Polymarket Begins Biggest Platform Upgrade Yet With New Order Book and Collateral Token

The upgrade features a rebuilt trading engine, upgraded smart contracts, and a new collateral token Polymarket USD to replace USDC.e. The rollout will introduce a redesigned order book aimed at improving performance for traders, builders, and integrations.

Replacing bridged USDC.e with Polymarket USD could become a strategic shift for Polymarket’s economics. By internalizing its collateral layer around a token backed 1:1 by USDC, the platform gains control over settlement, liquidity, and user capital inside the ecosystem.

👉 x.com/PolymarketDevs/status/2041178623948808693

Virtuals Protocol Expands Into Robotics With Eastworlds

Eastworlds is an embodied-AI initiative focused on helping robots move from the lab into real-world deployment faster. It offers an accelerator-style platform with access to hardware, pilot programs, teleoperation, simulation, and deployment tooling.

ℹ️ The project is structured around three pillars:
— Embodied AI Accelerator to help teams build faster
— Physical AI BPO model to deploy robots into live commercial workflows
— Embodied AI Data Lake designed to capture real-world operational data for future model training

👉 x.com/virtuals_io/status/2041189476916154402?s=20

​​Solana Foundation launches STRIDE security initiative

STRIDE is a security initiative aimed at strengthening DeFi protocols across its ecosystem. Developed with Asymmetric Research, the program combines public protocol reviews, ongoing threat monitoring, and deeper security support for larger apps.

As part of the rollout, the Foundation also introduced SIRN (Solana Incident Response Network), a coordinated response framework designed to help teams react faster during security incidents.

👉 x.com/SolanaFndn/status/2041246400977965124?s=20

​​DeFi Protocols by Open Interest (OI) growth in the last 30 days

Unlike pure volume, Open Interest shows how much exposure remains open inside a market, offering a better view of sustained activity. Strong OI growth signals that traders are not just passing through — they are building larger and more persistent positions.

Split Capital Winds Down as Founder Joins Plasma in Stablecoin Pivot

Split Capital is shutting down as founder Zaheer Ebtikar exits the hedge fund space, citing a broken model for crypto-focused funds despite over $100B in venture capital flowing into the industry.

About. Launched in 2024, Split Capital operated for nearly two years and delivered strong performance, generating over 100% net returns with all investors reportedly in profit. The fund began winding down in late 2025, returning an estimated eight-figure sum to backers.

Z. Ebtikar is now joining Plasma as Chief Strategy Officer, signaling a shift toward infrastructure plays. He sees stablecoins as the next major growth sector, with potential to scale to trillions in settlement volume through integration with traditional finance.

👉 theblock.co/post/396533/split-capital-winds-down-founder-joins-plasma

Polygon Activates Giugliano Hardfork to Boost Finality

Polygon is set to deploy its Giugliano hardfork on mainnet on April 8, targeting faster transaction finality and improved network performance. The upgrade is scheduled for block 85,268,500 (~2:00 PM UTC).

The update introduces earlier block announcements by producers, integrates fee parameters directly into block headers, and adds new RPC support for fee data. Tests on the Amoy testnet showed ~2-second improvement in finality.

Node operators are required to upgrade to Bor v2.7.0 or Erigon v3.5.0 before activation to ensure compatibility with the new changes.

The hardfork is part of Polygon’s “Gigagas” roadmap, aimed at scaling throughput and enhancing UX for payments and real-world assets, following past network stability issues.

👉 x.com/0xPolygonFdn/status/2041275571489964175?s=20

​​Gensyn (AI) One-Pager. Distributed GPU Network

Gensyn is a distributed GPU network built for scalable machine learning, connecting global compute resources into a unified, decentralized infrastructure. The protocol enables permissionless access to compute alongside verifiable AI training.

The project completed its token sale in December, with TGE expected in April. The testnet has processed 100M+ transactions with 370K+ users.

Its latest release, REE (Reproducible Execution Environment), is now live, supporting 40+ open-source models. Gensyn is also expanding into prediction markets, launching its binary markets via Delphi Intelligence Markets.

​​Just 21% of Q1 2026 Launches are Trading Above Sale Price

Tough market conditions has made it much harder for new tokens to sustain early traction, with only 21% of Q1 2026 launches still above sale price. One standout pattern: 4 out of the 8 best-performing launches came through Binance Wallet.

CZ Publishes His Memoir Freedom of Money

Freedom of Money offers a first-person account of Binance’s rise from startup to the world’s largest crypto exchange. The book revisits some of the industry’s defining moments, including the FTX collapse and the regulatory battles that reshaped Binance.

The book touches on Zhao’s legal fallout in the U.S. and his 4 month sentence. CZ said the book was largely written in prison, while proceeds are pledged to charity.

👉 x.com/cz_binance/status/2041687406802284699

Fox and Kalshi Partner on Real Time Forecast Data for News

Kalshi has landed a new win with Fox Corporation, which will now integrate its event probability data across multiple FOX platforms. The rollout covers FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, FOX Weather, and FOX One.

For Kalshi, the Fox deal builds on earlier CNN and CNBC tie-ups and deepens its foothold in mainstream U.S. media.

👉 x.com/Kalshi/status/2041503849991516661

Biconomy Unveils ERC-8211 Standart for Onchain Agents

Co-developed with the Ethereum Foundation’s Improve UX track, the proposal centers on “smart batching,” where parameters are resolved at execution time instead of being frozen at signing.

