Market Watch
Things to Watch This Week (Apr 21 - Apr 26)
Key Earnings Reports
This week, earnings from Tesla and Alphabet will be in focus as investors assess the impact of U.S. tariff uncertainty and AI-related spending. Tesla reports Tuesday amid weak delivery numbers and YTD losses, while Alphabet follows on Thursday, with attention on its AI infrastructure investments and cloud performance.
Random Musing This Week (Apr 21 - Apr 26)
Spot Solana ETFs with Staking Launch in Canada
On April 16, four spot Solana ETFs began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, marking the world’s first regulated spot SOL products with integrated staking rewards. The issuers allow up to 50% of fund assets to be staked, generating additional yield for investors on top of SOL’s market performance.
Within the first two days of trading, total assets under management (AUM) across the four ETFs reached $77 million. This structure is notable for integrating staking—a native yield mechanism for Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks—into a traditional investment vehicle. For many institutional investors, staking yield has been missing in crypto ETFs. These ETFs offer a compelling entry point by combining capital appreciation potential with passive income, like dividend-paying equities.
That said, demand for these Canadian Solana ETFs may be limited relative to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, partly due to Solana’s smaller market capitalization and expectations for eventual US-based spot SOL ETF offerings.
The launch also coincides with a notable governance proposal within the Solana ecosystem. Galaxy Digital has suggested a new validator voting mechanism to reduce inflation by requiring a broader consensus before adjusting staking emissions. While still under discussion, the proposal signals growing institutional involvement in Solana’s tokenomics and long-term economic sustainability.
Looking ahead, while two futures-based SOL products are already in the U.S., spot ETFs have yet to be approved. The CME’s recent listing of SOL futures—typically a precursor to spot ETF launches—may be a positive signal. Additionally, ongoing regulatory discussions around allowing U.S.-based ETFs to engage in staking make Canada’s approach an important reference point for potential future adoption.
Recap of Top Stories (Apr 14 – Apr 18)
Interesting
Trump blasts ‘too late’ Powell for not cutting interest rates
Commentary: US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of being too slow to cut interest rates and escalating a long-running conflict that risks undermining the central bank’s political independence.
With the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting interest rates again on April 17, “Too Late” Powell has failed to act appropriately in the United States, even with inflation falling, Trump said on Truth Social on April 17. “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump said.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell signals potential loosening of crypto rules for banks
Commentary: There could be a "loosening" of crypto-related rules in banks' future, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. During an interview on Wednesday at The Economic Club of Chicago, Powell pointed to "a wave of failures and fraud" over the years but said that the atmosphere itself is turning more mainstream. During the event, Powell also spoke about tariffs, immigration and inflation, among other topics.
"We took a pretty conservative, other bank regulators took an even more conservative perspective on the guidance and rules we imposed on banks," Powell said. "I think there will be some loosening of that."
Ethena Labs, Securitize unveil 'Converge' network roadmap
Commentary: Ethena Labs, the developer of the USDe synthetic dollar (USDe), and financial technology company Securitize, released a preliminary roadmap for their upcoming Converge network, a high-throughput blockchain focused on real-world assets and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Ethena and Securitize are launching the network to support permissioned real-world tokenized applications and permissionless DeFi applications as the line between traditional and decentralized finance continues to blur.
China's local governments sell seized crypto to refill public coffers despite trading ban
Commentary: Chinese local governments have been selling seized cryptocurrencies via private companies despite an ongoing crypto trading ban in mainland China, according to Reuters.
Amid a slowing economy, local governments have been selling crypto assets confiscated from illicit activities for cash to replenish public coffers — a practice that legal experts say could lead to opaque processes and foster corruption.
Commentary: VanEck is aiming to launch a new crypto-related exchange-traded fund, ticker symbol NODE, by next month. The ETF is designed to offer exposure to the wider crypto economy by investing in financial instruments and equities related to crypto exchanges, Bitcoin miners, and data centers.
"Actively managed, NODE will aim to hold 30 to 60 names from a 130+ stock universe tied to the digital asset economy. The global economy is shifting to a digital foundation. NODE offers active equity exposure to the real businesses building that future."
OKX to officially expand in US following February's $500 million DOJ settlement
Commentary: Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced today that it will launch a centralized crypto trading platform and its OKX wallet in the U.S. market. With the expansion, OKX established its regional headquarters in San Jose, California, and named Roshan Robert, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Barclays, as its U.S. CEO.
