News linked to this event type.
According to Cointelegraph, the European Central Bank (ECB) has endorsed the EU’s proposal to transfer financial market regulation—including oversight of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs)—from national regulatory authorities to a centralized EU-level regulator.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis posted on social media stating that the previous administration caused the digital asset industry to relocate overseas. She emphasized that now is the time to establish clear regulatory rules for the digital asset industry and welcome it back to the United States, calling for the passage of the Clarity Act.
According to CoinDesk, Mike Selig, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated during the Digital Assets Summit hosted by Vanderbilt University that the CFTC will continue to defend its “exclusive regulatory authority” over prediction markets and clarify the federal regulatory status of commodity derivatives markets through litigation. Selig noted that prediction markets—whether related to sports, politics, or other topics—fall under CFTC jurisdiction as long as the products are lawfully offered on CFTC-regulated exchanges; state governments may not substitute gambling laws for federal regulation. Recently, the CFTC has filed lawsuits against Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut to underscore this jurisdictional claim. Selig also mentioned that the CFTC is engaged in rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act to clarify its regulatory framework for prediction markets and is collaborating with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a digital asset classification system aimed at preventing regulatory overlap.
Digital asset financial services firm Tok-Edge announced the launch of a cryptocurrency hedge fund targeting institutional investors, with a $100 million first-close target for 2026. Tok-Edge had previously operated in “stealth mode.” The fund’s long-term objective is to build a compliant crypto-asset allocation infrastructure for institutional investors. Its initial size stands at $21 million, backed by veteran traditional finance investor Marcus Meijer and his investment consortium, which intends to serve as the cornerstone investor with a $10 million commitment.
Officials from the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Treasury are consulting with the National Cyber Security Centre to examine potential vulnerabilities in critical IT systems revealed by Anthropic’s latest model.
Industry-wide concerns persist that the U.S. midterm elections in November this year could shift congressional priorities, weakening momentum for this long-anticipated cryptocurrency legislation.
In his response, Witkoff clarified the following points one by one: First, WLFI has absolutely no connection with the TRUMP meme coin—these two should not be conflated. Second, WLFI is unrelated to “fight fight fight” or CIC Digital. Third, early WLFI holders purchased the token at prices of $0.015 and $0.05, respectively; its current price stands at $0.08. Fourth, WLFI’s core product is not transaction fees, but rather the stablecoin USD1, which generates yield by holding U.S. Treasury securities. By both trading volume and market capitalization, USD1 is currently the world’s second-largest compliant stablecoin.
Wang Yongli, former deputy governor of the Bank of China, authored an article titled “Dialectically Viewing U.S. Cryptocurrency Policy,” in which he stated that the interpretive and guidance-oriented implementing rules document—“Application of Federal Securities Laws to Certain Digital Assets and Related Transactions”—issued under the Cryptocurrency Liquidity and Regulatory Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) represents a significant advancement in the United States’ classification, characterization, and regulation of digital assets. This development merits global study and reference for understanding, characterizing, and appropriately regulating digital assets. Nevertheless, U.S. cryptocurrency policy must still be approached dialectically: its classification-based regulatory framework is worthy of emulation, and effective, proportionate regulation is essential to foster innovation in the digital asset space.
Under this proposal, supervisory authority over systemically important cross-border entities will be transferred from national competent authorities to ESMA, covering large CASPs, trading venues, central counterparties (CCPs), and central securities depositories (CSDs). This represents the most significant structural adjustment to the EU’s crypto regulatory architecture since the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) fully applied to CASPs at the end of 2024. Under the current MiCA framework, national competent authorities serve as first-line supervisors, while ESMA plays only a coordinating role.
