In the era of AI acceleration, the real question Ethereum needs to answer is no longer how to be faster and cheaper.

On April 20, 2026, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular regarding the trading of tokenized SFC-approved investment products (hereinafter referred to as tokenized products) on the secondary market, providing a new trading channel option for such products.

OpenAI is facing new legal challenges related to the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Bloomberg posted on X that the lawsuits claim the AI company could have prevented the suspected shooter from accessing its widely-used chatbot, ChatGPT, prior to the incident. The legal actions argue that OpenAI's technology played a role in the events leading up to the attack, raising questions about the responsibilities of AI companies in monitoring and controlling the use of their products. The lawsuits highlight ongoing concerns about the potential misuse of AI technologies and the ethical obligations of developers in preventing harm.

Whether the Federal Reserve is still willing to retain the policy hint that "the next step is more likely to be a rate cut," or begins to acknowledge that the risks have shifted in both directions.

Blockworks announced the completion of its Series A extended funding round, valuing the company at $192 million post-money. The round was co-led by ParaFi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, MoonPay Ventures, and other institutions and industry players. The funding also attracted over 20 founders and operators from ecosystem projects such as Solana, LayerZero, Arbitrum, and Kraken. The specific amount raised was not disclosed. The company stated that while the crypto market has grown to a trillion-dollar scale in the absence of traditional capital market infrastructure, issues such as data fragmentation, inconsistent disclosure, and a lack of investor communication mechanisms persist. Blockworks aims to fill these gaps through a three-pronged approach of "data + disclosure + investor relations." (CNBC)

Nigel Farage received a £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne prior to reversing his decision not to stand in the UK's 2024 general election. According to NS3.AI, Farage stated that Harborne provided the gift due to concerns about Farage's safety. The payment was not publicly disclosed as it occurred before Farage announced his parliamentary bid.

Andre Cronje has expressed concerns that most decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols no longer adhere to the strict definition of DeFi, resembling more closely team-operated commercial systems. According to Odaily, this has sparked industry debate over whether 'circuit breakers' should be introduced to mitigate attack risks. In an interview, Cronje highlighted that early DeFi focused on immutable smart contracts, but many current protocols rely on upgradable contracts, multi-signature permissions, off-chain infrastructure, and manual processes. This shift has transformed them from 'immutable public goods' to 'operable profit-driven businesses.' He noted that recent security incidents, including attacks involving approximately $280 million and $293 million, have expanded industry risks from smart contract vulnerabilities to infrastructure, permission control, and social engineering attacks, akin to 'Web2-style risks.' To manage these risks, Cronje's Flying Tulip has recently implemented a circuit breaker mechanism, delaying or queuing withdrawals during abnormal fund outflows to provide a six-hour emergency response window, aiming to prevent systemic runs and further losses. However, this mechanism has sparked controversy. Michael Egorov argues that circuit breakers could introduce new centralized attack vectors if controlled by signatories or administrators, potentially becoming new security vulnerabilities or sources of freeze risks. He emphasized that DeFi design should minimize human intervention rather than increase manual control nodes. Industry analysis suggests this debate reflects DeFi's shift from the ideal model of 'code as law' to a practical framework of 'hybrid governance and operational control,' with security boundaries being redefined.

Silver prices have fallen to $72 per ounce, marking the lowest level since April 7, according to Odaily. This represents a daily decline of 1.53%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) has climbed to an intraday high of 98.77. In the oil market, both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil prices have seen short-term increases, with the latest reports showing prices at $105.75 and $107.79 per barrel, respectively.

In March 2026, prediction markets saw a total transaction volume of $25.7 billion, marking a 10.6% increase from the previous period. According to Odaily, the trading activity was predominantly concentrated among small retail users. Of the 1.29 million wallets tracked in the first quarter, 82.3% of users engaged in transactions below $10,000. The growth was mainly driven by micro, light, and moderately active user groups, reflecting a market structure characterized by high-frequency participation with low transaction sizes. Cryptocurrency assets served as the primary entry point for prediction markets, accounting for 39.6% of micro-user activity. Bitcoin-related event contracts attracted approximately 593,000 users in the first quarter, with a transaction volume of $5.42 billion, making it the most engaged crypto prediction market. Ethereum and Solana recorded transaction volumes of $1.19 billion and $420 million, respectively. In terms of category structure, sports markets led with a transaction volume of $10.1 billion, followed by political markets at $5 billion, with geopolitical-related transactions accounting for $2.41 billion. Overall, crypto-related markets reached a total transaction volume of $7.3 billion. Analysts suggest that the growth in prediction markets is primarily driven by 'category expansion' rather than an increase in single transaction sizes. Micro users were active for an average of 2.5 days, participating in 1.45 categories, while medium users increased their activity to 9.9 days, engaging in 2.34 categories, indicating a shift from single speculative activities to sustained participation across multiple markets.

