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An Iranian delegation has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, for a second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, Walter Bloomberg reported, citing two Pakistani government officials.

The U.S. Treasury Department has announced new sanctions related to Iran via its official website. According to the Treasury, these measures include the recent freeze of over $344 million in USDT. Tether, the issuer of the world's largest dollar-pegged stablecoin, previously stated that it had frozen the assets, which were held in two addresses linked to the Iranian government, in cooperation with U.S. authorities.

Whale Alert reported that 5,000 BTC has been transferred from Kraken to an unknown wallet. The transaction is valued at about $389 million.

Iran's Tasnim News Agency has denied Western media reports that Parliament Speaker Qalibaf will not accompany Foreign Minister Araghchi. The agency also reported that Iranian officials have not held any negotiations with the U.S. in Islamabad.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has adopted Chainlink (LINK) data standards for its AWS Marketplace, Decrypt reported. The move will make Chainlink's Data Feeds, Data Streams, and Proof of Reserve solutions available on the marketplace.

According to Fox News, the White House has announced that Vice President Vance is on standby in the U.S. It added that all relevant officials are prepared to depart for Pakistan immediately if necessary.

Tether has frozen over $344 million in USDT held in two addresses, an action taken in cooperation with the U.S. government. According to Solid Intel, the addresses are linked to Iran.

Liam 'Akiba' Wright, an analyst at CryptoSlate, has analyzed that while the total value lost to hacks in DeFi and traditional finance (TradFi) was comparable last year, the loss rate relative to transaction volume was 85 times higher for DeFi. Citing IBM data, Wright noted that TradFi institutions lost $2.6 billion to hacks on a transaction volume of approximately $35 quadrillion, a loss rate of 0.00007%. In contrast, DeFi protocols lost $2.8 billion on a volume of $46 trillion, representing a loss rate of 0.006%. Wright warned that this disparity is a significant red flag for the reliability of the DeFi space.

Whale Alert reported that 2,770 BTC has been transferred from an unknown wallet to Kraken. The transaction is valued at about $216 million.

Tether has announced that it has frozen over $344 million in USDT held in two addresses in cooperation with the U.S. government. The action was taken immediately after the addresses were identified to prevent any further transfer of the funds. The freeze was based on information provided by several U.S. law enforcement agencies following the detection of fund flows linked to illicit activities.

The hacker behind the Balancer (BAL) exploit has swapped 13,191 ETH for 386.52 BTC over the past 15 hours, Onchain Lens reported. The transaction is valued at approximately $30.54 million. The hacker still holds 8,000 ETH, worth around $18.52 million, and may conduct additional swaps. Balancer previously suffered a loss of $137.4 million from an exploit last year.

According to CNN, U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to participate in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi.

Iran's foreign minister is set to present the country's initiative for ending the war, Tasnim News Agency reported.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told Iranian state media that Foreign Minister Araghchi's regional tour will include consultations on the latest efforts by the U.S. and Israel to end the war against Iran.

Independent researcher Giancarlo Relli has successfully cracked a 15-bit Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) key using public quantum hardware, claiming a one BTC (approx. $78,000) bounty from Project Eleven, CoinDesk reported. The feat marks the largest quantum attack demonstration to date, representing a 512-fold increase in scale over a record set last September. While this does not pose an immediate threat to Bitcoin's 256-bit security system, experts have pointed out that quantum attacks are materializing faster than anticipated. The estimated number of physical qubits required to crack 256-bit encryption has recently fallen to under 500,000.

WLFI announced it has selected MovaLab as one of its first supernode operators to manage network operations. The project plans to collaborate with MovaChain to expand the use cases for the stablecoin USD1 into the AI and payment services sectors. WLFI is currently recruiting additional supernode operators to expand its network and stabilize its system as it continues to build out its ecosystem.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

According to data from prediction market Polymarket, there is an 83% probability that Kevin Warsh will be appointed chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve before May 15. The probability of his appointment before June 30 stands at 98%.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth announced that the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iranian ports, in effect since April 13, will continue for as long as necessary. Speaking at a Pentagon press conference on April 24 alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Cain, Hegseth stated that 34 ships have been turned back by the U.S. Navy to date. He added that an aircraft carrier is scheduled to join the blockade operation within a few days. Hegseth also revealed that the U.S. military seized two vessels belonging to Iran's "shadow fleet" in the Indian Ocean, stressing that the expanding blockade is spreading globally. He warned that if Iran lays mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would destroy them without hesitation, responding in a manner similar to how it deals with drug smuggling ships in the Caribbean. Hegseth concluded by stating that this should not be America's fight alone, adding that the era of Europe and Asia free-riding is over.

Nasdaq-listed Aurelion (AURE) announced that it holds 33,318 Tether Gold (XAUT), valued at approximately $157 million as of April 23. The company has staked 10,000 XAUT as yield-generating collateral, leaving the remaining 23,318 XAUT unstaked.

The Ethereum Foundation announced it has entered into an agreement to sell 10,000 ETH via an over-the-counter (OTC) deal at an average price of $2,378. The counterparty for the trade is BitMNR (Bitmine). According to the foundation, the funds raised will be used for its operations and activities.

The White House said it is confident the Senate will move quickly to confirm Kevin Warsh as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

South Africa's Ministry of Finance has released a draft regulation aimed at controlling cryptocurrency capital, Wu Blockchain reported. Under the proposed rules, crypto transactions over a certain amount must be processed through authorized financial institutions, and global remittances will require pre-approval. Additionally, any assets held overseas must be declared. Violators face potential penalties including the freezing or confiscation of their crypto assets, fines, or imprisonment for up to five years.

The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to conclude its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Powell as early as today, ABC News reported, citing multiple sources.