New York Mellon Bank Launches Tokenized Deposit Service, Allowing Users to Transfer Funds via Blockchain Channel

April 3rd, Coinbase announced a partnership with the Linux Foundation to launch the x402 Foundation—an initiative focused on governing the x402 Payment Standard through an open governance model. The standard enables websites and APIs to seamlessly request and accept payments via standard HTTP interactions, creating a native payment layer for the web. As the protocol’s original creators, Coinbase has contributed the underlying technology to the Linux Foundation to ensure neutral development, with Coinbase and Base retaining founding participant roles.

On April 3rd, Polymarket will distribute over $5 million in liquidity incentives for sports and esports markets throughout April 2026. The reward pool is split into Pre-Match and Live phases for each contest. Rewards are allocated proportionally to all eligible markets within each competition. Football match incentives cover the top five European leagues and other European football competitions, while esports incentives include CS:GO, DOTA 2, League of Legends, and more.

On April 3rd, The Information reports that Anthropic has acquired biotech startup Coefficient Bio for approximately $400 million.

On April 3, U.S.-listed Bitcoin mining firm MARA announced a roughly 15% layoff, cutting full-time staff across multiple departments and some contract workers. The move is part of its strategic shift from a pure Bitcoin mining company to an energy and digital infrastructure firm. Earlier this February, MARA completed the majority acquisition of Exaion — a subsidiary of French state-owned energy giant EDF — officially entering the AI and high-performance computing space. It also struck a deal with data center developer Starwood to repurpose ~1 GW of mining infrastructure for AI workloads. Recently, MARA sold over 15,133 BTC (roughly $1.1 billion) to repay $1 billion in convertible bonds. This led to a full-year net loss of $1.3 billion in 2025, with adjusted EBITDA at -$330.8 million. Per Bitget market data, MARA stock bucked the trend with an 8.33% gain, closing at $8.17.

According to market data from Bitget, the Nikkei 225 Index opened higher on Friday, April 3, rising 615.75 points (1.17%) to 53,079.02 points. The South Korean KOSPI Index also opened up the same day, gaining 145.0 points (2.77%) to 5,379.05 points.

**US, Israel Strike Iranian Bridge; Iran Vows Retaliation, Oil Prices Surge** April 3rd — The U.S. and Israel targeted Iranian infrastructure Wednesday, bombing the iconic Beiyek Bridge on the Beyk Highway in Kalaj-e Karim, Iran. The bridge—billed as the Middle East’s highest, a landmark engineering project, and part of the Tehran-Kalaj corridor core—was damaged ahead of its planned opening. Iran immediately vowed retaliation, launching its *Real Commitment Operation Round 90* in response. ### Market Reaction - WTI crude oil jumped nearly 15% intraday, settling above $110 for the first time since 2022. - Brent spot prices skyrocketed above $140, hitting their highest level since 2008. ### Latest Developments #### Iranian Actions/Statements - Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi: Iran is drafting a transit agreement with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz. - Launched the 90th wave of its operation, striking U.S.-linked metal industry facilities. - Partial power outage