Polymarket seeks CFTC approval to return to the U.S.; Iran may submit a revision plan

Headlines

▌Polymarket Seeks CFTC Approval to Re-enter the U.S. Market

On April 29, the crypto prediction market platform Polymarket is seeking support from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to facilitate its core exchange’s re-entry into the U.S. market. This move could bring greater participation from American users in this rapidly growing industry.

▌Iran May Submit Revised Proposal to Pakistan

On April 29, according to U.S. sources, informed individuals disclosed that due to President Trump’s dissatisfaction with Iran’s new negotiation proposal, Iran may submit a revised plan to mediating party Pakistan within the next few days. Sources familiar with the mediation process said that after Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi concludes his visit to Russia on the 28th, he will return to Tehran, where he is expected to report to Iran’s leadership and hold consultations. It is believed that Pakistan will receive Iran’s revised proposal within days, but the situation could change at any time. The final outcome largely depends on whether Iran can propose a plan more acceptable to the U.S. side. Recently, Iran proposed a new negotiation plan to the U.S. via Pakistan. The plan suggests a phased approach: phase one ends the war, phase two focuses on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and phase three involves Iran’s nuclear issues. (CCTV News)

Market Trends

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $76,311.09, 24h change -1.3%;

ETH price is $2,288.02, 24h change -0.5%;

BNB price is $624.19, 24h change -0.4%;

SOL price is $83.96, 24h change -0.9%;

DOGE price is $0.09931, 24h change +0.4%;

XRP price is $1.38, 24h change -1.4%;

TRX price is $0.3228, 24h change -0.7%;

WLFI price is $0.07372, 24h change +1.5%;

HYPE price is $40.08, 24h change -3.6%.

Policies

▌CCP Politburo Meeting: Fully Implement “AI+” Initiative, Develop New Forms of Intelligent Economy, Improve AI Governance

On April 28, the CCP Politburo held a meeting to analyze the current economic situation and economic work. The meeting emphasized accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system, maintaining a reasonable proportion of manufacturing. Deepening the development of a unified national market, and addressing “involution” competition. Fully implement the “AI+” initiative, develop new forms of intelligent economy, and improve AI governance. Further deepen state-owned enterprise reforms. Systematically respond to external shocks and challenges, enhance energy and resource security, and ensure high-quality development to address various uncertainties with certainty. (Dongxin News)

▌U.S. Bans Citizens and Entities from Paying Hormuz Strait Tolls to Iran

Gold Finance reports that on April 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an explanatory document stating that the U.S. prohibits its citizens and entities from paying tolls for the passage through the Strait of Hormuz to Iran. The document states that including U.S. individuals, financial institutions, and all U.S.-controlled foreign entities, no direct or indirect payments to the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for Hormuz Strait passage are allowed. OFAC also notes that non-U.S. persons or entities paying tolls to Iran for Hormuz Strait passage could face significant sanctions risks. Due to sanctions on Iran’s government and IRGC under U.S. non-proliferation and counter-terrorism measures, foreign financial institutions and other non-U.S. individuals or entities engaging in certain transactions or activities with sanctioned entities risk sanctions. Some transactions involving Iran’s economy may also expose foreign individuals or entities to sanctions. On the same day, OFAC added 17 foreign individuals and 18 foreign entities to its Iran-related sanctions list. (Xinhua News Agency)

▌U.S. Imposes Sanctions on 35 Iran-Related Entities and Individuals

On April 29, the U.S. announced sanctions against 35 Iran-related entities and individuals for assisting in evading sanctions and providing financial support to Iran. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen stated that any institution involved in or assisting Iran’s “shadow banking” system will face severe consequences.

Blockchain Applications

▌U.S. Soldier Denies Insider Trading in Maduro’s Capture

On April 29, a U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal trading, which allege he used confidential information about the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Maduro to conduct illegal trades. 38-year-old Cannon Ken Van Dijk appeared in Manhattan on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett. Prosecutors say Van Dijk participated in planning and executing Maduro’s capture and profited $400k by betting on whether the Venezuelan leader would be overthrown on Polymarket. Van Dijk was granted bail of $250k. At the same time, concerns about potential insider trading related to Iran war have arisen. The White House has warned staff against trading government information, and Polymarket has faced criticism for allowing bets on whether “American pilots shot down can be rescued.”

▌Customers Bank Partners with OpenAI to Deploy AI in Commercial Banking

On April 28, Customers Bancorp announced that its banking subsidiary, Customers Bank, is deploying AI across its commercial banking operations through a multi-year strategic partnership with OpenAI. The statement says that the collaboration will involve direct on-site engagement from OpenAI’s technical team and resources, rather than off-the-shelf AI tools, to build customized AI capabilities based on the bank’s processes, data, and institutional knowledge. Financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed. (Dongxin News)

▌ByteDance, Zhipu, and Alibaba Named in Time’s Top 10 AI Influencers

On April 28, Time magazine announced the “Top 10 Most Influential AI Companies of 2026.” Unlike simple model capability comparisons, this list emphasizes the overall shaping power on industry, technological pathways, and social impact. The companies include ByteDance, Amazon, Zhipu, OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta, Anthropic, Alibaba, Mistral, and Hugging Face. Among them, three are domestic companies: ByteDance, Zhipu, and Alibaba. (Dongxin News)

▌Google Signs Agreement with U.S. Government to Use Google AI for Classified Work

On April 28, according to The Information, Google has signed an agreement with the U.S. government allowing the Department of Defense to use Google’s AI models for classified work. The agreement permits Google’s AI technology for all legitimate government activities. It explicitly states that, without proper oversight, the AI systems cannot be used for large-scale domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons, including targeting operations. However, the agreement also clarifies that it does not grant Google any rights to interfere with or veto lawful government decisions. Despite internal employee opposition, the partnership has been finalized and took effect.

