Today's top news highlights:
Israel Defense Forces announces suspension of strikes against Iran
Data: The supply of stablecoins on the Ethereum network has reached $180 billion, a record high.
Trump: Agreed to suspend bombings and attacks on Iran for two weeks
Coinbase will suspend trading in 25 perpetual contracts on April 21.
Regulation & Macro
Israel Defense Forces announces suspension of strikes against Iran
The Israel Defense Forces announced on the 8th that it had suspended strikes against Iran, but remained on high alert.
The latest consolidation bill from South Korea's ruling Democratic Party's Digital Asset Task Force clarifies for the first time the issuance standards for Real Asset Tokenization (RWA), requiring issuers to deposit related assets into a managed trust in accordance with the Capital Markets Act. For stablecoins, the bill stipulates that if used for foreign exchange transactions, they will be considered a means of payment under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, automatically bringing operators under the supervision of foreign exchange management authorities. Daily consumer payments are exempt from reporting obligations, and the payment of interest to holders is prohibited. The Financial Services Commission is required to develop interoperability technical standards, and exchange disclosure systems will be integrated into a unified disclosure system under the Digital Asset Industry Association.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council issued a statement early on April 8th, accepting Pakistan's two-week ceasefire proposal and submitting a ten-point plan to the United States. The plan includes controlling passage through the Strait of Hormuz, ending resistance against the Axis powers, withdrawing US troops from the region, establishing a safe transit protocol, compensating for losses, lifting sanctions, and releasing assets. Negotiations with the United States will begin on April 10th in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, and will last for two weeks.
Iran added a clause regarding its nuclear program's "acceptance of uranium enrichment" to the Persian version of its ten-point ceasefire plan, a clause absent from the English version. Trump stated that completely ending Iran's nuclear program is a key objective of this war.
Trump: Agreed to suspend bombings and attacks on Iran for two weeks
US President Trump stated that, based on talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, and on the condition that Iran agrees to fully, immediately, and safely open the Strait of Hormuz, he has agreed to a two-week suspension of bombing and attacks against Iran. The ceasefire is now in effect, and the US has suspended its strikes against Iran.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has released a draft guideline for banks and fintech subsidiaries issuing stablecoins, covering provisions on reserve assets, stablecoin redemption, permitted activities, and capital requirements. This proposal is part of a rule-making process undertaken by the FDIC, OCC, and Federal Reserve following the passage of the GENIUS Act last year, and will solicit public comment on 144 specific issues.
Ali Nikozadeh, deputy speaker of the Iranian Islamic Parliament, said that if the United States does not accept the 10 ceasefire terms proposed by Iran, Iran's Supreme Leader will not approve the signing of the ceasefire agreement, and the Strait of Hormuz will not be restored to its original state.
Trump: The United States will help restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Trump stated that world peace has ushered in an important day, that the United States will assist in addressing the ship congestion in the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran can begin its reconstruction process, which could be a golden age for the Middle East.
A senior U.S. government official said the U.S. had coordinated with Israel in advance on the temporary ceasefire, and that during the negotiations to be held over the next two weeks, the U.S. would firmly insist that Iran remove its nuclear materials, stop uranium enrichment, and eliminate the ballistic missile threat.
Israeli media reports that Israel "is continuing its attacks on Iran."
The Times of Israel reported on the 8th, citing a security official, that despite the ceasefire announced by the United States and Iran, Israel "is continuing to strike Iran."
Iran says it agrees to negotiations but has "complete distrust" of the United States.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement on the 8th, saying that, based on the advice of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran will hold two weeks of talks with the United States in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on the 10th, but Iran “has complete distrust” of the United States.
US media: Iran and Oman will impose "passage fees" on the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire.
A regional official revealed that the two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing Iran and Oman to charge tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi stated that if attacks on Iran cease, the powerful armed forces will halt defensive operations, and that, in coordination with the Iranian armed forces and with full consideration of technical limitations, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible within the next two weeks.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has invited delegations from Iran and the United States to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for negotiations. The ceasefire between Iran and the United States will take effect at 3:30 a.m. Iranian time on the 8th (8:00 a.m. Beijing time on the 8th).
Project Updates
Tencent Cloud launches its first browser, "Lobster" QBotCla
China's first browser "Lobster"—QBotClaw—has officially launched. It is fully compatible with OpenClaw skills and supports the free configuration of API keys for major mainstream models in China.
Coinbase will suspend trading in 25 perpetual contracts on April 21.
Coinbase announced that it will suspend trading of 25 perpetual contracts, including TRB-PERP and RARE-PERP, on Coinbase Advanced and Coinbase International exchanges at 21:00 (UTC+8) on April 21, 2026. The remaining open positions will be automatically settled, and the final settlement price will be calculated based on the average index price in the 60 minutes prior to the suspension.
Drift: A recovery plan has been developed; the current focus is on stabilizing the situation.
