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According to French media reports, on the morning of April 20 local time, a malicious "targeted robbery of crypto assets" occurred in Ploudalmézeau, France: two masked gunmen broke into a residence, controlling and binding a family of five (including two children and two elderly individuals) for several hours, ultimately coercing the victims to transfer approximately 700,000 euros worth of cryptocurrency.The incident took place in a residential community in broad daylight, and the suspects were clearly "well-prepared," having a thorough understanding of the victims' crypto asset holdings. Police initially determined that this case represents a typical new crime model of "offline violence + on-chain transfer," where personal threats are used to forcibly obtain private keys or transfer authorizations.It is noteworthy that the family members of the victims were engaged in work related to the crypto industry, which may have been a significant reason for this targeted crime. The case is still under investigation, and the suspects have not yet been arrested.This incident once again highlights that, against the backdrop of the increasing popularity of crypto assets, "physical world attacks" (such as kidnapping and home invasion) are becoming new security risk points, and personal asset security is no longer limited to on-chain protection.

The field of crypto venture capital is undergoing a structural transformation. Investors generally require startup projects to have real users and revenue before they are willing to invest; the era of easy financing in the early stages has ended. The reliability of token models as an exit strategy has significantly decreased, and token issuances with low liquidity and high valuations continue to underperform the market, leading investors to revert to traditional equity thinking.At the same time, the rise of the AI sector has captured a large amount of LP funds and entrepreneurial talent, making fundraising for crypto VC even more challenging. However, several investors have pointed out that the current competition is decreasing, valuations are becoming more reasonable, and the regulatory environment is improving. It is expected that 2026-2027 will become the strongest investment years since 2018. In the future, funds will focus on areas with clear business models such as stablecoins, payments, tokenization, real-world assets, and financial infrastructure, and the boundaries between crypto VC and traditional VC will accelerate their convergence.

The IRS is intensifying its regulatory oversight of tax compliance for crypto assets as the April 15 filing deadline approaches, with related enforcement actions continuing to strengthen.Reports indicate that about 61% of U.S. crypto investors are still unaware of the new reporting rules for the 2025 tax year, and approximately 52% of investors are concerned about facing penalties due to reporting errors. The new rules require brokers to report digital asset trading income to the IRS for the first time using Form 1099-DA, but the cost basis still needs to be calculated by the investors themselves.Industry insiders state that the current regulatory environment has become stricter, and investors need to maintain complete records of transactions and wallet data, and report accurately to avoid potential legal risks.

According to Cointelegraph, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea stated that API-based cryptocurrency trading currently accounts for about 30% of the market's trading volume.The FSS pointed out that some traders are using automated tools to inflate trading volume and manipulate prices, with methods including repeatedly submitting small orders to create a false sense of activity and artificially raising prices through high-limit orders.The regulatory agency stated that it will conduct special investigations on accounts suspected of abnormal API trading and remind investors to be cautious of assets that experience sudden spikes in price and trading volume without obvious reasons. Previously, South Korea had required exchanges to verify asset balances every five minutes and continued to tighten anti-fraud rules, but some regulatory measures still face constraints due to an incomplete legal framework.

According to CoinDesk, researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of California, San Diego, blockchain security company Fuzzland, and World Liberty Financial have jointly published a paper warning that "LLM routers"—intermediary services located between users and AI models—have become a significant security risk for crypto assets.The researchers found that 26 LLM routers are secretly injecting malicious tool calls and stealing user credentials, with one incident leading to the emptying of a customer's crypto wallet worth $500,000.Additionally, the researchers were able to control about 400 downstream hosts within hours by "polluting" the router ecosystem. Since sensitive data such as private keys and API credentials are often transmitted in plaintext through these routers, users are effectively exposing their assets to risk without their knowledge.The researchers pointed out that as McKinsey predicts AI agents will mediate $30 trillion to $50 trillion in global consumer spending by 2030, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also predicts that the payment volume of AI agents will be a million times that of humans. The current infrastructure security is severely lagging behind the pace of industry development, and the risk of the "weakest link" could trigger a systemic chain crisis.

According to official news, Gate US has officially launched the Gift Card feature, allowing users to create and send cryptocurrency gift cards directly within the app. This feature supports sending to users who have completed KYC verification via phone number, email, or UID.The recipient can instantly receive the gift card, and the funds will be credited directly. This feature also supports flexible currency combinations, allowing users to pay with one cryptocurrency and gift another asset. All transactions are processed through a KYC-based account system, aimed at promoting security, traceability, and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.This feature further connects cryptocurrency assets with everyday social scenarios, expanding the practical application value of digital assets beyond transactions. Currently, Gate US holds a total of 35 licenses, with compliant operations covering 46 jurisdictions in the United States. Based on this, Gate US continues to expand the real-world application scenarios of cryptocurrency assets on its platform.

According to Fortune, Zaheer Ebtikar, the founder of the crypto hedge fund Split Capital, announced the closure of the fund and officially joined the stablecoin startup Plasma as Chief Strategy Officer. Ebtikar stated that the closure of the fund was not due to poor performance, but rather because he believes that the crypto hedge fund business model is no longer viable. Ebtikar pointed out that the launch of digital asset ETFs by traditional financial institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity has allowed institutional investors to allocate crypto assets directly through compliant channels, leading to a significant decline in demand for crypto hedge funds. Meanwhile, the crypto venture capital sector has also experienced a "mass elimination," with the prices of mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum having dropped nearly 50% from their historical highs in 2025.

