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BlackRock files to create digital shares tracking one of its money market funds

Asset manager BlackRock has filed to create digital ledger technology shares from one of the firm’s money market funds, which will leverage blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of share ownership for investors.

The DLT shares will track BlackRock’s BLF Treasury Trust Fund (TTTXX), which may only be purchased from BlackRock Advisors and The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), the firm said in its April 29 Form N-1A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The money market fund holds over $150 million worth of assets, invested almost entirely in US Treasury bills and cash.

BlackRock said that the shares “are expected to be purchased and held through BNY, which intends to use blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of share ownership for its customers.”

Unlike the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), DLT shares won’t be tokenized but will

US Treasury’s OFAC can’t restore Tornado Cash sanctions, judge rules

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control can’t restore or reimpose sanctions against the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, a US federal court has ruled.

Austin federal court judge Robert Pitman said in an April 28 judgment that OFAC’s sanctions on Tornado Cash were unlawful and that the agency was “permanently enjoined from enforcing” sanctions.

Tornado Cash users led by Joseph Van Loon had sued the Treasury, arguing that OFAC’s addition of the platform’s smart contract addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list was “not in accordance with law.”

OFAC had sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, accusing the protocol of helping launder crypto stolen by the North Korean hacking collective, the Lazarus Group.

The agency dropped the platform from the sanctions list on March 21 and argued that the matter was “moot” after a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-texas-court-reverses-tornado-cash-sanctions-crypto-privacy-win"

Strategy’s Bitcoin buys should be ‘super careless’ to pump price — Exec

Key takeaways:

Richard Byworth says Michael Saylor’s Strategy could ramp up its Bitcoin buys by acquiring cash-rich companies and converting their cash into Bitcoin.

He says that Strategy should consider accelerating purchases as the Bitcoin supply on exchanges continues to decline.

Byworth argues that aggressively increasing Bitcoin holdings would boost Strategy’s mNAV, benefiting shareholders.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy should take a more aggressive approach to buying Bitcoin by acquiring companies to use their cash holdings to fund purchases and do away with over-the-counter buys, a crypto executive says.

“Saylor’s strategy so far has been the right one,” Syz Capital partner and Jan3 adviser Richard Byworth said on an April 29 podcast.

Strategy should try “super aggressive” buying

However, Byworth pondered what happens when Bitcoin (BTC) reaches an “illiquid supply” point where no Bitcoin is left on crypto exchanges or over-the-counter (OTC) desks.

“Should Saylor buy Bitcoin really carelessly? As

Australia’s finance watchdog to crack down on dormant crypto exchanges

Australia’s financial intelligence agency has told inactive registered crypto exchanges to withdraw their registrations or risk having them canceled over fears that the dormant firms could be used for scams.

There are currently 427 crypto exchanges registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), but the agency said on April 29 that it suspects a significant number are inactive and possibly vulnerable to being bought and co-opted by criminals.

The agency is contacting any so-called digital currency exchanges (DCEs) that appear to no longer be trading, and AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said they’ll be told to “use it or lose it.”

“Businesses registered with AUSTRAC are required to keep their details up to date; this includes details about services that are no longer provided,” he added.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas says scammers can use inactive crypto firms

Ledger scammers are sending letters to steal seed phrases

Scammers are mailing physical letters to the owners of Ledger crypto hardware wallets asking them to validate their private seed phrases in a bid to access the wallets to clean them out.

In an April 29 X post, tech commentator Jacob Canfield shared a scam letter sent to his home via post that appeared to be from Ledger claiming he needed to immediately perform a “critical security update” on his device.

The letter, which uses Ledger’s logo, business address, and a reference number to feign legitimacy, asks to scan a QR code and enter the wallet’s private recovery phrase under the guise of validating the device.

The letter threatens that “failure to complete this mandatory validation process may result in restricted access to your wallet and funds.”

