News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily News Nansen has announced the introduction of a pay-per-call model, optimizing on-chain data access based on the x402 protocol and PayAI infrastructure. This model allows users to instantly query wallet data, fund flows, and "smart money" signals through USDC micropayments, eliminating the need for subscriptions, approvals, or API keys. The system automates the "request-billing-payment-return" process based on the HTTP 402 mechanism, supporting autonomous calls and payments by AI agents.Nansen stated that the new model already covers its entire API ecosystem, with basic data queries priced at approximately $0.01 per call and advanced signals at around $0.05, supporting settlement on the Base and Solana networks. (Crowdfundinsider)
According to the HTX announcement, HTX has enabled OPG deposits as of 23:45 (GMT+8) on April 20. Spot trading for OPG/USDT will commence at 20:00 (GMT+8) on April 21. OPG withdrawals will be enabled at 18:00 (GMT+8) on April 22. Additionally, HTX Margin Trading will introduce isolated-margin leveraged trading for OPG/USDT (10x) at 20:00 (GMT+8) on April 21. OpenGradient is a platform for open-source model hosting, secure execution, agent-based inference, and application deployment. It is building a native intelligence network designed to bring the world’s computing onto the blockchain.
Odaily News: Sonic detailed its technical path for the "post-quantum era," pointing out that most current PoS public chains rely on elliptic curve signatures (such as ECDSA, Ed25519), which face the risk of being cracked once quantum computing (e.g., Shor's algorithm) matures.Sonic stated that the industry is exploring quantum-resistant cryptographic solutions (such as hash-based XMSS, SPHINCS+, and lattice-based Dilithium, Falcon). However, mainstream consensus mechanisms generally rely on BLS aggregate signatures and threshold signatures, and migrating to a quantum-resistant system will face challenges in performance, bandwidth, and architectural restructuring.In contrast, Sonic's SonicCS consensus protocol does not rely on aggregate signatures or global randomness. It uses single-node signatures and hash functions to construct a DAG structure. Therefore, when switching to quantum-resistant cryptography, only the signature algorithm needs to be replaced to complete the upgrade, without adjusting the consensus logic or network structure.Sonic emphasized that this design will significantly reduce the complexity of future migration to quantum-resistant security, giving the network stronger adaptability when quantum computing threats emerge.
According to the official announcement, Layer 1 public blockchain Pharos has unveiled the tokenomics for its native token PROS, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. The initial supply allocation is as follows: Foundation Treasury (16%), Lab Co. Treasury (9%), Team (20%), Investors (20%), Ecosystem & Community (21%—including 6% for community airdrops: 1% unlocked at TGE and 5% reserved for future community growth and airdrop incentives), and Node & Liquidity Incentives (14%). Core team members and private-sale investors are subject to a 12-month lock-up period followed by a 36-month linear vesting schedule. Certain treasury and incentive allocations extend vesting periods to 48–60 months. PROS serves multiple functions: transaction fees, PoS staking, validator participation, governance, ecosystem incentives, and potential RWA-specific use cases. The staking issuance policy adopts a phased approach: zero inflation during the first six months following mainnet launch; starting in Month 7, annual inflation is set at 5%, subject to dynamic adjustment by the Foundation based on network operational conditions.
Odaily News: Hong Kong-based crypto payment company RedotPay announced the addition of support for SUI and USDC-Sui within its application. Users can now spend and transfer funds in over 100 countries globally using its card and payment services. This integration, built on the Sui network developed by Mysten Labs, enables support for native USDC, marking an expansion from cross-chain assets to native assets.RedotPay stated that it currently has over 7 million users, with an annualized payment volume exceeding $10 billion. (TechinAsia)
Odaily News The x402 protocol, incubated by Coinbase, has announced the launch of a unified platform called Agent.market, positioned as an "AI Agent App Store" for centrally showcasing and integrating various tools and services built on the protocol. According to the introduction, Agent.market already covers seven major categories at launch: inference, data, media, search, social, infrastructure, and trading. It integrates service providers including OpenAI, Bloomberg, CoinGecko, LinkedIn, X, and AWS Lambda, and supports permissionless integration.Erik Reppel, Engineering Lead at Coinbase Developer Platform, stated that the platform is essentially "an app store for agents." Currently, there are approximately 69,000 active agents on the x402 network, which have cumulatively completed over 165 million transactions, with a transaction volume reaching $50 million. Most services on Agent.market adopt a pay-per-use model, with some charging an "agentic premium" for AI agents. However, costs can be reduced through subscriptions in high-frequency usage scenarios. Meanwhile, the "agent economy" based on x402 is lowering customer acquisition and integration costs for businesses, unlocking previously constrained demand due to API keys, subscriptions, and micro-payment mechanisms.The x402 protocol is named after the HTTP 402 "Payment Required" status code, enabling websites, APIs, and AI agents to conduct instant micropayments via blockchain and traditional payment channels. The protocol is governed as an open standard by the x402 Foundation under the Linux Foundation and has received support from over 20 technology and crypto institutions including Cloudflare, Stripe, Amazon Web Services, Google, and Visa. (The Block)
Mizuho Financial Group, Nomura Holdings, Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), and Digital Asset Holdings have jointly launched a proof-of-concept experiment on blockchain-based collateral management enhancement. This experiment will leverage the Canton Network—a blockchain platform designed specifically for institutional finance—to explore digital collateral management using Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs). The experiment will test JGB rights transfers and ledger updates via blockchain under a multi-tiered account management structure, and will explore enabling 24/7, real-time collateral transactions while preserving the existing legal attributes of issued securities. It will also cover cross-border scenarios and assess alignment with relevant laws, regulations, and rules. This project is part of the “Payment Enhancement Project (PIP)” supported by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), aiming to improve cross-border collateral management efficiency, reduce operational costs for financial institutions and investors, and strengthen the international competitiveness of Japan’s financial markets.
