Morning News | Yi Lihua establishes AI fund OpenX Labs; Pharos Network completes $44 million Series A financing; Iran demands that Hormuz tankers pay Bitcoin as tolls

整理：ChainCatcher

Important News:

• OKX Star once again accuses CZ of forging contracts 12 years ago and publicly discloses QQ chat records
• CZ's new book recalls the birth of BNB Chain: only said "okay" and did not participate deeply, stating he rarely makes long-term plans
• Bloomberg analyst: Musk may use SPCX as SpaceX IPO stock code
• Yili Hua announces the establishment of AI fund OpenX Labs
• Polymarket completes acquisition of Brahma, expanding crypto and DeFi infrastructure
• Iran requires oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz to pay Bitcoin as a toll
• Layer 1 blockchain Pharos Network completes $44 million Series A financing, with participation from SNZ Holding and others

What important events happened in the past 24 hours?

Layer 1 blockchain Pharos Network completes $44 million Series A financing, with participation from SNZ Holding and others

According to ChainCatcher, the Layer 1 blockchain network Pharos Network, aimed at institutional financial scenarios, announced the completion of $44 million in Series A financing, led by several undisclosed top institutions, including Asian private equity funds, renewable energy listed companies, and compliant financial institutions in Hong Kong. Participating investors include a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, crypto-native institution SNZ Holding, Chainlink, and Flow Traders. The funds will be used to accelerate the construction of on-chain real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure in Asia and globally.

Before this round of financing, Pharos had completed $8 million in seed financing in November 2024, led by Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC, with other investors following suit, bringing the total financing amount to $52 million. Pharos's testnet is set to launch in May 2025, allowing developers to develop and test applications on the platform.

Polymarket completes acquisition of Brahma, expanding crypto and DeFi infrastructure

According to ChainCatcher, Polymarket has announced the completion of its acquisition of the DeFi infrastructure company Brahma. Brahma was co-founded by Alessandro Tenconi, Akanshu Jain, and Bapireddy Karri, and its team will continue to play key roles in infrastructure, protocol design, and product integration.

This integration aims to enhance the trading reliability, execution speed, and capital efficiency of the Polymarket platform while lowering the entry barriers for new users and enhancing interoperability across blockchain networks.

CZ's new book recalls the birth of BNB Chain: only said "okay" and did not participate deeply, stating he rarely makes long-term plans

According to ChainCatcher, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) reflected on the origins of BNB Chain in his new book, stating that the launch of BNB Chain coincided with the DeFi boom and was not the result of his long-term planning. When the development team proposed to develop this new public chain, he simply said "okay" and did not participate deeply afterward.

CZ stated, "In fact, I rarely make long-term plans. My principle is simple: when someone comes to me with a good idea, I give them ample resources and freedom to try."

CZ's new book: The initial fine amount proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice was $6.8 billion
According to ChainCatcher, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) recalled in his new book that during negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, the other party initially proposed a fine of up to $6.8 billion, far exceeding the final settlement amount.

He stated that the two sides started negotiations at around $500 million, during which the prosecution repeatedly pressured and issued "ultimatums," ultimately reaching a settlement of $4.3 billion.

CZ also mentioned that a lawyer once suggested that "paying a higher fine might help reduce penalties," but the Department of Justice later used the high fine as one of the bases for "serious issues" in court.

South Korea's ruling party plans to include tokenized RWA and stablecoins in the existing financial regulatory framework

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that the South Korean Democratic Party plans to include tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins in the existing legal framework, with relevant provisions included in the proposed "Digital Asset Basic Law."

The proposal requires issuers of tokenized RWA to deposit the underlying assets into a trust account in accordance with the Capital Markets Act; stablecoins are classified as "means of payment" under the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act and will be regulated by the foreign exchange authorities without the need for separate registration. Small stablecoin transactions are exempt from foreign exchange reporting, while large transactions maintain regulatory requirements.

Additionally, the proposal prohibits providing yields on idle stablecoin balances and requires the Financial Services Commission to establish technical standards for stablecoin interoperability. The "Digital Asset Basic Law" is South Korea's second set of digital asset regulatory regulations, which has faced multiple legislative delays, with the originally scheduled rollout in 2025 being postponed.

Iran requires oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz to pay Bitcoin as a toll

According to ChainCatcher, the Financial Times reported that during a two-week ceasefire, Iran plans to impose a toll on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, priced in cryptocurrency, to maintain actual control over the waterway.

Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for the Iranian Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Exporters Union, stated that each oil tanker must declare cargo information to Iranian authorities via email in advance, after which Iran will notify the toll amount due. The toll is set at $1 per barrel of oil, with empty tankers allowed to pass for free. Payments must be made in Bitcoin to avoid asset tracking and freezing risks due to sanctions. It is reported that ships will have only a few seconds to complete the payment after receiving Iran's assessment.