According to CoinDesk, Ron Hammond, Policy Lead at crypto market maker Wintermute, stated that the U.S. crypto market structure bill—the Clarity Act—continues to face multiple obstacles in its legislative process, with only about a 30% chance of passage this year. The bill aims to clarify the respective regulatory responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC over digital assets. However, current negotiations are progressing unevenly, and the timeline has been repeatedly delayed. Key resistance stems from traditional banking institutions—particularly over whether stablecoins should be permitted to generate yield—a point of serious disagreement. Related compromise proposals have repeatedly stalled. Moreover, internal divisions among Democrats, as well as issues concerning DeFi compliance and anti-money laundering (AML), further add uncertainty to the legislation. That said, Ron Hammond believes the bill still retains room for advancement; whether it can be enacted this year ultimately hinges on whether critical disagreements can be resolved.
According to Caixin, applications for the second batch of Hong Kong-compliant stablecoin licenses are underway. Reliable sources revealed that Futu Securities and OSL Group are among the contenders for the second batch of licenses. However, in November last year, China’s People’s Bank of China and 12 other ministries reiterated their stance on cracking down on virtual currency trading within mainland China and classified stablecoins as virtual currencies—meaning stablecoin trading will not be permitted in mainland China.
According to a report by the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, Norman Chan, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), stated that stablecoin issuers’ choice of currency for issuance primarily depends on the applicants’ own preferences. While the first stablecoin to be launched will be pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, issuing stablecoins pegged to other currencies—including the renminbi—is permitted under Hong Kong’s regulatory framework. However, applicants must also obtain approval from mainland Chinese regulatory authorities. Regarding when the second batch of stablecoin issuer licenses will be issued, Chan said there is currently no official timeline, though the HKMA continues to engage in discussions with prospective applicants. It is reported that HSBC’s stablecoin will be integrated into both the PayMe and HSBC HK mobile apps, supporting real-time peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers as well as peer-to-merchant (P2M) services.
According to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian delegation scheduled to hold talks with the United States that day comprised 71 members, including the core negotiation team, expert teams, media representatives, as well as protocol and security personnel. The Iranian delegation was led by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Iranian Parliament). Other members included Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, and Secretary of the Defense Commission Ali Akbar Ahmadian. Also part of the delegation were Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, Deputy Director for Foreign Policy at the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani, Member of Parliament Seyyed Mahmoud Nabaviyan, International Affairs Advisor to the Parliament Speaker Abolfazl Amouei, and Strategic Advisor to the Parliament Speaker Mehdi Mohammadi. Given the high complexity and sensitivity of the negotiations, Iran deployed technical and expert committees in addition to its core negotiating personnel. Moreover, the U.S. delegation totaled 300 people, a significant portion of whom belonged to security, protective, and protocol teams. (Xinhua News Agency)
According to U.S. News, U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi for the District of Arizona ruled to temporarily bar the state from taking criminal or civil enforcement actions against prediction market platform Kalshi under state law. Additionally, Kalshi’s scheduled arraignment on April 13 has been halted. This ruling responds to a motion previously filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In the temporary restraining order, Judge Liburdi stated that the State of Arizona may not enforce its state gambling laws against contracts listed on markets regulated by the CFTC.
HashKey Group Chairman Xiao Feng stated in an exclusive interview with the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po that Hong Kong’s issuance of the first batch of stablecoin licenses represents a significant milestone for the local digital asset market. He noted that this move further accelerates Hong Kong’s tokenization of fiat currency and completes a critical piece of infrastructure—clearing and payment systems—for its digital financial ecosystem. Beyond facilitating cross-border payments and trade settlements, Hong Kong-issued stablecoins will also serve as core mediums of exchange for digital asset transactions. Xiao Feng added that, in the long term, their greater value lies in enabling micro, cross-border, and programmable payments among AI agents, while synergizing with real-world assets (RWA), on-chain clearing, and other use cases—thereby helping Hong Kong secure a more pivotal role in the global evolution of digital assets and digital finance. He also emphasized that HashKey’s trading platform will adhere to principles of openness and regulatory compliance, supporting stablecoin issuers and related products that meet supervisory requirements to jointly foster healthy ecosystem development. Currently, HashKey is actively engaging in substantive cooperation discussions with licensed stablecoin issuers and welcomes institutions planning to launch compliant stablecoins in Hong Kong to establish partnerships. As a core participant in Hong Kong’s digital asset market, HashKey will leverage its existing licensed and compliant framework, fiat on-ramps, and industry resources to support compliant stablecoins across listing, liquidity provision, payment scenario expansion, and the implementation and refinement of related applications—driving orderly industry ecosystem development.
