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At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including Sign partner Sarah, HashKey Chain Senior Business Development YuYi, Monad Greater China Ecosystem Head Harvey Chen, OmenX Chief Marketing Officer Gisele, and SVP Chain Market Head Celest engaged in a roundtable discussion on "The Revaluation of Crypto and the New Cycle."Regarding why they remain firmly invested in Crypto amid the AI boom, Sarah pointed out that the hotter AI gets, the more use cases there are for Crypto assets, and future transactions between AI Agents will rely on digital assets. YuYi believes that the bear market is precisely when the wheat is separated from the chaff, with compliant RWA (such as Hong Kong's first physical silver token) being implemented, speculative assets being eliminated, and the era of on-chain infrastructure arriving. Harvey Chen stated that high-performance public chains are the foundation for supporting large-scale applications, and Monad is committed to this. Gisele noted that Crypto addresses fairness and value transfer, complementing AI's focus on efficiency. Celest emphasized that AI lacks a native value system and increasingly requires Crypto to provide value authentication and decentralized trust.On the changing understanding of Crypto's value, the guests unanimously agreed that the industry is shifting from "issuing tokens for the sake of issuing tokens" to pursuing sustainable business models, with greater focus on capital efficiency, low costs, and 24-hour settlement as practical values. The value of public chains should be assessed based on real business scenarios and user transaction volumes, rather than narratives and financing.Regarding future growth engines and entrepreneurial advice, the guests generally expressed optimism about compliant RWA, AI payments, and sovereign blockchain directions, advising entrepreneurs to focus on real application scenarios, avoid empty concepts, and maintain a long-term construction mindset.

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including KiteAI's Asia Pacific head Laughing, Sentient's Asia Pacific head Anita, Brevis content director Nic Tang, Mentis product head Jerry, and Predict.fun's Asia Pacific BD head Ah Huang Ricardo engaged in a roundtable discussion on the theme "AI × Crypto --- The Foundation of the Next Generation Digital Economy."Regarding whether the outbreak of open-source AI Agents (such as "raising lobsters") is a short-term sentiment or a long-term trend, Laughing believes this marks a paradigm shift of AI from "conversational" to "executive," signaling the beginning of a long-term trend. However, Agents lack a physical identity, making it difficult for merchants to trust their trading behavior, and issues of data leakage and uncontrollability remain obstacles that must be overcome for scaling. Jerry pointed out, based on his own usage experience, that current Agents face security risks such as memory fuzziness, token consumption in dead loops, and accidental file deletion. Although newly emerged Agents have improvements, they still have shortcomings. Ah Huang Ricardo stated that behind the short-term sentiment is real user demand, but truly reproducible profitable trading Agents are still very rare, and there is a long way to go.Addressing core bottlenecks such as trust, security, and verifiability, Nic Tang emphasized that the current execution process of Agents is like a black box, where users cannot verify whether their decisions are executed as promised. Zero-knowledge proof technology can mathematically prove the source of an Agent's output and compliance with behavior, while not exposing privacy. Anita added that Sentient is committed to building an open and collaborative AI agent network, promoting the deep integration of AI and blockchain in identity, data, and incentive layers, providing foundational support for the next generation digital economy.Regarding the application scenarios that are likely to scale first, the guests generally believe that the programming field is relatively mature, and Agents in prediction markets perform better than humans in specific tracks due to their rationality and lack of emotions. In the short term, they are optimistic about API Marketplace and cross-platform consumer shopping Agents, while in the medium term, they are optimistic about content creation AI (such as AI influencers). Agent-to-Agent interaction and the Agent/Skill Marketplace are seen as important future trends.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 26, up 1 point from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 21, and the average over the past 30 days is 14.

Lotus Technology Inc. (Lotus Technology, Nasdaq: LOT.US) Chief Financial Officer Dr. Wang Daxue confirmed his attendance at the forum themed "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" held in Hong Kong on April 19, where he will present on the topic "Crypto Links to the Physical Industry, Smart Mobility on the Chain." This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData and is one of the important peripheral activities during the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.Lotus Technology has operational entities in the UK, EU, and China, with a sales network covering major markets worldwide. The company is committed to creating high-end luxury lifestyle vehicles, focusing on world-class R&D in next-generation automotive technologies such as electrification and intelligence.In recent performance communications from Lotus Technology, Dr. Wang Daxue emphasized cost optimization and operational efficiency improvements. As AI, crypto networks, and the physical industry accelerate their integration, his presentation will explore how on-chain technology can more deeply serve real-world applications from the perspective of the smart mobility industry. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and crypto networks, engaging in in-depth discussions around cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure.Event registration: https://luma.com/18v6vwpf

LayerZero posted on platform X that it is aware of the rsETH vulnerability incident and has been actively working with the KelpDAO team on handling and remediation since the incident occurred, while continuing to monitor the situation.LayerZero stated that, aside from the rsETH-related incident, other applications remain secure. Regarding the root cause of the incident, LayerZero is collaborating with SEAL_Org and others to investigate and has indicated that it will release a complete post-incident analysis report in conjunction with KelpDAO once all information is gathered.

