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
BlackRock Files to Challenge Invesco’s Nasdaq 100 ETF Monopoly (Bloomberg)
From Mar. 30-Apr. 2, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $22.34 million in net inflows.
U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs saw $42.15 million in net outflows from Mar. 30-Apr. 2.
From Mar. 30-Apr. 2, U.S. Solana spot ETFs posted $5.24 million in net outflows.
U.S. XRP spot ETFs logged $3.56 million in net outflows from Mar. 30-Apr. 2.
Infrastructure
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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