According to Fox News and NBC News, a spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed that San Francisco police arrested a suspect early Friday morning for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the residence of OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, as well as for making threats outside the AI giant’s San Francisco headquarters. OpenAI stated: “Fortunately, no one was injured.” The company added: “We are deeply grateful to the San Francisco Police Department for their swift response and thank the city government for its support in ensuring the safety of our employees. The suspect has been taken into custody, and we are cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation.” As of now, Altman has not issued any public statement regarding this arrest. In a separate statement, the San Francisco Police Department said officers responded early Friday to a residential property in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood “for a fire investigation.” The suspect fled on foot, and his description was immediately disseminated to all officers. Later, the San Francisco Police Department received a report and dispatched officers to a business located at 1400 Third Street to address “an unidentified male threatening to burn down the building.” (OpenAI’s headquarters is located at 1455 Third Street.) The department stated: “Upon arriving at the scene, officers recognized the male as the same suspect involved in the earlier incident and immediately took him into custody.” The suspect is reported to be a 20-year-old man.
According to Cointelegraph, Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, stated at the EUROFI High-Level Seminar that the Bank of France is advocating for the European Union to strengthen payment restrictions under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) on non-euro stablecoins—particularly U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins. Beau noted that existing regulatory measures may be insufficient to address the risks posed by widespread stablecoin adoption. Meanwhile, on April 7, the French National Assembly passed an anti-fraud bill that would require annual reporting of self-custodied crypto wallets with a value exceeding €5,000; however, the bill has not yet completed the legislative process.
SimpleChain announced the completion of a $15 million seed funding round, raised privately from family offices and institutional investors. SimpleChain is building an RWA-focused Layer 1 operating system for institutions. Built on Granular Data and native Compliance-as-a-Service (CaaS) technologies, the platform aims to accelerate the development of the Real World Assets (RWA) sector. The official statement notes that further updates will be released in the future. SimpleChain focuses on asset tokenization, on-chain verification, compliance automation, and global liquidity—providing infrastructure support for real-world economic systems. Its core capabilities include a trusted data foundation, a programmable compliance layer, and a high-performance blockchain architecture, enabling institutional-grade RWA issuance and on-chain financialization. SimpleChain seeks to enable seamless global interaction among assets, data, and institutions—replacing traditional intermediaries’ trust with technology, cryptography, and verifiable data.
According to CoinDesk, amid the Iran conflict, Binance has offered its approximately 1,000 employees in the UAE the option of temporary relocation to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, or Bangkok. Binance stated that its UAE operations continue normally, with some employees choosing to remain locally, and global user services remain unaffected. This measure follows regional unrest that has disrupted major cryptocurrency, business, and sports events in the UAE—including the postponement of TOKEN2049 Dubai to 2027 and the cancellation of TON Gateway due to security and travel concerns. The UAE government reported having intercepted hundreds of missiles and drones since late February. Binance is deepening its collaboration with local authorities through Abu Dhabi’s global regulatory framework, and its global operations are backed by Abu Dhabi.
Circle Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte responded to the major security breach affecting Drift Protocol on April 1, which resulted in over $270 million in stolen funds. He stated that open financial systems must be built upon foundations of legal accountability, shared security, and rules that evolve in real time with emerging threats. Circle freezes USDC funds only when legally required—a measure reflecting its compliance obligations and safeguarding users’ assets and privacy rights. He emphasized that openness and accountability must be balanced, and all participants across the ecosystem—including protocols, wallets, infrastructure providers, exchanges, and stablecoin issuers—must jointly shoulder responsibility for security and accountability. Circle is collaborating with U.S. and international policymakers to advance stablecoin legislation, including the GENIUS Act, to establish a more modern legal framework enabling lawful, rapid intervention against illicit activities while protecting property rights and privacy—ensuring the continued resilience and robust growth of open financial systems.