digital

HIVE Digital's wholly-owned subsidiary HIVE Bermuda 2026 Ltd. has completed a private placement of $115 million zero-coupon convertible senior bonds (including an overallotment of $15 million), with the bonds maturing in 2031. The initial conversion price is approximately $2.57 per share, representing a premium of 17.5% over the latest trading price; the company has also completed a cash settlement capped subscription transaction, with a cap price of $4.92 per share, representing a premium of 125%.In addition, HIVE Digital plans to transfer its stock from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange around 2026, subject to meeting listing requirements.

The State Duma of Russia (the lower house of parliament) has passed the "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Bill" in the first reading, marking a key step towards the legalization of cryptocurrency assets in the country.According to the bill, the Bank of Russia will become the core regulatory body for the cryptocurrency market, responsible for issuing licenses, approving or prohibiting related transactions, and defining the legality of transactions. The bill proposes to classify cryptocurrencies as "property," but explicitly prohibits their use as a means of payment domestically, with the ruble remaining the only legal tender. However, in the context of Western sanctions, cryptocurrency assets can be used for cross-border trade settlements, including service payments, intellectual property transfers, and other scenarios.In addition, the bill allows Russian residents to legally invest in cryptocurrency assets through licensed institutions, but will implement a tiered investor system, setting testing and annual investment limits for ordinary investors (with a suggested cap of 300,000 rubles). Initially, only high-market-cap mainstream assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum will be allowed for trading, with a whitelist established by the central bank. The bill is expected to be formally passed and come into effect by July 2026 at the latest. However, some lawmakers and banking industry figures have criticized the overly strict regulations, which may affect market activity and even lead to funds remaining in the gray market. At the same time, accompanying legislation is also proposed to introduce criminal penalties, with a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison for illegal cryptocurrency trading.

UK digital bank Revolut plans to seek a valuation of $150 billion to $200 billion in its upcoming IPO, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $75 billion. The company's CEO Nik Storonsky also revealed that Revolut is preparing for a new round of secondary share sales in the second half of 2026, with a valuation potentially exceeding $100 billion.Previously, Nik Storonsky stated that the company's listing would take at least another two years, possibly delaying until 2028, with no IPO plans in the short term. He pointed out that Revolut is currently focusing on expanding in the US market, including applying for a banking license to access the Federal Reserve's payment channels and expand its lending and credit card business. Meanwhile, the company has obtained a full banking license in the UK.

Federal Reserve Chair nominee Waller: (Regarding whether to incorporate digital assets into the financial system) Digital assets are already a part of our financial industry.

According to monitoring by Hyperinsight, in the past 16 hours, the Galaxy Digital associated address (0xcac) has continuously closed ETH short positions, reducing holdings by a total of 905 ETH, approximately worth 2.09 million USD. Currently, there is still a floating profit of 2.6 million USD, with a position size reaching 7.4 million USD.Since March, this address has significantly reduced its positions, continuously selling BTC and ETH spot while simultaneously closing short positions, with a total spot selling volume reaching 11 million USD, completing the liquidation; the size of the short positions has also decreased from 35 million USD to the current 13.8 million USD, during which the funding rate settlement recorded approximately 3.5 million USD in profits.It is reported that this address has received on-chain funds from Galaxy Digital multiple times and has been executing a neutral arbitrage strategy on Hyperliquid for a long time, typically maintaining risk neutrality by selling spot and closing short positions, or buying spot and increasing short positions.

The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), a clearing institution under the Japan Exchange Group, has partnered with Mizuho Bank, Nomura Securities, and Digital Asset to launch a proof-of-concept trial aimed at exploring the use of blockchain technology for collateral management of Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs).According to a joint statement released on Monday, the trial will integrate existing systems from multiple institutions through the Canton Network to test the on-chain transfer and management of JGBs. This initiative aims to assess the feasibility of achieving real-time collateral trading while ensuring compliance with relevant financial instruments and trading laws. The trial will also investigate cross-border use cases involving clearinghouses, institutional investors, and other market participants.JSCC stated that this trial is part of a broader initiative under the Financial Services Agency's "Payment Innovation Project." As overseas markets like the United States make progress in testing similar infrastructures, advancing JGBs collateral management has become an "urgent priority." Previously, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in the U.S. launched a pilot to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities, and South Korea is also conducting related tests.

