Iranian media reports that Iran has decided to fully and formally resume operations of all gold business units nationwide starting Saturday, in light of the current ceasefire. According to Jin10, this decision marks a significant step in the country's efforts to stabilize its economy and restore normalcy in the gold market. The move comes as part of broader measures to enhance economic activities and support the precious metals sector, which has been impacted by recent geopolitical tensions. The resumption of gold business operations is expected to boost local trade and provide a positive outlook for the industry.

For years, on-chain privacy has been caught between two major challenges: cryptographic technology has not yet matured to the point of commercial application, while regulatory agencies regard all privacy tools as criminal infrastructure.

Gobi Partners has announced its investment in Transak. According to ChainCatcher, Transak, established in 2019, offers financial institutions a single API for seamless fiat and digital asset exchanges, handling KYC, AML, risk monitoring, and local payment integration. The investment aims to support Transak's expansion into the Asian market. Transak has already established its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong and plans to enhance integration with payment networks and banking partners in the ASEAN region.

WeChat Pay has officially introduced an AI-native integration toolbox designed to offer merchants and developers a streamlined payment integration solution. According to ChainCatcher, this toolbox facilitates the rapid generation of payment function code through natural language commands. The toolbox comprises Skill packages, AI-friendly documentation, and APIs, enabling one-click calls in mainstream AI development environments. Its 'verbal code generation' feature significantly reduces the development process from days to minutes, allowing quick integration of over 20 functions, including mini-program payments, H5 payments, refunds, and profit-sharing. Additionally, the toolbox includes AI diagnostic capabilities that automatically identify code logic issues and provide suggestions for fixes, minimizing financial and system risks during integration. It also supports interface troubleshooting and legacy code upgrades for existing system developers. This upgrade further advances the standardization and AI adaptation of payment capabilities, lowering the digital business barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises.

A cryptocurrency bill led by U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott is facing bipartisan challenges due to a controversial clause concerning DeFi developer protections. According to ChainCatcher, the clause proposes exemptions for non-custodial software developers who do not control user funds, allowing them to avoid registration as money transmitters or compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. Law enforcement organizations, including the National Sheriffs' Association and the National District Attorneys Association, have expressed concerns to Congress, warning that the clause could weaken efforts to combat financial crime. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has also voiced similar concerns. The cryptocurrency industry views the clause as central to the bill, with DeFi Education Fund Executive Director Amanda Tuminelli stating that any changes to the text are unacceptable. Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Mark Warner are advocating for modifications to the clause. If bipartisan consensus is not reached, the bill may proceed without Democratic support, potentially affecting the required bipartisan majority for a full Senate vote.

Visa has launched Intelligent Commerce Connect, a platform that lets AI agents browse, select, and pay for products on behalf of users across Visa and non-Visa cards.

Yuval Rooz, founder of Canton Network, has expressed concerns that the crypto community's strong emphasis on maintaining its identity is hindering the adoption of blockchain technology by traditional financial institutions. According to NS3.AI, Rooz highlighted that Canton Network has introduced a feature enabling the deletion of past data to align with European privacy regulations, despite this feature conflicting with the principle of blockchain immutability.

According to ITV News, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister stated that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all civilian vessels, and reports of its closure are incorrect. However, due to mines left over from the war, all vessels need to contact Iranian authorities for guidance on safe routes. Anyone communicating with Iranian authorities has already obtained passage permission. Earlier reports indicated that Iran released a map showing the distribution of mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Minority investors are expressing skepticism about the Estée Lauder founding family's proposal to acquire Puig. Wall Street Journal (Markets) posted on X, highlighting that despite these concerns, the founding family may still proceed with the acquisition. The plan involves significant financial commitments, which has led to apprehension among minority stakeholders. However, the influence of the founding family could potentially override these doubts, allowing the acquisition to move forward. The outcome of this situation remains uncertain as discussions continue.

