Daily Summary, April 22

## 📍 Top Stories of the Day, April 22

🇷🇺 Russian State Duma passes digital currency bill in first reading — BTC and ETH officially recognised as «property»

On April 22, the Russian State Duma published the content of the bill adopted the day before: cryptocurrencies are now legally classified as “property” for the first time.

Analysis: Lawmakers drew a clear line: Bitcoin and Ethereum are recognised as digital assets but not as legal tender. Domestic settlements are still only allowed in rubles. Crypto can be used for cross-border settlements and foreign trade — a signal that the state sees it as a tool to bypass sanctions and support international operations. Key restriction: non-custodial wallets do not fit into the new system; users will be forced to move to licensed platforms. Investor categories are introduced: non-accredited individuals will face an annual purchase limit of about $3,900–$4,000.

Mining is recognised as legal activity, but with mandatory equipment registration and operation in designated zones. Stablecoin issuers, exchanges and brokers must obtain licenses from the Central Bank.

Market impact: This is regulation, not a ban. The state legalises crypto on its own terms: transparency, taxes, licenses. Many non-custodial users may go underground, creating capital outflow risks. The Ministry of Finance has received about 100 expert proposals and will consider them before the second reading.

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## 🌏 International Regulation

🇭🇰 Hong Kong: two licensed stablecoin issuers, OTC licensing by year end

Hong Kong continues to aggressively build a regulated crypto ecosystem. Deputy Financial Secretary Chan Ho Lim announced that two stablecoin issuers have received licenses and are preparing to launch in the coming months. Meanwhile, 12 licensed crypto exchanges are already operating, with 7 more applications under review.

Legislative Council committee head Ng Kit Chuan stated at the Institutional Digital Wealth Management Summit that OTC crypto service licensing will be introduced by the end of the year.

Analysis: Hong Kong is building a “crypto hub” by the book: stablecoins under bank control, OTC trading under license. For global markets, this creates a reliable bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. For Asian investors — reduced regulatory risk.

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## 📈 Market & Indicators

📊 BTC breaks $78,000 on ceasefire and Strategy’s $2.5B purchase

The market continued its upward trend for the fourth straight day. On April 22, Bitcoin traded near $78,280 (+2.62%), Ethereum rose to $2,400 (+3.71%), SOL climbed to $88.39. Open interest reached $81.17B for BTC and $60.26B for ETH, indicating sustained risk appetite.

Drivers: Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran — geopolitical tensions eased, capital flowed into risk assets. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) disclosed the purchase of 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion — its largest deal since November 2024. This allowed Strategy to surpass BlackRock’s iShares ETF in corporate Bitcoin holdings, reaching 815,061 BTC at an average entry price of $75,527. This comes amid a six-day inflow streak for Bitcoin ETFs: on April 21, spot ETFs recorded $1.184 billion net inflow. Ethereum ETFs have also seen inflows for nine consecutive days.

Analysis: Bitcoin is confidently testing $78,000. If it holds above, $80,000 becomes the next target. But the fragile Iran ceasefire could break at any moment, and ETF flows remain sensitive to macroeconomics.

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## ☠️ Incidents & Security

🌊 KelpDAO: hackers begin laundering $80M via THORChain and BTC

KelpDAO, which suffered a $290M hack linked to North Korea’s Lazarus group, entered the laundering phase. On April 22, analysts spotted active movement of stolen assets: ~$80M in ETH (34,500 coins) were transferred via THORChain into the Bitcoin network and spread across more than 400 addresses. Only $33M remains traceable; the rest has gone dark. THORChain recorded a 24-hour trading volume of $211M — nearly 10x its average.
Venture investor Henri Arslanian believes an attack of this scale could only have been carried out by a state-backed hacking unit. A UN expert group estimates North Korea has stolen over $3 billion in crypto since 2017.