Bitget, in collaboration with data research firm Block Scholes, has jointly released a report analyzing the correlation trends between crypto assets and traditional financial markets under macroeconomic event-driven conditions, based on Q1 2026 market data. The report notes that as Bitcoin’s correlation with major stock indices has risen to one of the highest levels since the end of 2025, traders’ demand for real-time cross-market allocation is increasing. Data shows that Bitget’s CFD business volume has demonstrated sustained growth: daily trading volume stood at approximately $2 billion at launch, rose to $4 billion shortly thereafter, and surged beyond $6 billion during periods of heightened market volatility. According to the report, this shift reflects how some users are progressively integrating crypto assets, equities, and commodities into a unified trading framework for coordinated management—rather than treating them as entirely separate trading strategies. The report further highlights that, against the backdrop of continuously strengthening multi-asset correlations and increasingly pronounced macro-driven trading characteristics, Unified Exchanges (UEX)—platforms that integrate crypto assets and traditional financial instruments within a single account system—are drawing growing attention from active traders and are gradually becoming a key venue for cross-asset allocation.
According to the official announcement, HTX (formerly Huobi) has launched perpetual contracts for AAPL/USDT, META/USDT, and PIVERSE/USDT on April 20, with a maximum leverage of 20x. Additionally, HTX is hosting an “AAPL, META, PIVERSE Contract Trading Party” from 17:00 on April 20 to 17:00 on April 27 (UTC+8), with a total prize pool of $20,000. During the event, users who register and trade AAPL/USDT, META/USDT, or PIVERSE/USDT perpetual contracts—accumulating a total effective trading volume of ≥$5,000—will share the prize pool based on their trading volume ranking. New contract traders completing trades in AAPL/USDT, META/USDT, or PIVERSE/USDT perpetual contracts will also receive exclusive benefits.
According to an official announcement, Coinbase has launched its crypto-backed lending service in the UK, enabling users to borrow USDC in under one minute using BTC, ETH, and cbETH as collateral. The service is powered by Morpho, an open-source lending protocol built on Base. Coinbase stated that this product first launched in the U.S. in January 2025. As of April 14, 2026, loans facilitated via Coinbase’s integration with Morpho have exceeded $2.17 billion in USDC. Users can monitor their loan health, historical annualized interest rates, and liquidation alerts directly within the Coinbase app. Interest rates are dynamically adjusted based on market conditions.
According to South Korean media outlet DigitalToday, Korean crypto venture capital firm Hashed Ventures announced raising KRW 3 billion (USD 2.2 million). The investment was led by Hecto Innovation and Hecto Financial—both subsidiaries of Hecto Group. The new capital will be allocated to Hashed Ventures’ “Hashed Venture Investment Fund No. 3,” with a focus on supporting new business areas including digital asset wallets and stablecoin-based payment and settlement solutions.
Odaily According to a report released on the 19th by Windward, a UK-based maritime analysis company, Iran briefly reopened the Strait of Hormuz before closing it again. In the past 36 hours, 35 ships have turned around and headed back while attempting to exit the strait. The report states that after Iran announced the reopening of the strait on the 17th, ship responses that day were relatively cautious. On the 18th, traffic through the strait was initially sparse but then rapidly increased, with ships rushing to pass through before the situation deteriorated. A total of 35 ships transited the strait that day, including 8 entering (comprising 4 oil tankers, 2 bulk carriers, and 2 other cargo ships) and 27 exiting (comprising 8 oil tankers, 3 bulk carriers, 15 other cargo ships, and 1 passenger ship). (Xinhua News Agency)
Odaily News On-chain data indicates that Kelp DAO's rsETH bridge protocol based on LayerZero is suspected of being exploited by hackers, resulting in a loss of 116,500 rsETH, valued at approximately $292 million.
