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According to the Financial Times, an analysis of campaign finance records shows that the cryptocurrency and AI industries have raised approximately $250 million over the past year to support congressional candidates in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections in November.A16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz donated a total of $25 million in February to the pro-AI Super PAC "Leading The Future." The organization has raised about $75 million from billionaires, including the two mentioned above and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman; when including "dark money" non-profits that do not disclose their donors, that figure rises to $140 million. The largest Super PAC in the crypto industry, Fairshake, has raised over $134 million on its own.In January, Cantor Fitzgerald, a Wall Street firm previously led by current U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and now managed by his son Brandon, which has a partnership with Tether, donated $10 million to the pro-crypto Super PAC Fellowship; the parent company of the major crypto platform, Anchor Labs, also added a $1 million donation to Fellowship PAC. Elon Musk donated $1.6 million to his America PAC in March, significantly reducing his involvement compared to 2024, when he invested over $250 million across various PACs.Anthropic has pledged $20 million to the non-profit Public First Action, which has redirected some of the funds to a Super PAC to influence the 2026 elections. The company holds a relatively unique position in the industry, explicitly calling for the establishment of strict federal AI safety regulations, which diverges from the majority of participants in the AI industry.

OKX Boost and RootData announced a partnership to engage in deep collaboration around the standards for high-quality industry projects, aiming to enhance the transparency and overall quality of crypto market projects.It is reported that OKX Boost is a premium project screening channel launched by OKX Wallet in September last year, designed to discover potential projects based on real DEX data and incentivize real trading users. RootData, as a leading Web3 asset data platform, has long been committed to building a highly credible Web3 database and has launched a series of products such as the "Transparency Ranking" to continuously promote information transparency in the industry.In this collaboration, RootData will work with ChainCatcher to provide transparency review and quality assessment support for OKX Boost and projects launched on OKX, helping to further enhance project screening standards and information disclosure levels; at the same time, RootData will also improve its database and data processing model through OKX Boost.

SuperEx will launch the INTCUSDT and HOODUSDT U-based perpetual contract trading pairs on April 16, 2026, at 14:00 (UTC). The above contract trading pairs support full margin, isolated margin, and split margin modes, and can be traded through the Web and APP for an enhanced trading experience.

Binance will delist the following spot trading pairs on April 17, 2026, at 11:00: ARB/EUR, BANANA/FDUSD, BTC/TUSD, CYBER/BTC, ETH/TUSD, ICP/FDUSD, RLC/ETH, TIA/BTC, TRUMP/EUR, and WIF/EUR. Users can still trade the related underlying assets and quoted assets on other trading pairs.

The U.S. banking industry has questioned the stablecoin yield report released by the White House, arguing that the conclusions of the report are based on incorrect issues.The White House Council of Economic Advisers' research report states that banning stablecoin yields would have a negligible impact on bank lending, only potentially increasing loans by about $2.1 billion. Sayee Srinivasan, chief economist of the American Bankers Association, and Yikai Wang, vice president, stated that the core policy concern is whether allowing stablecoins to generate yields would encourage deposit outflows, particularly from community banks to large institutions, thereby increasing financing costs and reducing local lending. The American Bankers Association acknowledges that the financial incentives to pursue high-yield stablecoins will prompt households and businesses to move funds out of banks. Currently, the cryptocurrency and banking industries are negotiating the terms of a Senate bill, with the prohibition of interest payments on stablecoins being a key point of contention.

X platform product head Nikita Bier stated that the crypto industry has gone through a tough year and perhaps some products should be launched to improve the situation.

According to Gate market data, the Dow Jones Index closed up 302.48 points on April 13 (Monday), an increase of 0.63%, at 48,219.05 points; the S&P 500 Index rose 69.35 points, an increase of 1.02%, at 6,886.24 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 280.84 points, an increase of 1.23%, at 23,183.74 points.

In the 13th anniversary open letter, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han pointed out that the crypto industry is undergoing a structural reshaping driven by multiple variables. Technological evolution, improvements in regulatory systems, changes in the macro environment, and a broader user base are all working together to influence the industry's development path, continuously raising the overall threshold.Dr. Han stated that this change is reflected not only in compliance and technical requirements but also in the higher demands for platform system capabilities and long-term investment; as the threshold rises, resources and space are accelerating towards participants who possess long-term judgment and sustained investment capabilities, and long-termists will gain more certain growth opportunities in the new cycle.As a global leading crypto asset trading platform, Gate always regards security and transparency as the cornerstone of development, being the first to introduce a 100% reserve proof scheme and continuously expanding its global compliance footprint. Currently, multiple entities under Gate have obtained or completed relevant regulatory registrations, license applications, authorizations, or approvals in jurisdictions such as Malta, Cyprus, the Bahamas, Japan, Australia, and Dubai. At the same time, the platform deeply integrates AI innovative technology, building an ecosystem that covers multi-asset allocation and full-scenario services, driving the industry towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

Varys Capital's head of venture capital, Tom Dunleavy, posted on X that the financing environment in the cryptocurrency market has changed dramatically over the past six months. Previously, VCs had to constantly network, write content, appear on podcasts, participate in Spaces, promote their investment logic, and make countless calls every week to invest in good projects... But now, as long as there is money to spend, that's enough. Current projects are being "pushed in front of VCs," without VCs having to actively dig for them; as long as others know you have funds, projects will come knocking.Most VC firms are now in one of the following three states: they are out of money, they are shifting to later stages (Series A and beyond), or they are fundraising (but not smoothly). Fundraising that used to take 2-3 weeks now often drags on for 2-3 months. Projects with questionable business models or those that simply replicate the latest hot narratives can no longer secure new funding or follow-on investments (which is a good thing).Currently, there may be fewer than 20 firms that are still making pre-seed/seed investments. VCs can basically choose the projects they want to invest in at their leisure and have more time to conduct due diligence. The investment cycle in 2025 and 2026 is likely to become a historically significant "golden opportunity," but the premise is that VCs can hold on.