Analysis: The incident demonstrates the evolution of hacker methods: after a breach, they immediately use cross-chain bridges to convert into Bitcoin, which is harder to track and freeze. This creates constant sell pressure on BTC — as stolen funds are gradually laundered, sudden dumps may occur. For investors: any cross-chain operation carries elevated risk.

💧 Volo Protocol (Sui) loses $3.5M in exploit

The same day, the liquid staking protocol Volo on the Sui ecosystem was hacked. Attackers withdrew about $3.5M from three pools containing WBTC, USDC, and the gold-backed token XAUm. The Volo team quickly froze contracts, notified the Sui Foundation, and — importantly — committed to covering user losses from their own treasury, not shifting losses to clients.

Analysis: This is the third major DeFi hack in April (after Drift’s $285M and KelpDAO’s $290M). DeFi remains a high-risk zone — even relatively small protocols can be exploited. Positive sign: the practice of covering losses from protocol funds is becoming a standard for responsible teams.

🔒 Arbitrum freezes $71M in KelpDAO investigation

Continuing the asset freeze on the KelpDAO hacker, Arbitrum confirmed the freezing of 30,766 ETH (~$71M). This was made possible by L2-level “allowlist” mechanisms that allow network validators to block suspicious addresses.

Analysis: Arbitrum again demonstrates that centralised control measures on L2 are not a bug but a security feature. For hackers: you can steal, but withdrawing is hard. For users: your L2 wallet can theoretically be blocked by validators’ decision. Another argument to keep core funds in cold L1 wallets.

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## 🏭 Mining

⛏️ Bitcoin network difficulty drops by 2.43%

As of April 22, Bitcoin mining difficulty fell to 135.59 trillion, down 2.43% from the previous level. This is the fifth difficulty decrease in 2026 amid ongoing industry consolidation. Network hashrate remains above 1,000 EH/s (1 ZH/s), confirming sustained computational power.

Hashprice (revenue per 1 PH/s) rose 13.65%, giving miners a short-term reprieve.

Analysis: Falling difficulty combined with a rising BTC price ($78,000) creates a “profitability window” for miners. Fees remain minimal (about 0.45% of block reward), so the main income now is the block subsidy. The next difficulty adjustment is expected around April 30, and judging by accelerating block times, it will be an upward adjustment.

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## 💡 Ethereum: Technology Layer

🧠 Vitalik Buterin: AI + formal verification will change Ethereum security

In an interview with Xiao Feng, Ethereum’s founder stated that AI is rapidly improving vulnerability detection, and combined with formal verification, it will allow even non-programmers to write bug-free smart contracts.

Buterin also emphasised that L1 Ethereum will continue to focus on decentralisation and security, while quantum-resistant cryptography (hashing and STARKs) and ZK technologies will become the foundation for protecting the network from future threats — both quantum computers and AI. Additionally, L1 will continue to raise the gas limit over the next 1–2 years.

L2 solutions, according to Buterin, should not copy the base functionality of Ethereum mainnet but focus on applications that L1 does not have.

Analysis: Ethereum is officially moving from the “catch-up on speed” era to the “security and sustainability” era. This is an important strategic signal: Ethereum will not compete with Solana on TPS; instead, the team is investing in infrastructure to make the network resilient to future threats.

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## 🏦 Corporate Finance

🏢 Strategy makes largest BTC purchase since November 2024
Strategy (MSTR) continues aggressively building its Bitcoin reserves. The purchase of 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion is the company’s largest deal in the last 18 months. Total holdings reached 815,061 BTC acquired for $61.6 billion at an average price of $75,527 per coin. The company reported a 6.2% BTC yield for the first three weeks of April.

Analysis: Strategy remains the largest institutional Bitcoin holder, even surpassing BlackRock’s ETF. This is a signal of confidence for the market: large capital continues to enter Bitcoin despite volatility.

