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Jeff Yan, co-founder of Hyperliquid, recently stated in the VALR podcast that one of the biggest challenges currently facing the cryptocurrency and fintech sectors is the failure to attract enough top entrepreneurial talent.Jeff Yan believes that, influenced by factors such as the AI boom and social prestige, many of the best young people are unclear about which fields they should engage in to create the most value, resulting in very few choosing to enter the cryptocurrency industry.He stated that reconstructing the financial system from first principles and transforming academic theories into scalable market designs is a highly meaningful endeavor, and he urged young entrepreneurs not to focus solely on the surface value of things but to concentrate on the real problems facing the world and participate in the development and innovation of on-chain finance.

SBI Group, DigiFT, and Startale Group have completed a joint proof of concept, demonstrating the full lifecycle of tokenized securities using the Japanese yen stablecoin JPYSC in an Ethereum testnet environment, including instant settlement for fund subscriptions and automatic on-chain dividend distribution.SBI Group and DigiFT are advancing the tokenization of the SBI Japan High Dividend Equity Fund, which is managed by SBI Asset Management with an asset management scale of approximately $1.3 billion, making it one of Japan's major public equity strategies. The three parties completed two tests, one demonstrating the near-instant settlement of fund subscriptions using JPYSC, and the other automatically calculating and distributing dividends to eligible token holders' wallets via smart contracts after the allocation registration is completed.The three companies plan to explore the integration of tokenized Japanese stocks with institutional DeFi platforms and consider testing use cases such as collateralized lending and on-chain asset management with ecosystem partners like Morpho and Gauntlet.

Websea recently officially announced the launch of a new round of global talent recruitment plan, open to the world for regional leaders, global business, market growth, risk control compliance, technology research and development, user operations, and other core positions. With a highly competitive salary and benefits system and broad career development opportunities, it aims to recruit top talent globally, comprehensively accelerate team building, and reserve core talent for the next stage of business growth and global market expansion.Websea CMO Herbert R. Sim stated: "Globalization has always been the core strategy for Websea's long-term development. The launch of the global talent plan is not only a further expansion of the team size but also a continuous investment in future growth and global market layout. We hope to attract more outstanding talents from around the world to work with Websea to promote product innovation, ecological construction, and global business development, creating a safer, more professional, and more efficient digital asset trading experience for global users."

The new research lab Ethlabs was launched this week, co-funded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, Bitmine Immersion Technologies holding approximately 5.7 million ETH, and Sharplink holding approximately 876,000 ETH, with the specific funding amount undisclosed.Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom stated that Ethlabs will complement the Ethereum Foundation, but acknowledged that the two will "overlap in certain areas," and that "the most concentrated talent" will be at Ethlabs. The lab focuses on faster settlement, cross-chain interoperability, and readiness for institutional and AI applications, which highly overlaps with the priorities of the Foundation after its reorganization this week.This move comes as the Ethereum Foundation cut about 40% of its 2026 budget and eliminated 54 positions this week, with Vitalik Buterin defining it as a shift towards a donation fund model. Former Foundation core development coordinator Trent Van Epps warned last week that core development faces a funding gap in three to nine months. Ethlabs' first real test will be the Glamsterdam upgrade, where the roadmaps of the two organizations will intersect for the first time in a limited upgrade queue.

According to Gate market data, Google's (GOOG.O) stock price fell on Monday after another well-known artificial intelligence leader left to join a competitor. Google DeepMind Vice President John Jumper announced over the weekend that he would be leaving to join Anthropic. Following the news, Alphabet's stock price briefly dropped by 7.2%, marking the largest intraday decline since February. Last week, Google researcher Noam Shazeer also announced his departure to join OpenAI.

According to the "Web3 New Generation Talent Insight Report" released by Bitget, the core challenge currently facing the industry is not a shortage of talent, but rather the misalignment of recruitment barriers and employment channels. Data from a multi-regional survey based on the Blockchain4Youth (B4Y) initiative shows that 54% of respondents view the requirement of "prior experience" for entry-level positions as the biggest obstacle to entering the industry, while 52% point out that school education lacks practical skills.From the perspective of regional distribution and trends, Web3 continues to attract highly educated talent and emerging market talent. Nearly 46% of respondents are aged between 23 and 30, and over 58% hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree; in terms of career preferences, 61% of respondents consider "the integration of AI and blockchain" as the most desirable career path, while another 62% believe that guidance from industry veterans is the most helpful in accelerating career development.Currently, the number of registered students at the Blockchain4Youth Learning Center has surpassed 10,000, and students who complete the courses can obtain certificates and job opportunities, thereby closing the loop from learning to career paths and providing talent support for the next phase of industry growth.

