OpenAI Launches Cyber Offense vs. Anthropic, AI Bug Bounty Capability Raises Regulatory Concerns

**April 15th Update** Prediction market platform Polymarket has kicked off a review of third-party startups in its Builders Program, launched last November to let external developers build trading apps on its infrastructure. Some 200 developers have joined so far, eligible for up to $2.5 million in grants and weekly rewards—but a key issue has emerged: top participants in the program are all building copy-trading apps. These apps curate trading accounts with abnormally high win rates, flag suspicious timing/trade amounts, and let users copy trades with one click. Kreo’s selling point is helping users “spot insider traders faster than others,” while Polycool lists an “Insider Trading Guide for Polymarket” on its site, noting: “This isn’t the stock market—betting on non-public info won’t land you in jail; decentralized prediction markets have totally different rules.” The Builders Program has driven Polymarket’s trading volume from $100 million last November to over $600 million

April 15 — The Bank of Russia says its citizens will need to declare overseas-held cryptocurrency assets once a new round of crypto regulations rolls out. First Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin noted the new rules will tighten Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for exchanges to boost transaction transparency. He emphasized the regulation does not prohibit individuals or entities from holding crypto in overseas wallets — but they must report these holdings to the federal tax authority. The measure is scheduled to take effect in July, alongside the associated regulatory framework.

On April 15, Farcaster issued a statement to clarify key points: There will be no Farcaster token issuance. The ongoing market "token discussion" is actually tied to Hypersnap—a fork of the Farcaster protocol. The Hypersnap team referred to their token as the "Farcaster token" during discussions, confusing some less tech-savvy users. This is not a comment on the fork project itself. The goal is to curb speculation that creates unnecessary noise—including bot accounts, airdrop hunters, and scam accounts—all of which harm the network’s overall experience. It is clear there is no Farcaster protocol token airdrop.

April 15 — After over a month of Middle East conflict, U.S. stocks have staged a V-shaped rebound. The S&P 500 has gained nearly 10% since March 27, on track for a third straight week of gains. The Nasdaq 100, meanwhile, has risen ~12% over the same period, marking its longest winning streak since 2021. After five weeks of losses spurred by U.S.-Israel airstrikes, traders are now ignoring Middle East negatives and buying stocks aggressively again. Rich Privorotsky, head of Goldman Sachs’ Delta One desk, noted: “The market seems to have already declared victory in its ‘war’ with Iran—even though the conflict itself hasn’t truly ended.” Tom Lee, chairman of Ethereum mining firm BitMine, said: “The stock market’s resilience stems from the economy performing better than expected—even amid war.” He added: “Markets are great at pricing in outcomes in advance. The current rally signals the market is betting on a favorable outcome, though I can’t pinpoint the exact reasons. That’s the me

April 15 (local time in Russia) — A source with an Arab country’s diplomatic delegation says relevant parties are discussing extending the temporary ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. “The ceasefire agreement, set to expire on April 22, is currently the subject of extension talks,” the source noted. The U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8 (Beijing time). Negotiations between the two sides’ delegations took place in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, on April 11 and 12, but no agreement was reached. (CCTV News)

**Breaking: Trump: Iran Conflict "Close to End"; WTI Crude Drops 4% in Asian Trade** U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iran conflict is "close to the end" in an April 14 Fox News interview—remarks that sent WTI crude oil tumbling 4% in early Wednesday Asian trading. When pressed on his repeated claims the "war is over," Trump replied: "I think it is very close to ending. Yes, I mean, very close." On U.S.-Iran relations, Trump noted: "We’ll see what happens next; I think Iran really wants to make a deal right now." He added negotiations could resume "within the next two days" in Pakistan, building on last Saturday’s lengthy but inconclusive talks in Islamabad. Trump did not name the U.S. representative for a potential second round of talks and confirmed he would not attend. CNN sources familiar with the matter said Vice President Mike Pence is expected to lead the talks if they occur before the ceasefire agreement expires next week. Pence stated he would keep working towa