🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (04/05/25)
1️⃣ Arizona Governor Vetoes Bitcoin Reserve Bill, Calling Crypto 'Untested Investment' ⚠️
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has reportedly vetoed a bill passed recently by the state's legislature that would have allowed the state's treasurer and retirement systems to invest up to 10% of their funds in virtual currencies such as bitcoin. This effectively ends efforts to make Arizona the first US state to adopt such a policy.
Explaining the move, Hobbs stated,
The Arizona State Retirement System is one of the strongest in the nation because it makes sound and informed investments. Arizonans' retirement funds are not the place for the state to try untested investments like virtual currency.
2️⃣ OKX Fires Back At Tron's Justin Sun Over Mysterious 'Freeze Notice' ❓
OKX founder and CEO Star Xu has reportedly published a response to recent allegations made by Tron founder Justin Sun. For context, Sun accused OKX of failing to act on a law enforcement request to freeze stolen funds following a recent hack of Tron’s official X account. Xu responded that the crypto exchange had not received any related correspondence through OKX’s official channels. He stated that OKX’s consumers protection policy prevented the exchange from freezing a customer’s funds merely on requests made in Sun’s personal X post or oral communication.
3️⃣ U.S. App Store To Allow Apps To Skirt 30% Fee On NFT, Crypto Sales Following Apple's Legal Defeat ‼️
A United States district judge has ruled that Apple violated an injunction in its antitrust legal battle against Epic Games. For context, Epic Games sued Apple in August 2020 after the phone manufacturer removed its hit game Fortnite from the App Store on grounds that it included a feature to bypass the 30% fee on in-app purchases. The court ruled that this was in “willful violation” of its 2021 Injunction issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing.
The court ruled that Apple must not impose “any commission or any fee on purchases that consumers make outside an app.” It stated that it saw no reason for Apple “to audit, monitor, track or require developers to report purchases or any other activity that consumers make outside an app.” The court also directed Apple to stop restricting app developers from including links or buttons to external methods of making purchases. Notably, prior to this ruling, NFT marketplace OpenSea’s iOS app has been forced to disable purchase functionality due to the additional 30% fee policy. Other apps, such as MetaMask, leveraged an internal browser to allow for commission-free payments.
4️⃣ Deribit Eyes US Expansion Under Crypto-Friendly Trump Admin 💬
According to a Financial Times report, Dubai-based crypto options exchange Deribit is considering entering the US market. Deribit’s chief executive Luuk Strijers explained that the development follows the U.S.’ recent shift towards “a more favourable regulatory stance on crypto.” Deribit joins a growing list of European and Asian crypto firms exploring a US expansion, including companies such as OKX, Nexo, Wintermute and DWF Labs.
5️⃣ Pro-Crypto Democrats Pull Support For Stablecoin Bill In Last Minute 👀
A group of nine US Senate Democrats have declared that they will oppose the GENIUS Act (a Republican-led stablecoin bill) if it moves forward in its current form. They claimed the bill “still has numerous issues that must be addressed.” They warned they would not support a procedural vote to advance the legislation unless changes are made. This includes calls for stronger safeguards related to Anti-Money Laundering, national security, foreign issuers, and accountability measures for noncompliant actors.