According to official news, YZi Labs announced the launch of the recruitment platform YZi Talent, integrating open positions in Web3, AI, and biotechnology from its portfolio.The first batch of positions includes Backend Chief Engineer at predict.fun, Frontend Staff Engineer, and Founding Business Leader at AgriDynamics Robotics, with more companies set to join in succession.

Sota Watanabe, CEO of Japanese Web3 infrastructure company Startale, stated that the world's first bank-backed yen stablecoin, JPYSC, will be launched within a few months. The goal is to use the yen as the lowest-cost financing currency to invest in high-growth assets on-chain, such as U.S. stocks.In March of this year, Startale Labs announced the completion of a $63 million Series A funding round, led by Sony Innovation Fund, with participation from Asian industry and financial giants such as Samsung Next, UOB Venture Management, and SBI Holdings.

According to Bloomberg, as crypto-native companies like Coinbase continue to lay off employees on a large scale and the industry as a whole is in a downturn, traditional financial institutions such as JPMorgan and BlackRock have recently bucked the trend by posting dozens of digital asset-related positions, becoming a major highlight in the current crypto job market.Analysts point out that having a background in Wall Street has become an important asset for crypto talent to maintain their competitive edge in employment during the industry's downturn.

According to CoinDesk, the American Innovation Project (AIP), a U.S. technology policy advocacy organization, has added two policy researchers, including Jacob Smagula, who has a background in the cryptocurrency industry, to join Congressman Ritchie Torres's team to participate in legislation related to digital assets.It is reported that Smagula previously worked in the government affairs team of the Bitcoin mining company MARA and is currently engaged in policy research at the DeFi Education Fund, possessing experience in communication between the cryptocurrency industry and regulators. AIP was established in 2025 with support from organizations such as the Digital Currency Group, aiming to provide Congress members with professional insights and policy support on emerging technologies like AI and digital assets. This appointment is seen as a signal of further professionalization in U.S. cryptocurrency legislation and regulation.

Bitget officially launched the "Blockchain4Youth Learning Center" with its first course, aimed at providing a systematic blockchain learning path for young people and further connecting knowledge learning with career development. After completing the course and passing the assessment, students will receive a certificate of completion issued by Bitget's Chief Marketing Officer Ignacio Aguirre Franco, serving as an official certification of their Web3 capabilities. Certificate holders can gain more industry exposure and priority employment opportunities among the partner employers of the Blockchain4Youth Talent Alliance.To bridge the gap from learning to employment, Bitget has partnered with the Web3 recruitment platform Bondex to provide students with a transparent job-seeking channel and a talent pool connection mechanism. Bondex co-founder Ignacio Palomera stated that the project aims to address the real issues faced by learners, such as "lack of industry connections after completing the course, insufficient effective certification, and unclear job-seeking paths," building a more direct bridge between young talent and recruiting companies.So far, the Bitget Blockchain4Youth series of projects has attracted over 15,000 young participants. Bitget CMO Ignacio Aguirre Franco pointed out that the goal of the learning center is to transform young people's interest in Web3 into a tangible entry path. As the program continues to advance, Blockchain4Youth is gradually evolving from a single event project into a long-term infrastructure focused on Web3 education, career guidance, and talent development.

Japanese Web3 infrastructure company Startale announced that SBI has invested $50 million in it, while completing a $63 million Series A funding round. The two companies are focusing on tokenized securities, stablecoins, and consumer chain products in Japan.Startale Group CEO Sota Watanabe stated, "Through deep cooperation with SBI, we will accelerate the adoption of tokenized stocks centered around the Japanese stock market and yen stablecoins this year."

According to the Hong Kong Economic Times, the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) submitted a proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the Hong Kong Legislative Council, suggesting a salary increase of 3.5% to support regulatory work in key and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual assets, and recommending the addition of 15 positions. It is reported that the AFRC previously released a report stating that companies involved in virtual asset trading belong to emerging industry projects and will be one of the targets for inspection. In addition, auditors currently face challenges including verifying the ownership and existence of virtual assets, the complexity of valuations, increased fraud risks, and the lack of unified accounting standards for virtual assets.