The U.S. Senate Banking Committee Advances the "Financial Transparency and Regulatory Compliance Act"

April 29 – U.S. Treasury Secretary Benson announced the Treasury Department, through Operation "Economic Fury," has targeted Iran’s international shadow banking infrastructure, cryptocurrency access points, shadow fleet, weapons procurement network, and funding for regional terrorist proxies. These actions have disrupted the multi-billion-dollar revenue earmarked for terrorism. Under the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign, Tehran’s inflation has doubled and its currency has depreciated rapidly. Iran’s key oil export terminal at Kharg Island is nearing storage capacity, forcing production cuts—resulting in an additional $170 million in daily revenue losses and permanent damage to its oil infrastructure. The U.S. Treasury Department will continue applying maximum pressure: any individual, vessel, or entity aiding the illicit flow of funds to Tehran faces U.S. sanctions risk.

April 29 — JPMorgan Chase has named former Goldman Sachs executive Oliver Harris to lead its blockchain division Kinexys. Harris will focus on commercializing Kinexys applications and deepening collaboration with institutional clients. Prior to this appointment, Harris served as CEO of Arda Global, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs’ Americas Digital Assets division, and spent six years at JPMorgan leading development of the Quorum blockchain platform. Launched in 2019, the Kinexys blockchain payment network processed $5 billion in daily transactions as of December last year. In November last year, JPMorgan began offering institutional clients its stablecoin JPM Coin to facilitate fund transfers using the Base blockchain.

On April 29, the Canadian federal government announced plans to fully ban cryptocurrency ATMs (crypto ATMs) to protect the public from scammers. The measure was formally proposed in the government’s Spring Economic Statement, which labeled crypto ATMs as the primary tool scammers use to defraud victims and facilitate criminal money laundering. Crypto ATMs let users deposit cash and swap it for crypto like Bitcoin, which can then be sent to any global virtual wallet—making these machines the top channel scammers rely on to obtain funds from victims in Canada. Right now, Canada leads the world in crypto ATMs per capita, with nearly 4,000 machines across the country. However, there are no specific regulations governing this sector to date. The Canadian government noted that once the ban takes effect, people will still be able to buy virtual currencies through physical currency service providers.

**Robinhood Reports Q1 2026 Crypto Slump, But Overall Trading Revenue Rises** April 29 — Robinhood Markets Inc. posted a sharp decline in its crypto business for the first quarter of 2026, even as overall trading revenue and net profit edged up. Crypto revenue hit $134 million, a 47% year-over-year (YoY) drop, while trading volume on its native app totaled $240 billion — a 48% YoY decline. The slump has persisted since late 2025, with Q4 2025 crypto trading revenue falling 38%. The acquired Bitstamp exchange contributed $42 billion in trading volume for the quarter, though Robinhood did not share year-over-year comparison data for Bitstamp. Despite crypto weakness, overall trading revenue rose 7% YoY to $623 million, driven by a **320% surge in options revenue** (to $260 million). Stock revenue jumped 46% YoY to $82 million. Net profit reached $346 million, a 3% YoY increase. Per Bitget market data, Robinhood’s stock price fell more than 6% in after-hours trading followi

**Latest Developments in U.S.-Iran Conflict (April 29)** ### Iran - Iran: Assets of enemy collaborators should be confiscated in accordance with the law. - U.S. Media: Iran has begun using abandoned oil tanks for oil storage. - Kpler: Iran’s unused oil storage capacity equals a 22-day supply. - Iranian Army Spokesperson: The war is not over; military forces are on high alert. ### United States - U.S. Official: Trump is displeased with Iran’s new proposal; the nuclear issue must be addressed first. - Pentagon: Questions Vance’s claims and raises concerns over rapid depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles. - U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo: No evidence indicates Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has died. - American Automobile Association (AAA): U.S. gasoline prices average $4.18 per gallon, the highest since April 2022. - U.S. Actions: Announced sanctions on 35 Iran-related entities and individuals; intelligence community assessing Iran’s response to Trump’s

On April 29th, Senator Cynthia Lummis—sponsor of the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act—said concerns over the CLARITY Act’s developer protection provision are not new. Work is currently underway to strengthen the provision, which aims to protect non-custodial developers and hold bad actors accountable.