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Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated that Bitcoin should adopt an optional quantum-resistant upgrade scheme, rather than the mandatory freezing of tokens at risk from quantum threats proposed in BIP-361.The BIP-361 proposal suggests phasing out addresses vulnerable to quantum attacks over five years and ultimately freezing un-migrated tokens, including assets held by Satoshi Nakamoto. Google's latest research indicates that a superconducting qubit system may need fewer than 500,000 physical qubits to crack Bitcoin encryption in just a few minutes. Currently, about 6.9 million BTC are at risk from such threats. In response to the quantum threat, BitMEX Research proposed establishing a canary fund that would implement a full freeze only when expenditures occur from the relevant addresses.

According to the official announcement, JustLend DAO has officially completed the third JST token buyback and burn today, with a total of 271,337,579 JST tokens destroyed, corresponding to a value of approximately 21.3 million USD. The tokens have been transferred to the black hole address. The funds for this burn come from the protocol's net income in the first quarter of 2026 and past accumulated earnings. As of April 16, 2026, the total number of JST tokens destroyed has reached 1,356,228,332, accounting for 13.70% of the total supply. JustLend DAO will continue to execute buybacks and burns quarterly and will regularly provide transparent updates to the community to jointly promote value empowerment.

According to market news, Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated at the Paris Blockchain Week that he supports the optional advancement of Bitcoin's quantum resistance upgrade and opposes the proposal to forcibly freeze quantum-vulnerable addresses. He emphasized that "preparation is much safer than hasty responses in a crisis" and pointed out that the Bitcoin community has the coordination ability to respond quickly to urgent vulnerabilities.Previously, the BIP-361 proposal ("Post-Quantum Migration and Legacy Signature Sunset") put forward by developers Jameson Lopp and five others advocated for the gradual elimination of quantum-vulnerable addresses over five years, ultimately freezing coins that have not completed migration— including approximately 1.7 million Bitcoins held by Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to CoinDesk, Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated at Paris Blockchain Week that Bitcoin developers should advance optional quantum-resistant upgrades as early as possible, even though practical quantum computers are still far from being realized.He pointed out that Taproot's flexible design can support the introduction of new quantum-resistant signature schemes without affecting existing users. Previously, Jameson Lopp and others proposed BIP - 361, which aims to gradually phase out addresses vulnerable to quantum attacks within 5 years and freeze Bitcoin that has not completed migration. Adam Back believes that the Bitcoin community can quickly coordinate responses in emergencies without the need for pre-established freezing arrangements.

According to Cointelegraph, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is seeking industry feedback on guidance for the future regulatory framework for crypto assets in the UK, aimed at facilitating the implementation of a comprehensive regulatory framework that will take effect on October 25, 2027.According to the announcement, this consultation will last until June 3, 2026, and aims to help businesses understand the impact of the new regulations on their operations, providing compliance guidance for key areas such as stablecoin issuance, crypto trading, custody, and staking.The FCA stated that it hopes to establish a "competitive and sustainable" crypto market, allowing compliant institutions to better serve UK users. The FCA also disclosed that the application process for relevant crypto business licenses is expected to open in September 2026 and continue until February 2027.All institutions providing crypto asset services will need to obtain authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) in the future, and previous registration under anti-money laundering frameworks will not automatically exempt them. This guidance consultation is seen as an important step in the UK's gradual improvement of its crypto regulatory system, marking an accelerated transition from partial regulation to a comprehensive licensing system.

According to the Senate Banking Committee's official website, next week (April 21) there is only one nomination hearing on the agenda, and there are no scheduled discussions/modifications for the anticipated digital assets or CLARITY Act.Additionally, Politico reports that Senator Thom Tillis will release the final draft this week, which is the last piece needed before the committee holds a markup meeting. The bill still needs to align with the Senate Agriculture Committee, pass the Senate's 60-vote threshold in a full vote (requiring Democratic support), and then coordinate with the House of Representatives.Some analysts point out that if a markup meeting is not scheduled between April 20 and 25, the midterm election politics could completely stifle the bill, as bipartisan cooperation would vanish entirely.

