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Brazil's central bank barred regulated eFX providers from using stablecoins, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies to settle cross-border payments. Resolution No. 561 was published April 30, takes effect October 1, and gives some firms until 2027 to adapt or seek authorization. The rule requires settlement to move through a foreign exchange transaction or a non-resident real-denominated account in Brazil. The change does not ban crypto trading, but it closes a payment rail used by firms such as Wise, Nomad, and Braza Bank.

Berkshire Hathaway reported a record $397.4 billion cash and Treasury bill position in the first quarter of 2026 as Greg Abel kept the company’s anti-Bitcoin posture unchanged. Operating earnings rose 18% to $11.35 billion in the quarter. Berkshire was again a net seller of equities, and none of its capital went to Bitcoin, spot Bitcoin ETFs, or any digital asset.

Coinbase said lawmakers reached a deal on the Clarity Act stablecoin yield provision, and the text gives regulators one year to define permitted activity-based rewards. The compromise would bar covered parties from paying yield to U.S. customers solely for holding stablecoins, while preserving rewards tied to bona fide platform activity. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott has not announced a markup date, and issues around ethics, DeFi and illicit finance remain unresolved.

A Southern District of New York order bars Arbitrum from transferring 30,766 ETH worth about $71 million that its Security Council seized from the KelpDAO hacker. Lawyers for U.S. nationals with a 2015 judgment against Pyongyang are trying to claim the assets after LayerZero tied the hack to the Lazarus Group. The order stalls Aave and KelpDAO plans to use the seized ETH to compensate users hit by the April 18 hack.

Crypto trade groups backed a compromise text on stablecoin yield in the CLARITY Act and urged Senate Banking to mark up the bill. The text bars crypto firms from paying interest or yield on stablecoin balances in a manner equivalent to a bank deposit, but it allows rewards tied to bona fide activities or transactions. The compromise also directs Treasury and the CFTC to write rules within a year of enactment, while other negotiation points remain unresolved.

Japan reportedly bought about $35 billion of yen, pushing the dollar down nearly 3% to 155.5. BOJ money-market data implied that scale, and Ministry of Finance confirmation would make it Japan's first official yen-support action in almost two years and the second-largest on record. The BOJ-Fed short-rate gap remains about 275–300 basis points, the core mechanical driver of yen-funded carry trades.

Developers including Sergio Lerner and Dan Held said Paul Sztorc's proposed eCash fork functions more like an airdrop to Bitcoin holders than a Bitcoin hard fork. They said the UTXO-based distribution and lack of full replay protection could create operational and fund-loss risks for users who try to claim the tokens.

DeFiOasis data shows Polymarket's monthly fees reached a record $43.36 million in April, more than doubling month over month. Polymarket Global generated $37.81 million and Polymarket US generated $5.55 million, with the two markets accounting for more than 97% of on-chain prediction market fees.

Gen Z averages $94,101 in personal debt as economist Alice Lassman describes a broader shift toward "disillusionomics," or building multiple income streams to cope with an uncertain financial future. The shift includes weaker faith in homeownership, more value-driven spending, and heavier use of buy-now-pay-later services.

Paradigm researcher Dan Robinson proposed PACTs, a scheme for Bitcoin holders to prove control of an address through blockchain timestamps. The method would let holders record ownership without moving assets or triggering on-chain activity. The proof could later be used to claim assets on a quantum-secure version of the Bitcoin network.

A16z backed the CFTC in a prediction market dispute after the agency sued five states over efforts to restrict platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The firm said state-by-state user blocks conflict with the CFTC's impartial access rules and could reduce liquidity. The letter was filed in response to the CFTC's proposed rulemaking on prediction markets.

EmberCN estimated that a wallet suspected of being an insider or market maker realized about $1.13 million on LAB after the token rose 10x over the past month. The wallet bought 575,000 LAB for $128,000 at an average price of $0.20 and deposited the holdings to Gate.io and KuCoin about 30 minutes ago.

Bitget and Polymarket said traders with under $10,000 make up 82% of prediction market users as the sector shifts toward small, frequent retail trades. Polymarket's monthly trading volume rose from about $1.2 billion in 2025 to over $20 billion in early 2026, and the report projects the market will exceed $240 billion this year.

Kelp DAO's $292 million exploit exposed weak points in DeFi as traditional finance firms increased their onchain activity. The article linked that backdrop to Apollo Global Management's partnership with Morpho and BlackRock bringing its tokenized money market fund to Uniswap. Industry executives said the incident is unlikely to stop institutional adoption, but they argued that stronger governance, security controls and reliable liquidity are needed before larger pools of capital can move in.