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According to official news, Four Pillars announced that it has obtained Series A financing from Pantera Capital and Further Ventures, with the specific amount undisclosed.It will transition from a previous research institution to a blockchain research and infrastructure provider aimed at institutional users. It is reported that in the three years since its establishment, Four Pillars has collaborated with over 100 protocols and companies, releasing more than 600 research reports. In the future, it will focus on three main directions: FP Research (divided into five specialized departments: crypto, investment, institutions, Asia, and technology), FP Validated (institutional-level validator infrastructure providing staking services), and FP Institution (a newly established institutional department offering seminars and consulting services).

The Vietnamese government plans to launch a 5-year pilot project for crypto assets in the second quarter of 2026, transitioning from previously offshore unregulated crypto trading to a domestically regulated market. Currently, Vietnamese traders have an annual cryptocurrency trading volume of $220-230 billion, exceeding $600 million daily. The new pilot will only allow locally registered institutions that meet strict capital and compliance requirements to participate, and the trading targets must be backed by real-world assets and settled in Vietnamese dong.

India is promoting the application of the digital rupee through about 10 welfare pilot projects, distributing part of the approximately $80 billion in subsidies and food benefits via e-rupee to reduce fund leakage and corruption, and to provide a clearer use case for central bank digital currency.At the same time, the Reserve Bank of India is pushing for a cross-member CBDC interconnection plan to be proposed at the 2026 BRICS summit, aiming to enhance the efficiency of cross-border trade settlements and reduce reliance on the US dollar. Currently, there are about 10 million e-rupee users, with a cumulative transaction amount of approximately $3.6 billion, which is still significantly lower than the UPI system that processes about $300 billion in transactions monthly in India.

According to market news, at the "9th BCCC Collaborative Day" held on April 21, 2026, Shigeru Shimizu, the head of the Risk Analysis Division of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, delivered a special speech revealing significant progress in cryptocurrency regulation. The FSA has submitted a bill to the extraordinary Diet, proposing to transition cryptocurrencies from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, mainly involving four core aspects: regulations on information disclosure, the establishment of new classifications for independent operators, strengthening penalties for unregistered operators, and preparing regulations against insider trading.At the same time, the FSA is advancing three "Payment Innovation Projects (PIP)" empirical experiments: first, a cross-border payment trial using yen stablecoins involving three major banks; second, on-chain settlement of securities such as government bonds, corporate bonds, and stocks based on blockchain, aiming for 24/7 continuous trading; third, an interbank tokenized deposit transfer experiment that just received support on April 3 of this month, which will be promoted in conjunction with the Bank of Japan's central bank digital currency tokenization sandbox project. Mr. Shimizu stated that blockchain has great potential in enhancing the convenience of financial services and diversifying products, and the FSA will continue to promote institutional development and practical support.

During tonight's Bitget "Obsidian Night," the head of Bitget AI products provided an in-depth analysis of the AI trading assistant, Agent Hub, and GetClaw product matrix, and officially announced the launch of the Bitget AI ecosystem co-creation plan. He pointed out that AI should not just be a pile of functions within the exchange, nor should it be an exclusive tool for institutions, but rather a key lever for ordinary users to achieve trading equality. Relying on the UEX unified architecture, these AI tools can now seamlessly integrate into cross-asset trading scenarios, providing users with professional-level strategy assistance 24/7.In the second quarter of 2026, Bitget will focus on advancing three AI ecosystem initiatives: hosting the world's first AI trading hackathon to provide developers with technical resources and a showcase platform; collaborating with creators to produce practical tutorials; and opening up B-end cooperation to co-build a developer ecosystem with project parties and tool vendors. The head of Bitget AI products stated that this plan aims to aggregate industry strength and accelerate the deep application of AI technology in Web3 trading scenarios.

According to Bloomberg, 39 signatories, including Nasdaq, Stuttgart Stock Exchange Group, and various financial technology associations, are calling on the European Commission and the European Parliament to treat the distributed ledger technology pilot system as an independent legislative fast track and to separate it from the EU market integration and supervision scheme.The signatories stated that if the overall negotiation process takes too long, Europe may fall behind the United States in DLT applications, and they demand the removal of asset class restrictions, an increase in the total trading volume cap to €150 billion, and the elimination of license time limits. The letter also mentioned that the United States has established a stablecoin regulatory framework through the Genius Act and is rapidly establishing a leading position in the tokenized asset field.The European Commission is currently promoting a rapid resolution of the entire regulatory scheme and views it as a key part of the Capital Markets Union plan. Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque has previously called for all legislative proposals to be passed in sync.

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.

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

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.

Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life to launch a pilot project for tokenized government bonds, aiming to validate a blockchain-based government bond trading structure.The project issues and trades tokenized government bonds in a test network environment, achieving synchronized processing of trading and settlement, and utilizes stablecoins to test a 24-hour settlement mechanism to enhance trading speed and reduce settlement risk. The two parties have initiated technical feasibility testing starting from September 2024 and are assessing the stability of the entire process, including digital asset custody. At the same time, they are analyzing the regulatory environment in South Korea and studying the feasibility of integrating stablecoin settlements and tokenized bonds into the existing financial system. Ripple stated that this collaboration helps promote the establishment of institutional-level digital asset infrastructure in South Korea and supports its long-term strategic layout in the South Korean market.

