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According to Blockchain for Europe, the European Blockchain Association, in collaboration with Dr. Ulrich Bindseil, former Director General of Market Infrastructure and Payments at the European Central Bank, and Erwin Voloder, Director of Research and Strategy at the Association, jointly released a report titled "Reforming MiCA to Support Euro Stablecoins."The report recognizes the significance of MiCA as a milestone regulatory framework, but also points out that some of its design choices may place Europe in the unfavorable range of the regulatory "Laffer curve"—excessively stringent requirements could weaken the EU's market competitiveness and drive related businesses outside the EU.The report proposes a series of targeted and pragmatic reform suggestions aimed at fostering a more competitive, resilient, and globally influential euro stablecoin ecosystem under MiCA, and calls on policymakers, industry participants, and various stakeholders to actively engage in discussions to jointly promote the continuous improvement of the MiCA framework.

The Block announced the appointment of senior media and technology executive Steve Chung as CEO to drive the company's institutional expansion. At the same time, Foresight Ventures committed to an additional $10 million investment to support its next phase of development.Former CEO Larry Cermak will continue to serve as president, focusing on research and product operations. Steve Chung's career began at Goldman Sachs, where he served as Chief Growth Officer at Fox Corporation, Chief Digital Officer at Fox Television, CEO of CJ ENM America, and Chief Operating Officer at Azuki. He stated that he will leverage AI to enhance the depth, speed, and practicality of insights, transforming The Block into a global platform for digital asset investors and decision-makers.Foresight Ventures partner Zac Tsui stated that Steve's background in capital markets, media, and the crypto industry makes him the ideal leader to guide the company in becoming a global institutional platform.

Bitget officially launched the "Blockchain4Youth Learning Center" with its first course, aimed at providing a systematic blockchain learning path for young people and further connecting knowledge learning with career development. After completing the course and passing the assessment, students will receive a certificate of completion issued by Bitget's Chief Marketing Officer Ignacio Aguirre Franco, serving as an official certification of their Web3 capabilities. Certificate holders can gain more industry exposure and priority employment opportunities among the partner employers of the Blockchain4Youth Talent Alliance.To bridge the gap from learning to employment, Bitget has partnered with the Web3 recruitment platform Bondex to provide students with a transparent job-seeking channel and a talent pool connection mechanism. Bondex co-founder Ignacio Palomera stated that the project aims to address the real issues faced by learners, such as "lack of industry connections after completing the course, insufficient effective certification, and unclear job-seeking paths," building a more direct bridge between young talent and recruiting companies.So far, the Bitget Blockchain4Youth series of projects has attracted over 15,000 young participants. Bitget CMO Ignacio Aguirre Franco pointed out that the goal of the learning center is to transform young people's interest in Web3 into a tangible entry path. As the program continues to advance, Blockchain4Youth is gradually evolving from a single event project into a long-term infrastructure focused on Web3 education, career guidance, and talent development.

According to Insight Korea, South Korea's digital bank K Bank has established a strategic partnership with blockchain company Ripple to advance the verification of next-generation cross-border remittance technology based on blockchain.Both parties will focus on assessing the optimization potential in remittance speed, cost structure, and transaction transparency through Ripple's global payment network and infrastructure. The current collaboration includes proof of concept based on digital wallets, joint development of cross-border remittance models, and expansion in the digital asset field. The ongoing second phase of testing has simulated the connection between the bank's internal systems and customer accounts, testing on-chain fund transfers aimed at the UAE and Thailand. K Bank is also evaluating the adoption of Ripple's SaaS digital wallet Palisade to enhance compliance and deployment efficiency.

Blockchain Capital partner Spencer Bogart posted on X platform that the total transaction volume of Kalshi and Polymarket is nearly equal, both around $12 billion (the former at $12.29 billion and the latter at $12.22 billion). Excluding sports-related transactions, Polymarket's non-sports category transaction volume is $7.5 billion, while Kalshi is only $1.6 billion.Despite the positioning differences between the two in the prediction market, it is strange that they are still classified in the same category.

Litecoin disclosed in a post on platform X that a recent zero-day vulnerability had caused a DoS attack, affecting the operation of major mining pools. Mining nodes that were not updated allowed an invalid MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Block) transaction to be executed, enabling the related tokens to be withdrawn to a third-party DEX.The Litecoin network rolled back these invalid transactions through a reorganization (reorg) of 13 blocks, confirming that they would not be included in the main chain. All valid transactions during this period were unaffected, and the vulnerability has been completely fixed, with network operations restored to normal.

According to The Block, AWS Marketplace has integrated data services such as Chainlink's Data Feeds, Data Streams, and Proof of Reserve, supporting developers in connecting AWS's computing, storage, database, and API capabilities with blockchain smart contracts.AWS stated that the Chainlink oracle infrastructure provides a secure two-way connection between AWS resources and on-chain smart contracts, making it easier for institutions to develop applications that interact with tokenized assets and smart contracts in a familiar AWS environment.

