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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.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin's monitoring, 8.253 million TRUMP were transferred from a BitGo custody wallet to OKX 10 minutes ago, worth 23.44 million USD. By tracing back, it can be seen that these TRUMP originated from a team wallet two months ago.

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, Dr. Daxue Wang, CFO of Lotus Technology Inc., delivered a keynote speech titled "Cryptocurrency Links to the Physical Industry, Smart Mobility on the Chain."Dr. Daxue Wang stated that smart mobility is the pioneering carrier of the smart economy. Lotus, as a luxury electric vehicle brand with a 78-year history, has been listed on NASDAQ and is actively exploring the deep integration of cryptocurrency technology with the physical industry. He proposed three major integration directions:First, safeguarding data value by utilizing the immutable nature of blockchain and privacy computing, allowing users to have absolute control over their personal data, achieving trustworthy data circulation and value flow. Second, releasing asset value by exploring the efficient circulation and fair trading of assets such as vehicle sales, brand value, intelligent driving technology patents, and global sales networks through RWA, while promoting trustworthy traceability of carbon assets in green mobility. Third, co-creating ecological value by recording data on driving, charging, maintenance, etc., through on-chain smart nodes, allowing users to upgrade from "car owners" to "participants in the brand ecosystem" through on-chain rights confirmation.Dr. Daxue Wang pointed out that the current challenges include compliance implementation, technology adaptation, and ecological co-construction, but the opportunities lie in open cooperation, promoting smart mobility as a practical landing scenario for the smart economy. Lotus hopes to work hand in hand with the cryptocurrency ecosystem to realize the vision of "from buying a Lotus car to sharing the growth value of Lotus technology."

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 Next Generation Digital Economy Foundation."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 confusion, infinite loops consuming tokens, and accidental file deletions. 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 the Agent's output and compliance of 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 may 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 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.

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, Arda Senoz, the head of the Alchemy Pay ecosystem, delivered a keynote speech titled "Bridging the Fiat and Crypto Global Economies."Arda Senoz highlighted the recently launched Alchemy Chain, whose core value lies in connecting the settlement links between wallets, merchants, and payment partners. The ACH token serves three main functions on the chain: covering Gas fees, incentives, and governance. According to the technical roadmap, the core payment and ACH fee settlement will be implemented in Q4 2025, liquidity and interoperability will be advanced in Q1 2026, and the issuance of Alchemy Chain stablecoins and the establishment of payment channels are planned for Q2 2026.Arda emphasized that Alchemy Pay always adheres to a compliant and secure product route, promoting the mainstream adoption of digital assets through innovative solutions such as RWA integration, truly achieving a seamless connection between fiat currency and the crypto economy.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin's monitoring, Sun Yuchen urgently withdrew 53,660 ETH (worth $125 million) from Aave in the early morning and deposited it into Spark half an hour ago. Currently, most of Sun Yuchen's on-chain funds, totaling $2.13 billion, are stored in Sky and Spark, with $380 million remaining on Aave.

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

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

According to news from the UK, shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was once again brought to a standstill on the evening of the 18th.Previously, radio communications warned that the Iranian armed forces had resumed "strict management and control" over the strait. Multiple vessels in the relevant waters heard the warnings, which have been confirmed.On the same day, the UK maritime safety company, Pioneer Technologies, released a report detailing that three vessels were attacked in the waters near the Strait of Hormuz, involving one oil tanker, one cruise ship, and one container ship. Two of the vessels were explicitly warned and fired upon by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard, while another container ship was hit by an unidentified projectile 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman, causing damage to some containers.

According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, Sun Yuchen redeemed 53,665 ETH from Aave 5 hours ago, worth $126 million, and this portion of ETH is still in the wallet and has not been transferred.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal cited by Jinshi, U.S. officials stated that the U.S. military is prepared to board and seize commercial vessels related to Iran in international waters within the next few days, expanding the scope of its naval operations beyond the Middle East.This plan comes as the Iranian military continues to strengthen its control over the Strait of Hormuz, having attacked multiple commercial vessels on Saturday and announced that the waterway is under "strict control" by Iran. These developments have caught shipping companies off guard, and just a day earlier, the Iranian Foreign Minister had claimed that the strait was fully open to commercial vessels, a statement that had received praise from President Trump.

According to CoinDesk, Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin stated that artificial intelligence will be a key turning point in the next phase of development for the cryptocurrency industry. However, if computing power and infrastructure are controlled by a few large tech companies, it could pose systemic risks.In the future, AI agents could autonomously execute transactions, collaborate, and verify on blockchain networks, becoming the foundation of a "machine economy." Cryptographic technology and decentralized systems will ensure transparency and accountability, allowing machines to supervise each other.Additionally, he believes that traditional finance and DeFi are accelerating their integration, driving the global economy towards a more refined and programmable direction, while the risks of quantum computing are a long-term manageable issue that Ethereum developers have already prepared for.

On-chain detective ZachXBT posted on platform X that the pump and dump behavior of the RAVE token ($RAVE) is suspected to originate from three CEXs: Bitget, Binance, and Gate. He called for the relevant CEXs to strengthen internal investigations and accountability, and to expel the responsible parties. ZachXBT stated that the manipulation may be led by internal personnel, controlling over 90% of RAVE liquidity, thereby continuously harvesting retail investors.In addition, ZachXBT announced that he would personally provide a reward of up to $10,000 to encourage informants to anonymously submit relevant evidence to expose the specific entities involved in the incident.

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.

Issue 6 of BABABOOEY has officially launched, with a winning rate of 4.4%, a launch price of 0.13 USDT, a new investment yield of 30%, and an overall fund yield of approximately 1.3%. There is no lock-up period for the subscription assets in this issue, and the funds will be available as spot immediately, allowing users to choose to sell or withdraw instantly.Issue 7 of CLOSE will officially open for subscription today at 16:00 and will end on April 20 at 16:00. This issue continues the multi-currency participation mechanism, allowing users to participate in the subscription using JU / USDT / BTC / ETH, with the platform uniformly converting and allocating based on U. A dynamic winning rate model will be introduced in this round, where the winning rate increases by 0.2% for every additional 5,000,000 USDT raised. Successfully inviting friends to participate can share a token reward of up to 20% of the final issuance amount.

Nine hours ago, the last 5,020 ETH ($12.33 million) was transferred to Coinbase. The ETH raised by the Ethereum privacy L2 Aztec project last year has now been fully liquidated.Last December, the project auctioned off 15% of AZTEC (1.5 billion tokens) and received 19,388.4 ETH ($5.913 million), with an AZTEC fundraising price of $0.0473 (which has now dropped by 50%). In February of this year, during their TGE, they took 4,234.6 ETH ($1.291 million) from the auction funds to provide liquidity. The remaining 15,154 ETH ($37 million) has been gradually transferred to Coinbase over the past three months, with the final transfer of 5,020 ETH occurring early this morning.