Pharos Announces Completion of $44 Million Series A Funding

On April 8, Daniel Li—founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital)—announced the launch of OpenX Labs, an AI-focused fund dedicated to investing in and partnering with AI projects. Li noted: “I used to think there were no more top-tier investment opportunities. Now I’ve changed my mind—the golden age of top-tier investing is here. The AI era has handed top founders a massive opportunity: a small team can achieve what once took an entire army, with no need for management headaches, hiring, payroll, or client acquisition. As long as you have ideas and strategy, startups are on the same starting line as mid-sized companies in this AI age. “I hope to learn alongside standout AI founders in the upcoming window for top-tier investment. I’m willing to support exceptional AI projects pro bono—reach out to me anytime. AI has also given me a second shot at entrepreneurship and renewed motivation.”

On April 8, the Ethereum Foundation announced it will convert 5,000 ETH into a stablecoin via CoWSwap’s TWAP feature—part of its ongoing support for research, grants, and donation initiatives.

April 8: On-chain sleuth ZachXBT disclosed that an anonymous tipster has provided stolen data from a North Korean internal payment server—including 390 accounts, chat logs, and cryptocurrency transaction records. The data relates to a sophisticated fraud network with an estimated $1 million monthly turnover, involving identity fraud, forged legal documents, and crypto-to-fiat conversion channels. The North Korean IT workers’ internal payment platform operates like Discord, used for reporting to superiors and processing payments. Its default password ("123456") had not been changed for an extended period. User lists include roles, North Korean names, cities, and group codes, and link to three OFAC-sanctioned entities: Sobaeksu, Saenal, and Songkwang. From late November 2025 to the present, the platform’s payment wallets have received over $3.5 million total. Typical payment flows involve workers transferring crypto from exchanges or using services like Payoneer to move fiat via ba

On April 8, Iranian media outlet Fars News reported—citing officials—that Iran is considering a strike against Israel over its violation of the temporary ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

On April 8th, Hyperbeat—Hyperliquid’s native yield layer—unveiled Liquid Banking, its non-custodial financial layer, enabling users to transact, save, and make payments on Hyperliquid via a full-stack account. Developed in partnership with Paxos Labs (which leverages institutional-grade stablecoin infrastructure to back Hyperbeat’s native stablecoin), Liquid Banking also includes participation from global fiat on-ramp provider Noah. Built for users seeking end-to-end transactional, savings, and payment functionality, Liquid Banking eliminates the need to transfer custody to a centralized platform.

April 8 — Pakistan’s Prime Minister announced Thursday that delegations from the United States and Iran will arrive in Pakistan this Friday, April 10. Earlier reports indicated Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly Speaker Kalibaf will lead the Iranian delegation for talks with the U.S. in Islamabad, while U.S. Vice President Vance will head the American delegation. Pakistan’s Prime Minister has invited both sides to further negotiate in Islamabad on the 10th to reach a final deal resolving all disputes.