News linked to this event type.
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.
According to Reuters, the European Central Bank (ECB) recently stated its support for the European Commission’s initiative to centralize regulatory authority over systemically important cross-border financial market participants—including crypto-asset service providers, major trading venues, central counterparties, and central securities depositories—from national regulators to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This move aims to deepen the integration of EU capital markets and enhance overall competitiveness. The ECB recommends that ESMA’s Board establish a non-voting seat for central banks and emphasizes that ESMA must be granted adequate resources and personnel to effectively assume these new responsibilities. The relevant proposal will undergo negotiations between EU member states and the European Parliament and is expected to take several months before final legislation is adopted.
Decentralized GPU cloud computing infrastructure platform Aethir confirmed that its Ethereum-related bridge contract was attacked. The team promptly disconnected the affected contract and, in collaboration with major exchanges, blacklisted the hacker’s wallet, limiting losses to under $90,000. Earlier, blockchain security firm PeckShield estimated losses at $400,000. The attacker exploited Aethir’s cross-chain smart contract, AethirOFTAdapter, to transfer stolen funds from BNB Chain to Tron. Aethir stated that its Ethereum mainnet ATH token supply remains unaffected. It plans to release a detailed compensation plan and incident analysis next week and will collaborate with exchanges including Binance, Upbit, and Bithumb to freeze funds. Web3 security platform ZeroShadow is assisting with the investigation. In 2025, Aethir achieved $127.8 million in revenue and deployed over 440,000 GPU containers globally.
According to Reuters, Kraken has become the first cryptocurrency exchange approved for a Federal Reserve master account. However, the account is restricted: it only permits Kraken’s banking operations to access the Fedwire payment system and hold limited balances—earning no interest and ineligible for emergency lending. This move has raised concerns in the U.S. financial system regarding risk and transparency, including a call from Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, for greater disclosure of account details. Regulatory experts warn that lightly regulated crypto firms gaining direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system could pose operational and financial stability risks. The Federal Reserve stated that these restrictions are intended to mitigate liquidity shocks and credit risk; however, banks caution that they may impair banking system liquidity and exacerbate money laundering and operational vulnerabilities. Kraken says its bank reserves are fully backed and that it complies with bank-level anti-money laundering (AML) and customer identification requirements.
Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), stated that the HKMA has today issued the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses. According to the licensees’ business plans, operations are expected to commence within the coming months, pending completion of relevant preparatory work. Mr. Yue expressed his expectation that the licensees will launch their businesses as planned, proactively explore growth opportunities while effectively managing risks, and promote the application of compliant stablecoins to address pain points in financial and economic activities. He also urged the public to remain vigilant against any fraudulent schemes or scams falsely claiming association with licensed issuers or their stablecoins. When purchasing or using stablecoins, members of the public should only use regulated channels. In case of doubt, they should consult the HKMA’s register to verify the identity of a licensee or contact the licensee directly for further clarification.
According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)’s official website, the HKMA announced today at 5:00 p.m. the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses, with HSBC and Standard Chartered among the licensed institutions.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s call for the passage of the “Clarity for Digital Assets Markets Act” (CLARITY Act), expressing agreement and gratitude for his advocacy. Armstrong emphasized that bipartisan collaboration between senators and staff over the past several months has significantly strengthened the bill. Earlier, the U.S. Treasury Secretary urged Congress to swiftly pass the CLARITY Act.
According to the Nikkei, Japan’s Cabinet formally approved an amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) on April 10. This amendment marks the first time that crypto assets (virtual currencies) have been brought under Japan’s financial instruments regulatory framework. It explicitly prohibits insider trading based on non-public information and requires issuers to make annual disclosures. Regulatory authority over crypto assets will thus shift formally from the Payment Services Act to the FIEA; accordingly, registered operators’ official designation will change from “Crypto Asset Exchange Operators” to “Crypto Asset Trading Operators.” Regarding penalties, the maximum term of imprisonment for unlicensed crypto asset sales operations has been increased from three years to ten years, and the maximum fine has risen from ¥3 million to ¥10 million.
According to the Every Day Economic News, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will announce the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses on April 10 at 5:00 p.m. Subsequently, licensed stablecoin issuers will hold a press briefing. Previously, the HKMA completed its final review of the first batch of applications in mid-March 2026 and has now entered the official public announcement preparation phase. The HKMA received a total of 36 applications; the first batch of licenses is expected to include 2–3 issuers, under stringent regulatory standards. In early February this year, Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA, stated that the authority aims to issue Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licenses in March this year, adding: “The number of licenses issued in this first batch will certainly be limited, with stability as the top priority.”
According to an article published by Caixin titled “Financial Innovation or Insider Trading? The Rise and Controversy of Polymarket,” when insider information can be openly monetized, the boundary of prediction markets has already become blurred—raising questions about whether such markets are merely “gambling” disguised as finance, or even涉嫌 insider trading. Yet regardless of the legal debate over whether such activities constitute gambling, the fact that Polymarket uses the USDC stablecoin for settlement and delivery itself poses a significant legal risk for participants within China. Previously, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Amy Klobuchar introduced the “End Prediction Market Corruption Act,” which prohibits the President, Vice President, and members of Congress from trading on prediction markets and requires that the prediction market trading activities of their spouses and dependents be included in annual financial disclosures.
According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it will extend its cybersecurity threat information-sharing service—which was previously available only to traditional financial institutions—to cryptocurrency firms. Eligible crypto companies may apply to join the program through the Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection and receive timely, actionable cybersecurity threat intelligence at no cost. Luke Pettit, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department, stated that this move aims to foster a safer and more responsible digital asset ecosystem. The policy responds to related recommendations outlined in a prior report issued by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
In response, Star, founder and CEO of OKX, pointed out that both OKX and Binance are regulated by multiple regulatory authorities. As the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of a regulated company, CZ’s public proposal of a $1 billion bet is “unprofessional,” and Star expressed curiosity as to whether Binance’s regulators endorse such an action.
Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), posted: “Project Crypto is designed so that, once Congress acts, the SEC and the CFTC will be ready to implement the CLARITY Act. Treasury Secretary Bessent is right: It’s time for Congress to future-proof against regulatory overreach and advance comprehensive market structure legislation to President Trump’s desk.”
According to an official announcement, Circle has officially launched CPN Managed Payments, a托管 payment service that enables banks, payment service providers (PSPs), fintech companies, and major technology firms to integrate fiat-to-fiat and fiat-to-stablecoin payment flows—without needing to build their own wallets or blockchain infrastructure. This service aims to address core challenges institutions face when adopting stablecoin payments—including digital asset custody, stablecoin minting and management, and the application for and maintenance of regulatory licenses. With CPN Managed Payments, Circle handles all these components centrally; financial institutions can integrate directly via API and operate on the CPN network without holding or managing digital assets themselves. Circle stated that this launch represents a significant expansion of its existing CPN services, leveraging over a decade of experience operating compliant cryptocurrency payment infrastructure to accelerate global financial institutions’ adoption of stablecoin-based payment solutions.
Securitize announced the appointment of Brett Redfearn as President and a member of its Board of Directors. Redfearn previously served as Chair of Securitize’s Advisory Board and has now been elevated to this senior leadership role. He brings extensive experience in regulatory and market structure matters from his prior roles at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), JPMorgan, and Coinbase. Securitize stated that Redfearn will lead the expansion of its regulated platform businesses—including compliant token issuance, trading, and fund management—and will focus on strengthening collaboration with regulators and institutional investors to support the development of a next-generation, tokenization-based financial infrastructure.