🔎 New execution features proposed:
 • Dynamic execution at runtime
 • Smart batching across multiple actions
 • Built-in guards and predicates
 • Agent-ready DeFi infrastructure

👉 x.com/biconomy/status/2041516284635120108

​​Giggles Raises $1,234,567 to Turn Memes into Tradable Markets

Founded by 19-year-old Justin Jin, the app lets users bet on whether videos and memes will gain traction, turning virality itself into an asset class. The product is still in invite-only beta, but Giggles has already attracted around 450,000 sign-ups.

👉 giggles.me/news/announcing-giggles

​​Top DeFi Protocols by Revenue Generated in Q1 2026

Revenue and fees tell two different stories in DeFi this quarter. Hyperliquid dominated by revenue with $192M, while pump fun led by fees, highlighting how some protocols convert user activity into retained revenue much more efficiently than others.

Polygon Labs Eyes $100M Raise to Enter Stablecoin Payments

Polygon Labs is reportedly in early talks to raise up to $100M to launch a stablecoin payments business, signaling a strategic push into regulated financial infrastructure. The move aims to accelerate on-chain payment volume and expand real-world blockchain adoption.

This marks a rare case of a blockchain developer entering the regulated payments space, positioning Polygon to compete directly with traditional fintech players.

Back in January, Polygon partnered with Coinme and Sequence, strengthening its infrastructure stack and setting the stage to rival firms like Stripe in the global payments market.

👉 x.com/Yueqi_Yang/status/2041867835354341432?s=20

Pharos Network Raises $44M Series A to Scale On-Chain Economy

Financial Layer 1 Pharos Network has secured $44M in a Series A round backed by Sumitomo Corporation’s CVC arm, SNZ Holding, Chainlink, and Flow Traders.

About. Pharos is building a financial-grade, asset-native L1 to bridge TradFi and DeFi, targeting the RWA market with infrastructure designed for real-time, institutional-scale applications.

The project has already gained traction on testnet and is positioning itself as core infrastructure for high-value on-chain financial flows ahead of mainnet launch.

👉 x.com/pharos_network/status/2041850490078818490

Visa Introduces AI Commerce Infrastructure for Agent Payments

Visa has launched Intelligent Commerce Connect, a solution enabling businesses to integrate with AI-driven commerce and agent-based payments.

The product serves as a unified on-ramp for agentic commerce, offering a single integration through the Visa Acceptance Platform that supports secure payments, tokenization, and authentication. It is token vault-agnostic and integrates both Visa and non-Visa APIs, allowing AI agents to transact across multiple card networks.

As AI agents increasingly handle purchases, the solution also supports key agent protocols and helps businesses accept agent-driven payments, surface product catalogs within AI platforms, and streamline transaction processing at scale.

👉 markets.ft.com/data/announce/visa-opens-the-door-to-ai-driven-shopping-for-businesses

Circle Introduces Platform for USDC Payments Without Stablecoin Custody

Circle has launched CPN Managed Payments, a new platform enabling banks and fintechs to access stablecoin-powered payments without holding crypto assets.

The solution abstracts blockchain complexity by allowing partners to operate entirely in fiat, while Circle manages minting, burning, settlement, and compliance behind the scenes.

This move simplifies institutional adoption of USD Coin (USDC), offering faster cross-border payments and reduced FX costs without direct exposure to digital assets.

As part of its broader distribution strategy, Circle continues to scale USDC usage, which has surpassed $70T in cumulative onchain settlement, including ~$12T in Q4 2025 alone.

👉 theblock.co/post/396727/circle-usdc-payments-without-balance

​​The Lazarus Files: A Complete History of Digital Heists

Lazarus playbook has evolved from phishing and malware to supply-chain compromise, multisig abuse, and social engineering at massive scale. This timeline shows how crypto’s biggest heists became more sophisticated over time — culminating in billion-dollar losses.

Binance plans to delist 6 crypto assets on April 23rd

Beefy Finance (BIFI), FIO Protocol (FIO), FunToken (FUN), MDT (MDT), Orchid (OXT), and Wanchain (WAN) trading will be ceased at 3:00 UTC. Users will be able to withdraw assets until June 23rd.

Prices of respective tokens were hit significantly
– Measurable Data (MDT): -31.5%
– FunToken (FUN): -30.5%
– Beefy Finance (BIFI): -24.7%
– FIO Protocol (FIO): -19.3%
– Orchid (OXT): -13.5%
– Wanchain (WAN): -4.6%

👉 x.com/binance/status/2042121788910661957?s=20

​​Price Discovery Board: OneFootball (OFC)

OFC trading starts today at 10:00 UTC, backed by $307M in private funding. This board compares potential FDV scenarios using benchmarks from other SocialFi projects like MEET48, Zora & Chiliz.

Oh Raises $7.5M Series A to Expand its AI Infrastructure

Oh has raised $7.5M in a Series A round, bringing total funding to $12M, with the round led by Maven 11 and backed by L1D, Auros, Hashed, Maelstrom, Cadenza and others.

The company is building an adult-focused AI platform that combines consumer applications with infrastructure, including its OhChat product and API layer, while reporting hundreds of thousands of users, consistent revenue growth and a 60x increase in creators over the past year.

The funding will support expansion across consumer, infrastructure and creator tooling, as the company positions itself as a dominant player in the emerging adult AI category.

👉 x.com/ohdotxyz/status/2041823332148847035