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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.

Securitize announced the appointment of Brett Redfearn as President and a member of the Board of Directors.Brett Redfearn previously served as the Chairman of the Advisory Board at Securitize, and this promotion marks his advancement to a higher leadership position. He has been responsible for regulatory and market structure-related business at the SEC, JPMorgan, and Coinbase. Securitize stated that Redfearn will be responsible for driving the expansion of its regulated platform business in compliance token issuance, trading, and fund management, with a focus on strengthening collaboration with regulators and institutional investors to support the construction of a new generation of financial infrastructure based on tokenization.

VanEck's research director Matthew Sigel analyzed in a post on the X platform that the current protective demand in the Bitcoin derivatives market has risen to the historical 99th percentile, which is typically seen as a "contrarian buy signal" under extreme risk-averse market sentiment, and he judges that the market is currently suitable for establishing long positions.The VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (NODE), which Matthew Sigel also manages, has risen 27% since its inception, while Bitcoin has fallen 33% during the same period, achieving lower volatility performance through diversified allocation and focusing on profitable sectors. However, he also warns that if the massive capital expenditures in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector do not generate corresponding returns, it could pose substantial pressure on the market, especially in the context of a concentration in S&P 500 constituents.Note: Percentile is a statistical position concept, with the 99th percentile representing a relatively extreme level, and the 50th percentile representing the median level.

According to Bloomberg, David Miller, the enforcement director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated at a seminar at New York University on Tuesday that the agency will use its existing enforcement authority to combat insider trading in prediction markets.David Miller pointed out that there is a misunderstanding in mainstream media and social media that laws related to insider trading do not apply to prediction markets, and he clearly stated that this view is incorrect.

According to CoinDesk, Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl stated that the current tokenization market is still in its early stages, with a scale of about $27 billion, accounting for only about 0.01% of the global capital markets. However, it is expected to grow to nearly $19 trillion by 2033, with the tokenization market developing in phases and investment opportunities presenting a "gradient release."In the early stages, permissioned networks likely dominated by institutions, such as Canton Network, are expected to prevail; in the mid-term, a hybrid model may emerge, with networks like Avalanche that have subnet structures likely to benefit; in the long term, Ethereum may support global decentralized finance, but the pace of implementation is relatively slow.

According to Reuters: Hackers linked to Iran claim to have hacked the email of the FBI director.

Former Base design director Benji Taylor stated that he has joined the X platform and will lead the design team, "looking forward to working closely with Elon Musk, Nikita Bier, and other team members."

According to Bitcoin News, Strategy announced the launch of an exclusive Bitcoin security program that will bring together exchanges, custodians, asset management companies, service providers, and core developers to jointly address emerging threats, security vulnerabilities, and establish industry best practices.The company is hiring a Bitcoin Security Director to lead this initiative. This position will serve as the internal authority on protocols, cryptography, and asset custody, while also acting as a key external contact for the industry. The role will comprehensively build Strategy's Bitcoin security system, covering threat modeling, key management, multi-signature custody solution design, and wallet architecture, with a focus on institutional-level risk resilience and asset recoverability.

According to the Shanghai Securities Journal, Liu Liehong, the head of the National Data Bureau, stated at the China Development Forum 2026 annual meeting that this year, China's daily average Token call volume has surpassed 140 trillion, growing more than a thousand times compared to 100 billion at the beginning of 2024.Liu Liehong pointed out that Tokens are the smallest units for large models to process information, characterized by measurability, priceability, and tradability. A new value system is rapidly forming around the calling, distribution, and settlement of Tokens, becoming an important path for monetizing the artificial intelligence industry. He also mentioned that as the reform of the market-oriented allocation of data elements in China deepens, a virtuous cycle of "data supply - value release" is beginning to take shape.

Alex Thorn, the research director at Galaxy Research, posted on the X social platform pointing out that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a milestone digital asset classification guideline this Tuesday, officially categorizing digital assets into five types: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities (tokenized securities), clearly stating that only the last category constitutes securities, which must be registered or exempted under federal securities law.This guideline, published as a committee-level interpretive rule in the Federal Register, explicitly replaces the "investment contract" analysis framework used since the Gensler era in 2019 and provides two clear paths for tokens to detach from securities characteristics: first, if the issuer fulfills its promised core management tasks, the investment contract is terminated, and the token can be freely traded as a non-security in the secondary market; second, if the issuer abandons the project or remains silent for a long time, the investment contract also terminates. Additionally, the guideline clarifies that airdrops, mining, and staking generally do not constitute securities transactions, and the packaging or unpackaging of assets does not change their securities characteristics.Alex Thorn believes that this guideline officially marks the end of the Gensler era's hostile regulatory stance towards the crypto industry, providing important clarity support for further institutional entry. However, he also cautions that interpretive rules are not legally binding and can be overturned by a new administration at any time, which is also the core reason for the industry's ongoing push for the CLARITY Act legislation.

