Morning Report | Visa includes Polygon in its global stablecoin settlement program; MoonPay invests $100 million to acquire security company Sodot; Digital wallet platform Belo completes $14 million Series A financing

整理：ChainCatcher

Important News:

• Robinhood's Q1 2026 crypto performance significantly declines, maintaining positive trading revenue through prediction market income
• DeFi United announces technical solution for Kelp rsETH vulnerability, plans to liquidate approximately 107,000 tokens from the attacker
• MoonPay invests $100 million to acquire Israeli security company Sodot and establishes an institutional business department
• Visa includes Polygon in its global stablecoin settlement program, with an annual settlement scale reaching $7 billion
• Crypto data and research platform Blockworks completes Series A extension financing with a valuation of $192 million, led by Parafi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures
• Latin American digital wallet platform Belo completes $14 million Series A financing, led by Tether
• Ethereum Foundation releases Q1 funding list: continues to support ZK, cryptography, and protocol infrastructure

What important events occurred in the past 24 hours?

Crypto data and research platform Blockworks completes Series A extension financing with a valuation of $192 million, led by Parafi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures

According to ChainCatcher, Blockworks, a crypto data and research platform, announced the completion of its Series A extension financing, achieving a post-financing valuation of $192 million. This round was co-led by Parafi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Advancit Capital, MoonPay, and several other institutions. Over 20 founders and operators from projects such as Solana, LayerZero, Pyth, EigenLayer, Kraken, Arbitrum, and Polygon also participated personally, though the specific financing amount has not been disclosed.

The company stated that the crypto market has grown to a trillion-dollar scale without the infrastructure of traditional capital markets, but issues such as data fragmentation, inconsistent disclosures, and a lack of investor communication mechanisms still exist. Blockworks aims to fill this gap through a "data + disclosure + investor relations" integrated framework.

Celsius founder Mashinsky reaches settlement with FTC, pays $10 million and is permanently banned from promoting asset-related products

According to ChainCatcher, Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky has reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), agreeing to pay $10 million and being permanently banned from promoting, marketing, or distributing any products and services related to asset deposits, exchanges, investments, or withdrawals.

The court also ruled a monetary judgment of $4.72 billion, but most of it is temporarily stayed—if Mashinsky is found to have concealed or misreported assets in financial disclosures, the judgment will be reinstated immediately. Previously, Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison for commodity fraud and securities fraud in May 2025.

Ethereum Foundation releases Q1 funding list: continues to support ZK, cryptography, and protocol infrastructure

According to ChainCatcher, the Ethereum Foundation has released its funding and ecosystem support project list for Q1 2026, focusing on cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), protocol security, and core infrastructure construction, continuously strengthening Ethereum's underlying technology stack and long-term scalability.

This quarter's funding covers multiple key areas. At the protocol and client level, it includes optimizations for the Geth and Erigon clients, upgrades for the Lighthouse client, and the construction of network monitoring tools after the Pectra upgrade, with a focus on improving network performance and attack resistance. Additionally, projects such as HSM key management, validator security tool Vero, and the DISC-NG node discovery mechanism have also received support to enhance node-level reliability and institutional compliance capabilities.

In the areas of cryptography and ZK, the foundation continues to invest in Poseidon hash function analysis, Gröbner basis attack research, post-quantum and homomorphic mixed encryption exploration, and RISC-V zkVM formal verification projects, further strengthening the security boundaries of zero-knowledge proofs and cryptographic infrastructure.

In the developer ecosystem, the BuidlGuidl education system upgrade, ERC standard community building, WalletConnect clear signature library, and Open Creator Rails toolchain are continuously advancing to lower development thresholds and enhance user interaction security. Meanwhile, L2BEAT continues to provide Layer 2 transparency analysis, strengthening the data infrastructure for scaling ecosystems.

Furthermore, the foundation also supports privacy technologies (such as Tor integration and Privacy Pool SDK), decentralized identity (did:ethr standard upgrade), DAO governance research, and public goods experimental projects, covering the complete ecological structure from protocol layer to application layer. Overall, this round of funding continues Ethereum's long-term investment in the three core areas of "cryptography + ZK + protocol engineering," emphasizing the support for future multi-layer scaling and institutional-level application implementation through infrastructure and standardization.