ChainCatcher reported live that HashKey Group Chairman Xiao Feng shared a keynote speech titled "Innovation of Economic Models for Intelligent Agents—The Fusion Revolution of AI Tokens, Blockchain Tokens, and Fully Homomorphic Encryption" at this year's 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He pointed out that the two major business characteristics of blockchain technology are trustlessness and permissionlessness, but public transparency leads to data exposure, making it difficult for compliant institutions like banks to directly go on-chain. With fully homomorphic encryption chips expected to be launched in the second half of this year, achieving performance of about 1000 transactions per second, privacy computing technology is about to reach commercial thresholds.He proposed that the fusion of AI Tokens, blockchain Tokens, zero-knowledge proofs, and fully homomorphic encryption technology is the ultimate form of the intelligent agent economy. He used hospitals as an example: medical data, after being fully homomorphically encrypted, becomes Tokens, and anyone can call the data for computation through the blockchain in a permissionless manner, but cannot access personal privacy information, thus turning hospitals into "Token factories." Individuals can also put their encrypted health check data on-chain, issuing demands to global insurance companies, which can calculate and provide personalized optimal insurance plans in an encrypted state using their actuarial models, eliminating the need for insurance brokers and intermediaries.He specifically corrected a common misunderstanding: AI Tokens are not the currency unit of the intelligent agent economy, but rather the means of production, encompassing everything from electricity, chip computing power, to large models, algorithms, and applications, depicting the production process of intelligent agents. The currency of the intelligent agent economy must be programmable, divisible, and capable of real-time settlement, because when AI Agents call APIs, they may only need a few cents each time, and the costs of existing banking payment systems cannot support such small payments. Digital currency is the "blood" of the intelligent agent economy, and a brand new financial service system designed for machines rather than humans will definitely emerge in the future.

Empery Digital, a Bitcoin trust company listed on NASDAQ, disclosed that it sold 20 Bitcoins at an average price of $74,425 last week, with total proceeds of approximately $1.5 million. The total Bitcoin holdings have now decreased to 2,914 Bitcoins.In addition, the company also disclosed that it has spent nearly $150 million to repurchase 26,244,657 shares of common stock to date, and will continue to sell Bitcoins as needed to fund future stock buybacks and possibly repay some outstanding debt.

The Malaysian digital asset trading platform Hata has completed an $8 million Series A financing round, led by Bybit, with participation from several global family offices. Hata holds dual licenses from the Malaysian Securities Commission and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, allowing it to provide digital asset trading and custody services locally. The funds from the financing will be used to enhance liquidity, expand the user base, and develop more products.

According to Businesswire, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury company Empery Digital disclosed that it sold 20 Bitcoins at an average price of $74,425 last week, with total proceeds of approximately $1.5 million, and its total Bitcoin holdings have decreased to 2,914 coins.In addition, the company also disclosed that it has spent nearly $150 million to repurchase 26,244,657 shares of common stock to date, and will continue to sell Bitcoins as needed to fund future stock repurchases and possibly repay some outstanding debt.

According to PR Newswire, Bitcoin mining company Ionic Digital announced a mining output of 28.05 BTC in March, a month-on-month decrease of 14.9%, with an average daily hash rate of 2.04 EH/s, a month-on-month decrease of 19.4%.In terms of assets, Ionic Digital stated that the company still maintains a zero-debt structure as of now, and did not sell any Bitcoin in March. As of March 31, the total Bitcoin holdings increased to 2815.6 BTC, an increase of approximately 28.2 BTC compared to the previous month.

Last week, digital asset investment products recorded a net inflow of approximately $1.4 billion, marking the largest single-week inflow of the year and achieving a third consecutive week of net inflows. The total assets under management (AuM) rose to $155 billion, with inflows accounting for 0.91%, the highest level this year.By asset class, Bitcoin attracted approximately $1.116 billion in inflows, with a cumulative inflow of $3.1 billion year-to-date; Ethereum continued its recovery trend with a net inflow of $328 million for the week, the best performance since January. Meanwhile, short Bitcoin products recorded only a small inflow of about $1.4 million, indicating limited hedging demand.On a macro level, the optimistic signals from the US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, combined with Bitcoin briefly breaking through $76,000, boosted market risk appetite; March CPI year-on-year was 3.3%, with core CPI at 2.6%, indicating moderate overall inflation pressure.Regionally, the US dominated inflows with a net inflow of $1.5 billion for the week; Germany recorded an inflow of $28 million, while Switzerland saw an outflow of $138 million, showing significant divergence. In other assets, XRP and Solana recorded net outflows of $56 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

CoinShares' latest weekly report shows that digital asset investment products had a net inflow of $1.4 billion last week, marking the third consecutive week of net inflows and the largest single-week inflow since January, bringing total assets under management to $155 billion.Among them, Bitcoin investment products saw a net inflow of $1.116 billion, with year-to-date net inflows rising to $3.1 billion; Ethereum investment products had a net inflow of $328 million, representing the strongest single-week performance since January. By region, the United States had a net inflow of $1.5 billion, Germany had a net inflow of $28 million, while Switzerland experienced a net outflow of $138 million. Additionally, short Bitcoin products had a net inflow of $1.4 million, while XRP and Solana saw net outflows of $56 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

