The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

On April 2nd, Solana Foundation Chair Lily Liu posted a statement: "The Drift incident has had a far-reaching impact, rippling across the entire ecosystem. The Drift team is working around the clock to investigate and contain the situation, and we are fully committed to providing support. The smart contract itself has held up to scrutiny. The attack’s actual target is people — tied more to social engineering and operational security gaps, not code-level exploits. Solana has weathered multiple challenges before, advancing through faster iteration, better infrastructure, community support, and enhanced security. Stay vigilant, review your security settings thoroughly, and keep building. We’ll provide updates on any new developments as they emerge."

April 2 — Cryptocurrency exchange BTCC announced a strategic partnership with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) on Wednesday, officially becoming the official regional partner of the Argentine national team. The collaboration will span the entire cycle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. BTCC noted the partnership will help deepen its globalization strategy, strengthen its trading ecosystem, boost user trust, and launch a range of user-focused activities — including signed jersey giveaways and trading competitions. Founded in 2011, BTCC ranks among the world’s oldest cryptocurrency exchanges.

On April 2nd, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy stated that as conflict escalates, the IRGC will expand its target range and accelerate efforts to expel U.S. forces from the region. In a series of retaliatory actions against what it described as attacks by the “American-Israeli enemy” on national infrastructure, the IRGC identified the following targets: U.S.-affiliated steel operations in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain’s Al-Hidd Industrial City, and remaining aluminum industry infrastructure in Bahrain, among others. (Source: Jinse)

On April 2, per Bitget data, U.S. stock futures extended losses: Nasdaq 100 futures are now down over 2%, Dow Jones futures ~1.4% lower, and S&P 500 futures off ~1.6%.

On April 2nd, Vibhu Norby, Chief Product Officer at the Solana Foundation, said in a post that Drift has faced a highly sophisticated attack, with the attack’s origin still under investigation. Notably, the incident is not linked to program or smart contract vulnerabilities. Like most recent crypto attacks (including those targeting Bybit, Neutrl, and Step), this appears to stem from an operational security (opsec) or social engineering compromise—rather than contract-related risk. Unfortunately, the incident involves a Solana-based project. But in reality, any protocol relying on multisig protection is vulnerable to similar attacks across any blockchain. As the investigation progresses, the industry can expect a range of lessons learned to be summarized and shared. This is an isolated incident, however, and does not signal any systemic issues with Solana DeFi or other Solana products. Norby added he believes the Solana DeFi community will regroup and rebuild quickly, as it ha

Official sources confirm that BeatSwap’s Trading Competition has exceeded $5 million in trading volume over its first 7 days, as of April 2. Launched on March 27, the event has attracted more than 2,000 active participants. Key volume breakdown: - Centralized Exchanges (CEX: Gate & MEXC): $1.77 million (includes buy and sell orders) - Decentralized Exchange (on-chain): $1.62 million (currently only counts buy volume) The competition is scheduled to conclude on April 5.