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According to Gate market data, U.S. stock index futures and spot gold and silver have plummeted, while international crude oil prices have rapidly surged, with WTI crude oil's increase expanding to 4%.

According to the official announcement, Coinbase International has launched gold and silver perpetual contract trading.The announcement states that gold and silver perpetual contract trading is available for retail traders and institutions in selected jurisdictions.

The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Carmine Agnello, the grandson of mob boss John Gotti, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $1.1 million in COVID relief funds and investing part of the money into cryptocurrency ventures.Prosecutors stated that from April 2020 to November 2021, Agnello obtained multiple relief loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through false declarations, falsely claiming they were for the operation of his auto parts and recycling business, while actually diverting the funds for personal use, including approximately $420,000 invested in cryptocurrency-related investments. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York indicated that this conduct occurred during the peak of the pandemic, representing a serious abuse of government aid funds. Agnello is expected to report to prison on July 1. Additionally, official data shows that fraud related to U.S. pandemic relief funds is severe, with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimating that about $135 billion (approximately 15% of the total) has flowed into fraudulent activities.

According to DL News, Argentine police arrested a Chinese national (abbreviated as DZ) at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport. The suspect arrived from Paris holding a forged Paraguayan passport and has been listed as a wanted suspect by Interpol.A Nigerian court has accused him of orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam locally, attracting investors with the promise of "high returns," but victims were later unable to withdraw funds or access the platform, with the amount involved approximately $49.4 million. Argentine authorities stated they would cooperate with Nigeria to initiate extradition procedures.

Gold and silver opened slightly lower. Gold (XAU) reached a high of $4,826.60 in 24 hours and is currently at $4,795.56, down 0.49%; silver (XAG) peaked at $81.97 and is currently at $80.28, down about 0.52%. Against the backdrop of fluctuating metal prices, market trading sentiment remains active.According to CoinGlass data, the trading volume of gold (XAU) contracts on the Gate platform reached $79.3635 million in 24 hours, an increase of 326.77%, maintaining industry leadership; the trading volume of silver (XAG) in 24 hours was approximately $55.2903 million, with an increase of 964.24%, also ranking among the industry leaders. In the context of increased price volatility, trading enthusiasm continues to rise, further demonstrating Gate's advantages in liquidity and trading depth in the metal derivatives sector.Gate pioneered the metal contract trading sector, providing 24/7 uninterrupted trading, offering users greater strategic flexibility and asset management efficiency in volatile markets. Gate contracts cover various traditional financial assets, including stocks, metals, foreign exchange, indices, and commodities, supporting trading in core assets such as gold, silver, and globally popular stocks. Gate continues to build a more efficient and professional multi-asset one-stop trading platform for global users.

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.

Alex Thorn, the research director at Galaxy Digital, posted on the X platform that the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list (SDN list) has historically involved 518 Bitcoin addresses, which have received a total of 249,814 BTC and sent 239,708 BTC, currently holding a net of about 9,306 BTC, worth approximately $707 million at current market prices.Thorn also stated that OFAC sanctions are only one of the means by which the U.S. intercepts illegal assets, and the CLARITY Act will further expand the Treasury's relevant powers.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that a cryptocurrency company linked to "Russian gangs and intelligence agencies" is funding political opponents and influencing domestic cryptocurrency regulatory legislation.During a parliamentary vote on Friday, Tusk pointed out that some Polish politicians obstructing cryptocurrency regulatory legislation are serving the interests of a company named Zondacrypto, which is accused of providing "financial support" to political figures and has ties to Russia. Tusk further claimed that the company sponsored the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) event held in Poland last year, during which former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem publicly supported President Karol Nawrocki's campaign. Tusk bluntly stated that the company's funding sources involve not only "money related to the Russian mafia (Bratva)" but may also be connected to Russian intelligence agencies.Meanwhile, President Nawrocki won the election in June last year, with support from former U.S. President Donald Trump. The president's office responded that it does not oppose cryptocurrency regulation itself but opposes the "flawed regulatory model" proposed by the government. This controversy arises amid the political tug-of-war in Poland over the cryptocurrency regulatory bill. The bill aims to align with the EU's MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) framework, but the president previously vetoed the related bill and blocked parliament from overturning the veto in December, hindering the regulatory process.

Texas man Robert Dunlap was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for his involvement in a cryptocurrency scam exceeding $20 million and was ordered to pay restitution to nearly 1,000 victims.Prosecutors stated that Dunlap operated a cryptocurrency project and sold Meta - 1 Coin, falsely claiming that the token was backed by $44 billion in gold and approximately $1 billion in artwork, including works by Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Salvador Dalí, and that the assets had been audited. A jury had found him guilty of mail fraud last year.

