ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington predicts that Robinhood (HOOD) may struggle to sustain its record cryptocurrency trading revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a potential decline in digital asset trading volume in the first quarter of 2025. The trading platform is set to announce its first-quarter financial results after the market closes on May 1, Eastern Time.The report shows that Robinhood's cryptocurrency trading revenue surged 700% in the fourth quarter of last year, driving a significant increase in overall trading revenue. However, due to the dual impact of a stock and bond market downturn in the later part of the first quarter and a correction in the cryptocurrency market, it is expected that the trading volume for that quarter will drop from $71 billion in the fourth quarter to $52 billion. The assets under custody (AUC) are expected to decline by 5% quarter-over-quarter to $183.3 billion, but still show a year-over-year growth of 41%.Although retail buying was stimulated by U.S. tariff policies in early April, analysts believe this is unlikely to reverse the downward trend in the first quarter. Weak demand for margin and derivatives trading may further drag down performance. JPMorgan maintains a "neutral" rating, lowering the target price by $1 to $44, implying about a 10% downside from the current stock price of $49.

ChainCatcher news, according to reports from Huigang Communications, Victory Securities announced today that it has obtained two approvals for virtual asset business from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.The company is authorized to provide Discretionary Account Management Services (DAMS) for virtual assets to retail and professional investors, allowing investments in spot virtual assets, virtual asset futures, and options in accordance with the SFC's suitability regulations. Additionally, the company is also authorized to distribute structured products of virtual assets that are settled and subscribed in physical form to professional investors.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Reuters, Nike Inc. (NKE.N) was sued on Friday by a group of buyers who purchased Nike-themed NFTs and other crypto assets. The buyers allege that they suffered significant losses after the company abruptly shut down the business unit responsible for creating these assets.In a proposed class action filed in the federal court in Brooklyn, a group of buyers led by Australian resident Jagdeep Cheema stated that Nike's RTFKT division was suddenly closed in December 2024, leading to a sharp decline in demand for the NFTs they held. The group claims that had they known in advance that these tokens were unregistered securities and that Nike would "suddenly withdraw," they would never have purchased these NFTs at the then-current price or any price. The lawsuit accuses Nike of violating consumer protection laws in New York, California, Florida, and Oregon, with unspecified damages exceeding $5 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, one of South Korea's major cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb, has restarted its business split plan, aimed at refining and strengthening its various business segments while preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) this year.According to a statement released by Bithumb on Monday, the previously postponed split plan will take place on July 31, 2025. The newly split entity is named "Bithumb A," but its official English name has not yet been announced.

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, Web3 payment infrastructure company Kado Software has been acquired by Swapped.com. Although the team did not disclose the details of the transaction, it is reported that the acquisition aims to expand the U.S. operations of the Danish company Swapped.com.