The Web3 asset data platform RootData has outlined 30 business partners of Fireblocks, spanning multiple key areas such as DeFi protocols, payment settlement, compliance analysis, trading institutions, and multi-chain infrastructure:Settlement Layer: Represented by Circle, TripleA, and Lynq, responsible for stablecoin issuance and payment clearing.Liquidity and Trading Layer: Includes market makers and trading institutions such as Wintermute, Amber Group, GSR, and Wootton, responsible for fund distribution and market depth.On-chain Application Layer: Covers DeFi and application tools like Aave, Morpho, and MetaMask, which support the actual operation scenarios of funds.Compliance and Risk Control Layer: Service providers like Chainalysis, Elliptic, and Coincover form an important supplement to its regulatory adaptation capabilities.By 2025, Fireblocks is expected to handle over $200 billion in stablecoin transactions per month, a year-on-year increase of 300%. Fireblocks' positioning is evolving from a "custody and security service provider" to a central hub for on-chain fund flows and institutional asset circulation.Currently, Fireblocks supports over 150 public blockchain networks, and its partnership network has expanded to over 2,500 global institutional participants, including banks, asset management firms, exchanges, market makers, and fintech companies. Related compilation: Fireblocks Web3 Partner Network Compilation (Continuously Updated)Cryptocurrency projects actively showcasing their partner networks have become a key way to enhance transparency and market trust. It is reported that RootData welcomes Web3 project parties to claim information and continues to track and open more project business relationship disclosure channels. The platform has continuously released multiple issues of the cryptocurrency project ecosystem map, nominating Web3 ecosystem partners for upstream clients such as Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase.If you wish to nominate your project in future ecosystem maps, please fill out the RootData 2026 Industry Ecosystem Mapping form to supplement your important clients and partners.

According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency venture capital firm Blockchain Capital is simultaneously raising two new funds, with a total target size of $700 million, namely its seventh early-stage fund and its second growth fund.Insiders revealed that the firm has begun deploying some of the newly raised capital, and the entire financing round is expected to be completed within five to six months.

According to a Bloomberg report citing Jefferies, a hacker attack on small crypto projects over the weekend, involving nearly $300 million, and the subsequent $10 billion fund run at the largest decentralized lending platform (the KelpDAO and Aave incident), may weaken Wall Street's interest in blockchain technology.Andrew Moss, an analyst at Jefferies' digital asset research team, pointed out that over the past year, banks, asset management companies, and payment institutions have been developing blockchain products similar to the technology system exploited by North Korean hackers. The report suggests that while such incidents are unlikely to directly impact traditional financial markets, it warns that traditional financial institutions may pause related processes and reassess risks before further advancing blockchain business.

According to BeInCrypto, Mastercard has joined the Blockchain Security Standards Committee (BSSC) as a charter-level member, collaborating with members such as Coinbase, Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital, and BitGo to develop a security framework for blockchain networks and tokenized assets.Mastercard will also join a working group focused on security and privacy guidelines, with Claire Le Gal from the security solutions department, responsible for fraud prevention, cyber resilience, disputes, and threat intelligence, representing Mastercard on the BSSC board. The executive director of BSSC stated that Mastercard's payment experience is of significant value in establishing robust blockchain security rules. Mastercard has launched multi-token networks and crypto credential products aimed at embedding trust in blockchain and tokenized infrastructure.

The "Quantum Computing and Blockchain Independent Advisory Committee" established by Coinbase has released its first position paper. The core conclusion of this position paper is that the core infrastructure of Bitcoin is fundamentally secure. Quantum computing does not pose a substantial threat to Bitcoin mining, hash functions, and the historical records of the blockchain. The real vulnerability lies at the wallet level, and Ethereum has laid out a clear roadmap to address this issue in the near future.Previously, Coinbase announced the establishment of the Quantum Computing and Blockchain Independent Advisory Committee in January this year, with committee members including researchers from Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Ethereum Foundation.

Bloomberg cited a report from Jefferies LLC stating that a hacker attack over the weekend that siphoned nearly $300 million from a small crypto project, along with the resulting $10 billion fund run at the largest decentralized lending platform, may slow Wall Street's interest in blockchain technology.Andrew Moss, an analyst at Jefferies' digital asset research team, pointed out that banks, asset management companies, and payment institutions have been developing blockchain products similar to the technology systems exploited by North Korean hackers over the past year.While the report believes this incident is unlikely to impact traditional financial markets, it warns that traditional financial institutions may pause and reassess the associated risks before further advancing their blockchain initiatives.

