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

April 15th, blockchain gaming infrastructure firm Lattice announced it will gradually wind down operations after five years, with its Layer 2 network Redstone set to cease operations on May 16, 2026, at 07:59 UTC. Lattice is reminding users to withdraw their funds before this deadline—especially assets held in contracts like Uniswap pools. Post-shutdown, only an L1 withdrawal contract will be deployed for external account balance withdrawals; funds in contracts will be unrecoverable. Founded in 2021, Lattice developed tools including the MUD framework, Redstone chain, Quarry, and Dozer—but failed to establish a sustainable business model. The team will use remaining funds for its final project, DUST: The Autonomous World, though the project’s scale hasn’t reached a level to sustain the business, and the team doesn’t believe VC funding is the right path forward.

April 15th — Per DefiLlama data, BNB Chain (formerly BSC)-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have recorded 24-hour trading volumes above $1 billion for two straight days, marking a 97% jump from their monthly lows. The surge is fueled by renewed meme coin transaction activity on the chain. Key meme coins leading the trend include: - **Binance Life**: Current market cap ~$350M, 60% 24-hour gain, ~$21.1M in 24-hour trading volume. - **Hakimi**: Market cap now $13.4M, 66% daily increase, ~$4.8M in daily trading volume. - **Lobster**: Current valuation $12.9M, 66% 24-hour rise, ~$4.4M in 24-hour volume. - **Build Together**: Valued at $4.3M, 36% 24-hour gain, ~$2.8M in daily trading volume.

On April 15th, per LookOnChain data, a sudden drop in oil prices caused whale 0x7d54 to liquidate its $10.3 million long position in xyz:BRENTOIL (Brent Crude) and xyz:CL (Crude Oil), resulting in a $1.14 million loss.

April 15th — GMGN monitoring data shows trading activity for Chinese meme coins on the BSC ecosystem has spiked sharply. Leading the sector today is "Binance Life," which posted a 60% daily price surge. Its trading volume hit $27.3 million, an 118% jump from the prior day. The token’s current market cap stands at $350 million, with a live price of $0.35. Several other meme coins also saw notable gains: - "GIGGLE": $50.5M market cap, 33% 24-hour increase - "Hakimi": $13.6M market cap, 66% 24-hour increase - "Lobster": $11.5M market cap, nearly 50% 24-hour increase - "BuildTogether": $4.4M market cap, 54% 24-hour increase BlockBeats reminds users that meme coin trading is extremely volatile, primarily driven by market sentiment and hype, with no underlying value or practical use case. Investors are advised to exercise caution amid these risks.

April 15 — Boundless and XRPL Commons announced the successful completion of the first native deployment of a zero-knowledge (ZK) validator on the XRPL network. The RISC-V-powered validator now operates directly on the chain, making XRPL the first public blockchain to offer programmable privacy as a ledger-native feature with built-in compliance controls. Per the announcement, the two organizations spent six months on the integration and jointly developed the Smart Escrow transaction type, complete with programmable release conditions. Developer toolkits and testnet environments are now available. Smart Escrow is slated to launch in Q2 2026 and will require a valid ZK proof to transfer funds. Smart Vault will follow, adding pre-settlement KYC checks and sanctions screening for every transaction, plus supporting limited disclosure to regulatory bodies. “XRPL was built from the start for institutional finance,” said Odelia Torteman, Head of Enterprise Adoption at XRPL Commons. “By