According to monitoring by Lookonchain, the crypto mining company MARA transferred 250 BTC (worth approximately 17.37 million USD) again 3 hours ago.Previously, MARA sold 15,133 BTC (1.1 billion USD) between March 4 and March 25.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that a proposal for a "safe harbor" framework aimed at providing startup exemptions for crypto projects has been submitted to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review, which is the final step before formal release.The proposal includes a "startup exemption" that allows stakeholders in the crypto industry to raise a certain amount of funds over four years while providing specific disclosures. Additionally, Atkins proposed an "investment contract safe harbor" in conjunction with the token classification interpretive guidance released by the SEC in March of this year.Atkins pointed out that legislation is necessary because it can provide a more solid and lasting regulatory framework than agency rulemaking. Furthermore, the SEC is also exploring an "innovation exemption" as a regulatory sandbox for on-chain assets. This proposal has sparked extensive discussions between crypto supporters and traditional financial institutions over the past year. Atkins stated that the SEC has the authority to advance the innovation exemption and will announce relevant parameters soon. He believes there is still much work to be done in this area.

Telegram's built-in encrypted wallet "Wallet in Telegram" announces the launch of perpetual contract trading, with technical support from Lighter. It supports over 50 markets, including metals, stocks, oil, and cryptocurrency with leverage up to 50 times.

According to Cryptopolitan, a new type of malware called GhostClaw is targeting cryptocurrency wallets on macOS devices.This malware disguised itself as a legitimate OpenClaw CLI tool and was present in the npm registry for a week before being removed after infecting 178 developers. Once developers run the "npm install" command, a hidden script globally installs the GhostClaw package and evades detection through obfuscated configuration files. GhostClaw scans the clipboard every three seconds, capturing private keys, seed phrases, public keys, and other cryptocurrency wallet and transaction-related data.After the second stage payload is downloaded, GhostLoader scans for cryptocurrency wallet data in the Chromium browser, macOS Keychain, and system storage, clones browser sessions to gain access to logged-in wallets, and steals API Tokens that connect to AI platforms such as OpenAI and Anthropic. The stolen data is sent to the attackers via Telegram, GoFile, and command servers.

Social platform X announced the lifting of the ban on cryptocurrency and gambling promotional content, allowing industry KOLs to monetize crypto content commercially under the new paid partnership framework of the platform, and they must label their posts with the "Paid Partnership" tag.However, cryptocurrency promotional content remains subject to financial promotion regulations in the EU, UK, and Australia, and KOLs must ensure that relevant content is not visible in those markets. X's product head, Nikita Bier, stated that this feature aims to encourage users to grow their businesses on the platform while maintaining transparency.Additionally, Musk revealed that the payment system X Money will launch in a limited testing version within the next two months, and it is not yet clear whether cryptocurrency functionality will be integrated. The X product team also plans to launch the Smart Cashtags feature, allowing users to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies directly on the platform.

According to Coindesk, blockchain analysis company Chainalysis stated that Iran's cryptocurrency ecosystem will reach $7.78 billion by 2025, with a growth rate surpassing the previous year.Iran legalized cryptocurrency mining in 2019, allowing licensed operators to use subsidized electricity and sell the mined bitcoins to the central bank. Recent estimates indicate that Iran accounts for between 2% and 5% of the global Bitcoin mining hash rate. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as the country's main military force, has since deepened its influence in the cryptocurrency sector.Chainalysis estimates that by the fourth quarter of 2025, addresses associated with the IRGC will account for over 50% of Iran's total cryptocurrency inflows, with amounts received last year exceeding $3 billion. Another analysis by Elliptic found that the Central Bank of Iran had accumulated at least $507 million in USDT by 2025, which could help stabilize the rial exchange rate and facilitate trade. However, this effort has largely failed, with data showing that the rial has depreciated by over 96% against the dollar. Meanwhile, ordinary Iranians have begun to turn to Bitcoin. During recent protests and internet outages, the amount of Bitcoin withdrawn from local exchanges to personal wallets surged dramatically.

According to The Block, Telegram's embedded crypto wallet TON Wallet has announced the launch of on-chain yield options for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT holders. Users can deposit assets into the "vault" to participate in on-chain strategies aimed at generating variable returns.Among them, the USDT strategy can achieve an annualized return of up to 18%, supported by the Re7 DeFi strategy; the ETH and BTC vaults extend the yield functionality to the two major cryptocurrencies. This feature is implemented through TON Wallet, with integration from Morpho, TAC, and Re7.

According to Alicharts monitoring, in the past three months, the stablecoin reserves of cryptocurrency CEX have decreased by 14%, from $75 billion to $64.5 billion.

The founder of Slow Fog, Yu Xian, reposted a security reminder. Currently, the ClawHub market of OpenClaw has discovered 1,184 malicious skills that can steal SSH keys, encrypted wallets, browser passwords, and open reverse shells. A single attacker has uploaded 677 packages. The top-ranked skill has 9 vulnerabilities and has been downloaded thousands of times.Yu Xian reminds users that text is no longer just text, but instructions. It is recommended to use AI tools in isolated environments, as many OpenClaw skills pose potential risks. Furthermore, Web3 security smart contracts are only part of the issue; the real causes of incidents are far beyond just contracts. A few days ago, Moonwell was hacked for $1.78 million, with the faulty code coming from Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6.

Gemhead Capital announced on platform X that it has made a strategic investment of $5 million in the cryptocurrency data infrastructure project BihuoPro. The two parties will further collaborate on modeling cryptocurrency market sentiment data and institutional-level signal infrastructure.It is reported that BihuoPro is positioned as a "private domain financial data + sentiment consensus engine + tradable signal provider," dedicated to structuring community and private domain behavior along with public opinion information, and building an indicator system that can directly serve quantitative and trading decisions.