According to the announcement from Binance, the platform is set to host a Treehouse (TREE) Trading Tournament, offering eligible participants a chance to share a prize pool of 3,500,000 TREE in token vouchers. The promotion period is scheduled from 2026-04-09 10:00 (UTC) to 2026-04-19 10:00 (UTC). Eligibility for participation extends to all verified new, regular users, and Binance VIP users, while liquidity providers in the Binance Spot Liquidity Provider Program and Binance Brokers are excluded. Eligible trading pairs for the tournament include TREE/USDT and TREE/USDC. Participants must trade a cumulative amount of at least 500 USD equivalent in these pairs on Binance Spot during the promotion period to qualify for rewards. The reward structure is based on rankings determined by cumulative trading volume, with the top five participants receiving substantial TREE token vouchers. Specifically, the first-place winner will receive 175,000 TREE, while subsequent places will receive decreasing amounts down to the fifth place, which will earn 35,000 TREE. Participants ranked sixth to twentieth will share 315,000 TREE equally, and those ranked twenty-first to fiftieth will split 280,000 TREE. Further, participants ranked fifty-first to two hundredth will share 490,000 TREE, and those ranked two hundred first to one thousandth will also split 490,000 TREE. Remaining eligible participants will share 1,400,000 TREE, capped at 300 TREE per user. Token vouchers will be distributed by 2026-05-03 and must be redeemed within 21 days. The leaderboard, updated daily, will display only users who meet the minimum trading volume threshold. Binance reserves the right to disqualify participants for dishonest behavior and may amend terms without prior notice. The tournament's commencement is contingent upon the successful listing of the TREE token on Binance Spot.

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.45T, up by 3.58% over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap data. Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading between $70,466 and $72,857 over the past 24 hours. As of 09:30 AM (UTC) today, BTC is trading at $71,280, down by -0.56%. Most major cryptocurrencies by market cap are trading mixed. Market outperformers include ENJ, TNSR, and BLUR, up by 48%, 32%, and 30%, respectively. Top stories of the day: From Dirt Floors to Digital Rails: CZ on Technology, Trust, and the Price of Building Binance Ethereum News: Ethereum Stablecoin Supply Hits $180B Record as Institutional Tokenization Accelerates Jack Yi Binance Square AMA Recap: AI, Crypto Cycles, and Investment Strategy Bitcoin News: Bitcoin Holds Above $72K as $850K BTC Accumulation Signals Strong Demand Below $70K Crypto News: Morgan Stanley Launches Bitcoin ETF With 0.14% Fee, Challenging BlackRock’s $55B IBIT Dominance Jack Yi: AI Shift Accelerating, Firms That Fail to Adapt Risk Being Phased Out Jack Yi: Crypto Investors Fall Into Three Groups as Long-Term Bitcoin Holders Often Outperform Jack Yi Warns Crypto Pullback May Deepen Amid Fed, Geopolitical and Cycle Pressures Market movers: ETH: $2184.66 (-2.93%) BNB: $601.24 (-1.94%) XRP: $1.3352 (-3.30%) SOL: $82.48 (-2.58%) TRX: $0.3171 (+0.22%) DOGE: $0.09163 (-3.10%) U: $0.9998 (+0.00%) XAUT: $4708.8 (-1.17%) WBTC: $71054.7 (-0.64%) WLFI: $0.0913 (-6.93%) Top gainers on Binance: ENJ/USDT (+48%) TNSR/USDT (+32%) BLUR/USDT (+30%)

According to data from Farside Investors, Morgan Stanley officially launched its Spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) on Wednesday, attracting $306,000 in inflows on its first trading day, becoming the first major U.S. commercial bank to launch such a product. MSBT's management fee is 0.14%, currently the lowest-fee Bitcoin ETF on the market. Despite the fund's solid performance on its first day, spot Bitcoin ETFs across the U.S. experienced a net outflow of $124.5 million on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive trading day of net outflows. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart stated that the product may serve as an introductory offering, aiming to attract high-net-worth individuals with cryptocurrency holdings to its wealth management services.

Visa is accelerating its expansion into agentic AI commerce with the launch of Intelligent Commerce Connect, a platform designed to let autonomous AI agents discover products, make purchasing decisions, and execute payments on behalf of users.

On March 31, 2026, an ordinary Monday, the crypto community suddenly exploded.

Yuga Labs has settled its lawsuit with Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, permanently banning them from using Bored Ape Yacht Club images, trademarks, and related NFTs.

Some technological revolutions happen without you even noticing. By the time you realize it, the world has already changed.

It's 2026 now, and cryptocurrencies are no longer just for speculation and gambling.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back has firmly rejected claims by The New York Times that he is the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. The investigation, led by Pulitzer Prize winner John Carreyrou, reportedly analyzed 620 suspects over 18 months, using stylistic forensics, technical expertise, and historical communications to make the connection.

Anthropic has introduced Claude Mythos Preview, an AI model that can find and exploit software vulnerabilities faster than most humans, but access is limited to selected partners.

The Solana ecosystem's DeFi protocol, Drift Protocol, experienced a major security incident, with confirmed on-chain data losses exceeding $285 million. This article addresses this incident and common security questions in the industry, clarifying the core pain points, attack logic, and protection methods for DeFi security.