Yili Hua announces the establishment of AI fund OpenX Labs

According to ChainCatcher, Yili Hua, founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital), announced the establishment of the AI fund OpenX Labs, focusing on investing in and collaborating on AI projects.

Yili Hua stated, "I once thought that there were no more first-tier investment opportunities, but now I correct that thought; the golden age of first-tier investment has arrived. The AI era has given top founders a tremendous opportunity; a few people can match thousands, without the need for management, hiring, salaries, and finding clients. As long as you have ideas and strategies, startups in the AI era stand on the same starting line as all medium-sized enterprises. I hope to spend the upcoming first-tier investment allocation time learning with excellent AI founders. I am willing to assist excellent AI projects without return; feel free to contact me anytime. AI has also given me a second chance and motivation for entrepreneurship."
OKX Star once again accuses CZ of forging contracts 12 years ago and publicly discloses QQ chat records

According to ChainCatcher, OKX founder and CEO Star responded on Twitter regarding the "12 years ago OKCoin employee forged contracts" incident, stating that evidence of the richest man (suspected to refer to CZ) forging contracts during his tenure at OKCoin was already publicly available on the internet 12 years ago. Star also attached a YouTube video disclosed at that time, which contained QQ chat records between "CZ" and an accountant.

According to CZ's new book "Freedom of Money," CZ worked at the exchange OKCoin founded by Xu Mingxing, and in January 2015, Xu Mingxing attempted to renegotiate his 10% stake in OKXCoin. CZ stated in the book that after his departure, Xu Mingxing continued to accuse him of forging the cooperation contract between Roger Ver and OKCoin during his tenure.

Yili Hua: This year's crypto market is similar to 2019, the best time for secondary bottom fishing and primary investment

According to ChainCatcher, Yili Hua, founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital), stated on social media, "The war has confirmed that it is over, there is no insider information, and neither side has a reason to continue fighting. We will take profits wherever the rebound stops and watch closely.

This year's cryptocurrency market is very similar to 2019, with a cliff-like drop in secondary liquidity, almost no confidence in primary investment, and massive layoffs in Web3 companies, with industry personnel switching careers. When others are fearful, be greedy; this year is definitely the best time for secondary bottom fishing and primary investment, just like in 2019. Institutions that bottomed out in the secondary market and invested in the primary market in 2019 were the biggest winners in the 2020 bull market, and we are working hard to do these two things well."

CZ: Never seriously considered acquiring FTX, not very interested in helping SBF

According to ChainCatcher, Binance founder CZ stated in his autobiography "Freedom of Money" that during a phone call before Binance attempted to acquire FTX in November 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried casually asked him for tens of billions of dollars, "like ordering a bologna sandwich," and he never intended to actually push the deal forward.

CZ wrote, "I have no interest in owning FTX, and I am not very interested in helping SBF either. But we might have to step in to protect users and the entire industry." He stated that he signed the non-binding letter of intent (LOI) just for formality: "I had made it clear at the time that we would not make any commitments. Our team was just evaluating the data and then deciding."

Regarding the collapse of FTX, CZ believes the key turning point was when former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison publicly proposed to repurchase Binance's holdings of FTT at $22 (attempting to stabilize the market), which she made a "fatal mistake." "She essentially exposed the price floor," CZ wrote. Subsequently, professional traders quickly shorted FTT below that price. In just 72 hours, about $6 billion in funds flowed out of FTX.

CZ also disclosed a Signal group called "Exchange Collaboration," created by former FTX institutional sales head Zane Tackett during the Terra (LUNA) collapse, with members including CZ, SBF, Brian Armstrong (Coinbase CEO), Jesse Powell (Kraken founder), and other trading platform executives. This group later came under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. "They were very eager to find evidence of collusion or market manipulation between trading platforms, but in fact, such a situation did not exist," CZ stated.

Bloomberg analyst: Musk may use SPCX as SpaceX IPO stock code

According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that Musk is likely to use SPCX as the stock code for SpaceX's IPO, a code previously held by Matt Tuttle, but the related ETF has undergone a code change.

Eric Balchunas pointed out that the Bloomberg ETF team predicted this situation as early as a report last December, and the discovery of the stock code "SPCX" for the SpaceX IPO was proposed by Will Hershey, co-founder of Roundhill Investments, who had previously "given" the META code to Mark Zuckerberg, calling it "a tacit understanding among peers."

Solana ecosystem DEX Stabble urges LPs to withdraw funds due to discovery of a former employee being a North Korean developer

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that the Solana ecosystem decentralized exchange Stabble issued an urgent notice urging liquidity providers to withdraw funds immediately, as a former North Korean employee had previously worked on the project. This warning seems to have been triggered by information from on-chain detective ZachXBT, who disclosed that a North Korean developer had worked for many years on the Solana DeFi infrastructure project Elemental.

