NEAR Protocol Introduces Cross-Chain Transaction Privacy Execution Feature, Confidential Intents, Bringing Privacy Execution Layer to Cross-Chain Transactions

On April 9, a South Korean court ruled in favor of Upbit operator Dunamu in its administrative lawsuit against the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), overturning the FIU’s three-month partial business suspension order against the crypto exchange. The court found Dunamu had taken steps—including soliciting customer commitment letters and self-monitoring—despite the lack of specific enforcement guidelines from regulators. While the court noted debate over whether these measures were sufficient to prevent transactions with unregistered entities, it concluded Dunamu had fulfilled its reasonable obligations without clear regulatory guidance. Earlier, the FIU imposed the suspension on Upbit over deficiencies in its controls for transactions involving unregistered entities. (Source: DigitalAsset)

April 9 U.S. crude oil exports are set to hit a record high in April as Asian buyers scramble for alternatives to disrupted Middle East supplies amid the Iran war, the Financial Times reported. Oil research firm Kpler projects U.S. crude exports this month will jump nearly 33% from March’s 3.9 million barrels per day (bpd) to 5.2 million bpd. Asian demand for U.S. crude is set to surge 82% to 2.5 million bpd. Data shows 68 empty tankers are currently en route to the U.S. — up from 24 in the week before the Feb. 28 war outbreak, and well above last year’s weekly average of 27. The export surge underscores the U.S.’s growing role as a global “swing supplier” — but competition from Asian buyers could push up domestic fuel prices, ramping up fears of a new inflation wave tied to the Iran war launched by the Trump administration. The Trump administration has no current plans to ban oil exports. Analysts say a ban would leave U.S. crude unsold, piling up domestically, while refine

April 9: Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Syed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a social media post that an Iranian delegation will arrive in Islamabad the evening of April 9 for serious talks on Iran’s 10 proposed ceasefire terms—despite repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement. The trip comes at the invitation of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. (Xinhua International)

**Bitcoin Rallies 6% in 4 Hours on US-Iran Ceasefire, $280M in Shorts Liquidated** April 9 (yesterday) – Bitcoin surged 6% within four hours, driven by a global stock market rally following a two-week ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. The jump triggered the liquidation of $280 million worth of Bitcoin short positions. Analysis shows open interest rose 2.5% to 593,930 BTC, but the derivatives market lacks meaningful bullish momentum, with no significant position shifts. Bears show no eagerness to close out positions, per the data. Inflation pressures persist: Brent crude holds at $95 per barrel, well above the $72 level seen at the end of February. Critically, the two-week ceasefire is not a long-term solution, leaving open the risk of a Bitcoin pullback to $68,000. (Source: Cointelegraph)

April 9 — Base has unveiled the selection list for its Batch 003 accelerator program, featuring 12 projects: AI agent infrastructure Blockrun.ai, prediction market Stealth, AI agent payment infrastructure 4Mica, privacy-focused perpetual DEX OPAL, gamified social prediction platform Onsight, collateral-free lending protocol Credifi, asset-backed stablecoin lending platform Tomorrow, AI-coordinated transaction execution routing layer Agently, on-chain forex hedging platform Nivo, opinion market JPEG App, credit service for AI agents and institutions Floe Labs, and digital bank Liminal. Selected teams will receive exclusive mentorship, resource support, and funding opportunities from Base. The program’s final Demo Day is scheduled for May 19 in San Francisco.

On April 9, Bitunix has finalized adjustments to risk limits for multiple traditional financial perpetual contracts, lifting the maximum leverage for popular underlying assets to 50x. The updates cover a range of widely traded assets: AAPL, AMZN, COIN, CRCL, GOOGL, HOOD, META, MSFT, MSTR, NVDA, PLTR, QQQ, SPY, and TSLA. Risk limits across each leverage tier have been precisely optimized simultaneously, sharply enhancing capital efficiency and position-holding capacity—delivering more flexible trading space for professional and strategic traders. These changes apply to both new position openings and existing positions. Users are advised to keep an eye on shifts in their position risk.