Daily News: Arizona Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bill, Grayscale Pushes for Ethereum ETF Staking

Other updates involve Ethereum Foundation Releases Three Updates and Projects' Updates, according to multiple sources.

Trump Aims for Larger Trade Deals

According to Jin10.com, two sources from the Trump administration have stated that President Trump is working on larger trade agreements with various countries, which is why the White House is taking longer to announce them. The sources added that these agreements are not just about lowering Trump's latest tariffs. Countries frequently mentioned by Trump and his trade team include Japan, Vietnam, Argentina, the UK, South Korea, and the EU. Last week, the White House stated that its trade team received "18 written proposals," but did not specify which countries submitted them.

Arizona Legislature Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bill Awaiting Governor's Signature

According to The Block citing Bloomberg Government, the Arizona Legislature passed the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill on Monday, which is now awaiting the governor's signature. The bill would allow the state treasury and retirement systems to invest up to 10% of available funds in digital assets, specifically Bitcoin. If Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs signs the bill, Arizona would become the first state to mandate public funds investment in Bitcoin. The bill was jointly proposed by Republican Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jeff Weninger.

Analysis: U.S. Consumer Stock Market Confidence Hits Historic Low, Risk Aversion Rises

According to The Kobeissi Letter, the latest survey from the University of Michigan shows that U.S. consumer pessimism about the stock market has reached a historic high, with a record 12% of Americans believing there is no chance for the stock market to rise in the next 12 months. This proportion has tripled in the past two months, surpassing peak levels during market bottoms in 2022, 2009, and 2022. Meanwhile, 44.5% of consumers expect the stock market to decline in the next year, marking the highest level since 2022 and the second highest in 14 years. Market sentiment is unusually pessimistic.

Analysts point out that the sharp decline in consumer confidence is related to concerns about economic recession, inflationary pressures, and unstable trade relations. This pessimism may lead investors to withdraw from the stock market, reducing market liquidity and shifting funds to defensive sectors or cash holdings, further exacerbating market volatility.

Standard Chartered: Bitcoin Expected to Break $120,000 in Q2

According to The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, stated in the latest report that Bitcoin is expected to reach a new all-time high of around $120,000 in the second quarter of 2025 and maintain its target price of $200,000 by the end of 2025. Kendrick believes now is the time to buy Bitcoin, with multiple indicators supporting price increases, including the trend of U.S. investors seeking non-U.S. assets, continued accumulation by "whale" investors, and ETF funds shifting from gold to Bitcoin as a safe haven. He emphasized that Bitcoin, due to its decentralized nature, is more effective than gold in hedging risks in the existing financial system.

Grayscale Urges SEC to Approve Ethereum ETF Staking, Claims $61 Million in Lost Earnings

According to Bitcoin.com, Grayscale met with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto working group in Washington, D.C., on April 21 to discuss regulatory changes for staking in Ethereum exchange-traded products (ETPs). Grayscale stated that the total assets managed by U.S. Ethereum ETPs amount to $8.1 billion, but have lost approximately $61 million in earnings from launch until February 2025 due to inability to participate in staking.

The company proposed amending the 19b-4 application files for Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF to allow staking activities. Grayscale emphasized that staking would help enhance Ethereum network security while providing additional returns for shareholders.

Coinbase to Launch Bitcoin Yield Fund, Open Only to Non-U.S. Institutional Investors

Bloomberg reported that Coinbase Asset Management announced it will launch the "Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund" on May 1, aimed at providing regular returns on clients' Bitcoin holdings. The fund is expected to offer an annualized net return rate of 4% to 8%, with returns paid in Bitcoin. Notably, this investment product will be open only to non-U.S. institutional investors.

MILK Tokenomics Announced, Airdrop Accounts for 10%

The Celestia liquid staking protocol Milk has announced its MILK tokenomics. The total supply is 1 billion tokens, distributed as follows: Core Contributors 200 million MILK (20.00%); Early Private Round Investors 134.2 million MILK (13.42%); Early Supporters 35.5 million MILK (3.55%); Foundation 80 million MILK (8.00%); Community Round 52.5 million MILK (5.25%); Binance Exclusive TGE (Token Generation Event) 20 million MILK (2.00%); Binance Web3 Wallet Marketing 20 million MILK (2.00%): allocated for future Binance wallet marketing activities, details to be announced later; Ecosystem Growth 165 million MILK (16.50%); Massdrop 100 million MILK (10.00%): allocated to early users, including mPoint holders, Moolitia NFT holders, and milkINIT testers, released in four phases; Community Growth 192.8 million MILK (19.28%).

SIGN Opens Airdrop Claim

Sign announced on social media that airdrop claims are now open.

Ethereum Foundation Releases Three Updates from Board and Management

The Ethereum Foundation announced three significant updates from the board and management team. The first update, released by Aya Miyagotchi and Vitalik Buterin, reaffirms and updates the foundation's vision, principles, and values in the new era. The foundation emphasizes its purpose to strengthen the Ethereum ecosystem and uphold its core values, not only driving key advancements itself but also nurturing other leaders within the ecosystem. As a nonprofit supporting Ethereum, it will continue collaborating with the broader ecosystem to improve the protocol, develop the community, and advocate for Ethereum's growth.

Grafana Responds to Previous Hacking Incident: No Evidence of Code Modification or Customer Data Breach

Grafana stated that their investigation results currently show no evidence of code modification, unauthorized access to production systems, exposure of customer data, or access to personal information.

Earlier reports indicated that SlowMist detected a suspected hacking attack on the open-source data visualization tool Grafana, with attackers possibly implanting malicious code.

Project Previously Infiltrated with Malicious Code Likely QuantMaster, Developer Rules Out AI Malfeasance

Thomson, the developer of the DeFi trading and asset management project QuantMaster, responded on social media, stating that they were victims of the "previous malicious code implantation by an employee" incident, with some proprietary funds found to have malicious code implanted. With assistance from SlowMist founder Yu Jian, a successful report has been filed. The suspect is largely identified, with clear GitHub records of code submissions (by a certain employee), and the device used for submissions is unique. Cursor has complete local AI records, which have been reviewed, ruling out the possibility of AI modifying related code.

Earlier reports disclosed that a Web3 project contract was suspected of having malicious code implanted by an employee, leading to losses of tens of thousands of dollars.