Solana ecosystem multi-signature protocol Squads completes $18 million strategic financing, led by Solana Ventures

According to ChainCatcher, Solana ecosystem multi-signature protocol Squads announced the completion of $18 million in strategic financing, led by Solana Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, L1D, etc. This round of financing is an equity round, bringing its total financing amount to $42.9 million. Squads will use this round of funds to expand its stablecoin corporate finance platform, Altitude.

It is reported that Squads' stablecoin payment platform Altitude allows businesses to make 24/7 global payments in stablecoins through self-custody wallets and connects to the global payment network through compliance and risk control systems.

White House releases list of 37 donors for Trump's $400 million ballroom project, including several tech and crypto companies

According to ChainCatcher, the White House has released a list of 37 donors for the construction project of the new White House Ballroom under the Trump administration. The project's budget has increased from the initial $200 million to $400 million, primarily funded through tax-deductible private donations. The list shows that several tech and crypto industry companies participated in the donations, including:

• Meta
• Apple
• Amazon
• Google
• Microsoft
• Coinbase
• Ripple
• Tether
• Palantir Technologies

Reports indicate that Google's parent company Alphabet reached a settlement with Trump earlier this year regarding the YouTube ban incident, allocating $22 million of the settlement to the ballroom construction; military contractor Lockheed Martin reportedly donated over $10 million.

Additionally, several individuals from the crypto industry are also on the list, including:

• Charles Cascarilla
• Cameron Winklevoss
• Tyler Winklevoss

Reports state that Trump is currently accelerating the ballroom project and linking it to White House security needs. The East Wing of the White House was previously demolished in 2025 to make way for a new building of approximately 90,000 square feet.

Former Twitter CEO's AI company Parallel Web Systems completes $100 million Series B financing, led by Sequoia Capital

According to ChainCatcher, the Wall Street Journal reports that Parallel Web Systems, an AI infrastructure company founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, has completed $100 million in Series B financing, achieving a post-financing valuation of $2 billion.

This round was led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from existing shareholders such as Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. Parallel provides efficient web search and access control infrastructure for "long-cycle" AI agents and has raised a total of $230 million, employing about 50 people and serving over 100,000 developers and enterprise clients. The current focus is on expanding sales, marketing, and R&D teams, continuing to lay out enterprise-level "AI agent networks."

Visa includes Polygon in its global stablecoin settlement program, with an annual settlement scale reaching $7 billion

According to ChainCatcher, Visa has officially included Polygon in its global stablecoin settlement program (Stablecoin Settlement Program), allowing Visa partners, including issuing and acquiring institutions, to complete stablecoin settlements through the Polygon network. Polygon states that it has now become the largest dollar stablecoin payment network globally.

According to Allium and Dune data: 34% of dollar stablecoin transfers occur on Polygon, more than twice that of BNB Chain; 54% of USDC transfers occur on Polygon, higher than the total of all other chains; 36% of global USDC transactions run on Polygon; Polygon currently has about 3.19 million weekly active stablecoin users; the on-chain stablecoin supply has reached a historic high of $3.62 billion; and the number of dollar stablecoin transactions in March reached 178.1 million.

Visa states that its stablecoin settlement program has reached an annualized operating scale of $7 billion this quarter, a 50% increase from three months ago. Polygon emphasizes that its network features low transaction fees, approximately 4 seconds for transaction finality, and has been used for real financial activity settlements by institutions such as Stripe, Revolut, Flutterwave, and BlackRock.

MoonPay invests $100 million to acquire Israeli security company Sodot and establishes an institutional business department

According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg reports that crypto payment company MoonPay has acquired Israeli crypto security startup Sodot and has established a new department called "MoonPay Institutional" focused on serving institutional clients' needs for digital assets.

This department will provide services such as trading, tokenized securities, payments, wallet management, and stablecoin issuance to large traditional financial institutions. Former acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline D. Pham will lead this department; she joined MoonPay at the end of 2025 as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer.

Latin American digital wallet platform Belo completes $14 million Series A financing, led by Tether

According to ChainCatcher, CoinDesk reports that Tether led a $14 million Series A financing for the Latin American digital wallet platform Belo, with participation from Titan Fund, The Venture City, Mindset Ventures, and G2.

Belo stated that it will use the new funds to expand into markets in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay, while continuing to strengthen its business layout in Brazil, focusing on serving freelancers, remote workers, and users of cross-border capital flows.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Belo currently has over 3 million users in Latin America. Its product is a digital wallet based on crypto infrastructure, allowing users to hold and transfer local currencies and "digital dollars" (stablecoins).