On the occasion of its thirteenth anniversary, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han published an open letter titled "Releasing the Power of Change Amidst Cyclical Transitions," reflecting on the platform's journey from early exploration to global development, and systematically elaborating on his judgments regarding industry cycles and future trends.Dr. Han pointed out that as CeFi continues to extend towards DeFi, the platform is moving from a centralized trading vehicle to a more open ecological structure. The cryptocurrency industry is shifting from "narrative-driven" to "infrastructure-driven," with the focus of competition shifting from products and scale to system capabilities and structural advantages. In the next cycle, platforms with infrastructure capabilities will no longer just be market participants but will become an important part of the rules.Dr. Han stated that Gate is gradually transitioning from a builder to a shaper of industry structure, continuously investing in trading depth, risk control capabilities, and global compliance systems, while simultaneously laying out in areas such as RWA, TradFi, DeFi, and AI. In addition, Gate is advancing its global brand building by establishing partnerships with top international sports IPs like the F1 Red Bull Racing Team and Inter Milan, accelerating connections with a broader global user base.In the future, Gate will continue to lay out around infrastructure capabilities, deepening investments in ecological connections, technological capabilities, and global systems to address a new stage of higher-dimensional industry competition.

JP Richardson, CEO of Exodus, stated that this year institutions are accelerating their entry into the cryptocurrency market, while retail participation has declined, indicating that the market may be entering a new phase dominated by institutions.He pointed out that the current market capitalization of stablecoins has reached an all-time high, and traditional financial institutions are continuing to make moves, including launching Bitcoin ETFs and establishing crypto-related business departments. Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Fund, also mentioned that under inflation and cost-of-living pressures, retail funding is constrained, and this cycle may exhibit characteristics of being institution-led and lasting longer. Additionally, CryptoQuant data shows that the inflow of funds into small accounts holding less than 1 BTC on Binance has dropped to a nearly nine-year low, indicating a decline in retail participation.

According to Cointelegraph, about two years away from Bitcoin's fifth halving, mining companies are facing a more challenging operating environment than the halving in 2024. At that time, the block reward will drop from 3.125 BTC to 1.5625 BTC, compounded by record-high network hash rates, rising energy costs, and a more cautious capital market, significantly compressing the industry's profit margins.On the balance sheet front, several leading mining companies have begun to actively deleverage. MARA Holdings sold over 15,000 Bitcoins in March to reduce leverage, Riot Platforms sold over 3,700 in the first quarter, Cango sold 2,000 to repay Bitcoin collateralized debt, and Bitdeer's Bitcoin holdings dropped to zero on February 20.Industry insiders generally hold a cautious outlook. Cango's communications head, Juliet Ye, stated, "The middle ground has almost disappeared; operators with scale and diversified layouts can cope, while those lacking these conditions will struggle in the next halving." GoMining CEO Mark Zalan pointed out, "Capital discipline is now more important than maximizing hash power," and new deployment projects must meet stricter return thresholds.In terms of business models, pure block rewards have become "an increasingly thin business," with strong operators moving towards power and data center businesses, exploring additional revenue through grid peak shaving and waste heat utilization. Cango is transitioning to a dual-line model focusing on both computing power and AI workloads, with Ye stating, "The truly important facilities in five years will be those that can do multiple things simultaneously."

According to Gate market data, the Dow Jones Index closed down 269.23 points on April 10, a decrease of 0.56%, at 47,916.57 points; the S&P 500 Index closed down 7.77 points, a decrease of 0.11%, at 6,816.89 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 80.48 points, an increase of 0.35%, at 22,902.89 points.

The Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a new initiative today aimed at strengthening cybersecurity in the digital asset industry.This initiative will provide timely, actionable cybersecurity information to eligible U.S. digital asset companies and industry organizations, helping them better identify, prevent, and respond to cyber threats targeting their customers and networks. This action implements an important recommendation from the President's Working Group on Financial Markets in the report "Enhancing the U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technology."

According to GlobeNewswire, the publicly listed self-custody cryptocurrency company Exodus Movement has released an update on its digital asset holdings as of the end of March. The company's Bitcoin holdings increased to 628 coins (a net increase of 18 BTC for the month), Ethereum holdings increased to 1,857 coins (a net increase of 17 ETH for the month), and Solana holdings increased to 17,541 coins (a net increase of 1,847 for the month).

According to Globenewswire, since the self-custody cryptocurrency company Exodus Movement released its digital asset holdings update data as of the end of March, the company's Bitcoin holdings increased to 628 coins (a net increase of 18 BTC for the month), Ethereum holdings increased to 1,857 coins (a net increase of 17 ETH for the month), and Solana holdings increased to 17,541 coins (a net increase of 1,847 coins for the month).