According to BBX data, yesterday Cantor Fitzgerald raised the target prices for multiple cryptocurrency concept stocks on the same day, but stock prices remained generally under pressure. The core dynamics are as follows:Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Ramsey El-Assal released a research report on April 21, maintaining an "Overweight" rating for Strategy, Inc. (NASDAQ: $MSTR), Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: $HOOD), and Block, Inc. (NYSE: $XYZ), and raised the target prices to $212 (from $192), $110 (from $95), and $88 (from $78), respectively. El-Assal stated that the market is viewing the Q1 earnings report as "rearview mirror data" and is shifting attention to forward-looking growth drivers such as market predictions and tokenization. Despite the collective increase in target prices, the three stocks closed down approximately 2.78%, 4%, and 2% yesterday, reflecting the dual impact of macro sentiment suppression and geopolitical uncertainty.Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: $CRCL) closed yesterday (April 21) at about $97, with a decline of approximately 4.6% on the day, corresponding to a market capitalization of about $24 billion; the stock's 52-week low was $49.90 (on February 5), and it has rebounded approximately 95% from that low; Q1 2026 earnings report is expected to be released on May 11, with consensus revenue expectations for Q2 at about $718 million.

Jefferies, a Wall Street investment bank, pointed out that the approximately $293 million attack incident on Kelp DAO exposed critical infrastructure risks, which may prompt traditional financial institutions to reassess the pace of blockchain and tokenization advancement.Jefferies believes that the attackers triggered market sell-offs and liquidity strains by minting uncollateralized tokens and engaging in cross-platform lending. This incident is thought to be related to the Lazarus Group and also highlights the single point of failure issues in the verification mechanisms of cross-chain bridges. As institutions accelerate the tokenization of assets (such as funds, bonds, and deposits), the associated risks may cause some banks and asset management institutions to delay deployment and prioritize examining system security. Especially in scenarios that rely on cross-chain infrastructure, security vulnerabilities could lead to market fragmentation, undermining the practical utility of tokenized assets.Despite short-term confidence being shaken, Jefferies still emphasizes that the long-term trend remains unchanged. Under the backdrop of regulatory advancements and continuous improvements in infrastructure, applications such as stablecoins still have growth potential. However, the industry as a whole is still in the early stages of development and requires time to enhance system robustness.

Blockchain.com announced the launch of perpetual contract trading features supported by Hyperliquid in its non-custodial DeFi wallet, allowing users to conduct leveraged trading directly within their own wallets without the need to transfer assets to third-party exchanges, achieving full self-custody.

ChainCatcher reported live that Li Baiwei, Partner at HashKey Tokenisation, John Cahill, Chief Operating Officer of Galaxy Digital Asia, Abdelhamid Bizid, Managing Director of BlackRock, and Min Lin, Managing Director and Head of Global Business Development at Ondo Finance, attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable to share insights on "From Wall Street to Blockchain: The Practical Logic and Future Landscape of Global RWA Issuance."The attendees generally agreed that the core value of RWA and asset tokenization is no longer just an innovative narrative at the conceptual level, but a realistic path for upgrading financial market infrastructure. John Cahill stated that blockchain is essentially a superior "underlying pipeline" for financial markets, and in the long run, the ultimate goal of financial markets will be "tokenization of everything"; what truly needs attention is not whether tokenization will happen, but whether market participants have already begun preparing for this endgame.Abdelhamid Bizid pointed out that from the perspective of traditional asset management institutions, the current tokenized products primarily serve clients who do not wish to move funds out of the on-chain ecosystem but want to achieve stable returns and compliant asset allocation tools. BlackRock has seen a clear demand for on-chain yield products and will continue to launch more new products. However, he also emphasized that the real bottleneck in the industry at this stage is not technology, but rather institutional adoption, demand validation, liquidity depth, regulatory clarity, and non-technical barriers such as costs and taxation.Min Lin, drawing from Ondo's practice, stated that the key to tokenized stocks is not just moving U.S. stocks onto the blockchain, but transforming stocks that are originally static in brokerage accounts into programmable financial instruments that can serve as collateral, margin, and lending assets in DeFi, further unlocking capital efficiency. He mentioned that the main demand currently observed by Ondo still comes from retail and crypto-native funds in regions like Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, which find it difficult to directly access the U.S. stock market. This indicates that tokenized stocks at this stage are more like "global asset access tools" rather than mainstream trading venues for institutional funds.

The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), a clearing institution under the Japan Exchange Group, has partnered with Mizuho Bank, Nomura Securities, and Digital Asset to launch a proof-of-concept trial aimed at exploring the use of blockchain technology for collateral management of Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs).According to a joint statement released on Monday, the trial will integrate existing systems from multiple institutions through the Canton Network to test the on-chain transfer and management of JGBs. This initiative aims to assess the feasibility of achieving real-time collateral trading while ensuring compliance with relevant financial instruments and trading laws. The trial will also investigate cross-border use cases involving clearinghouses, institutional investors, and other market participants.JSCC stated that this trial is part of a broader initiative under the Financial Services Agency's "Payment Innovation Project." As overseas markets like the United States make progress in testing similar infrastructures, advancing JGBs collateral management has become an "urgent priority." Previously, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in the U.S. launched a pilot to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities, and South Korea is also conducting related tests.