News linked to this event type.
According to Anthropic’s official announcement, Claude Opus 4.7 has been officially released and is now available across the entire Claude product suite, API, Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI, and Microsoft Foundry. Its pricing remains unchanged from Opus 4.6: $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens.
According to GlobeNewswire, Exodus Movement—a U.S.-listed cryptocurrency wallet provider and Bitcoin treasury company—has announced a partnership with Ripple to expand native support for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) within its wallet, as well as add in-wallet support for the stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD). Users will be able to directly manage and send XRP assets within the wallet.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Charles Schwab officially announced the launch of Schwab Crypto™ spot cryptocurrency trading services on April 16, which will be rolled out to retail clients in phases over the coming weeks. The service supports direct trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum, and is accompanied by educational resources and dedicated customer support. It is also integrated with Schwab’s existing investment, trading, wealth management, and banking services.
Odaily According to news learned on the 16th local time, citing an Israeli Defense Forces official, the Israeli Defense Forces are prepared to reach a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon. According to Israeli officials, senior commanders of the Defense Forces have been instructed to prepare the troops currently deployed in southern Lebanon for a ceasefire. They were informed that the ceasefire will begin between 19:00 local time on the 16th and midnight. (CCTV News)
Sahara AI’s multi-asset investment agent, Sorin, has been officially launched. Sorin supports research, analysis, and trade execution across cryptocurrencies, equities, prediction markets, and tokenized assets. The desktop version can be deployed locally to enable autonomous trading—fully non-custodial and with no fund lock-up—and has already undergone testing with 20,000 early users. Quantitative strategy automation, cross-market real-time monitoring, personalized risk management, and other capabilities previously available only to institutional investors are now accessible to all users via Sorin.
According to Cointelegraph, Ukraine’s National Police and Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted a joint operation in the Zakarpattia region, arresting a suspect allegedly involved in an international cybercrime syndicate responsible for over $100 million in fraud and money laundering targeting the United States and Europe. The syndicate had previously been placed on the FBI’s international wanted list. At the time of arrest, the suspect was in possession of forged identity documents and had even fabricated a death certificate to conceal his whereabouts. The syndicate deployed malware to steal personal and corporate data, then extorted victims for ransom payments. Money laundering methods included purchasing real estate and masking fund flows through relatives’ names. Authorities seized approximately $11 million in assets, including cash, real estate, vehicles, and roughly $3 million worth of cryptocurrency. Two additional suspects were also apprehended. The arrested individual now faces charges of document forgery and money laundering.
According to CoinDesk, Drift Protocol—the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Solana—announced it has secured up to $147.5 million in funding from Tether and its partners (including $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners) following a hack that stole over $270 million. The funds will be used to restore user assets and relaunch the protocol. The attack was carried out on April 1 by a North Korea–linked group that had posed as a quantitative trading firm and infiltrated the protocol for approximately six months, causing the DRIFT token’s value to plummet roughly 70%. The funding structure combines revenue-linked credit, ecosystem subsidies, and market-maker loans, aiming to cover approximately $295 million in user losses. Upon relaunch, the protocol will replace USDC with USDT as its core settlement layer; Tether will simultaneously provide fee waivers, user incentives, and liquidity support.
Odaily News Drift announced on its official website that Drift Protocol has received support from Tether and other partners. Tether intends to contribute $127.5 million, while other partners plan to contribute $20 million, collectively supporting user recovery efforts following the April 1st attack. This support package includes a $100 million revenue-linked credit line, ecosystem grants, and loans provided to market makers. Drift will establish a dedicated user recovery pool, aiming to gradually address the $295 million in outstanding user losses as trading revenue grows. Additionally, Drift will issue independent recovery tokens to affected users, which represent a claim on the recovery pool and are transferable. Drift is currently in the process of restarting the protocol, having engaged Ottersec and Asymmetric for audits, and is migrating its settlement layer from USDC to USDT. The previous attack resulted in the theft of assets worth approximately $295 million, while the insurance fund assets remained unaffected.
Odaily News On April 16 local time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hagerthes said at a press conference that the U.S. Treasury Department is launching an operation codenamed "Economic Fury" to "impose maximum economic pressure on Iran." (CCTV)
Odaily News U.S. Defense Secretary Hagerthes said at a press conference on the 16th that U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper had briefed him that morning on the latest developments in all aspects of Operation "Epic Fury." Hagerthes stated that the U.S. military continues to carry out the "unbreakable blockade mission," ensuring that U.S. forces are in optimal combat readiness and prepared to resume combat operations at any time. (CCTV News)
According to The Block, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new consultation paper seeking feedback on how to bring digital asset activities—including stablecoin issuance, trading platforms, custody, and staking—under regulatory oversight. The consultation period ends on 3 June 2026. Crypto firms will be able to begin applying for FCA authorization as early as 30 September 2026, and the new regulatory regime is expected to officially take effect in 2027. The FCA stated that, prior to the new regime coming into force, crypto assets are largely unregulated in the UK—except for financial promotions and anti-financial crime oversight. Industry insiders note that the UK’s progress on crypto regulation clearly lags behind Europe, which has already established a comprehensive enforcement framework; however, some practitioners view the FCA’s systematic, phased implementation approach positively.
According to the official announcement, Bitget has launched U-denominated GENIUS perpetual contracts with leverage ranging from 1x to 20x. The contract trading BOT will also be made available simultaneously.