According to the Hong Kong Commercial Daily, in response to the increasingly heated topic of "Middle Eastern funds flowing in" to Hong Kong, the Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chen Haolian, stated that there are indeed more clients inquiring about how to transfer funds to Hong Kong or open accounts in Hong Kong, and that there is a two-way exchange between Hong Kong and the Middle East.He revealed that a licensed virtual insurance company in Hong Kong has expanded its business in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and that tokenized funds from Hong Kong have landed on Middle Eastern wealth management platforms. Additionally, Asian funds can purchase Islamic bond ETFs in Hong Kong, providing Middle Eastern investors with a familiar and trustworthy market.Chen Haolian emphasized that the Hong Kong government will actively develop financial technology and digital assets, and is currently formulating legislative proposals for the licensing system of digital asset trading and custody services, aiming to establish a complete regulatory framework to develop Hong Kong into a global hub for digital asset innovation.

The "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum, sponsored by Monera Digital and co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, will be held today, April 19, from 14:00 to 18:00 (GMT+8) in Hong Kong. This forum has received joint support from partners including Tencent Cloud, HashKey Chain, Alchemy Pay, Kite AI, Sentient, Sign, Predict.fun, Monad, Brevis, UXLINK, OneBullEx, SVP Chain, OmenX, TurboFlow, LOTUS, Mentis, NeoSoul, Swap315, Electric Soul, and others.As an important peripheral event of the "Hong Kong Web3 Carnival," this forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and the crypto network, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure.Event registration: https://luma.com/18v6vwpf

OneBullEx confirms participation in the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held on April 19 in Hong Kong. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.OneBullEx is an AI-driven smart platform focused on contract trading. The platform deeply integrates AI automation, transparent execution, and trading infrastructure, providing users with a more efficient, transparent, and verifiable contract trading experience through tools like 300 SPARTANS robots and OneALPHA. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and crypto networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure.

KiteAI Asia Pacific Head Laughing confirmed attendance at the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held in Hong Kong on April 19, and will participate in a roundtable discussion. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.Kite AI is building the foundational layer of the Agentic Internet, aiming to create a vertically integrated artificial intelligence ecosystem to promote the realization of real business value and the long-term sustainable development of the network. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and crypto networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leaps and economic restructuring, this themed forum not only provides insights into the current state of the industry but also offers a forward-looking reflection on the future intelligent economic system.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 25, up 3 points from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 20, and the average over the past 30 days is 13.

According to CNBC, a recent study shows that adding Bitcoin to a traditional gold allocation can effectively enhance the overall return of the investment portfolio without significantly increasing the risk level.At the same time, Goldman Sachs released a report indicating that cryptocurrency prices may have bottomed out, and some related stocks have high investment appeal; Standard Chartered Bank has halved its Bitcoin price forecast; other analysts pointed out that due to the recent continuous decline in the cryptocurrency market, the profitability of Bitcoin mining has significantly narrowed, making it difficult to achieve profitability in current mining operations.

According to market news, Xiaomi miclaw has officially passed the evaluation by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology's mobile intelligent assistant (Claw), becoming the first mobile intelligent agent in the country to pass this review.This evaluation was conducted based on the "General Framework for Intelligent Assistant Benchmark Testing," strictly assessing three major dimensions: basic capabilities, edge-side applications, and comprehensive capabilities. It is reported that Xiaomi miclaw relies on Xiaomi MiMo's self-developed large model, possessing four major capabilities: full ecological underlying support, deep memory, cross-domain interconnection, and continuous self-evolution, enabling it to connect mobile phones, PCs, cockpits, and AIoT devices to autonomously execute complex commands.

