Senate hearing. His reported wealth totals USD 131–209 million, including more than USD 100 million in two Juggernaut Fund stakes with crypto exposure. His holdings also include positions tied to ETF provider Bitwise, Ethereum Layer 2 project Blast, Polymarket, Electric Capital, and Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure firm Flashnet. Federal Reserve ethics rules bar FOMC members from holding cryptocurrencies and individual stocks. If confirmed, Warsh would have six months to divest. With Powell's term ending on 15 May 2026, the confirmation timeline is tightening. Goldman Sachs files for a Bitcoin ETF built around covered calls Goldman Sachs submitted its first Bitcoin ETF filing to the SEC this week, a notable step for a bank that as recently as 2020 likened Bitcoin to tulip mania. The proposed Goldman Sachs Bitcoin Premium Income ETF would invest at least 80% of assets in spot Bitcoin ETPs, then sell call options on those holdings to generate premium income. The overwrite ratio can be adjusted between 40% and 100%, trading higher income against capped upside. Goldman is not positioning the product as a fee-driven challenger to BlackRock's IBIT (USD 55 billion in volume, 0.25% fee) or Morgan Stanley (0.14%), instead targeting income-focused investors. Launch is expected in late June 2026. Deutsche Börse buys into Kraken at a lower valuation Deutsche Börse will invest USD 200 million in Payward Inc., the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, for a 1.5% stake. The implied valuation of USD 13.3 billion is about 33% below the USD 20 billion level Kraken sought in November 2025. Bitcoin is down roughly 40% since October, and Kraken previously paused plans for an IPO filed confidentially. Because the transaction is a secondary purchase of existing shares, Kraken will not receive fresh capital. Strategically, the deal expands a partnership launched in December 2025. Kraken is already integrated into 360T's FX platform; next phases include white-label offerings, exchange-traded crypto derivatives via Eurex, and tokenisation initiatives via Clearstream. Trump family extends WLFI token lockup and adds sanctions mechanism At World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family's crypto project, 62.3 billion tokens are set to remain locked for another two years, followed by multi-year linear vesting. Early supporters would receive their 17 billion tokens only after a two-year cliff, then spread over an additional two years. Insiders and founders must also burn 10% of their holdings immediately, out of more than 45 billion tokens. A contentious feature is the sanctions provision: investors who vote against the proposal would remain locked indefinitely. Trump-affiliated entities control about 60% of all WLFI tokens and are estimated to have received around USD 1 billion in sale proceeds. Tron founder Justin Sun, whose 544 million tokens WLFI had previously frozen, strongly criticised the plan. Full investor release would not be possible before January 2029, after the end of Trump's second term. Want this weekly review delivered to your inbox on Saturdays? Subscribe to the CVJ.CH Newsletter.