Source: Jacob Canfield

A seed phrase, or recovery

Trump Media considers crypto token and wallet for streaming arm

Trump Media and Technology Group, the social media conglomerate backed by US President Donald Trump, is considering integrating a crypto token and wallet into its video streaming site, Truth+.

“We’re exploring the introduction of a utility token within a Truth digital wallet that can initially be used to pay for Truth+ subscription costs, and later be applied to other products and services in the Truth ecosphere,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes wrote in an April 29 letter to shareholders.

He added that the crypto token and wallet would be part of a rewards program that Trump Media is exploring across its services, which include the social media platform Truth Social and the financial services platform Truth.Fi.

Trump Media first signaled plans for a potential crypto payments venture last November when it filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for computer software designed to function

Labor pain, crypto gain — How weak JOLTS data sets path for Bitcoin price to rally

Key points:

Weak labor and consumer data often precede Bitcoin rallies, leading some analysts to anticipate future economic stimulus programs.

Job openings fell to 7.2 million in March versus the 7.5 million forecast and consumer confidence hit its lowest level since January 2021.

If past patterns hold, Bitcoin could rally by mid-July and possibly reach $140,000 by October 2025.

Macroeconomic conditions have long been seen as a major influence on cryptocurrency prices. Generally, Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins perform poorly when investors fear that employment and consumer data are weakening.

According to a US Labor Department JOLTS report released on April 29, job openings in March approached their lowest levels in four years. US employers posted 7.2 million vacancies in March, below the 7.5 million that economists had forecast. Meanwhile, US consumer confidence fell for the fifth straight month in April, reaching its lowest point since January 2021.

US Consumer Confidence (left)

Betting markets’ Q1 US GDP forecast flips negative amid tariff turmoil

Bettors on prediction platforms Polymarket and Kalshi are flipping bearish on the US economy. As of April 29, both platforms are predicting that the US will log an economic contraction during the first quarter of 2025 in an upcoming economic data release.

The US has logged positive growth figures every quarter since 2022, and a reversal in that trend could mark the start of a recession.

The pessimistic outlook marks a stark sentiment shift for prediction markets, which had recently anticipated a positive US growth report. On April 29, consensus Q1 US growth estimates on Kalshi, a US derivatives exchange, plunged from around 0.5% to -0.4% in less than 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Polymarket bettors are setting the odds of a US economic contraction in Q1 at around 70%. On April 28, they still had a mostly favorable outlook.

The shift comes one day after Canada, America’s second-largest trading partner, elected Liberal Mark

US Senate majority leader expects stablecoin vote before May 26 — Report

US Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly told Republican lawmakers that the chamber would address a bill on stablecoin regulation before the May 26 Memorial Day holiday.

According to an April 29 Politico report, Thune made the comments in a closed-door meeting with Republican senators, who hold a slim majority in the chamber. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, was introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty in February and passed the Senate Banking Committee in March.

Thune did not mention any crypto or blockchain-related bills in his public comments on US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has signed several executive orders with the potential to affect US crypto policy, including one affecting stablecoins.

Bitcoin price still in bargain zone as US jobs report sparks rate cut hopes

Key Takeaways:

Fidelity Digital Assets says Bitcoin is undervalued and the firm holds an optimistic mid-term outlook.

The JOLTS report shows a sharp drop in open US jobs, raising investors’ hope for Fed interest rate cuts.

According to Fidelity Digital Assets, Bitcoin’s (BTC) mid-term outlook dropped to an “optimism” zone, as the investment firm noted that BTC is trending toward “undervaluation.”

As proof, the firm cited the ‘Bitcoin Yardstick’ metric, which measures BTC’s market cap divided by its hashrate. A lower ratio suggests that Bitcoin is “cheaper” relative to the energy security of its network.

In Q1 2025, the metric stayed between -1 and 3 standard deviations, cooling from its Q4 2024 overheated levels. The number of days above 2-standard deviations dropped from 22 to 15, with none above 3, indicating that Bitcoin is less expensive compared to its network strength.