U.S. authorities had previously warned that North Korean technicians were infiltrating crypto companies using false identities, and over the weekend, Drift Protocol stated that its $280 million attack incident was likely carried out by the same North Korean hackers involved in the October 2024 Radiant Capital attack. Stabble responded that the North Korean employee appeared to have joined a year ago, the new team took over the project four weeks ago, and emphasized that no attacks had occurred so far, with the warning being a precautionary measure. Stabble stated it would conduct a new audit to ensure LP safety.

Jupiter launches token verification API, supporting integration with Launchpad, DEX, and AI agents

According to ChainCatcher, decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter announced the launch of a token verification API (VRFD), allowing Launchpad, DEX, and AI agents to integrate verification functions directly into the token creation process for programmatic verification.

The API uses a three-step process: developers create and sign a Solana transaction to burn 1,000 JUP, then submit the verification request along with the token metadata update. This transaction does not require gas fees, and developers do not need to hold SOL to pay transaction fees; they only need to hold at least 1,000 JUP in their wallet to submit. Jupiter is positioning VRFD as the standard infrastructure for all projects on Solana.

U.S. Department of Justice rejects Tornado Cash developer's latest plea to dismiss charges

According to ChainCatcher, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) expressed clear opposition to the latest request by Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm to dismiss criminal charges, stating that the recent Supreme Court ruling is unrelated to this case and should not be a reason for dismissal.

Storm's lawyer had previously told the court that he intended to cite a new Supreme Court ruling (involving a civil case of copyright infringement) to support the motion to dismiss. However, U.S. prosecutors pointed out in a letter to the federal judge that the ruling dealt with a completely different situation and industry than the current criminal charges and therefore should not affect the handling of this case.

This legal battle reflects the contradictory stance of the Trump administration toward the crypto sector: on one hand, the U.S. government has shown a relatively supportive policy inclination toward crypto, while on the other hand, it still insists on pursuing criminal liability for some crypto project developers. Under the current circumstances, Storm may still face retrial, and the case is expected to re-enter the court hearing stage.

The first domestic browser "Lobster" QBotClaw officially launched
According to ChainCatcher, the first domestic browser "Lobster" QBotClaw has officially launched, which not only fully supports OpenClaw skills but also allows free configuration of API Keys for major domestic models. As long as users know how to use a browser, they can have a dedicated "little lobster" ready at any time. It supports functions such as shopping price comparison and helping users post.

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of April 9, 09:00,

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

The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: VDOR, swarms, Punch, neet, Buttcoin

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

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

EigenCloud founder: AI and crypto are creating the next trillion-dollar asset class

At the digital asset summit in New York, I shared a core argument that has become central to my thinking about the intersection of AI and crypto: agents will become companies.

The combination of AI and cryptocurrency has gathered tremendous energy. Various teams are exploring payment, identity, reasoning, training, and various collaborative mechanisms. Many of these explorations are highly valuable, and some may even grow into significant independent businesses. However, these early explorations overlook the most obvious transformation that cryptocurrency can bring. Cryptocurrency is a rare capital formation tool for generations: it democratizes the ability to create new digital assets and grants fully digital ownership structures to internet-native entities.

Divided worlds: Insights from the New York Digital Asset Summit, the most institutionalized blockchain conference

In March this year, I attended the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York. This was the most "institutionalized" blockchain conference I have ever attended and also the most complex experience for me.

After several days of meetings, what kept recurring in my mind was not how hot a certain track was or how strong a certain project was, but a pervasive sense of division. This division exists not only within the conference venue but extends to my observations of the entire industry during my time in the U.S.

Zhao Changpeng's memoir released: disclosing a large number of industry insider stories, provoking fierce rebuttal from Xu Mingxing

On April 8, Zhao Changpeng's personal memoir "Freedom of Money" (Chinese title: "Binance Life") was officially launched on Amazon, narrating his journey from grassroots rise to establishing the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and ultimately to his guilty plea and imprisonment, all from a first-person perspective. Since entering prison in 2024, Zhao Changpeng has been planning to write this book, finalizing it by the end of 2025, with a total of 364 pages.

In Zhao Changpeng's view, the narrative about himself has long been dominated by media reports, court documents, and public commentary, and he hopes to provide a more complete context through this book. At the same time, the human aspects behind Binance's rapid rise are often overlooked in the media's fragmented reporting, and Zhao Changpeng also attempts to fill in those simplified gaps through this book.

As one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry today, Zhao Changpeng has personally experienced the difficult development journey of Binance and the crypto industry in its early years, which also brings many little-known insider stories and details to this book, adding much to the conversation in this long and dull bear market.