According to Cointelegraph, X’s newly launched Cashtags feature—introduced this Tuesday—has generated approximately $1 billion in trading volume within two days. The feature allows users to select specific assets or contract addresses when posting; clicking the tag displays real-time price charts and related posts. Currently, Cashtags is available exclusively to iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada. Canadian online brokerage Wealthsimple has already integrated the feature, enabling users to jump directly to its trading platform; however, no U.S.-based brokerages have yet connected. Additionally, X’s peer-to-peer payment system, X Money, is also under development and plans to offer features including interest-bearing accounts and cashback debit cards. X Money has already secured money transmission licenses in over 40 U.S. states. These initiatives form part of Elon Musk’s strategic vision to transform X into a “super app.”
Odaily News USDC has officially announced the launch of its cross-chain bridge, USDC Bridge. Built and operated by Circle, it supports cross-chain transfers based on a native burn-mint mechanism.According to the announcement, the bridge supports upfront fee display and real-time status tracking, eliminates the need for manual path selection, and can automatically handle destination chain gas fees.
Odaily News According to a post by X Product Lead Nikita Bier on the X platform, based on aggregated data from the trading pilot, since the launch of Cashtags on Tuesday evening, social platform X has driven approximately $10 billion in transaction volume globally. This data comes from the platform's initial pilot phase, demonstrating the significant pull effect on market liquidity and user engagement after integrating social platforms with trading functionalities.
Xie Jiayin, Bitget’s Head of Chinese-speaking Markets, revealed significant progress across multiple core business areas. In terms of liquidity, Bitget ranked first globally among centralized exchanges (CEXs) in net fund inflows over the past seven days. Its BTC reserves grew 86% year-on-year to 36,700 BTC. According to TokenInsight’s report, Bitget’s derivatives and spot liquidity both ranked among the top two globally. Strategically, the platform continues advancing its transformation into UEX, a comprehensive exchange. This quarter, Bitget completed a full app redesign, fully launched CFD trading—supporting 79 assets with up to 500x leverage—and expanded its U.S. stock token offering to 263 tickers. Per CoinGlass data, Bitget leads the industry in U.S. stock futures open interest, and its CFD daily trading volume exceeded $6 billion. On the product front, Bitget launched IPO Prime, an innovative token sale platform. Its inaugural offering is preSPAX—a digital token mirroring the listing gains of SpaceX. Additionally, Bitget completed a three-layer reconstruction of its AI trading engine and introduced GetClaw, a cloud-based AI trading assistant enabling users to execute automated live trades via natural-language commands. For its VIP ecosystem, Bitget established a $5 million Protection Fund and distributed nearly 1,000 preSPAX tokens to VIP users in two free airdrops: the first round (760 tokens) was distributed on April 16, and the second round (190 tokens) will be distributed on April 20.
According to an official announcement, crypto-financial technology company Superstate has launched FundOS—a next-generation fund operating system—opening its fund-on-chain infrastructure to asset management firms to support the tokenization of private funds, mutual funds, and ETFs. Superstate states that FundOS enables fund managers to select fund types, underlying blockchains, supported DeFi use cases, and whether to enable stablecoin-based subscriptions and redemptions. It integrates with existing fund managers, custodians, and service providers via its portal, APIs, and workflows. The system is already deployed for USTB and USCC, collectively managing over $1 billion in assets, and has also been adopted by Invesco US.
According to official announcements, Pumpcade—a live-stream prediction market and meme coin issuance platform—has secured $5 million in seed funding. Investors include Jump Crypto and Foundation Capital. Pumpcade is a Solana-based platform for instant meme coin creation and trading, integrated into the Pump.fun chat system and enabling one-click prediction market creation during live streams. Earlier, on April 2, Pump.fun led a $1 million pre-seed round for Pumpcade.
According to The Block, the Washington-based think tank Cato Institute published a critique of the U.S.’s current Bitcoin tax policy. Researcher Nick Anthony pointed out that the existing tax framework—which classifies Bitcoin as “property” rather than “currency”—requires users to calculate capital gains or losses for every single transaction, including routine, small-value purchases. This makes tax filing extremely cumbersome and effectively hinders Bitcoin’s adoption as a payment instrument. In response, the Cato Institute proposed several reform measures, including fully eliminating capital gains taxes on cryptocurrency payments and introducing a de minimis exemption threshold for small transactions. The report also referenced the existing Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act—a bill that would exempt crypto transactions under $200—but Anthony argued that this threshold is too low to reflect real-world consumer spending levels. Currently, the Trump administration has expressed support for establishing a de minimis exemption for cryptocurrency transactions and will continue evaluating related legislative options.