GSR content director Frank Chaparro posted on X that Tether has disclosed at least $1.6 billion in investments over the past few months, including:Rumble: $785 million;Elemental Royalty: $250 million;Juventus FC: $150 million;Gold dot com: $150 million;Anchorage Digital: $100 million;Gold Royalty: over $90 million;Generative Bionics: $82 million;Speed1: $8 million;Parfin: amount not disclosed;Adecoagro: amount not disclosed.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, stated that if the U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory bill CLARITY Act fails to pass the Senate committee review by the end of April, its chances of passing in 2026 will significantly decrease, as the bill needs to enter the Senate floor voting agenda in early May.The current controversy surrounding stablecoin yields is considered a major obstacle, but Thorn pointed out that even if a compromise is reached on this issue, there may still be other controversies related to DeFi, developer protection, SEC authority, and ethics.

The technical director of the xAI Omni team, Haotian Liu, stated on the X platform that he left xAI earlier this week.It is reported that Haotian Liu independently led the development of the Grok Imagine v0.9 & v1 (image + video generation) project.

The Deputy Director of the Iranian President's Office stated that (to clarify the Iranian President's remarks) Iran will respond firmly to any acts of aggression by the United States at its bases in the region.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Monday that former prosecutor David Miller will become the agency's chief enforcement officer. This move comes as the CFTC is preparing to strengthen its oversight of cryptocurrency and prediction markets.As the new enforcement chief of the CFTC, Miller will be responsible for leading the agency's regulatory enforcement efforts in the digital asset space.

According to GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq-listed company GD Culture announced that its board has authorized the approval to sell, exchange, or dispose of its current holding of 7,500 bitcoins, aiming to fund the previously announced share repurchase plan.It is reported that the sale of these bitcoins will be conducted in multiple phases, executed flexibly by the management in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. The proceeds from the sale of bitcoins will be used to repurchase the company's common stock and cover related expenses, including brokerage commissions, fees, and taxes.

According to market news, Mastercard is hiring a Director of Cryptocurrency Liquidity to further delve into the DeFi space.The role's positioning includes:Card-based cryptocurrency entry + issuance linked to stablecoinsScalable and stable digital currencies, tokenized assets, and DeFi payment processesUpgrading network rules and adding risk control measures for Web3 transactions

Chase, the former head of listings at Binance, stated in an interview, "The Binance listing team has a total of more than a dozen people, with 4 of us, including myself, who can actually engage with projects. In my two and a half years here, I have reviewed over 1,000 crypto projects, and I estimate that around 100 projects will have their tokens listed on Binance (including Alpha) in 2025. The ratio of projects that can be listed after communicating with the founders is about 5% to 10%. Bitcoin will definitely reach a historical high in 2026.In a week of 2025, after Bitcoin's daily K-line rose continuously for 7 days with the same amplitude and trading volume, it suddenly dropped. This pattern indicates the presence of a strong "whale" that can control the entire chip situation. I understand this as someone or a group wanting to announce to the world that the price of Bitcoin is now under their control, and they hope that those who understand will join in.Market makers do not look at fundamentals but only at the liquidity they believe in. Therefore, the above situation either belongs to the market liquidity at that time being controlled by a few market makers with the same algorithm, or it is that a certain group with chips believes that other groups will not participate in trading during that time period."

According to two people familiar with the matter, the Federal Reserve is expected to appoint Randall Guynn as the new Director of Regulatory Affairs. This veteran Wall Street figure, who has deep ties to the banking industry, will oversee industry regulation. Guynn was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and has represented several large U.S. banks. He will succeed Michael Gibson, who announced his retirement last July after more than thirty years at the Federal Reserve. Since May 2025, Guynn has served as an advisor to Federal Reserve Governor and Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman.According to sources, Guynn's appointment plan still requires a vote by the Federal Reserve's seven-member Board of Governors. The specific timing of this closed-door vote has not yet been determined. After taking office, he will continue to report to Bowman. Choosing Guynn as the Director of Regulatory Affairs will mark a significant shift in the Federal Reserve's personnel arrangements, as this position has been held by long-serving internal staff since at least 1977.