ChainCatcher reported live that Li Guoquan, Dean of the Global Fintech Academy, Hong Kong Legislative Council member (Technology and Innovation Sector) Kenneth Lau, Chief Public Mission Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport, Chan Sze Yuen, and Executive Director of the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) & Japan Crypto Asset Business Association, Koji Takeda, attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable discussion, focusing on "Balancing Regulation and Innovation to Co-build a Sustainable Asian Digital Financial Ecosystem."Kenneth Lau stated that the legislative process has been significantly advanced, and he hopes to see innovation-driven developments next, exploring how to leave space for new products and business models while improving the regulatory framework. He cited the startup exemption mechanism in U.S. legislation as an example, emphasizing the importance of a nurturing environment for innovation. He also pointed out that the Hong Kong stock market currently does not allow for a market maker system, and the liquidity provision rules in virtual asset trading will be addressed in legislative discussions within the year. Regarding prediction markets, he personally believes that Hong Kong currently does not have the conditions to open them.Chan Sze Yuen introduced that Cyberport launched a pilot subsidy program for blockchain and digital assets last year, with nine projects participating, more than half of which involve RWA tokenization, aiming to promote projects from proof of concept to commercialization. He stated that Cyberport has gathered over 300 Web3 companies from 19 countries and regions, emphasizing that trusted digital identity (KYC/AML compliance) is the foundation for scaling RWA and payment projects, while secondary market liquidity determines whether tokenized assets can become real market products.Koji Takeda revealed that the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan submitted a new bill to the Diet on April 10, proposing to move the regulation of crypto assets from the Financial Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which means the government officially recognizes the investment attributes of crypto assets, marking a significant shift. He also pointed out that Japan had previously seen over 200 companies relocate to places like Singapore due to strict regulations, but recently, through adjustments to corporate tax systems and discussions on personal crypto tax reforms, companies are gradually returning.Host Li Guoquan summarized that the various jurisdictions in Asia are not in competition but are part of the same ecosystem. Excessive compliance costs may push quality institutions into gray areas, and how to lower compliance thresholds in regulatory dialogues and promote responsible innovation is a common challenge facing the Asian digital financial ecosystem.

ChainCatcher live report, the Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ye Zhi Heng, delivered a keynote speech titled "ASPIRe in Action Hong Kong's Digital Asset Journey" at the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He reviewed the six major milestones since the Commission launched the ASPIRe roadmap last year, including allowing licensed platforms to provide staking services, conducting joint consultations on virtual asset trading and custody systems, opening up perpetual contracts and margin financing frameworks, and launching plans to strengthen market defenses through technology.He revealed that the draft regulations for the four systems of virtual asset trading, custody, management, and advisory have reached 260 pages, and the draft was received last week. The work for the next 12 months is divided into three major clusters: first, promoting innovation through regulation, advancing legislative and regulatory guideline consultations; second, promoting innovation through practice, gradually allowing tokenized authorized funds to trade on licensed platforms; third, promoting innovation through interaction, advancing automated reporting, signing international bilateral memorandums, and combating financial crime frameworks. He emphasized that Hong Kong is "moving steadily forward, fast because of stability."

ChainCatcher reported live that the Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, Chan Ho Lam, delivered a keynote speech at the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He pointed out that Hong Kong has developed into the third global financial center index and the first international financial center in Asia, providing a solid foundation for Web3 innovation.He stated that the digital asset development policy declaration 2.0 released last year proposed the LEAP framework, which covers four pillars: optimizing legal regulation (L), expanding the variety of tokenized products (E), promoting application scenarios and cross-border cooperation (A), and developing talent and partnerships (P).He revealed that there are currently over 10 licensed trading platforms in Hong Kong, and the Monetary Authority has issued the first two stablecoin issuer licenses this month. The SAR government issued the third batch of tokenized green bonds last year, which is the largest scale globally, and is actively formulating regulatory systems for digital asset trading service providers and custodial service providers.

According to Caixin, the one-month public consultation for the "Financial Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft)" ended today (April 19). This is the first overarching law in China and the world with "finance" in its name. The expansion of "quasi-judicial powers" for financial regulation is a topic of great concern in the market.According to Article 55 and related provisions, financial regulatory authorities have the right to access and copy property rights information, communication records, and transaction records of relevant entities and individuals when investigating financial violations. They can directly freeze or seal assets if there is evidence suggesting the transfer or concealment of illegal funds and securities. They can even decide that individuals suspected of violations cannot leave the country during the investigation.In addition, Zeng Gang, chief expert and director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, believes that the "Financial Law" should also strengthen its focus and coverage on emerging financial formats. Topics such as AI-driven financial decision-making, the legal status of digital currencies, and the regulatory boundaries of crypto assets have sparked widespread controversy globally, but the draft addresses them very little. How to maintain a dynamic balance between lawful regulation and inclusive innovation is a problem left to be solved by legislation.