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The SEC released a document (34-105260) disclosing the rule change application submitted by the NYSE, intending to formally introduce a framework for trading tokenized securities.According to the proposal, the NYSE plans to add Rule 7.5, allowing eligible securities to be traded and settled in a blockchain-based tokenized form in addition to traditional forms. The relevant arrangements will operate under the DTC pilot program. The core mechanisms include: tokenized securities and traditional stocks will share the same trading code (CUSIP) and rights structure, and will be fully interchangeable; in the matching system, tokenized and traditional securities will have the same execution priority, and the order of transactions will not be affected by the different forms; trading participants can choose to settle and clear in an on-chain form through a tokenization flag, with specific processing carried out by custodians. Additionally, the NYSE also plans to simultaneously modify order sorting, routing, and clearing rules to accommodate the trading process of tokenized securities, ensuring seamless integration with the existing market structure.From a market perspective, this proposal signifies that traditional U.S. securities exchanges are officially exploring the introduction of blockchain technology into the core trading and settlement systems. If approved, it could become an important milestone for on-chain securities entering mainstream financial infrastructure.

The UK-listed company Quantum Blockchain announced a placement of 142,857,142 new shares at a price of 0.35 pence per share to raise £500,000. In addition, the company announced the establishment of a new Bitcoin mining subsidiary, BlocKeeper, and the new funds will be used to accelerate its AI-driven Bitcoin mining research and development.

According to documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) submitted a rule change proposal to the SEC (File No. SR-NYSE-2026-17) to add Rule 7.5 and amend related provisions, allowing eligible securities to be traded in tokenized form on the exchange.The proposal is based on the three-year tokenization pilot program by the Depository Trust Company (DTC) and is modeled after similar rules previously approved by the SEC for Nasdaq. According to the proposal, tokenized securities must share the same CUSIP number, trading code, and shareholder rights as traditional securities to trade with equal priority on the same order book. The initial scope is limited to components of the Russell 1000 Index and ETFs tracking major indices, with a settlement cycle remaining unchanged at T+1, and existing regulatory rules will also apply to tokenized securities.

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.

X product leader Nikita Bier posted on the X platform stating that, according to the aggregated data from the trading pilot, since the launch of Cashtags on Tuesday evening, the social platform X has driven approximately $1 billion in transaction volume globally. This data comes from the platform's early pilot phase and shows a significant pull effect on market liquidity and user engagement after the integration of social platform and trading functions.

Artificial intelligence company DeepSeek seeks to raise funds for the first time, with a valuation exceeding 10 billion dollars.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that a cryptocurrency company linked to "Russian gangs and intelligence agencies" is funding political opponents and influencing domestic cryptocurrency regulatory legislation.During a parliamentary vote on Friday, Tusk pointed out that some Polish politicians obstructing cryptocurrency regulatory legislation are serving the interests of a company named Zondacrypto, which is accused of providing "financial support" to political figures and has ties to Russia. Tusk further claimed that the company sponsored the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) event held in Poland last year, during which former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem publicly supported President Karol Nawrocki's campaign. Tusk bluntly stated that the company's funding sources involve not only "money related to the Russian mafia (Bratva)" but may also be connected to Russian intelligence agencies.Meanwhile, President Nawrocki won the election in June last year, with support from former U.S. President Donald Trump. The president's office responded that it does not oppose cryptocurrency regulation itself but opposes the "flawed regulatory model" proposed by the government. This controversy arises amid the political tug-of-war in Poland over the cryptocurrency regulatory bill. The bill aims to align with the EU's MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) framework, but the president previously vetoed the related bill and blocked parliament from overturning the veto in December, hindering the regulatory process.

According to GMGN data, the market value of the ETH chain meme coin ASTEROID has risen to over 30 million USD, reaching a new high of 33.74 million USD, currently reported at 32.28 million USD.Meme coin prices are highly volatile, and investors should be aware of the risks. Meme coins generally lack practical application scenarios and rely more on emotional speculation, so caution is advised when entering the market.

Gate Research Institute recently released a report titled "The Evolution of Liquidity and Trading Strategies for Crypto Leveraged ETFs," which points out that crypto ETFs are gradually becoming key tools for market liquidity. During the phase of rising risk appetite, funds migrate from spot ETFs to leveraged ETFs to amplify returns, but the "daily reset" mechanism also exposes them to significant loss risks in high-volatility environments. Overall, leveraged ETFs are more suitable for short-term tactical allocations in one-sided trending markets rather than long-term holding tools.The report further indicates that there are significant differences in product structure and usage logic between crypto market leveraged ETFs and traditional financial markets, with investors more inclined to seek short-term volatility gains or hedge through high leverage (such as 5x products).Strategies built on trading data from the Gate platform show that focusing on "right-side entry," combined with volume-driven momentum breakout signals, and employing a phased position building, momentum scaling, and strict stop-loss mechanisms, can help achieve a dynamic balance of risk and return while controlling volatility losses.

According to official news, on April 18 at 20:00, AINFT under Bai B.AI will jointly hold a special cooperation seminar on "Payment Systems under the AI Economy" with the PKUBlockchain Association of Peking University. This seminar is based on the emerging context of Web 4.0 and aims to explore in depth how payment, as a key infrastructure, drives the paradigm shift of AI from "content generation" to "transaction decision-making." Both parties will collaboratively delve into the innovative practices in the AI economic ecosystem and financial transaction system through a deep dissection of the intersectional narrative of AI and PayFi, reshaping the boundaries of future intelligent finance.

