Crypto weekly is authored by maaria bajwa

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($2.43T): -3% / -20%
- BTC ($68,387): -5% / -22%
- ETH ($2,070): -3% / -30%
- SOL ($87): -2% / -30%
- UNI ($3.48): -13% / -38%
- OP ($0.12): -10% / -57%
- COIN ($198): +1% / -13%
- Tether Mkt Cap ($184B): 0% / -2%
- USDC Mkt Cap ($79B): 0% / +4%
- BTC / ETH Dominance: 56% / 10%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Bitcoin price dipped below $70,000 as energy prices surged, triggering a broad risk-off sentiment across global markets. Link. Link. Link.

- The SEC and CFTC issued a joint outline of which types of digital assets are considered securities, deeming most crypto assets (including stablecoins) as non-securities. The regulators introduced a new token taxonomy that separates crypto into digital commodities, digital tools, and digital securities. Link. Link. Link.

- Lawmakers have reportedly reached an "agreement in principle" on the treatment of stablecoin yield, which has been a major point of contention in passing a sweeping crypto market structure bill called the CLARITY Act. The Senate could vote on the bill as soon as May. Link.Link.

- The S&P 500 licensed its index pricing to crypto exchange Trade.xyz for the launch of a perpetuals contract on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid that will allow for 24/7 trading of the index. The market reached $100 million in 24-hour trading volume on Hyperliquid just one day after launch. Link.Link. Link.

- The SEC approved a rule change allowing Nasdaq to support the trading of tokenized equity in a pilot program operated by the Depository Trust Company. Link.

- UK lawmakers are calling for a ban on cryptocurrency donations to political parties over concerns of foreign influence. Link.

- A Kentucky bill aimed at regulating crypto ATMs includes a provision that critics say could "outlaw self-custody" by requiring hardware wallet providers to offer a mechanism for resetting user credentials, which would be technologically impossible for non-custodial wallets. Link. Link.

- Crypto startup Tempo, backed by Paradigm and Stripe, launched their mainnet and a new payment standard called the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP) to enable autonomous transactions by AI agents across the internet. Link.

- OpenSea delayed the launch of its long-awaited SEA token, with CEO Devin Finzer citing challenging market conditions across crypto and a desire to ensure the token launch is done right. Link.

- Morgan Stanley filed an amended S-1 with the SEC ahead of its spot bitcoin ETF launch. Link.

- Mastercard acquired stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for $1.8 billion. Link.

- Kraken put its IPO plans on hold due to a weakening crypto market and the struggling BitGo listing, as the 2026 crypto IPO market appears less robust than expected. Link.

- Leading crypto DAO governance platform Tally, used by major DAOs like ENS and Uniswap, is shutting down after more than five years of operation due to the lack of a viable venture-backed business model in the decentralized governance tooling space. Link. Link.

- Fidelity Investments has urged the SEC to develop clearer rules for broker-dealers to offer, custody, and trade crypto assets, as well as facilitate crypto-security trading pairs, in order to integrate crypto assets into existing market structures. Link.

- The CFTC published an FAQ clarifying how futures commission merchants and clearinghouses should handle crypto assets as collateral in derivatives markets, including setting capital charge frameworks and restrictions on use of certain crypto assets in customer accounts. Link.