Solana staking protocol Fragmetric completes $7 million seed round

April 9 (CNBC) — Maine is set to become the first U.S. state to ban data center construction statewide, a move that could prompt other states to follow suit and slow the rapidly growing industry. This week, Maine lawmakers approved a bill prohibiting data center construction in the state through November 2027. The measure is expected to get final approval in the coming days and will establish a committee to develop a regulatory framework ensuring data centers do not drive up energy prices or create other issues for Maine residents. While the bill has bipartisan support, it faces strong pushback from tech groups and businesses, which fear even a short construction delay would leave the state at a disadvantage. Glenn Adams, business development director at Maine-headquartered Sargent Corporation (currently building data centers in Virginia and North Carolina), said any pause in data center construction — even temporary — would set the company back.

On April 9, NBC News reported that U.S. officials stated former President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back bombing operations in Lebanon to support successful negotiations with Iran.

On April 9, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins posted on social media that “The goal of the NewCoin Project is to have the SEC and CFTC ready to implement the CLARITY Act as soon as Congress acts.” Treasury Secretary Benson is correct: it’s time for Congress to plan for future-proof regulation and advance comprehensive market structure legislation to President Trump’s desk.

On April 9, Telegram founder Pavel Durov took to social media to announce: The TON Blockchain has just undergone an upgrade, with its speed now increased tenfold, block generation speed up sixfold, and transactions now instant with sub-second confirmations. This marks the first step of the seven-step "Make TON Great Again (MTONGA)" plan. The next phase will cut transaction fees—already low—by an additional sixfold.

On April 9, Lebanon signaled that a ceasefire—followed by direct talks with Israel—is the solution. (Financial News)

April 9 (Circle Official Release) — Circle today announced the launch of **CPN Managed Payments**, a new solution tailored to simplify stablecoin and fiat payment flows for global financial institutions. As Circle expands its stablecoin payment offerings and sees rapid growth on its **Circle Payments Network (CPN)**, the company has identified a critical unmet need: Banks, payment service providers (PSPs), fintech firms, and large tech companies want to execute fiat-to-fiat and fiat-to-stablecoin transactions without taking on burdensome overhead. Specifically, they seek to avoid: - Building/operating their own crypto wallets or blockchain infrastructure; - Directly managing digital assets or stablecoins (including minting, custody, and related tasks); - Assuming standalone licensing and compliance requirements for stablecoin/blockchain payments. With CPN Managed Payments, financial institutions can join and operate on the CPN while Circle handles end-to-end transaction exe