WuBlockchain Weekly: Europe Cuts Interest Rates, OKX Enters the US Market, etc

1. The European Central Bank Cuts the Deposit Facility Rate by 25 Basis Points to 2.25% link

The European Central Bank (ECB) has cut the deposit facility rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, which is in line with market expectations and marks the sixth consecutive meeting of rate — cuts. The main refinancing rate and the marginal lending rate have been reduced from 2.65% and 2.9% to 2.4% and 2.65% respectively.

2. Trump Posts to Criticize Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell link

Trump posted on the social platform Truth Social, saying that the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to cut interest rates for the seventh time, while Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is “always late and wrong”. Trump criticized Powell’s report released yesterday as “a mess again”, pointed out that oil and food prices (including eggs) have fallen, and the United States has become rich through tariffs. He said Powell should have cut interest rates like the ECB a long time ago, called on him to cut interest rates immediately, and also said that Powell should step down as soon as possible.

3. Binance CEO: Has Held Talks with Many Countries to Help Formulate a Crypto Regulatory Framework link

Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance, said that under the leadership of President Trump, the United States has taken a more crypto — friendly attitude, including plans to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets and a national reserve, which is stimulating other countries to take similar actions. Binance has approached many countries, hoping to help them formulate cryptocurrency — regulatory frameworks. However, he refused to disclose the list of countries cooperating with the company. Currently, Binance is helping some countries establish national — strategic — digital — asset reserves. Nearly a quarter of Binance’s 6,000 employees are engaged in compliance work, and the company will continue to invest heavily in this area.

4. OKX Announces Its Entry into the US Market, Launching a Trading Platform and a Web3 Wallet link

OKX has announced its entry into the US market, setting up a regional headquarters in San Jose, California, and launching a centralized exchange and OKX Wallet for US users. Original OKCoin users will be migrated to the OKX platform, and the platform will be opened in a phased — manner, with plans to complete a nationwide roll — out within this year. OKX said that the company will cooperate with US regulatory authorities to promote its operations in accordance with current regulations and has established a compliance system covering KYC, AML, risk assessment and transaction monitoring.

5. Panama Allows Government Public Institutions to Accept Cryptocurrency Payments link

Mayor Mayer Mizrachi of Panama City, the capital of the Republic of Panama, said that the Panama City Council has voted to pass a proposal allowing government — run public institutions to accept cryptocurrency payments, including taxes, fines, tickets and permit fees. The first batch of supported currencies includes BTC, ETH, USDC and USDT. This plan does not require new legislation. Instead, it will cooperate with banks to convert cryptocurrency payments into US dollars to meet the legal collection requirements of public institutions.

6. Bhutan Plans to Develop Green Mining and Has Already Profited “Millions of Dollars” from Cryptocurrency Investments link

Two senior officials of Bhutan have disclosed that the country has reaped millions of dollars in profits in recent years through investments in cryptocurrencies. Moreover, it has already utilized a portion of these earnings to pay the salaries of government employees for a period of two years. Bhutan is currently engaging in green cryptocurrency mining by leveraging 100% hydropower. The officials are now evaluating the feasibility of selling these “green coins” to large enterprises that are required to meet ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) objectives, so as to propel the development of green finance.

7. Strategy Purchased 3,459 Bitcoins from April 7th to April 13th link

Strategy purchased 3,459 bitcoins between April 7 and April 13, with an average value of $82,618 per coin, amounting to a total of $285.8 million. As of April 13, 2025, Strategy holds 531,644 bitcoins, with an average purchase price of $67,556 per coin and a total value of $35.92 billion.

8. Visa Will Join the Global US Dollar Network (USDG) Stablecoin Consortium Initiated by Paxos link

Visa is set to join the Global Dollar Network (USDG) stablecoin alliance initiated by the regulated digital — asset firm Paxos, becoming the first traditional financial institution to do so. Robinhood, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, Anchorage Digital, Bullish and Nuvei will also participate as the first — batch members.

9. Vitalik: Privacy Is the Core for Ensuring Freedom, Maintaining Social Order and Driving Technological Progress link

In his latest blog post, Vitalik Buterin emphasized that privacy is a core element for safeguarding freedom, maintaining social order, and promoting technological progress. He pointed out that with the development of technologies such as AI and brain — computer interfaces, the risk of information leakage is increasing. Cryptographic technologies like ZK — SNARK and FHE, however, make “selective disclosure” and “verifiable privacy protection” possible. Privacy isn’t about detaching from society but enabling everyone to live freely and explore innovation without being overly monitored and judged. He called on the Web3 community to actively promote the popularization of privacy tools and the construction of standards to cope with the increasingly severe trend of centralized information control.

10. Binance: The Drastic Fluctuations of the OM Token May Be Due to Cross-platform Liquidation link

The OM token crashed first on the Binance platform in the early morning of April 14, and then its price dropped by more than 80% across the network in a short time. OKX pointed out that the economic model of OM has undergone significant changes since October 2024, and since March, there have been large — scale deposit — withdrawal behaviors at various exchanges from multiple on — chain addresses with similar operation patterns. Binance said that its preliminary analysis suggests that it may be due to cross — platform liquidation. MANTRADAO responded that the market volatility of OM was triggered by the reckless and forced closure of OM — account — holders’ accounts by centralized exchanges.

Mantra CEO John Patrick Mullin proposed to destroy his held OM tokens to restore investors’ confidence and promised to destroy the share of tokens he could obtain in the future. He said that if the project recovers, the community can decide whether to let him regain these tokens. According to Tokenomist data, Mullin currently holds about 772,000 OM tokens (accounting for less than 1% of the circulating supply). The 300 — million — token reserve of the team is scheduled to be unlocked by April 2027. Mullin has allocated his tokens to the liquid proof — of — stake protocol Fluxtra and said that the details of the destruction plan will be announced later.

Fundraising

The decentralized lending protocol Euler has officially joined the investment portfolio of Wintermute Ventures. link
a16z has made an additional investment of $55 million in LayerZero, with a three — year lock — up. link
Optimum has completed an $11 — million seed — round financing, led by 1kx. link
Treehouse has announced the completion of a new round of strategic financing, with a valuation of $400 million. link
The cryptocurrency investment platform Glider has announced the completion of a $4 — million financing, led by a16z. link
Resolv Labs has announced the completion of a $10 — million seed — round financing. link
The DeFi protocol Neutrl has announced the completion of a $5 — million seed — round financing. link
Hyperion has completed a new round of strategic financing, with OKX Ventures and Aptos Labs participating in the investment. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.