Investment bank William Blair stated that after a decline of about 26% from its peak in the first quarter, Coinbase has basically completed its de-risking, and the market's expectations for its weak trading volume and revenue have been fully reflected in its stock price.Analysts pointed out that although the trading data in the first quarter was weak, it had limited impact on market sentiment, and the company is enhancing its competitiveness through a "full-service trading platform" that includes derivatives, staking, stock trading, and prediction markets. The report emphasized that the continued growth of the stablecoin USDC is a core positive, with its market share rising to about 27%, a significant increase from around 21% in 2024, and it continues to capture market share from USDT.William Blair believes that the expansion of USDC brings synergistic benefits to Coinbase and its issuer Circle, and is optimistic about the latter's long-term value in stablecoin payment and trading scenarios. At the same time, institutions believe that the probability of a long-term downturn in the cryptocurrency market is low, and Coinbase has "asymmetric upside potential" in the market recovery.

According to The Block, after the rebound driven by the ceasefire in the Middle East faded, Bitcoin hovered around $71,000, while Ethereum was around $2,190, and the overall cryptocurrency market weakened simultaneously. Analysts pointed out that the breakdown of US-Iran negotiations and the escalation of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have caused the market to revert to the macro trading logic of "rising oil prices - increasing inflation expectations - declining risk appetite."Institutions believe that Bitcoin faces significant resistance around $74,000, compounded by crude oil returning above $100, putting pressure on capital risk appetite. However, most opinions suggest that the current pullback has not yet evolved into panic selling. Data shows that last week, the spot Bitcoin ETF still recorded nearly $1 billion in net inflows, and the scale of forced liquidations was significantly lower than the levels in the first quarter, indicating that the market's ability to absorb shocks has improved.Structurally, there is still strong selling pressure in the $70,000 to $80,000 range, with about 13.5 million addresses in a state of unrealized losses, limiting upside potential. At the same time, the scale of open futures contracts has decreased by more than 50% from the peak in 2025, showing that the previous excessive leverage has been somewhat cleared, and the market structure is becoming healthier. Bitcoin currently resembles a macro asset rather than an independent market, with its movements still highly dependent on inflation and liquidity conditions. In the context of rising inflation in the US and cautious monetary policy, Bitcoin may maintain a volatile pattern in the short term.

The decentralized AI infrastructure project DeAgentAI in the SUI and BNB ecosystems announced the official launch of the AIA token buyback and burn plan, with a total scale of $5 million. The funding comes from project protocol revenue and trading income generated from its own AI models.The buyback will be executed in three batches on the open market within 90 days, with all repurchased tokens being directly burned and permanently removed from circulation, without any lock-up or redistribution arrangements. Currently, the first batch of AIA buyback and burn has been completed. TX Hash: HBmTxfJymoymJTFSB5qtn4cV2pfd2SYS6PaGd5NPyFpf.DeAgentAI stated that the buyback funds are entirely sourced from the project's own business revenue, rather than external financing or token issuance. The burn records will be continuously updated.

The metal market has seen a short-term pullback. Among them, international gold (XAUT) reached a high of $4,713.3 and a low of $4,621.1 within 24 hours; international silver (XAG) reached a high of $75.73 and a low of $72.79 within 24 hours. As prices broke through key ranges, market risk aversion sentiment marginally receded, significantly amplifying short-term volatility.According to CoinGlass data, Gate's metal contract trading and positions are actively synchronized. Currently, the position size of XAUT is $42.7135 million; the 24-hour contract trading volume of XAG reached $60.4477 million, a substantial increase of 1640.73% compared to the previous period. Against the backdrop of severe market fluctuations, the competition between bulls and bears has intensified, driving a rapid increase in trading activity.Gate has pioneered the metal contract trading sector, providing 24/7 uninterrupted trading, offering users greater strategic flexibility and asset management efficiency in volatile markets. Gate's contracts cover various traditional financial assets, including stocks, metals, foreign exchange, indices, and commodities, supporting trading in core targets such as gold, silver, and globally popular stocks. Gate continues to build a more efficient and professional multi-asset one-stop trading platform for global users.