According to official data, JST has burned 271 million $JST in this single instance, equivalent to a value of approximately 21.3 million USD, accounting for 2.74% of the current total supply. At the same time, the treasury reserves have exceeded the 100 million USD mark, providing a solid guarantee for the continued advancement of the subsequent deflation process. All funds for repurchase and destruction come from the actual income generated by the protocol, thereby establishing an automated deflationary closed loop driven by actual earnings, where repurchase and destruction operate continuously. This marks that $JST is steadily moving towards a sustainable, endogenous, and long-term viable economic model.

According to the official announcement from Binance, starting from April 23, 2026, 08:00 (UTC), Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals of Highstreet (HIGH) and Resolv (RESOLV) on BSC.

Solv Protocol announced a strategic integration with Utexo, launching a native Bitcoin yield solution based on the RGB protocol and the Lightning Network, enabling the conversion between native BTC and USDT through atomic swaps without the need for wrapping, cross-chain bridges, or custodians.This solution emphasizes self-custody, privacy protection, and final settlement, and aligns with Tether's previously announced plan to natively issue USDT on the RGB-compatible Lightning Network. Additionally, it was disclosed that Solv participated as a strategic angel investor in Utexo's $7.5 million seed round financing led by Tether.

Due to the migration of the top decentralized application Ether.fi to Optimism, the Ethereum Layer-2 network Scroll has experienced a significant loss of funds, resulting in a total value locked (TVL) decrease of approximately $160 million and an annual fee loss of about $13 million.Scroll stated that it will propose a plan to dissolve the decentralized security committee and reduce DAO members to lower operational costs, with network control being handed over to the internal team. Additionally, Scroll briefly raised network gas fees by 1,280 times after the protocol migration, causing users to pay over $50,000 in extra fees, but it has since returned to normal. After this adjustment, Scroll's TVL has dropped to approximately $23 million. The official statement claims that all contract changes will remain transparent and verifiable on-chain.

According to CoinDesk, the current Bitcoin halving cycle has surpassed halfway, with block rewards reduced to 3.125 BTC, an inflation rate below 1%, and total supply continuously approaching the fixed cap of 21 million coins.Since the 2024 halving, the price of Bitcoin has increased by about 15%, a rise lower than in previous halving cycles, reflecting a gradual decrease in price volatility as Bitcoin adoption increases and the market matures. This cycle is expected to end in 2028, with halving events occurring every 210,000 blocks, approximately every four years.Data shows that Bitcoin reached an all-time high of about $126,000 in 2025, then fell back to $60,000, with recent prices recovering to nearly $75,000. The current market is focused on whether a price breakthrough above $75,500 could lead to about $200 million in short positions being liquidated, further driving price movements.

According to on-chain analyst ZachXBT, a counterfeit Ledger Live application was launched on the Apple App Store, resulting in over 50 users' assets being stolen, with total losses amounting to approximately $9.5 million, involving various assets such as Bitcoin, EVM chain assets, TRON, Solana, and XRP.The stolen funds were subsequently transferred through more than 150 KuCoin deposit addresses and laundered using a centralized mixing service called AudiA6. Data shows that the largest single loss reached $3.23 million. The application has recently been removed by Apple.

According to official news, Scroll announced an important proposal regarding protocol and governance operations. The team proposed to dissolve the Security Council and transfer protocol management authority to the Scroll Admin multi-signature address, with the transition expected to be completed within the next ten days.Scroll stated that the costs of the Security Council are no longer reasonable compared to actual usage over the past few quarters, and resources should be better allocated to product development and growth. Scroll will work with key stakeholders to find a new Security Council structure that is more suited to current market conditions.

Patrick Witte, the Executive Director of the White House Digital Assets Presidential Advisory Committee, stated on Monday that substantive progress is being made in Senate negotiations surrounding the Clarity Act, with a compromise reached on the issue of stablecoin yields expected to hold, and the focus of negotiations has shifted to other unresolved topics.The issue of stablecoin yields was previously the biggest obstacle to advancing the bill. Banking lobbyists successfully persuaded some senators that providing yields similar to bank interest to stablecoin holders would threaten the traditional banking deposit base, causing the bill to reach an impasse. Witte stated, "We hope that the compromise reached will be durable and stable. Resolving this issue is a prerequisite for advancing other pending matters." Last week, the White House economic advisors released a report downplaying the risk concerns raised by the banking industry; in response, the American Bankers Association rebutted on Monday, claiming the White House's arguments were flawed.In addition to stablecoin yields, the bill also faces several disagreements, including illegal financial protection mechanisms in the DeFi space and a demand from Democrats to prohibit senior government officials (specifically targeting President Trump) from profiting from the crypto industry. Witte did not disclose which topics have reached consensus but indicated that negotiations have "made considerable progress behind the scenes," stating, "We are very close to comprehensively resolving these issues." The Clarity Act still needs to go through the Senate Banking Committee's markup review process before being submitted for a full Senate vote. Witte expressed optimism about reaching a final agreement, noting that many issues that previously seemed stuck have gradually been resolved.