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## 🐸 NFTs & Memecoins

🐧 NFT market revives: Bored Apes up 25%, Pudgy Penguins expand ecosystem

On April 22, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection rose 25% in a single day, surpassing 9 ETH per token — a sign of possible NFT market recovery. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) closed at $0.00865 (+10.89% on the day) and continues to expand beyond NFTs, launching an AI-based trading bot on Telegram and a crypto debit card with Visa support.

🐕 MemeCore (M) jumps 22% to all-time high

Among memecoins, MemeCore (M) was the day’s leader, rising 22% to an all-time high of $4.30. M now ranks second among memecoins after Dogecoin, leaving Shiba Inu far behind.

Analysis: NFTs and memecoins are reviving on the back of overall market growth. Historically, such surges occur when capital starts to flow from Bitcoin into altcoins and speculative assets.

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## 🚨 Scams & Other Incidents

👮 Russian from Mozdok loses 2.1M rubles ($26,492) in crypto scam

A resident of North Ossetia found online advertising for a crypto platform promising super-high returns. He transferred 26,492 USDT, after which contact with the “investment platform” was lost. A criminal case has been opened for large-scale fraud (Part 4, Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code).

Analysis: Classic scheme: fake platform, promise of quick profit, then disappearance after receiving funds. For investors: always check platform licenses, never send large sums to unknown addresses. For regulators: crypto legalisation must be accompanied by public education.

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## 🔮 Systemic Trends of the Day

1. Russia legalises crypto on its own terms — first reading of the bill recognising BTC and ETH as property while keeping the ruble as sole legal tender. Main goal: use crypto to bypass sanctions in international settlements. Trend: state becomes regulator, not prohibitionist.

2. North Korean hackers continue attacks — $290M KelpDAO hack followed by $80M laundering via THORChain into Bitcoin confirms state-backed hackers remain the biggest DeFi threat. Trend: attacks are becoming more complex and larger in scale.

3. Institutional buying supports the market — Strategy buys 34,164 BTC for $2.54B, ETFs show six-day and nine-day inflow streaks. Trend: large capital continues entering crypto.

4. Asia becomes centre of regulated crypto ecosystem — Hong Kong issues stablecoin licenses and plans OTC licensing. Trend: Asia is building a jurisdiction with clear rules.

5. Ethereum shifts from speed race to security — Vitalik bets on AI, formal verification, and quantum resistance. Trend: Ethereum becomes a “settlement layer for institutions.”

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## 🏛 Architectural Conclusion

April 22, 2026 showed mixed market movement: on one hand, strong institutional and regulatory appetite (Strategy, Hong Kong, Russian bill); on the other hand, ongoing systemic threats (KelpDAO, Volo). The key takeaway of the day: legalisation is progressing, but security remains the weak link.

For retail investors in Russia:
– Declare your crypto assets — fines for non-declaration could be severe.
– Do not store large amounts on L2 (Arbitrum, Optimism) — validators can freeze them. Keep core capital in cold L1 wallets (Ethereum mainnet, Bitcoin).
– Avoid illegal P2P exchangers — criminal liability risk is rising.
– Remember that even after the law passes, domestic crypto settlements are prohibited.
For crypto entrepreneurs:
– Consider legalising in jurisdictions with clear rules: Hong Kong, UAE, and eventually Russia (after the law passes).
– Invest in security and insurance — if your protocol handles real assets, insurance (Nexus Mutual, InsurAce) becomes mandatory.
– Watch Asian projects supported by local regulators — the next growth wave may come from there.

Global trend: Crypto is moving from the Wild West to a regulated but secure infrastructure. Bitcoin becomes a corporate reserve asset. Ethereum becomes a secure settlement layer. Stablecoins become licensed payment instruments. And hackers… hackers still find vulnerabilities, but they are increasingly frozen at the L2 and cross-chain bridge level.

*“In 2026, crypto is for those willing to pay taxes, pass KYC, and sleep soundly. But even in a legalised world, one rule remains unchanged: your keys, your coins. Don’t trust exchanges and L2 more than you have to.”*