According to SoSoValue data, the majority of the cryptocurrency market is up, with the AI and Meme sectors relatively strong, rising 1.08% and 1.03% respectively over the past 24 hours. In the AI sector, 0G (0G) rose 14.95%, and Worldcoin (WLD) rose 6.58%; in the Meme sector, MemeCore (M) rose 4.45%, Banana For Scale (BANANA) rose 11.08%, and Binance Life surged 42.6%.In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) fell 0.37%, dropping below $72,000; Ethereum (ETH) fell 0.43%, dropping below $2,300. In other sectors, the Layer1 sector rose 0.47%, with NEAR Protocol (NEAR) up 2.82%; the CeFi sector rose 0.38%, with Binance Coin (BNB) up 0.84%; the PayFi sector rose 0.16%, with Ultima (ULTIMA) up 14.7%; the DeFi sector rose 0.1%, with Hyperliquid (HYPE) up 1.88%; the Layer2 sector fell 0.79%, with Optimism (OP) down 1.92%.The cryptocurrency sector indices reflecting historical market trends show that the ssiCeFi index rose 0.03%, while the ssiDePIN and ssiNFT indices fell 2.57% and 1.58% respectively.

Mike McGlone, Bloomberg's senior commodity strategist, tweeted that the crypto bear market may be in its early stages and stated that if β (market risk) declines, Bitcoin could fall back to $10,000.He disclosed that since the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) began trading in January 2024, its total return has been roughly on par with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), but the former's volatility is about four times that of the latter, with a 200-day correlation close to 0.5. In the absence of higher returns, high volatility and correlation are generally unfavorable for asset allocation. He also pointed out that since the birth of Bitcoin in 2009, the number of crypto assets has reached millions, most of which lack substantial support but still have valuations in the billions of dollars.

After 21 hours of negotiations, U.S. Vice President Vance stated that no agreement was reached, as Iran refused to commit to abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Trump had previously warned that if negotiations failed, he would implement "total destruction" against Iran. The Iranian conflict has shaken the cryptocurrency market for several weeks, compounded by tariff issues, causing Bitcoin to briefly drop below $70,000 earlier this month.Before the negotiations began, crypto analysts indicated that if an agreement were reached, Bitcoin could rise to $80,000; if negotiations broke down, it might fall back to $65,000. Bulls noted that on-chain wallet data showed that the largest Bitcoin whales continued to buy during periods of intense geopolitical turmoil rather than selling. Their logic is that if the conflict escalates further and disrupts oil supply in the Persian Gulf, leading to rising oil prices, inflation, and the Federal Reserve delaying interest rate cuts, scarce assets like Bitcoin and gold tend to perform well in such contexts.On the bearish side, gold trader and long-term Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff stated that as the conflict escalates, investors will flee from Bitcoin to gold. Peter Schiff predicted that Bitcoin would "collapse," claiming that gold is the only true safe-haven asset in wartime, and further suggested that insiders within the administration might be profiting from the volatility surrounding the conflict. If Trump follows through on his threat of "total destruction," both the stock market and the crypto market will almost certainly face simultaneous sell-offs.Regarding further developments, Vance maintained a firm stance at the press conference but did not rule out the possibility of continued negotiations. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon and the unfreezing of assets before participating in formal negotiations. For Bitcoin traders, the next 72 hours hinge on two questions: Can the ceasefire agreement hold, and will Trump escalate the conflict? Currently, there are still whales buying at the current price level, indicating that at least some large investors are betting on a stabilization of the situation.

According to CCTV News, on the 11th local time, Iran stated that a U.S. destroyer was detected sailing from the port of Fujairah in the UAE towards the Strait of Hormuz. After closely monitoring its movements, the Iranian armed forces immediately informed the Iranian delegation negotiating in Pakistan.The delegation then conveyed their relevant position to the U.S. side through a Pakistani mediator and issued a clear warning to the destroyer: if it continued to approach the Strait of Hormuz, it would be struck within 30 minutes, and the negotiations would also be affected. Due to the resolute response from the Iranian armed forces and the timely warning from the negotiation team, the U.S. side ultimately ordered the destroyer to stop advancing and turn back.

