The U.S. Treasury said a $344 million USDT freeze was part of its latest effort to disrupt financial networks tied to Iran. Tether blacklisted two Tron addresses on Thursday that held the funds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said OFAC is sanctioning multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran under a broader campaign called "Economic Fury." A U.S. official said the wallets had links to Iranian exchanges and intermediary addresses associated with the Central Bank of Iran.

Morgan Stanley, which manages $9.3 trillion in assets, launched the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio for issuers like Circle on Friday. Morgan Stanley said the money market fund was designed to comply with the GENIUS Act and is available on days when the New York Stock Exchange is open. Circle currently keeps the majority of USDC reserves in BlackRock's Circle Reserve Fund, which was valued at about $78 billion on Friday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iranian ports will continue and has already turned back 34 ships. Hegseth said an aircraft carrier will join the operation within a few days and that the U.S. military seized two vessels from Iran's "shadow fleet" in the Indian Ocean. Hegseth also warned that the U.S. would destroy Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz if Iran lays them there.

The Department of Justice ended its criminal probe into Jerome Powell over alleged cost overruns on the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation, clearing a major obstacle to Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as the next Fed chair. Senator Thom Tillis had said he would block Warsh until the probe ended, and Senate leadership now expects a committee vote and floor confirmation before Powell’s term expires on May 15. Warsh told senators he would keep rate decisions independent from the White House, but he has also criticized the Fed’s post-pandemic rate response. Bitcoin has traded in the $70,000–$92,000 range this year as traders watched signals from the central bank.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Crypto.com, and Coinbase over sports-related event contracts, and the complaint alleges Kalshi generates more than $1 billion a year from sports contracts. The lawsuits ask a Dane County court to declare the offerings illegal gambling and public nuisances under Wisconsin law. Wisconsin cited platform marketing in the filings, including Kalshi ads calling itself the first nationwide legal sports betting platform. The action follows a similar lawsuit filed Tuesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

South Africa's Ministry of Finance released draft crypto capital control rules that would route larger crypto transactions through authorized financial institutions. The proposal would require pre-approval for global remittances and declaration of crypto assets held overseas. Violators could face frozen or confiscated crypto assets, fines, or prison terms of up to five years.

Strategy said it bought 34,164 BTC for about $2.54 billion, lifting its holdings to 815,061 BTC and putting it ahead of BlackRock's IBIT. The article said tracker tallies put IBIT at 802,823 BTC on April 20 and at a reported 806,700 BTC by April 24, leaving Strategy narrowly in front. Strategy also said it still has more than $26 billion of at-the-market capacity and $1.6 billion left on its STRF preferred vehicle for more purchases. JPMorgan's near-term bull case cited in the article puts Bitcoin at $170,000 over the next six to twelve months.

North Korean hackers stole $293 million from Kelp DAO by compromising an application built on LayerZero. The attackers later used LayerZero again to move part of the stolen funds across blockchains, making it the first documented case in which the same app was used for both the exploit and part of the laundering. Onchain records show at least $500,000 moved through LayerZero. Arbitrum’s Security Council took back about $71 million that North Korean operatives had sent to the blockchain.

Bitcoin held near $78,000 on Friday as Brent crude climbed to about $107 a barrel after President Donald Trump escalated rhetoric over the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin rose to $78,300 after briefly trading above $79,000 and extended its April recovery by roughly 15%. CryptoQuant data showed Thursday’s jump from $76,351 to $79,447 was driven mainly by futures activity, with open interest rising from about $24.88 billion to nearly $28 billion. Across Bitcoin and Ether, short liquidations totaled nearly $1.19 billion.

Chinese authorities announced a ban on online crypto marketing services, effective Sept. 30. The People's Bank of China was among the eight departments behind the move. Only government-approved platforms will be allowed to conduct such marketing after the rule takes effect.