ChainCatcher reports that, according to two insiders, cryptocurrency exchange giant Kraken has laid off hundreds of employees across all business areas in the past few months as the company prepares for a public listing in the United States and continues to streamline its operations.It was reported that at the end of October last year, Kraken laid off 400 employees, about 15% of its total workforce, at which time Silicon Valley investor and Kraken board member Arjun Sethi was serving as co-CEO alongside David Ripley. One insider stated that "hundreds of people have left" since Sethi took on the role of co-CEO, noting that in addition to the 15% reduction in staff at the end of last year, the company plans to continue with layoffs.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, investment bank TD Cowen pointed out that the Trump family's cryptocurrency business (including the planned launch of a stablecoin) could trigger a backlash and delay the U.S. regulatory process. Despite lawmakers accelerating the push for cryptocurrency regulations, political risks are on the rise.Jaret Seiberg, head of TD Cowen's Washington research team, wrote in a report on Monday: "We are concerned that political threats may escalate to a level that could undermine legislative and regulatory reforms in the cryptocurrency space. While we do not currently see political risks that could completely disrupt the cryptocurrency industry, the risks are rising rather than falling, which is a key factor we believe investors need to pay attention to." Currently, Washington lawmakers and regulators are making progress in cryptocurrency legislation and guideline development. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has withdrawn several cryptocurrency lawsuits, and lawmakers are proposing frameworks for regulating stablecoins and market structures.Seiberg mentioned that last week, SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda also hinted that the SEC might provide exemptions for cryptocurrency trading platforms and traditional exchanges wishing to trade tokenized securities. However, Seiberg stated that this momentum could be threatened by the controversies arising from the Trump family's involvement in the cryptocurrency space, including their planned launch of a stablecoin. "We are increasingly concerned that the Trump family's business activities and their government actions could provoke a strong backlash, derailing positive government actions." Seiberg also pointed out concerns over the Trump administration's shift in anti-money laundering policies, such as lifting sanctions on the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash and the Justice Department's reduction in prosecutions of cryptocurrency money laundering cases.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official announcement, Securitize has announced the acquisition of MG Stover's fund management business, making its subsidiary Securitize Fund Services (SFS) the largest digital asset fund management platform in the world. Following this acquisition, the total assets managed by SFS have reached $38 billion, covering 715 funds, including the $2.45 billion tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL launched in collaboration with BlackRock.Securitize now offers integrated services that encompass fund management, token issuance, brokerage services, transfer agency, and alternative trading systems (ATS). The company's CEO Carlos Domingo stated that this acquisition "solidifies Securitize's position as a comprehensive platform for institutional-grade real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and fund management." With traditional finance accelerating the adoption of blockchain, asset tokenization is becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors in digital assets. According to predictions by BCG and Ripple, the global tokenized asset market is expected to reach $18 trillion by 2033.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ibtimes, five small businesses in the United States have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. International Trade Court, challenging the broad import tariff policy recently implemented by President Trump. The lawsuit, represented by the nonpartisan organization Freedom Justice Center, accuses Trump of overstepping his authority, illegally seizing Congress's power to levy taxes, and questioning the legitimacy of treating the trade deficit as a national emergency. The plaintiff businesses come from different states and industries, including a New York liquor importer and a Vermont bicycle apparel brand, all claiming that the tariffs have caused severe financial strain. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the enforcement of the tariffs and confirm that the president does not have the authority to unilaterally implement such measures. The White House argues that these tariffs are intended to protect American businesses and workers and address the long-standing trade deficit issue.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Bitcoin mining company Luxor Technology's Director of Business Development Aaron Forster stated in an interview at the Consensus festival that cryptocurrency mining is being accepted and naturally evolving into other markets, with large miners transforming into power infrastructure providers for artificial intelligence rather than building large mines.The Bitcoin mining business is a stepping stone to larger, more capital-intensive industries like artificial intelligence, which excites me because it allows Bitcoin mining to be more widely accepted.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the world's largest asset management company BlackRock has released its Q1 2025 financial report. The data shows that in this quarter, BlackRock's exchange-traded fund (ETF) products had a total net inflow of $107 billion, with net inflows for digital asset products amounting to $3 billion, accounting for 2.8% of the total ETF inflows.According to reports, as of the end of March 2025, BlackRock's digital asset management scale reached $50.3 billion, approximately 0.5% of its total asset management scale of $11.6 trillion.

ChainCatcher news, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink expressed concerns about the Trump administration's tariff policies in an interview.He pointed out that these policies would not only weaken the value of the dollar but also plunge the U.S. economy into a recession. Fink stated that most CEOs he has spoken with believe that the U.S. "may be in a recession."

ChainCatcher news, OKX Global Chief Business Officer Lennix was invited to attend the "2025 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival" summit and participated in the roundtable discussion on the theme "Bitcoin as the Next Global Reserve Asset."During the discussion, Lennix stated that as global trade wars and tariffs continue to change, especially under the impact of the tariff policies imposed by the United States on other countries, Bitcoin is gradually being viewed as a more transparent and reliable reserve asset. It can help address currency devaluation and other economic shocks caused by tariffs.In addition, Lennix also mentioned that if the U.S. government begins to actually incorporate Bitcoin into its strategic reserves, market participants worldwide may reassess Bitcoin's potential as a reserve asset, thereby accelerating Bitcoin's transition to the next generation of central bank reserve assets.

ChainCatcher news, OKX Global Business Officer Lennix was invited to attend the "2025 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival" summit and participated in the roundtable discussion on the theme "Crypto Infrastructure: Present and Future." During the discussion, Lennix stated that the product development of the OKX Web3 wallet is based on two core principles: first, we firmly believe that true self-custody will become the mainstream in the future; second, we are deeply embedded in a multi-chain ecosystem. It has been proven that we are very successful in product development because we have invested hundreds of engineers focused on product refinement and technological innovation.Lennix pointed out that the OKX Web3 wallet is positioned differently from other wallets. On one hand, it always adheres to a truly decentralized infrastructure; on the other hand, it also highly values and responds to global regulatory expectations and requirements. This is precisely the unique challenge faced by the OKX Web3 wallet, and it is also our advantage.