Reports indicate that stablecoins have rapidly gained popularity in emerging markets like Latin America in recent years, primarily used for inflation resistance, cross-border remittances, and bypassing high-cost foreign exchange systems. Belo integrates payments, currency exchange, and cross-border transfers into a single application process, using crypto infrastructure for backend settlements to reduce costs and delays in cross-border transfers.

Czech central bank governor publicly endorses Bitcoin inclusion in central bank reserves, stating "this is the future"

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reports that Czech National Bank Governor Ales Michl delivered a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, publicly advocating for the inclusion of Bitcoin in the central bank's reserve portfolio. Michl stated that the bank manages approximately $180 billion in reserves, and internal research shows that allocating just 1% of assets to Bitcoin could enhance overall expected returns with minimal change in risk, due to Bitcoin's low correlation with other reserve assets.

The Czech National Bank previously completed its first test purchase of Bitcoin in November 2025, becoming the first central bank in the world to purchase Bitcoin.

U.S. Treasury Secretary: Actions taken to combat Iran's cryptocurrency usage channels

According to ChainCatcher, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on the X platform that the Treasury has taken action against Iran's international shadow banking infrastructure, cryptocurrency access channels, shadow fleets, weapons procurement networks, regional terrorism funding, and independent refineries in China supporting Iranian oil trade through economic sanctions. These actions have disrupted hundreds of billions of dollars that could have been used to fund terrorism.

Under the highest pressure actions from the U.S. President, Tehran's inflation rate has doubled, and its currency has rapidly depreciated. Iran's main oil export terminal, Kharg Island, is nearing its oil storage limit, which will force the regime to cut oil production, resulting in an additional daily loss of about $170 million in revenue and causing permanent damage to Iran's oil infrastructure. The Treasury will continue to apply maximum pressure, and any individuals, vessels, or entities assisting Tehran's illegal flow face the risk of U.S. sanctions.
Bitcoin lending protocol Tropykus announces closure of current version, deposit and lending functions permanently disabled

According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin lending protocol Tropykus announced the initiation of a gradual closure process for the current version of the protocol, with deposit and lending functions permanently disabled. Users can perform withdrawal and repayment operations until the deadline of July 27, 2026, after which related operations will only support direct interaction with smart contracts.

The official statement indicates that this closure decision is based on long-term strategic evolution considerations. Facing security challenges posed by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the existing architecture can no longer meet long-term development needs. The team advises all users to complete withdrawals and settle lending positions before the deadline.

Robinhood's Q1 2026 crypto performance significantly declines, maintaining positive trading revenue through prediction market income

According to ChainCatcher, Robinhood's crypto business performance significantly declined in Q1 2026. The company reported crypto revenue of $134 million, a 47% decrease compared to the same period last year; the nominal volume of crypto trading on the native app was $24 billion, down 48% year-on-year. This decline continues the trend seen since the end of 2025, where Q4 crypto trading revenue had already dropped by 38%. Robinhood stated in its quarterly report that the acquired Bitstamp trading platform contributed $42 billion in trading volume but did not provide year-on-year data.

Despite the weakness in the crypto business, Robinhood's overall trading revenue still grew by 7% year-on-year to $623 million, mainly due to a 320% surge in prediction market income. Options revenue grew by 8% to $260 million, while stock revenue surged by 46% to $82 million. The company's net profit reached $346 million, a 3% year-on-year increase.

Polymarket responds to "data leak" concerns: on-chain data is inherently public and auditable

According to ChainCatcher, in response to external concerns about its data being "leaked," Polymarket clarified that the relevant data has never been leaked, and all data can be accessed publicly through its public endpoints and on-chain data, which is an inherent characteristic of on-chain data transparency, not a security vulnerability.

Polymarket stated that one of the core advantages of on-chain data is its complete public auditability, allowing anyone to access the relevant data for free through its API without needing to pay for it.

ChainCatcher previously reported that the prediction market platform Polymarket was suspected of a data leak, with over 300,000 records and exploit toolkits leaked.