According to Decrypt, Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated at Paris Blockchain Week that he supports advancing Bitcoin’s quantum resistance upgrade on an opt-in basis, opposing proposals to forcibly freeze quantum-vulnerable addresses. He emphasized that “preparation well in advance is far safer than scrambling to respond during a crisis,” and noted that the Bitcoin community possesses strong coordination capabilities to rapidly address critical vulnerabilities. Previously, developer Jameson Lopp and five others proposed BIP-361 (“Post-Quantum Migration and Legacy Signature Sunset”), which advocates phasing out quantum-vulnerable addresses over five years and ultimately freezing coins held in unmigrated addresses—including approximately 1.7 million bitcoins held by Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to The Block, the Washington-based think tank Cato Institute published a critique of the U.S.’s current Bitcoin tax policy. Researcher Nick Anthony pointed out that the existing tax framework—which classifies Bitcoin as “property” rather than “currency”—requires users to calculate capital gains or losses for every single transaction, including routine, small-value purchases. This makes tax filing extremely cumbersome and effectively hinders Bitcoin’s adoption as a payment instrument. In response, the Cato Institute proposed several reform measures, including fully eliminating capital gains taxes on cryptocurrency payments and introducing a de minimis exemption threshold for small transactions. The report also referenced the existing Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act—a bill that would exempt crypto transactions under $200—but Anthony argued that this threshold is too low to reflect real-world consumer spending levels. Currently, the Trump administration has expressed support for establishing a de minimis exemption for cryptocurrency transactions and will continue evaluating related legislative options.
According to an official announcement, the BTTC Bridge transaction history page has completed its functional upgrade and is now officially live, aiming to provide cross-chain users with a more efficient and transparent asset tracking experience. This update introduces a dual-view mode—“All Records” and “In Progress”—displayed independently, along with a multi-dimensional filtering tool that supports flexible, combined searches by transaction status, type, and custom date ranges. Additionally, the page now features dedicated identification markers for deposits, withdrawals, and cross-chain activities, helping users quickly locate fund flows. Users can now visit the platform to experience a clearer cross-chain transaction management view. The team will continue refining product details to support broader on-chain interaction scenarios.
According to a CoinGecko report, the cryptocurrency market continued its bearish trend in Q1 2026, with total market capitalization declining by 20.4% (approximately $622 billion) to $2.4 trillion—down roughly 45% from its October 2025 peak. Key drivers of the downturn included tightened monetary policy expectations following Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve Chair and geopolitical shocks stemming from the U.S.-Iran war. The stablecoin market remained broadly stable, with total market capitalization rising slightly to $309.9 billion. USDT’s supply declined for the first time since Q2 2022, falling to $184.1 billion; USDC grew 2.4% to $77.1 billion; and USD1—issued by WLFI—rose 32.5%, boosted by Binance’s airdrop campaign. In terms of asset performance, crude oil prices surged 76.9% due to supply disruptions caused by the U.S.-Iran war, making it the strongest-performing asset this quarter; gold rose 8.1%; while Bitcoin fell 22.0%, underperforming both the Nasdaq (-7.1%) and the S&P 500 (-4.8%). Regarding trading volume, spot trading volume across top centralized exchanges dropped 39.1% to $2.7 trillion; March volume totaled just $0.8 trillion—the lowest since November 2023. Binance maintained a 37.0% market share. Among decentralized exchanges, Solana retained leadership with a 30.6% share—but was overtaken by Ethereum in March.
According to the official announcement, Binance Futures will launch MSFTUSDT, AVGOUSDT, and BABAUSDT—three USDT-denominated perpetual contracts—in batches on April 20, 2026. These contracts track the stock prices of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Broadcom (Nasdaq: AVGO), and Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), respectively. All three contracts offer a maximum leverage of 10x, a funding rate cap of ±2%, and funding settlements every 8 hours. They support 24/7 trading and multi-asset margin mode.
Odaily News According to an official announcement, Binance Futures will launch the MSFTUSDT perpetual contract at 13:30 (UTC) on April 20, 2026, the AVGOUSDT perpetual contract at 13:40 (UTC), and the BABAUSDT perpetual contract at 13:50 (UTC). All the aforementioned contracts will support up to 10x leverage and the Multi-Assets Mode.
According to CoinDesk, JPMorgan Chase released a research report stating that legislative negotiations for the U.S. CLARITY Act are nearing completion, with contentious issues reduced from over a dozen to just “two or three remaining items.” Discussions regarding stablecoin rewards have also entered a constructive phase. The bill aims to clarify the regulatory framework for digital assets, delineate responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC, and establish compliance pathways for stablecoins and DeFi platforms. The latest proposal is expected to garner support from both the crypto industry and traditional financial institutions. However, the official text of the bill has not yet been published, nor has a vote been scheduled. Moreover, if Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections, the priority for crypto-related legislation may decline, introducing uncertainty into the bill’s progress.
Cobo, a digital asset custody and wallet solutions provider, has launched the Adoption Clearing Layer (ACL), a payment incentive settlement layer open to public blockchains, stablecoin issuers, and payment institutions. Cobo aims to collaborate with more ecosystem partners to jointly build a stablecoin payment network grounded in real-world transactions. The ACL offers multi-chain payment routing and incentive settlement capabilities, directly linking ecosystem incentive budgets to genuine payment transactions—creating a transaction-centric growth loop. Initial ACL partners include Aptos and Morph; through ACL, participants can earn up to 15 basis points (bps) per transaction as commission—boosting authentic on-chain transaction volume for ecosystem participants while delivering sustainable revenue streams for payment institutions.