According to CoinDesk, Glassnode's Bitcoin on-chain metric RHODL ratio is currently at 4.5, which is the third highest level on record, and the signals it emits are more aligned with a market bottom rather than a cycle top.The RHODL ratio compares the value of Bitcoin held by long-term holders (holding for 6 months to 3 years) to that held by short-term holders (holding for 1 day to 3 months). An increase in the ratio typically reflects a longer holding period for chips and reduced speculative activity, rather than an influx of new buyers—this dynamic has occurred after significant corrections in 2015, 2019, and 2022. During the 50% drop in Bitcoin over the past six months, young speculative chips have been largely washed out, concentrating wealth among long-term holders.Historically, the RHODL ratio has only been higher than the current level twice: in 2015 (ratio of 5) and in 2022 (ratio of 7), both corresponding to cycle bottoms, which suggests that Bitcoin may still have further downside potential. However, to push the ratio to higher levels, it typically requires the activity of short-term holders to be nearly exhausted, and this condition is not yet evident under current circumstances—Bitcoin has rebounded about 25% from its February low, perpetual contract funding rates remain negative, and the S&P 500 has also reached an all-time high.Overall, this indicator suggests that the current market conditions are closer to an adjustment within the cycle rather than a cycle top formation, and the re-dominance of long-term holders in the market may indicate that a phase bottom is approaching.

Product manager Jerry from Mentis confirmed attendance at the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held on April 19 in Hong Kong, and will participate in a roundtable discussion. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.Mentis is an on-chain AI assistant designed to combine artificial intelligence and blockchain data to help users better understand the market, discover signals, and take action more quickly. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and cryptocurrency networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and cryptocurrency infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leaps and economic restructuring, this themed forum is not only an insight into the current state of the industry but also a forward-looking reflection on the future smart economic system.Event registration: https://luma.com/18v6vwpf

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 22, up 0 points from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 18, and the average over the past 30 days is 13.

Web3 asset data platform RootData released the sixth issue of the "Cryptocurrency Exchange Transparency Ranking (Stock Category)," continuing to focus on the growth trend of stock assets in cryptocurrency exchanges. In this issue, Binance, OKX, Gate, Bitget, and Bybit ranked in the top five.According to the ranking, most cryptocurrency exchanges saw an increase of around 10% in trading volume over the past week, reversing a downward trend that had persisted for several weeks, but the traffic remained mostly flat compared to last week, with no significant signs of rebound.In terms of ranking changes, Gate and Bitget both moved up one position, while Bybit dropped two positions. Bitget launched the first Pre-IPO project SpaceX (SPCX) in this issue, connecting the Pre-IPO product framework with traditional capital markets, enhancing the richness and institutional attributes of its "tradable stock assets," which is an important reason for the score increase this time.It is reported that RootData adheres to the "transparency first" principle and has taken the lead in establishing a dual evaluation system of "transparency + liquidity" in the field of stock cryptocurrency exchanges, thereby providing investors with more effective data references. The ranking will continue to be improved and published in the future.

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 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 The Block, the Washington think tank Cato Institute published an article criticizing the current Bitcoin tax policy in the United States. Researcher Nick Anthony pointed out that the current tax framework treats Bitcoin as "property" rather than "currency," requiring users to calculate capital gains or losses for each transaction individually, even for everyday small purchases. This makes tax reporting extremely cumbersome and effectively hinders the adoption of Bitcoin as a payment tool.In response, the Cato Institute proposed several reform suggestions, including completely eliminating the capital gains tax on cryptocurrency payments and introducing a tax-free threshold for small transactions. The report also mentioned the existing "Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act," which aims to exempt cryptocurrency transactions under $200, but Anthony believes this threshold is too low to cover the actual spending levels of consumers. Currently, the Trump administration has expressed support for establishing a small tax exemption for cryptocurrency transactions and will continue to evaluate related legislative options.

CoinDesk analyst James Van Straten stated that the Bitcoin funding rate has fallen to its lowest level since 2023, and historical patterns show that such signals often coincide with market bottoms. According to Glassnode data, the seven-day moving average of the funding rate has dropped to about -0.005%.The funding rate is the fee that long and short positions pay each other periodically in perpetual contracts to keep the contract price aligned with the spot market. When the rate is positive, longs pay shorts, reflecting bullish market sentiment; when the rate is negative, shorts pay longs, indicating a bearish market. Despite the funding rate being persistently negative from March to April this year, Bitcoin still oscillated upward from the $60,000 to $65,000 range to about $75,000. Historically, a deeply negative funding rate often coincides with Bitcoin's phase bottoms: during the market crash triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Bitcoin fell to about $3,000; it dropped to $30,000 during China's mining ban announcement in 2021; it hit a low of about $15,000 during the FTX collapse in November 2022; and it briefly fell below $20,000 during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis in 2023. During the yen arbitrage trade closure in August 2024 and the "Liberation Day" sell-off in April 2025, negative funding rates also appeared alongside phase lows. The continued negative funding rate indicates that even if the price trend is positive, short positions remain at a high level. This divergence may suggest that the market is climbing within a "wall of worry," and a large number of short positions could become fuel for further price increases.