Cryptocurrency

▌Robinhood’s Q1 Crypto Revenue Plummets 47%, Stock Falls 8% After Earnings Miss

On April 29, Robinhood (HOOD) released its Q1 2026 earnings report, showing a sharp decline in crypto trading revenue, with both revenue and EPS below market expectations. The report states that Robinhood’s adjusted EPS for Q1 was $0.38, below the expected $0.39; total revenue grew 15% year-over-year to $1.07 billion but missed the $1.14 billion forecast. Crypto-related revenue fell 47% YoY to $134 million, down from $252 million last year. However, driven by a surge in prediction market contract trading, trading revenue still increased to $623 million. Following the earnings release, Robinhood’s stock dropped about 8% after hours.

▌Riot Adjusts $200 Million Coinbase Credit Line to Fixed Rate and Buffer Mechanism to Manage BTC Volatility

On April 28, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms announced an adjustment to its $200 million Bitcoin-backed credit agreement with Coinbase to reduce financing cost volatility and mitigate forced liquidations caused by short-term market swings. The new agreement converts the original floating rate tied to the U.S. federal funds rate into a fixed annual rate structure, extends the original April 2026 maturity to 364 days, and allows for an additional one-year extension. It also introduces a “two-day rule,” meaning margin calls or deleveraging will only trigger if Bitcoin collateral value drops below the threshold for two consecutive days, avoiding forced liquidations from single-day dips. In Q1, Riot sold 3,778 BTC for about $289.5 million to cope with mining profit pressures.

▌State Street to Launch Tokenized Fund Services in Luxembourg by Year-End

On April 28, The Block reports that custody giant State Street plans to launch tokenized fund services in Luxembourg by late 2026 via its State Street Investment Services, extending existing fund management, custody, and registration functions onto the blockchain. The service will run on its Digital Asset Platform, supporting both tokenized and traditional funds within a unified operational model, providing infrastructure for issuance, management, custody, and full lifecycle operations, allowing clients to operate and manage risk on a single interface.

▌Whale-Linked BIT Reopens ETH Long Positions, Holding 58,000 ETH

On April 28, according to Onchain Lens, the whale associated with BIT (which previously gained over $59 million profit) has reopened ETH long positions. The whale opened a 30,000 ETH long with 15x leverage within the past hour, worth about $68 million. Currently, it holds a total of 58,000 ETH across three wallets, with leverage between 15x and 20x, totaling approximately $132.18 million.

▌Pump.fun Burns $370 Million PUMP Tokens and Launches Income-Based Buyback and Burn Program

On April 29, Pump.fun announced that it has burned all previously repurchased PUMP tokens, involving about $370 million, roughly 36% of the current circulating supply. Additionally, Pump.fun has initiated a new programmatic buyback and burn mechanism, planning to allocate 50% of future revenue to repurchase and burn PUMP tokens over the next year.

▌DeFi United Has Raised Over 132k ETH to Fully Cover Kelp DAO Attack Losses

As of April 28, data shows that Aave’s DeFi United, launched to address the Kelp DAO theft, has raised over $300 million worth of 132k ETH, fully covering the $292 million rsETH issued during the attack. Major contributors include: Arbitrum DAO’s recovered 30,765 ETH; Consensys and founder Joseph Lubin’s 30,000 ETH; Mantle’s 30,000 ETH; Aave DAO’s 25,000 ETH; Aave founder Stani Kulechov’s 5,000 ETH; Ether.Fi’s 5,000 ETH; Lido’s 2,500 ETH; Kelp’s 2,000 ETH; Golem Foundation’s 1,000 ETH; Aave senior engineer Emilio Frangella’s 500 ETH; BGD Labs and co-founder Ernesto’s 350 ETH; Karpatkey co-founder Marcelo Ruiz de Olano’s 100 ETH; and numerous small donations from crypto community traders totaling 588 ETH.

▌Injective Announces Mainnet Upgrade Proposal Approved, Executed April 28

On April 28, Injective announced on X that its mainnet upgrade proposal has been officially approved. The upgrade will comprehensively optimize network performance, enhance on-chain modules, and advance the $INJ token buyback mechanism. The upgrade was executed on April 28.

▌Coinbase to Launch VIRTUAL Spot Trading

On April 28, Coinbase announced it will launch spot trading for Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) on April 29. If liquidity conditions are met, the VIRTUAL-USD trading pair will open at 9 a.m. Pacific Time or later.

▌Coinbase Adds Gensyn (AI) to Listing Roadmap

On April 29, Coinbase officially announced that Gensyn (AI) has been added to its asset listing roadmap.

Major Economic Developments

▌Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo: No Immediate Need to Raise Interest Rates

On April 28, Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo stated that there is no immediate need to raise interest rates. If current supply shocks trigger a secondary chain reaction, then rate hikes may be necessary. (Jin10)

▌U.S.-Iran War Sparks Cost of Living Concerns, Trump Support Drops to New Low

On April 29, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, as U.S. public dissatisfaction grows over President Trump’s handling of living costs and unpopular Iran war policies, his support has fallen to the lowest level of his current term. The poll shows only 34% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, down from 36% in polls from April 15-20. Regarding his handling of living costs, only 22% approve, down from 25%. Since taking office in January 2025, Trump’s popularity has been declining; at that time, 47% of Americans approved of his performance.

▌Federal Reserve’s Probability of Holding Rates Steady the Next Day Is 100%

On April 29, according to CME’s “FedWatch,” the probability that the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged in April is 100%. The chance of a 25 basis point rate cut by June is 2.6%, with a 97.4% chance of holding rates steady.