Good afternoon,

Bitcoin climbed above $70,000 as signs of a potential bottom emerged and optimism around a possible U.S.–Iran ceasefire weighed on oil prices, before pulling back below that level. Meanwhile, OpenAI is warning that AI could drive job disruption and widen inequality in a new policy framework, reports suggest North Korean workers have been infiltrating DeFi protocols for years, and Polymarket has introduced a new collateral token to replace bridged USDC.

Let’s dive in! 👇

News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

  • Big Banks Seeking a Piece of SpaceX’s I.P.O. Must Subscribe to Elon Musk’s Grok (NYT)

  • Solana Launches Plug-and-Play Agent Skills to Power AI-Native Blockchain Interactions (Solana Foundation)

  • AI Overly Affirms Users Asking for Personal Advice (Stanford)

  • OpenClaw to Add Native Video Generation with Integrations from OpenAI, xAI, and Alibaba (Peter Steinberger)

  • OpenAI Warns of Job Disruption and Inequality in New AI Policy Framework (OpenAI)

  • Behind the Curtain: Sam's Superintelligence New Deal (Axios)

  • New AI Cybercrime Tool Targets Crypto, Bank KYC Systems Via Deepfakes (Cointelegraph)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

  • US Community Banks Oppose OCC's Approval of Coinbase Trust Charter (Cointelegraph)

  • Charles Schwab Opens Waitlist for Direct Bitcoin and Ether Trading, Targeting Q2 Limited Launch (The Block)

  • North Korean Hackers Spent Six Months Infiltrating Drift Before $285M Exploit (Decrypt)

  • Western Union Completes Acquisition of Singtel’s Dash (Yahoo Finance)

  • Visa Says South Korea an Optimal Testbed for Stablecoins Amid Call for ‘Urgent Regulation’ (DL News)

  • Foxconn Q1 Revenue Jumps 30% on AI Tailwinds; Cautions on Middle East "Volatility" (Yahoo Finance)

  • Circle Says Upcoming Layer 1 Arc Will Be Quantum-Resistant (The Block)

  • Rwanda Swats Bybit’s P2P Platform Offering Franc-to-Crypto Trading (Cointelelgraph)

  • Circle Mints Record $3.25B USDC on Solana in Largest Weekly Issuance of 2026 (Solscan)

  • China IPOs Jump 56% as Regulator Eases Restrictions to Drive Tech Innovation (SCMP)

  • North Korean Workers Have Been Infiltrating DeFi for 7 years (Cointelegraph)

  • Onchain Perp DEX Volumes Fall For Five Straight Months After October Peak (Cointelegraph)

  • An Inside Look at OpenAI and Anthropic’s Finances Ahead of Their IPOs (WSJ)

  • Galaxy Taps Broadridge for Onchain GLXY Shareholder Vote in May (The Block)

  • Aave Faces Mounting Contributor Exodus as Chaos Labs Exits Risk Management Role (Aave)

  • Polymarket Unveils Collateral Token to Replace Bridged USDC (The Defiant)

  • Jamie Dimon Says JPMorgan Must Move Faster as Tokenization Reshapes Finance (CoinDesk)

Exchanges

  • Binance Expands Altcoin Liquidity Program to 40 Pairs with Addition of XAUT/USDT (Cryptopolitan)

  • South Korea’s $8.5B Securities Giant Reportedly Eyeing Crypto Exchange Takeover Deal (DL News)

  • Binance Compliance Staff Leave Financial Crime, Monitoring Roles (Bloomberg)

Exchange-Traded Funds

Infrastructure

  • Cosmos Ecosystem's Leap Wallet is Shutting Down (The Block)

  • South Korean Fintech Giant Toss Eyes Launching Native Cryptocurrency (The Block)

Markets

  • Myriad Traders Predict US Boots in Iran After Downed Fighter Jet Prompts Rescue Mission (Decrypt)

  • FIFA Inks World Cup Prediction Market Deal With ADI Predictstreet (Decrypt)

  • Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Remain Steady as Trump Gives Iran 48 Hours Before Unleashing ‘Hell’ (DL News)

  • dYdX Governance Approves Shutdown of Multiple Markets with Over 91% Support (Mintscan)

  • Trump-Iran Deadline Chaos Sends Crypto Higher While Cease-Fire Hopes Rise (Cointelegraph)

  • This Week’s Upcoming Token Unlocks Top $190M with APT and BABY Leading Major Releases (Tokenomist)

  • Bitcoin Climbs Above $70,000 as More Contrarian Bottoming Signs Emerge (CoinDesk)

  • Iran War Bets Turn Prediction Markets Into Real-Time Macro Radar (Cointelegraph)

Politics & Regulation

  • EU Crypto Firms Turn to Legal Support as Deadline for MiCA Compliance Nears (Cointelegraph)

  • AI Giant Anthropic Files to Launch 'AnthroPAC' Amid Clash With Trump Administration (Decrypt)

  • Nevada Judge Extends Kalshi Ban, Calls Sports Contracts 'Indistinguishable' From Gambling (The Block)

  • UK Courts Anthropic After US Military Dispute Sparks Blacklist Concerns (Blockonomi)

  • China Orders Jack Dorsey's Bitchat Pulled from Apple App Store (Decrypt)

  • China's Tax Authority Urges Banks to Implement Blockchain for Lending Services (Cointelegraph)

  • Blockchain Association Challenges Citadel Over SEC's Innovation Exemption (The Block)

  • Kalshi Wins Appeal Against New Jersey Over Sports Event Contracts (The Block)

  • US Senate Banking Panel Member Confirms April Timeline for Crypto Market Structure (Cointelegraph)

Treasuries

  • Bitcoin Treasuries Break Ranks as BTC Dips Below $70K (Cointelegraph)

  • Strategy Adds 4,871 BTC as Holdings Near 767K Despite Higher Cost Basis (Strategy)

  • Bitmine Announces ETH Holdings Reach 4.803 Million Tokens (PR Newswire)

  • Strive (ASST) Adds 113 Bitcoin at an Average Price of $68,584 per BTC (Bitcoin Magazine)

Venture Capital

  • Crypto Startups Raised $5 Billion in Q1 — Top 10 Funding Rounds (DL News)

Other News

  • HypurrFi Investigates Domain Hijacking, Warns Users From Interacting With Lending Protocol (The Block)

  • Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Says Iranian Government's Ban Backfired (Cointelelgraph)

  • A Deep Dive into the Future of Onchain Liquidity Routing (The Block)

  • Argentina's Milei Had Phone Calls With Leader of LIBRA Crypto Project That Collapsed (The Block)

Check This Out!

According to Token Terminal, Ethereum’s price history reflects three demand eras: ICOs (2017), DeFi and NFTs (2021), and today’s stablecoin- and RWA-driven activity.

Source: Token Terminal

Meme of the Day

Source: Cointelegraph

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