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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 amidst 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 the time for a thorough cleansing, 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, which complements 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 as it develops.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 a 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.

Aave core member Marc Zeller announced on the X platform that he has initiated a proposal to end the Aave-Chan Initiative {ACI} Frontier project. He stated that he has been operating the Ethereum staking node on behalf of the Aave DAO for many years, but given the current situation, he has chosen to withdraw all validators and provide all ETH to the Aave DAO, potentially protecting wETH depositors, while also giving up all potential income related to this service to reduce the potential impact on users.It is reported that Marc Zeller has been one of the most active figures in the Aave ecosystem, participating in the formulation of incentive mechanisms through the Aave Chan Initiative, and he previously announced that he would withdraw from Aave in July.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve Governor Waller stated that after experiencing a series of shocks, it is harder to ignore the rising pressure of inflation.

According to Reuters, U.S. President Trump stated that he may go to Islamabad once an agreement is reached, but no decision has been made yet. There may be more negotiations regarding the Iran agreement this weekend.

The Ethereum Foundation recently released a summary report on the ETH Rangers security project, revealing that during a 6-month security funding program, researchers identified approximately 100 suspected state-sponsored cyber operatives, including infiltrators from North Korea, who have been active in multiple Web3 projects.The report indicates that relevant investigations were advanced through projects like the "Ketman Project," where researchers issued warnings to about 53 blockchain projects, revealing that these individuals infiltrated development teams under false identities and participated in fund flows and technical positions. Meanwhile, some related funds have been frozen, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The security team also incorporated relevant intelligence into the threat analysis system for the Lazarus Group and disclosed it at security conferences such as DEF CON, showing that state-level cyber attacks are continuously infiltrating the infrastructure of the cryptocurrency industry.In terms of overall results, the program has frozen or recovered over $5.8 million in funds, reported or documented over 785 vulnerabilities, and handled 36 security incidents, indicating that the security threats currently faced by the Ethereum ecosystem have escalated from simple vulnerability attacks to systemic risks involving state-level actors. Additionally, the report points out that North Korean hackers have also infiltrated projects through methods such as "remote IT workers," involving various attack paths such as account takeovers, freelancing platform infiltrations, and fund transfers, making them a key target for industry prevention.The Ethereum Foundation emphasizes that the security of decentralized networks requires "decentralized defense" and will continue to support security research, threat intelligence, and talent development to address the escalating state-level cyber threats.

Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) announced the launch of stablecoin minting and redemption services, allowing businesses and high-net-worth clients to directly convert between fiat currency and stablecoins through SGB accounts, achieving real-time settlement around the clock without relying on traditional intermediary banking processes.This service is integrated into SGB's proprietary clearing network SGB Net, supporting seamless flow of funds both on-chain and off-chain. The first supported stablecoin is USD Coin (USDC), with a minimum transaction amount of $100,000, and it will subsequently support USDT, USDe (Ethena), and Global Dollar (USDG).

According to Edaily, Kim Sang-hoon, the chairman of the Digital Assets Special Committee of the People Power Party of Korea, expressed concerns about the restrictions on equity in cryptocurrency exchanges at an academic conference. He called for the prioritization of advancing the basic law on digital assets related to stablecoins (Phase Two legislation) to avoid getting caught in equity regulatory disputes and missing the golden legislative opportunity.He pointed out that the reality of the issuance and circulation of the Korean won stablecoin KRWQ has emerged overseas, posing a severe challenge to monetary sovereignty. Kim Sang-hoon emphasized that the law should provide market predictability, offer clear guidance for operators, and establish effective safety mechanisms for users.

According to Cointelegraph, the Ethereum Foundation stated that its funded Ketman project identified 100 North Korean IT personnel lurking in Web3 organizations within six months and issued alerts to about 53 projects, indicating that they may have employed related personnel.The project focuses on the issue of "fake developers" in the cryptocurrency industry and is part of the ETH Rangers public safety funding program. Ketman also developed an open-source detection tool for identifying suspicious GitHub activity and collaborated with the Security Alliance to create an industry identification framework for recognizing North Korean IT personnel.

According to The Block, the total amount of bets related to the 2026 elections on the Polymarket platform has exceeded $2 billion. With the elections in Hungary and Peru approaching, the betting volume in April has significantly increased; the share of bets from non-U.S. markets has risen significantly and now accounts for a majority.The Block points out that election prediction markets are no longer exclusive to the United States and are gradually becoming a global phenomenon.

According to The Block, Josh Stark, a key figure at the Ethereum Foundation (EF), announced his resignation after five years and will officially step down at the end of the month. Stark joined the Ethereum Foundation in 2019, initially working in the special projects team, and later rose to leadership, collaborating with EF Chair Aya Miyaguchi, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, and co-executive directors Hsiao-Wei Wang and Bastian Aue.He is one of the most prominent members of the foundation's external image and has led several significant advancements in Ethereum, including the "The Merge" upgrade that transitioned from proof of work to proof of stake, as well as subsequent upgrades like Dencun, Fusaka, and Pectra. During last year's leadership adjustments at the foundation, he was appointed as the "co-manager" of the EF board and recently took on the role of co-chair of the "trillion-dollar security" initiative.Last month, Stark co-authored a strategic blog post on Ethereum with Josh Rudolf and Julian Ma, outlining Ethereum's latest scaling direction and its relationship with the Layer 2 ecosystem. Stark stated, "I haven't planned for the future yet; I just want to take a good rest and spend time with family and friends." This resignation occurs against the backdrop of ongoing changes at the Ethereum Foundation.Last year, the foundation underwent significant leadership adjustments, refocusing its strategic priorities on scaling the Ethereum mainnet and core cypherpunk values; Tomasz K. Stańczak also resigned from his co-executive director position at the end of February this year, having served for less than a year. On the same day, Trent Van Epps also announced his departure from EF to fully dedicate himself to Protocol Guild, the independent funding organization for Ethereum core developers that he founded.

