United States Senator Cynthia Lummis suggests the crypto industry may be celebrating too soon over the US Federal Reserve softening its crypto guidance for banks.

“The Fed withdrawing crypto guidance is just noise, not real progress,” Lummis said in an April 25 X post. Lummis called the Fed’s April 24 announcement — withdrawing its 2022 supervisory letter that had discouraged banks from engaging with crypto and stablecoin activities — “just lip service.”

Lummis’ tone was different from the rest of the crypto industry

Lummis, a pro-crypto advocate known for introducing the Bitcoin (BTC) Strategic Reserve Bill in July 2024, pointed out several flaws in the Fed’s announcement, even as Strategy founder Michael Saylor and crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano suggested it was a step forward for banks and crypto.

Source: Anthony Pompliano

She argued that the Fed continues to “illegally flout the law on master accounts” and still relies on reputational risk in its bank supervision practices. It comes as the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) is working on a rule to stop examiners from considering reputational risk when reviewing a bank’s operations, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

Lummis also highlighted the Fed’s policy statement in Section 9(13), which hasn’t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered “unsafe and unsound.”

She also reiterated many of the same staff behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0 are still involved in crypto policy today.

“We are NOT fooled. The Fed assassinated companies within the industry and hurt American interests by stifling innovation and shuttering businesses. This fight is far from over.”

“I will continue to hold the Fed accountable until the digital asset industry gets more than a life jacket, Chair Powell — they need a fair shake,” Lummis said.

Related: If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?

Custodia Bank founder and CEO Caitlin Long seemed to share a similar view to Lummis.

“THANK YOU for seeing this for what it is,” Long said.

Source: David Sacks

However, many crypto executives praised the Fed’s announcement as a positive development for the industry. Saylor said in an April 25 X post that the Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin.”

Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, said the Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption.”

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Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States saw over $3 billion in inflows this week, marking the first full week of consecutive inflows in five weeks.

On April 25, the 11 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $380 million in inflows, bringing the total for the week to around $3.06 billion over five consecutive inflow days, according to Farside data. The last time spot Bitcoin ETFs had a full week of inflow days was the week ending March 21.

Strong inflow week turns April into positive month

ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 24 X post that “ETFs are on a Bitcoin bender.”

“What’s really notable here is just HOW FAST the flows can go from 1st gear to 5th gear,” Balchunas said, forecasting that some of those flows may be due to the “basis trade back in effect.”

Source: Satoshi Stacker

Amid ongoing financial and macroeconomic uncertainty, spot Bitcoin ETFs have experienced a volatile April, with nine out of the total 18 trading days so far being outflow days. 

However, a strong surge of inflows over the past week has turned the month positive, bringing total net inflows for April to approximately $2.26 billion.

On the same day, Strategy founder Michael Saylor reportedly said at the Bitwise Invest Bitcoin Corporations Investor Day that BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin ETF “will be “the biggest ETF in the world in ten years.”

Related: 5 Bitcoin charts predicting BTC price rally toward $100K by May 

Just two days prior, on April 23, BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was awarded the “Best New ETF” at the annual etf.com ETF awards. IBIT was also the recipient of Crypto ETP of the year.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s spot price continues to hover around the $95,000 price level, currently trading at $94,613 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap data. Institutions are continuing to raise their bullish price targets.

Billion-dollar asset manager ARK Invest recently raised its “bull case” Bitcoin price target from $1.5 million to $2.4 million by the end of 2030, driven largely by institutional investors and Bitcoin’s increasing acceptance as “digital gold.”

ARK’s “bear” and “base” case scenarios for the price of Bitcoin were also bumped up to $500,000 and $1.2 million.

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Strike CEO Jack Mallers said his new role as CEO of Bitcoin treasury firm Twenty One Capital won’t distract him from heading Strike, revealing the platform processed over $6 billion in volume in 2024.

“This is not a shift in my commitment; it’s an extension of it,” Mallers said in an April 25 letter to Strike investors.

Bitcoin investors and humanity wins

“If Bitcoin wins, humanity wins. Every business decision I make starts with one question: Is this good for Bitcoin? Twenty One exists because I believe it is good for Bitcoin and, therefore, good for the world,” Mallers said.

Mallers explained that Strike, a Bitcoin payments platform, and Twenty One Capital have different goals. He said Strike focuses on making “Bitcoin accessible globally,” while Twenty One aims to increase “Bitcoin ownership per share (BPS) and pioneer Bitcoin-native financial tools.”

“These are separate companies, but they share the same ethos: Bitcoin wins, we win,” he said.

Source: Jack Mallers

It comes after Twenty One Capital announced its launch on April 23, with the backing of Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald.

The firm is looking to challenge Michael Saylor’s Strategy to become the “superior vehicle for investors seeking capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.” It revealed its plans to launch with 42,000 Bitcoin (BTC).

Source: Michael Saylor

Mallers shared key metrics for Strike publicly for the first time, revealing that in 2024, the firm posted over $6 billion in volume, recorded 600% year-on-year growth, maintained an 85% gross profit margin, and reported zero customer acquisition costs.

Mallers said that despite maintaining a team of 75 employees, the company expects to “generate 8-9 figures in net profit in 2025.”

Several crypto enthusiasts had taken to social media to ask how the logistics would work for Mallers, being the CEO of Strike and Twenty One Capital.

Related: 5 Bitcoin charts predicting BTC price rally toward $100K by May

Crypto commentator “Alex” asked in an April 25 X post, “What will be the fate of Strike? New incoming CEO? Or will he pull an Elon Musk?” Similarly, Domingo Guerra asked, “Who will be running Strike!?”

Meanwhile, several crypto industry participants have publicly speculated that Twenty One Capital may acquire Strike in the future. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said it is “probably safe to assume that this company will acquire strike.” 

Daniel Sempere Pico said, “How long before Twenty One acquires Strike?” However, neither Mallers or Strike has indicated any intention of doing so.

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