U.S. Treasury has taken action against Iran's shadow banking, cryptocurrency asset channels, and oil trade facilities
According to ChainCatcher, market news reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Treasury has taken action against Iran's shadow banking network, cryptocurrency acquisition channels, and oil trade infrastructure.
DeFi United announces technical solution for Kelp rsETH vulnerability, plans to liquidate approximately 107,000 tokens from the attacker
According to ChainCatcher, DeFi United announced a technical repair plan for the Kelp DAO rsETH cross-chain bridge vulnerability on Tuesday. Previously, attackers exploited a LayerZero-driven Unichain to Ethereum bridge vulnerability, releasing 116,500 rsETH by spoofing inbound data packets, of which approximately 107,000 are currently distributed as collateral across seven associated addresses on Aave and Compound.

DeFi United stated that it has secured enough ETH commitments to restore the support for rsETH and will convert it in batches to rsETH and inject it into the bridge locking contract. LayerZero Labs pledged over 10,000 ETH on Tuesday to support the repair work. Regarding the liquidation of the attacker's positions, the alliance will execute controlled liquidations through Aave and Compound governance proposals, expecting to recover approximately 13,000 and 16,776 ETH, respectively.

During the repair period, WETH and rsETH reserves on multiple chains will remain frozen. DeFi United also cautioned about execution risks, including governance approval progress, potential interference from the attacker, and new security measures pending production environment validation.

Canaan receives new order from Tether to supply immersion-cooled Bitcoin mining hardware

According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin mining manufacturer Canaan (NASDAQ: CAN) announced on Tuesday that it has received a new batch of custom Bitcoin mining hardware orders from Tether, supplying high-density computing board modules designed for immersion cooling systems, planned for deployment at Tether's associated facilities in South America.

This collaboration continues the R&D partnership between the two parties established in 2025 with ACME Swisstech, which has produced a proof-of-concept platform to enhance mining efficiency and scalability. Tether is simultaneously developing its own control boards and management software, indicating its push for deep integration of mining hardware and software. The agreement includes additional procurement options, providing Tether with flexibility to expand its infrastructure.

Just a day before this announcement, Tether had announced the launch of an open-source mining framework, further expanding its Bitcoin mining infrastructure layout. Canaan is a publicly listed company in Singapore and currently holds 1,808 BTC, valued at approximately $137 million, marking its highest historical holding level.

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN market data as of April 30 at 09:00,

The top five popular tokens on ETH in the past 24 hours are: HEX, SHIB, LINK, PEPE, mUSD

The top five popular tokens on Solana in the past 24 hours are: swarms, neet, LOL, DUMBMONEY, testicle

The top five popular tokens on Base in the past 24 hours are: SKITTEN, PEPE, BASED, B3, SCAN

What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?

Oracles: The Second Battlefield Behind the Prediction Market War

In the past two years, prediction markets have become the most dazzling narrative in the crypto industry. The entire sector had a total trading volume of nearly $10 billion by the end of last year, with significant acceleration in monthly growth momentum in the second half of 2025.

But on the other side of this celebration, there is a role that has always stood outside the spotlight, repeatedly criticized by users: oracles.

The Impossible Triangle of DeFi Lending

There is a real demand for fixed-rate lending on-chain. The obvious response is to issue fixed-rate loans, but there is no matching demand for fixed-rate lending in the market.

The vast majority of on-chain funds chase yields and crave instant liquidity. Therefore, issuing fixed-rate loans merely shifts interest rate risk from borrowers to lenders. When the lender is a treasury that promises instant liquidity, it creates an asset-liability mismatch.

In variable-rate lending, interest rates fluctuate with capital utilization and market conditions, and borrowers directly bear the cost of this volatility. This is a tangible cost, but it is clear and transparent, terminating upon liquidation.

Assuming a lender holds a fixed loan with a 3% interest rate for six months. If interest rates rise, the same loan yield will reach 5%. When marked to market (MTM), the value of the old loan shrinks. With new loans offering higher yields at the same risk, no one will pay the amortized value of the old loan.

a16z's Key Bet: Kalshi's Weekly Trading Volume Approaches $3 Billion, From "Prediction Games" to Financial Infrastructure, the Market Begins to Price "Uncertainty"

In the traditional financial system, "price" typically belongs only to assets.

Stocks, interest rates, commodities—these can be traded because there exists a unified measurement and consensus pricing mechanism. In contrast, those variables that truly affect market fluctuations—policy directions, macro data, political events—have long remained in a more primitive state: discussed, predicted, but rarely directly priced.

These variables have always existed but lack standardized expression. The emergence of Kalshi fundamentally changes this. It does not create new information but provides a tradable pricing system for "the event itself."