The South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance has selected a new pilot project for the use of blockchain digital currency under the regulatory sandbox framework in 2026. This project will explore the use of deposit tokens to execute business promotion expenses, aiming to test the application of blockchain technology in national financial operations.Currently, business promotion expenses in South Korea are mainly executed through government procurement cards, and additional explanations are required for use during restricted periods such as late at night or on weekends. Previously, payment methods were relatively singular due to the National Finance Management Act. The approval of this regulatory sandbox creates an exception for the use of deposit tokens. The ministry stated that by setting conditions such as predetermined spending times and industry categories, deposit tokens are expected to enhance execution transparency and alleviate the cost burden on small business owners by removing intermediaries in the payment flow.The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to officially launch the pilot in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the first implementation site being Sejong City. In addition, South Korean regulators are simultaneously strengthening oversight of stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and automated trading.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK is seeking feedback on specific regulatory activities for digital assets under its cryptocurrency roadmap.This consultation covers how activities such as stablecoin issuance, trading platforms, custody, and staking will fall under regulatory oversight. The consultation will close on June 3, 2026, and cryptocurrency businesses can apply for FCA authorization starting September 30, 2026. The FCA stated that the consultation on the rules for the future cryptocurrency asset regime is largely complete, and a policy statement will be released this summer. Before the new legislative regime is implemented in 2027, cryptocurrency assets remain largely unregulated in the UK, except for financial promotions and financial crime purposes.

According to Gate market data, the three major U.S. stock indices rose before the market opened, with the Nasdaq up 0.31%, the Dow up 0.02%, and the S&P 500 up 0.14%.Most of the seven major tech stocks rose before the market opened, with Apple (AAPL) down 0.15%, Microsoft (MSFT) up 1.54%, Alphabet (GOOGL) up 0.27%, Amazon (AMZN) up 0.12%, Nvidia (NVDA) up 0.41%, Tesla (TSLA) up 0.71%, and Meta (META) up 0.42%.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea announced that it will launch a pilot program for blockchain deposit tokens in Sejong City in the fourth quarter of 2026, to replace traditional government procurement card payments.The project has been approved under the 2026 regulatory sandbox program, allowing institutions to pay business promotion expenses in the form of tokenized deposits. Token payments can preset spending limits and available industry ranges, helping to reduce the need for manual audits and lowering transaction fees for small businesses by removing intermediaries such as card networks.This is the second application of deposit tokens in fiscal operations, following the completion of the first pilot in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure subsidy program. If the pilot proves effective, the Ministry of Finance of South Korea plans to further promote the program.

According to market news, South Korea is piloting blockchain deposit tokens for government spending.

JPMorgan analysts have stated that negotiations for the U.S. "Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act" (i.e., the CLARITY Act) have entered the final stages, with both sides reaching compromises on a few remaining contentious points. The number of disputes has been reduced from over a dozen to 2-3 core issues, with discussions on stablecoin rewards being "in a good place." While banks express concerns about stablecoins offering similar yields to deposits, there is an overall bipartisan compromise trend. JPMorgan believes that "there is no perfect bill," and once passed, the bill will provide important regulatory clarity for the integration of digital assets into the U.S. financial system.The "Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act" is currently in advanced negotiations in the U.S. Senate, with Senate staff stating that the draft is "very close" to resolution, but the final text has not yet been released, nor has a formal vote been scheduled. The remaining major disagreements focus on stablecoin rewards, DeFi regulation, and token classification issues. Although optimism is rising, there is still a risk of delays due to the 2026 midterm elections, which could lead to a more uncertain political environment. If the bill is ultimately passed, it will delineate the regulatory authority between the SEC and CFTC, providing a long-term regulatory framework for stablecoins, DeFi, and the entire cryptocurrency industry.

Web3 asset data platform RootData issued a daily transparency alert on Twitter (X), noting that information such as teams, key calendar events, and token data for projects like LeverUp, Flash.Trade, PRDT, f(x) Protocol, and Tectonic is missing. It calls on project teams to submit/update their information on RootData to improve their transparency scores. Additionally, RootData stated that it will continue to monitor and expose "black box" projects that lack core information.It is reported that the RootData transparency score is used to measure the integrity and timeliness of projects, aiming to reflect the information disclosure status of projects and urging project teams to immediately claim their projects. The transparency score is divided into five levels from A to F, with lower scores indicating less complete information disclosure and higher risks of wrongdoing, requiring investors to exercise high caution.

The South Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy stated that the "blockchain-based digital currency for treasury fund execution pilot project" has been selected as a topic for the 2026 targeted regulatory sandbox. According to the pilot, the government department's business promotion fees will be changed from the current government procurement card to be issued and paid using blockchain-based deposit tokens.The South Korean government claims that this move is expected to enhance the transparency of fund usage by pre-setting usable time periods and industry scopes, and to reduce the fee burden on small merchants through a no-intermediary payment structure. The pilot program is set to officially launch in the fourth quarter of this year, starting in Sejong City, with plans to gradually expand its applicability thereafter.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that Circle has expanded its collaboration with Upbit operator Dunamu to support the compliant adoption of digital assets and has enhanced its partnership with Bithumb to improve stablecoin infrastructure and raise market awareness of stablecoins.Jeremy Allaire mentioned that South Korea is rapidly advancing regulations on stablecoins and digital assets, with a high local cryptocurrency adoption rate. During his time in Seoul, he also met with representatives from KakaoGroup, Coinone, Hashed, Shinhan Bank, KB Financial Group, and Woori Bank.