According to official news, Gate will launch the 13th Anniversary Invitation Celebration from April 10, 12:00 to April 20, 12:00 (UTC+8). Users can invite friends to register and complete ≥1 USDT transaction to gain a chance to enter a lottery, with a 100% chance of winning GT token rewards. As the cumulative spot and contract trading volume of invited friends increases, the inviter can earn up to 11 lottery chances from a single friend, with no limit on the number of invitations. Additionally, invited friends can also receive tiered GT rewards after meeting trading standards.Furthermore, Gate will hold an Invitation New Speed Competition from April 9, 12:00 to April 19, 12:00 (UTC+8), with a total prize pool of 130,000 USDT. During the event, users will receive a cashback of 20 USDT for each friend invited who completes the specified trading task; after friends meet the advanced trading conditions, both parties can receive additional rewards. Finally, rankings will be based on the number of valid invitations, with the top user enjoying an exclusive cashback reward of 5,000 USDT.

According to Bitmine, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) officially upgraded to the main board of the New York Stock Exchange on April 9, 2026, with the stock code remaining unchanged. The board also approved an increase in the stock buyback authorization from $1 billion to $4 billion, making it one of the top ten buyback plans announced in 2026.As of April 6, the company holds approximately 4.803 million ETH, accounting for 3.98% of the total Ethereum supply, having completed over 79% of the "5% alchemy" target. The company's total crypto assets, cash, and other assets amount to approximately $11.4 billion.

BERA Financial Company Greenlane Holdings announced that its board has approved a $2 million stock repurchase plan. Additionally, the company released its annual financial report, which disclosed that after increasing its holdings by 7.5 million BERA tokens, the total holdings have risen to 77.9 million tokens as of 2026, accounting for approximately 32% of the current circulating supply of BERA.

According to GMGN monitoring, the Meme coin Freedom of Money on the BSC chain has continued to decline since the official release of CZ's English version of the new book and its anticipated implementation. As of now, the coin price has dropped nearly 40% from yesterday's high and has retreated 43.5% from the market value peak on April 7. The current market value is reported at 12.9 million USD, with a 24-hour trading volume of approximately 6.3 million USD.ChainCatcher reminds users that Meme coin trading is highly volatile, largely relying on market sentiment and speculative concepts, and has no actual value or use cases. Investors should be aware of the risks.

According to SoSoValue data, influenced by factors such as the resurgence of conflict in the Middle East, the cryptocurrency market briefly surged before falling back, once again showing a general downward trend. The RWA sector performed weakly, leading with a 4.18% drop in 24 hours, among which Pendle (PENDLE) fell 5.94% and Ondo Finance (ONDO) dropped 5.64%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) decreased by 0.95%, falling below $71,000; Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.72%, retreating to above $2,100.In other sectors, the CeFi sector fell 2.11% in 24 hours, but Bitget Token (BGB) rose 1.83%; the Layer1 sector decreased by 2.21%, with NEAR Protocol (NEAR) relatively strong, rising 1.93%; the Meme sector dropped 2.29%, while MemeCore (M) rose against the trend by 4.35%; the DeFi sector fell 2.61%, with Maple Finance (SYRUP) surging 8.18% during the day; the PayFi sector decreased by 2.80%, but Safe (SAFE) increased by 4.02%; the Layer2 sector dropped 3.49%, with Optimism (OP) down 5.51%.The cryptocurrency sector indices reflecting historical market trends show that the ssiNFT, ssiLayer1, and ssiDePIN indices fell by 4.31%, 3.64%, and 3.48%, respectively.

According to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank plans to bring the client custody business of its Zodia Custody back under its Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) digital assets division, with an announcement expected as early as this month. After the restructuring, Zodia will operate solely as an independent custody technology software as a service (SaaS) platform.Standard Chartered Bank established Zodia Custody in late 2020 in partnership with Northern Trust through its innovation division SC Ventures, subsequently attracting a few equity investors such as SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD. It currently has about 150 employees across seven offices worldwide.