Drift Protocol, which suffered a $285 million theft of crypto assets, posted an update on the X platform regarding the progress of the incident, stating that it is actively working with partners to develop a coordinated recovery plan. The current focus is on stabilizing the situation and providing protocol-level protection for all affected users and partners. It will also participate in the Solana Foundation's security project, STRIDE.
Fox News and Kalshi have partnered to integrate predictive market data into multiple news programs.
Fox Corporation has partnered with prediction market platform Kalshi to integrate Kalshi's real-time data into Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather, and the streaming platform Fox One for visualization of political, economic, weather, and cultural news. Fox Sports is not included in the partnership at this time.
Stabble, a decentralized exchange within the Solana ecosystem, issued an urgent notice urging liquidity providers to withdraw their funds immediately. The reason given is that a North Korean employee previously worked on the project, and a new team took over four weeks ago. Stabble emphasized that no attacks have occurred yet, and the warning is merely a precautionary measure; a new audit will be conducted to ensure LP safety.
CME Group announced plans to launch Avalanche (AVAX) and Sui (SUI) futures contracts on May 4, pending regulatory approval. The new products will include different contract sizes. Starting May 29, all CME cryptocurrency futures and options will support 24/7 trading. Its cryptocurrency derivatives had an average daily notional turnover of approximately $8 billion in March, a 19% year-on-year increase.
Robinhood lists Solana ecosystem tokens ORCA and RAY.
Robinhood has announced that its cryptocurrency platform has launched trading of Solana ecosystem tokens ORCA and RAY, which are also available to users in New York State.
The Base ecosystem DeFi lending protocol Seamless Protocol announced its phased shutdown after two and a half years of operation. The UI will be taken offline on June 30, 2026. Users must withdraw all assets through the UI before this date. Core contributors will prepare a governance proposal to distribute the remaining assets of the DAO treasury to SEAM token holders. The reasons for the shutdown include the lack of product-market fit for leveraged tokens, liquidity caps and structural problems in the DeFi lending market, and the lack of a clear path to sustainable income.
Investment and financing news
Crypto hedge fund Split Capital has returned funds to external investors, and founder Zaheer Ebtikar has announced his joining stablecoin startup Plasma as Chief Strategy Officer. The fund returned approximately 100% in 2024 and approximately 20% in 2025, and its assets under management once reached "eight figures" in US dollars. However, he believes that the crypto hedge fund model is no longer sustainable, and Plasma is preparing to launch a stablecoin application for consumers.
Opinions & Analysis
Liquid Capital founder Yi Lihua stated that with the war confirmed to be over, the cryptocurrency market is similar to that of 2019, with a precipitous drop in secondary liquidity and almost no confidence in primary investment. This year presents the best opportunity for both secondary and primary market bottom-fishing, and institutions that bought at the bottom similar to those in 2019 will be the winners of the 2020 bull market.
In response to the "leaked phone number" incident in his new book on the X platform, Zhao Changpeng stated that the phone number had not been used for many years and the new owner was likely a hacker or the police. He advised against adding related social media accounts and reminded people to be careful.
Jiang Zhuoer, founder of BTC.com, posted that he had shorted ETH at $2,242, believing that Trump had messed things up and that the US-Iran war would most likely end with Iran gaining control of the Strait of Hormuz and the US acquiescing. He said this was the US's Suez Canal moment, and the bear market cycle was not over yet, and any event-driven rebounds were opportunities to add to short positions.
OKX Star denied ever reporting Li Lin to the Chinese police.
OKX CEO Star responded to the claim in Changpeng Zhao's new book that "Star had reported Li Lin to the Chinese police," stating that this was pure misinformation. He added that in the Asian cryptocurrency industry, any large platform and founder faces numerous reports and complaints every year, and that Huobi's CEO, Li Lin, has high emotional intelligence and should not believe such illogical nonsense.
In his newly published memoir, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao revealed that in November 2022, on the eve of FTX's collapse, Sam Bankman-Fried demanded approximately "billions of dollars" in a phone call. Zhao stated that he had never seriously considered acquiring FTX, and that the signing of the non-binding letter of intent was merely to assess user protection. He had little interest in helping SBF. Zhao also disclosed the "Exchange Collaboration" group previously established by FTX's Zane Tackett, but denied any collusion or market manipulation.
Arthur Hayes: The only token I've bought right now is HYPE.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes posted on the X platform that the only token he is currently buying is HYPE.
Important data
Data: The supply of stablecoins on the Ethereum network has reached $180 billion, a record high.
Data from blockchain data analytics firm Token Terminal shows that the on-chain value of stablecoins on the Ethereum network has reached a record high of $180 billion, accounting for 60% of the stablecoin market share, and has grown by 150% over the past three years. It is predicted that approximately $1.7 trillion in funds will be on-chain across all networks in the next four years, and if Ethereum grows by 470% during this period, it could see a new inflow of $850 billion by 2030.
A whale deposited 264.445 WBTC into Binance, worth $17.98 million.