The company's U.S. expansion follows a $500 million settlement with the Department of Justice, under claims of servicing domestic customers without a proper license.
Securitize acquires MG Stover fund services arm; $38 billion in assets now under administration
Commentary: The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization firm Securitize has acquired a crypto-centered fund administration company out of MG Stover for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition aims to bolster digital asset fund administration for Securitize Fund Services, the company’s in-house platform, according to a release Tuesday. The deal brings Securitize’s assets under administration to $38 billion across 715 funds, making it one of the largest digital asset fund administrators.
The addition of MG Stover’s fund administration team will expand Securitize Fund Services’ offerings, including helping companies and funds raise capital through tokenized securities and simplifying the process of turning traditional assets into tokenized ones, the release said.
ZKsync discloses $5 million attack from compromised airdrop admin account, triggering 20% price drop
Commentary: The ZKsync security team disclosed in a social media post on Tuesday that approximately $5 million worth of ZK tokens had been drained from a compromised admin account. The attacker reportedly “took control” of the remaining unclaimed tokens from the ZKsync airdrop.
The breach appears to be connected to a compromised key tied to the admin account managing the airdrop contract. “The investigation is ongoing, and a detailed update will be shared later today,” the team added.
Anchorage Digital faces scrutiny from US Homeland Security
Commentary: The US Department of Homeland Security's El Dorado Task Force has reportedly launched an investigation into Anchorage Digital Bank, a Wall Street-backed cryptocurrency firm.
The reported Homeland task force probe hints at cross-national financial activities. Established in 1992, the El Dorado Task Force focuses on “transnational money laundering” activities and financial crimes carried out by organizations.
Commentary: The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision regarding staking ETFs as well as in-kind creations and redemptions for several cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds to later this year. The regulator intends to give itself more time to assess these rule changes as its in-house crypto task force considers how to implement long-term and comprehensive digital asset regulation.
The first decision to be delayed involved the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF, two ether-focused investment products managed by Grayscale Investments. On Feb. 14, the stock exchange NYSE Arca requested a rule change to let the two trusts stake the held ETH, the native token for Ethereum. The SEC had until Apr. 17 to make a decision, but delayed it to June 1, according to an SEC document filed on Monday.
Kraken unveils phased rollout for US stocks and ETF trading, shares plans for UK and European expansion
Commentary: San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken has added U.S. equities trading to its mobile and web platforms in a step forward for its offerings. The move will allow U.S. customers to manage crypto, stocks and Wall Street funds from a single account, similar to brokerages like Robinhood.
Last month, Kraken hinted at a pivot into U.S. equities when it announced plans to acquire CFTC-registered NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion in the largest-ever crypto and tradfi deal yet. The crypto exchange also plans to go public with an initial public offering slated for early 2026.
Mantra token price collapses by over 90% in 24 hours
Commentary: The price of the Mantra token, the native cryptocurrency of the Mantra real-world tokenized asset blockchain, has collapsed by over 90% in the last 24 hours.
The incident follows several high-profile token collapses and cybersecurity incidents, including the Libra memecoin implosion and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, responsible for billions of dollars in investor losses during the first few months of 2025.
SEC and Binance file joint motion for another 60-day pause in legal dispute
Commentary: The Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, have asked the judge overseeing their legal dispute to continue keeping the case on hold as lawyers on both sides hold "productive discussions."
According to a joint court filing submitted Friday, the SEC requested the pause be extended "...In light of these continued discussions and the time required for the staff to seek authorization from the [SEC] as necessary to approve any resolution or changes to the scope of this litigation." Binance's lawyers agreed that "...continuing the stay is appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy."
Spot Solana ETFs to launch in Canada this week
Commentary: Spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set to launch in Canada on April 16, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. In an X post on April 14, the analyst shared a private client note from TD Bank, a Canadian financial institution, claiming the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) greenlighted asset managers Purpose, Evolve, CI and 3iQ to issue ETFs holding Solana.
The ETFs are permitted to stake a portion of the SOL holdings for added yield, Balchunas said, adding that the upcoming listings are “our first look at the alt coin race.”
Upcoming Market Events
April 25 - BTC CME April (BTCJ25) Options Expiry
April 30 - U.S. February PCE Price Index
May 7 - U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision
May 13 - U.S. CPI (Apr)
May 15 - U.S. Retail Sales (Apr)