X product head and Solana ecosystem advisor Nikita Bier stated, "X has always been the best source for traders and investors to obtain financial information. Every day, billions of dollars are allocated based on what people see on their timelines. We have launched a brand new Cashtags feature on the iPhone in the US and Canada, bringing real-time financial data directly into X. Here’s how it works: · When you search for or post a Cashtag (or contract address), X will automatically recommend matching stocks or crypto tokens for you to select target assets. · By clicking any Cashtag, users can view related discussion threads and the price chart of that asset—without leaving the X platform. This feature ensures that users can always accurately match discussions related to the corresponding stock or token. Cashtags are just the first step in our commitment to creating the preferred platform for the financial and crypto community. Our vision is not just to provide charts. The content on X is valuable and actionable, so trading should also be seamless. Today we announced a pilot integration with Canadian brokerage Wealthsimple. Canadian users will see a button on the Cashtags page that allows them to complete trades seamlessly on X."

According to Financial IT, HSBC's Global Payment Solutions (GPS) business has successfully completed a pilot of Tokenized Deposit Services (TDS) on the public blockchain Canton Network, simulating the entire process of issuing, transferring, and atomic settlement of tokenized deposits with other digital assets. This is the first time HSBC's TDS has been issued and used on a public blockchain. HSBC TDS supports major currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR, HKD, and SGD, allowing fiat deposits to be converted into digital tokens at a 1:1 ratio, enabling instant transfers on the HSBC ledger, and supporting 24/7 real-time settlement and programmable payments.Manish Kohli, Head of HSBC Global Payment Solutions, stated that this pilot demonstrates the evolution of tokenization in the banking industry and the necessary infrastructure, with the company's focus on building secure and interoperable capabilities to enable customers to transfer funds more efficiently across different environments. Yuval Rooz, co-founder of Canton Network and CEO of Digital Asset, stated that tokenized deposits are accelerating in capital markets, corporate banking, and cash management, and Canton has become one of the major deployment networks.

Due to the delay in the legislative process of the "Digital Asset Basic Law," several financial institutions in South Korea are providing stablecoin payment services aimed at foreign users to bypass regulatory restrictions and proactively establish infrastructure and partnership networks.Specifically, Hana Financial Group has partnered with Circle and Crypto.com to launch a USDC payment pilot, Danal plans to introduce similar services with Circle and Binance Pay, Crypto.com and KG Inicis have launched a payment gateway, BC Card is testing USDC payment technology with Coinbase, and KB Kookmin Card has applied for a patent for the integration of stablecoin and bank card payments. Analysts say that such services aimed at foreign users are equivalent to a "regulatory sandbox," which helps companies validate their business models before formal policies are implemented.

According to Jinshi reports, a U.S. government official stated that the second crew member on the downed F-15E fighter jet has been rescued, and the rescue operation is still ongoing. The missing crew member has been confirmed rescued, but is not yet out of danger. They added that the rescue team still needs to successfully evacuate from Iran and return safely.

Polymarket has delisted a prediction market involving the fate of a missing American pilot, stating that the content violates the platform's "integrity standards" and should not have been launched, and is reviewing its internal auditing processes. The incident has sparked widespread controversy, as the market had bets on "whether they will be rescued," with over 60% of users betting that they would not be rescued in the short term.It is reported that U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton has publicly criticized such trades as "disgusting," questioning the speculation on the fate of potential casualties. He stated, "American soldiers could be your neighbors, friends, or family, yet some are betting on whether they will be rescued."Additionally, the Polymarket platform has not specified the exact terms of the violations, raising questions about the transparency of the rules. Meanwhile, the prediction market is also facing heightened concerns over "insider trading," with reports that some traders had made precise bets for profit before sensitive military events. On the regulatory side, several U.S. lawmakers have called for stronger restrictions on trading in prediction markets using non-public information.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently launched a regulatory pilot program for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP). The first batch of participating institutions includes several regional fintech and digital asset companies, among which KuCoin is the only selected global exchange.The pilot focuses on compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF), aiming to strengthen risk management and regulatory capabilities in the digital asset industry, and align with international standards such as those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).According to the arrangements, participating institutions are required to conduct structured regulatory communications, submit regulatory data regularly, and advance compliance practices in key areas such as corporate governance, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and cross-border transaction "Travel Rule."KuCoin CEO BC Wong stated that constructive regulatory dialogue is an important foundation for the long-term sustainable development of the digital asset industry, and the company will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with global regulatory agencies to promote transparency and enhance risk management capabilities.The market generally believes that this selection reflects KuCoin's ongoing progress in advancing compliance strategies globally, while also indicating that Nigeria is moving towards a more systematic and forward-looking phase in digital asset regulation.