Bank of AI and the Peking University Blockchain Association PKUBlockchain have officially released their first research report titled "Web4.0: When AI Agents Become Economic Entities------Infrastructure, Track Patterns, and Investment Outlook." The report systematically outlines the three-layer infrastructure gaps of the x402 payment protocol, ERC-8004 identity standard, and MCP tool invocation protocol, and focuses on how Bank of AI can package five core components into a one-stop Agent financial operating system, becoming a typical case of a closed-loop from protocol to product. The research report points out that the daily average transaction volume on the TRON chain exceeds $22 billion, with a circulation of $86 billion USDT, providing a scalable foundation for high-frequency micro-settlement for Agents. Both parties will continue to promote the coordinated development of Web4.0 infrastructure and the agent economy.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated that Europe needs more euro-denominated stablecoins and encouraged EU banks to explore tokenized deposits, a statement seen as a potential shift in the position of the French government and central bank.Lescure publicly supports the Qivalis alliance, composed of 12 European banks including BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026 to address the dominance of the dollar in the digital payments space. He pointed out that the current scale of euro stablecoins is far lower than that of dollar stablecoins, which is "unsatisfactory," and emphasized that promoting relevant developments is "exactly what we need." In contrast, former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had a strong opposition to privately issued stablecoins, believing they threaten monetary sovereignty; recently, French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau also warned that stablecoins and tokenized currencies could pose risks of "monetary privatization." Analysts believe that France's latest statement may signal a more pragmatic approach in Europe regarding stablecoin and digital currency policies, attempting to seek a balance between regulation and innovation.

According to the official announcement, in order to optimize the trading experience and liquidity, the Bitget IPO Prime first phase project preSPAX will change from "over-the-counter trading" to "spot trading." The trading opening time is April 21 at 20:00 (UTC+8), and the swap function will be available 10 minutes after trading begins. For more details, please refer to the Bitget official platform.

Despite Bitcoin rising to $76,300 at one point this week, market sentiment remains low, with the Fear and Greed Index still in the "extreme fear" range at 21, indicating a clear divergence between price and sentiment. Institutional views suggest that this round of increases is more akin to "valuation repair" rather than a trend reversal. QCP Capital referred to it as a "relief rally," as macro-level inflation, energy, and policy pressures have not fully dissipated.Glassnode pointed out that Bitcoin is still about 5% lower than the key resistance level of the "real market average" at approximately $78,100, and the current rebound has limited depth. The funding structure is also showing divergence. Spot demand and ETF fund flows have warmed up, but profit-taking has increased, and institutional participation remains cautious, with the derivatives market continuing to lean towards downward hedging. Exchange data also shows that demand is more from offshore and retail funds rather than dominated by U.S. institutions. Analysts state that around $75,000 has become a key support/validation level. If subsequent buying cannot sustain, the price may retreat to the range of $70,000 to $71,000.On the macro front, U.S. stocks continue to hit new highs, and oil prices remain high but have not surged further, which has warmed market risk appetite but still carries uncertainty. The market's focus is shifting towards the Federal Reserve's policy path, and the overall environment still poses constraints on crypto assets. In summary, while Bitcoin maintains its rebound, it oscillates near resistance levels, and the market tone remains cautious, with no consistent bullish trend formed yet.

According to Fortune, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, Connecticut) has sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requesting clarification on the status of two compliance supervisors at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.Previous reports indicated that internal investigators at Binance had warned executives that over $1 billion in funds were flowing to wallets associated with Iran, but were subsequently fired. Binance denies that the firings were related to the investigation results and claims that its compliance system is strict. Notably, the DOJ had previously terminated independent oversight requirements for Glencore and Boeing, raising concerns about whether the oversight mechanism has also been suspended for Binance. In 2023, Binance was fined $4.3 billion for deficiencies in anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, and the two supervisors were part of the agreement at that time.

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.

CoinGecko's report on the cryptocurrency industry for the first quarter of 2026 shows that the cryptocurrency market has shifted from a sharp correction to a prolonged "winter," with the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies dropping by 20.4% ($622 billion), ending the first quarter of 2026 at $2.4 trillion, a decrease of about 45% from the peak in October 2025.The report also states that the market capitalization of stablecoins remains unchanged at $309.9 billion, with a decline in USDT supply, marking the first decrease since the second quarter of 2022.Crude oil prices performed the strongest in the first quarter of 2026, rising by 76.9%, while Bitcoin fell by 22.0% alongside the stock market.In the first quarter of 2026, the spot trading volume on centralized exchanges decreased by 39.1% to $2.7 trillion, with March setting a new monthly low of $80 billion.Solana continues to dominate the spot trading volume on decentralized exchanges, expected to hold a 30.6% market share in the first quarter of 2026.Driven by the demand for all-weather oil trading, commodity traders currently account for about 30% of Hyperliquid's open contracts.

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 monitoring by Hyperinsight, a whale opened a BTC long position with 40x leverage, with a position size of 6.95 million USD and an average price of 75,320 USD. After gaining about 20% in floating profit, the address immediately placed a limit take-profit order, planning to close the entire position at 77,000 USD.It is worth noting that the address did not set any stop-loss orders. Considering that the liquidation price is at 74,287 USD, it may imply using the liquidation line as an implicit stop-loss level.

Product leader 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 the AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and cryptocurrency infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leap 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 smart economic system.Event registration: https://luma.com/18v6vwpf