News linked to this event type.
According to Cointelegraph, South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) stated that API-based cryptocurrency trading currently accounts for approximately 30% of market buy/sell volume. The FSS noted that some traders are using automated tools to inflate trading volumes and manipulate prices—for example, by repeatedly submitting small orders to create a false impression of market activity or placing high-limit buy orders to artificially boost prices. The regulator announced it would launch a targeted investigation into accounts suspected of abnormal API trading and urged investors to remain vigilant toward assets exhibiting sudden, unexplained spikes in price and trading volume. Previously, South Korea mandated that exchanges reconcile asset balances every five minutes and has been continuously tightening anti-fraud regulations; however, certain regulatory measures remain constrained by an incomplete legal framework.
It is reported that Bybit Earn has entered a strategic partnership with Doppler Finance to officially launch an institutional-grade XRP fixed-income product, offering users a new yield opportunity. Traditionally, XRP does not support native staking, limiting its yield potential. This collaboration introduces Doppler Finance’s institutional-grade yield strategies, making yield-generating capabilities—previously available only to institutions—accessible to retail users. These strategies are selected and executed by Doppler Finance, a native yield platform focused exclusively on the XRP ecosystem, dedicated to delivering secure, transparent, and compliant yield solutions for non-stakable assets. During the campaign, users participating in the 90-day XRPfi fixed-income product will earn an annualized yield of 5%, comprising a base annualized yield of 2.5% plus an additional 2.5% annualized reward drawn from a 30,000 XRP incentive pool. Campaign Period: April 13, 2026, 10:00 – July 12, 2026, 23:59 (UTC)
According to QCP Group, U.S.-Iran negotiations collapsed over the weekend, sending oil prices back above $100 per barrel and triggering a broad market shift toward risk aversion. BTC encountered resistance at $74,000, while ETH pulled back from $2,330 to $2,180. Trump subsequently threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz to cut off Iranian oil exports; Iran countered with threats targeting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further widening risk exposure. China, as a major importer of Iranian crude oil, sits at the center of this crisis. Should the blockade be implemented, U.S.-China confrontation risks would rise significantly—a scenario not yet fully priced into markets. Nevertheless, the crypto market has demonstrated notable resilience: implied volatility and risk-reversal indicators have both retreated to pre-conflict levels, signaling waning panic. BlackRock’s IBIT recorded net inflows of $612.1 million over the past week, reflecting continued institutional buying momentum. Market focus has now shifted from geopolitical headlines to execution details: Trump announced the blockade will commence at 10 a.m. ET—yet repeated delays have rendered policy credibility itself a tradable variable.
According to News1, Circle, the issuer of the stablecoin USDC, has signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dunamu, the operator of Upbit—the largest virtual asset exchange in South Korea. The two parties will jointly advance digital asset education initiatives—including stablecoins—to enhance market participants’ access to information and bolster the credibility of South Korea’s digital asset ecosystem. Oh Kyung-seok, Dunamu’s representative, stated, “Collaborating with Circle—experienced in compliant operations—is highly significant.” Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s representative, emphasized, “South Korea is an exceptionally important market for digital asset innovation.”
Polkadot’s official response to the security vulnerability discovered in Hyperbridge’s Ethereum gateway contract: Hyperbridge services have been temporarily suspended to investigate the issue. This vulnerability affects only DOT tokens bridged to Ethereum via Hyperbridge and does not impact DOT tokens within the Polkadot ecosystem or DOT transferred via other cross-chain bridges. The Polkadot mainnet, parachains, and native DOT remain secure and unaffected.
According to Tom Dunleavy, Head of Venture Capital at Varys Capital, the fundraising environment for cryptocurrency startups has undergone significant changes over the past six months. Venture capital (VC) firms now only need capital to gain access to deal flow—high-quality projects are actively seeking investment, and funding demand has reached an all-time high. Most VC firms have either exhausted their capital, shifted focus to later-stage rounds, or failed to raise new funds, leaving fewer than 20 firms actually capable of investing at the earliest stages (Pre-Seed/Seed). The fundraising cycle for startups has lengthened from two to three weeks to two to three months, and companies lacking innovation or merely copying market trends struggle to secure lead or follow-on investments. VC firms now enjoy more time to conduct thorough due diligence when evaluating projects. Dunleavy believes that 2025 and 2026 will represent a historic window for VC firms that remain committed and resilient.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve’s latest analysis indicates that stablecoins currently serve primarily as tools for cryptocurrency trading and liquidity provision within the financial ecosystem, rather than as mainstream payment instruments. According to the report, approximately 49% of stablecoin supply supports trading liquidity on centralized exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and broader crypto infrastructure; 29% is used for wallet-to-wallet transfers or internal fund operations; and 21% remains idle—with less than 1% actually deployed for real-world payments. The report notes that, as natively crypto-designed instruments, stablecoins face constraints in cross-chain interoperability and integration with traditional financial systems, hindering their large-scale adoption for payments. Although payment processors such as Mastercard and Visa announced support for related technologies in 2026, stablecoin-based payment use cases remain in their infancy. Future development hinges on resolving critical challenges including interoperability, regulatory compliance, and identity verification.
Shin Hyun Song, candidate for Governor of the Bank of Korea, stated on April 13 that central bank digital currency (CBDC) and deposit tokens—digital tokens issued by commercial banks based on CBDC—should serve as the core of the digital currency ecosystem. Shin Hyun Song noted that while he supports the introduction of won-denominated stablecoins, maintaining monetary trust remains the top priority. He believes stablecoins play a positive role in areas such as asset tokenization and programmability, and may complement or compete with deposit tokens in the future. Regarding the issuers of won stablecoins, he recommended initially permitting bank-led consortia, followed by gradual inclusion of non-bank institutions to ensure regulatory compliance. On the view that stablecoins could enhance foreign exchange transaction efficiency, he emphasized the need for careful assessment of whether blockchain technology can effectively meet relevant regulatory requirements.
According to News1, following the erroneous payment incident at Bithumb, the Bank of Korea stated that it is necessary to prudently consider introducing a “circuit breaker” mechanism—similar to those in traditional financial markets—into the cryptocurrency market to address extreme market volatility and systemic risks. The Bank of Korea noted that as the cryptocurrency market expands and associated risks increase, existing regulatory measures are insufficient to fully cover potential issues; therefore, it is essential to study the introduction of an automated trading suspension mechanism to enhance market stability and investor protection. Previously, Bithumb triggered market attention after a system failure led to abnormal payments affecting some users’ assets.
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.