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A Hidden Barrier to Smart Crypto Policy: The Ethics Rule Blocking Tech Talent

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As federal agencies prepare for new executive leadership, an obscure ethics rule threatens to hamstring the incoming Trump administration’s ability to develop sound digital asset policy. Legal Advisory 22-04, issued by the Office of Government Ethics in 2022, has flown largely under the radar as part of the Biden administration’s restrictive approach to crypto. Yet its impact could be profound: it effectively bars anyone holding cryptocurrencies, tokens, or stablecoins from federal service.

For an incoming administration that promised to restore American competitiveness in financial innovation, this presents an immediate challenge. Key agencies like Treasury, SEC, CFTC, and the Federal Reserve will need officials who understand both traditional finance and digital assets. But the current ethics guidance forces potential appointees and civil servants to make an impossible choice: divest entirely from the sector or stay out of public service.

The irony is striking. A Treasury official can hold investments in JP Morgan while working on banking policy, but they can’t hold any amount of bitcoin while working on digital asset regulation. A SEC lawyer can own mutual funds while reviewing securities cases, but they can’t hold even $100 in stablecoins. This creates an artificial barrier to recruiting experts precisely when their expertise is most needed.

As Senior Director of Industry Affairs at the Blockchain Association, I work with more than 100 member companies at the forefront of financial innovation. Many of our members include professionals with deep government experience who could contribute valuable insights to federal service. Yet under current rules, their expertise remains off-limits unless they’re willing to completely divest from the industry they know best.

There’s a straightforward solution: The Office of Government Ethics should modify its guidance to allow de minimis holdings of digital assets, similar to existing rules for traditional financial instruments. This would maintain ethical standards while opening the door to badly needed expertise. Alternatively, the incoming administration could simply rescind the advisory via executive order — a quick win that would signal a more balanced approach to crypto policy.

The stakes are high. As countries like Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE race to establish clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets, the U.S. government needs officials who understand both the opportunities and risks. Maintaining an overly broad ethics rule doesn’t just handicap agencies — it undermines America’s ability to lead in financial innovation.

For an incoming administration focused on effective governance and American leadership in technology, addressing this barrier should be an early, easy-to-achieve priority. The alternative is watching crucial positions go unfilled or, worse, filled by those with limited understanding of one of the most transformative technologies of our time.

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Tesla Reports $951M in Crypto Holdings as it Misses Earnings

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Tesla (TSLA) still holds almost $1 billion in bitcoin, according to the automaker’s latest earnings report.

The electric vehicle firm reported digital asset holdings worth $951 million as of March 31, down from $1.076 billion on Dec. 30. Tesla currently holds 11,509 bitcoin in its balance sheet, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.

The change is almost certainly due to bitcoin’s price depreciating between the two quarters. Data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that Tesla did not perform any transactions in the last three months. Arkham marks Tesla’s holdings as being currently worth $1.049 billion.

A new rule from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requires corporate holders of digital assets to begin marking those assets to market each quarter.

Tesla also reported $19.34 billion in revenue for the first quarter of the year; analysts had expected the carmaker to rake in $21.37 billion.

The TSLA shares were up more than 2% in after-hours trading.

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Bitcoin Tops $91K as Trade Optimism Fuels Crypto Rally But Demand Headwinds Remain

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Bitcoin (BTC) surged past $91,000 on Tuesday, climbing nearly 5% amid renewed investor optimism and fresh hopes of a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions, but headwinds persist that could cap further upside, analytics firm CryptoQuant cautioned.

The largest crypto by market capitalization hit $91,700 in the U.S. afternoon, its strongest price since early March. Altcoins followed BTC higher, with Ethereum’s ether (ETH) rising 8% over the past 24 hours above $1,700, and dogecoin (DOGE) and Sui’s native token (SUI) gaining 8.6% and 11.7%, respectively. The broad-market crypto benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index advanced 5.2%.