Data shows that the total trading volume of the prediction market reached $25.7 billion in March 2026, a 10.6% increase month-over-month. Trading activity was highly concentrated among small-scale retail users. Of the 1.29 million wallets tracked in the first quarter, 82.3% of users traded less than $10,000. Growth primarily came from micro, light, and moderately active user groups, with the market exhibiting a structure of "high-frequency participation and low single-transaction size." Crypto assets were the main entry point to the prediction market, accounting for 39.6% of micro-user activity. Bitcoin-related event contracts attracted approximately 593,000 users in the first quarter, with a trading volume of $5.42 billion, making it the most participated crypto prediction market. Ethereum and Solana recorded trading volumes of $1.19 billion and $420 million, respectively. In terms of category structure, the sports market ranked first with a trading volume of $10.1 billion, followed by the political market ($5 billion), of which geopolitical related transactions accounted for $2.41 billion. The overall trading volume of the crypto-related market reached $7.3 billion. Analysis suggests that predicting market growth relies primarily on "category expansion" rather than an increase in the size of individual transactions. Micro-users are active for an average of 2.5 days and participate in 1.45 categories, while medium-sized users are more active, participating in 9.9 days and 2.34 categories, indicating a shift from single-market speculation to a structure of sustained multi-market participation. (The Block)

Standard Chartered has expressed confidence in the resilience of decentralized finance (DeFi) despite recent setbacks. According to NS3.AI, the bank described DeFi as "bent, not broken" following the KelpDAO exploit on April 18, which resulted in $292 million in losses and affected the AAVE platform. The incident led to a 38% decline in AAVE deposits and a 31% drop in active loans, as stolen tokens were used as collateral for borrowing other assets. Geoff Kendrick from Standard Chartered remains optimistic, projecting that tokenized real-world assets will achieve a market capitalization of $2 trillion by the end of 2028, a significant increase from $35 billion in October 2025.

According to Gate data, spot silver touched $72 per ounce, a new low since April 7, down 1.53% on the day. The US dollar index (DXY) rose to an intraday high of 98.77. Both WTI and Brent crude oil prices continued to rise in the short term, last quoted at $105.75 and $107.79 per barrel, respectively.

GSR has launched the Crypto Core3 ETF, a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund focusing on a portfolio of three core crypto assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The product employs a weekly rebalancing strategy to dynamically adjust the portfolio structure across different cryptocurrencies, while also introducing staking rewards for the Ethereum and Solana portions. GSR has currently submitted application materials for five ETFs and will continue to expand its product portfolio to further refine its crypto asset investment strategy. (Coindesk)

This window of opportunity will also be crucial for the UAE to adjust its pace and increase production across the board.

Before those outside the cryptocurrency community even realized it, the rebuilding of financial infrastructure had already crossed a critical point.

I thought this crazy AI update frenzy was over, but DeepSeek, which just released V4 last week, suddenly delivered an even bigger surprise.

A software founder’s account of a catastrophic failure is reigniting concerns about the risks of deploying AI in live environments, after an autonomous coding agent reportedly deleted an entire production database and its backups in just seconds.

KelpDAO, Artificial Intelligence, AI Cannot Save Human Foolishness: The Real Blind Spot in Blockchain Security Seen Through the $292 Million KelpDAO Incident (Jinse Finance) Problems that AI Auditing Cannot Solve Need to Be Solved by Humans.

A hacker claimed to have taken over 300,000 Polymarket user records and tried to sell them on the dark web. Polymarket denied any breach, saying the data is already public through its on-chain systems and tools.

The "Bitcoin 2026" conference brought Bitcoin's institutional era to the forefront, with law enforcement agencies, ETFs, corporate reserve assets, and the concept of on-chain self-custody clashing fiercely.