CoinDesk 20 Index performance on April 22 (CoinDesk)

Markets were buoyed by remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly told investors at a closed-door JPMorgan event that the tariff standoff with China was unsustainable. Bessent said de-escalation would come “in the very near future,” characterizing current conditions as a “trade embargo.” However, he cautioned that a more comprehensive deal between the two nations could take even years.

Stocks recovered from yesterday’s decline, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq finishing the session 2.5% and 2.7% higher, respectively. Gold, meanwhile, sharply reversed from its record price of $3,500 during the day and was down 1%.

«As capital rotates into safe-haven and inflation-hedging assets, BTC and gold are proving to be key beneficiaries of the exodus from USD risk,» analysts at hedge fund QCP Capital said in a Telegram broadcast.

They highlighted rejuvenating inflows to spot U.S.-listed BTC ETFs and the return of the so-called Coinbase price premium, suggesting demand from American institutional investors. BTC ETF booked over $381 million net inflows on Monday adding to Thursday’s $107 million, according to Farside Investors data.

But not all signs point to a sustained breakout.

Despite the price jump, on-chain data points to fragility beneath the surface, CryptoQuant analysts said in a Tuesday report. Bitcoin’s apparent demand has decreased by 146,000 BTC over the past 30 days—an improvement from the sharp drop in March, but still negative. CryptoQuant’s demand momentum metric, which tracks new investor interest, has deteriorated further to its the most bearish level since October 2024, the report noted.

Market liquidity remains soft, with the report using USDT’s market cap growth as a proxy for crypto liquidity. USDT grew $2.9 billion over the past two months, below its 30-day average. Historically, BTC rallies coincided with USDT growth above $5 billion and above trend — a threshold not yet met.

Adding to the caution, bitcoin is now facing a key resistance zone between $91,000 and $92,000 at around the «Trader’s On-chain Realized Price» metric, a level that has often served as resistance in bearish conditions. CryptoQuant’s on-chain bull score classified current market conditions as bearish, suggesting a pause or pullback could follow if sentiment weakens.

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Unicoin CEO Rejects SEC’s Attempt to Settle Enforcement Probe

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Unicoin has rebuffed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) attempt to negotiate a settlement agreement to close an ongoing probe into the Miami-based crypto company, its CEO Alex Konanykhin revealed in a Tuesday letter to investors.

SEC enforcement cases (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

In his letter, Konanykhin said Unicoin was given an “ultimatum” by the SEC to attend a settlement negotiation meeting last week, on April 18.

“We declined to show up,” Konanykhin told CoinDesk, adding that the SEC had made demands ahead of the meeting that he found “unacceptable.” He declined to share specifics, telling CoinDesk that the communication between Unicoin’s lawyers and the SEC was confidential.

Unicoin received a Wells notice — a sort of official heads-up from the SEC that it intends to file an enforcement action against the recipient — in December, shortly before former Chair Gary Gensler stepped down, alleging violations related to fraud, deceptive practices, and the offer and sale of unregistered securities. No official enforcement action has yet been filed.

Since President Donald Trump took office, the SEC has reversed its once-aggressive stance toward crypto regulation, backing off from many of its open investigations into crypto companies, including blockchain gaming firm Immutable and non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea, and even some of its ongoing litigation, including against Coinbase and Cumberland DRW.

Other SEC enforcement cases against crypto companies, including its cases against Binance and Tron, have been paused while the parties attempt to negotiate a settlement. The agency recently reached a settlement agreement with Nova Labs, the parent company behind the Helium blockchain, that saw Nova Labs pay a $200,000 fine to settle civil securities fraud charges, and the SEC dropped its claims that Helium (HNT) and other related tokens were securities.

In his letter to investors, Konanykhin claimed that the SEC’s probe has caused “multi-billion-dollar damage” to the company and its investors.

“We would likely be a $10B+ publicly traded company by now if the SEC had not blocked our ICO, stock exchange listing and fundraising,” Konanykhin wrote, adding that the SEC had prevented Unicoin from acting on the “very favorable market opportunities.”

“We were forced into a standstill,” Konanykhin wrote.

The SEC did not respond to a request for comment.

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